Page 127 of The Dollhouse

Carter let go of Zoey’s arm, and I did the same, though I didn’t make any attempts at moving. He looked at me, gave me a smirk and a slap on the back—a bit too hard to be friendly, but that was Carter, I supposed. “You did good, kid.” And then, because he probably knew he’d pissed me off, he slid off the bed and got dressed, smirking all the while.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Zoey spoke first, sitting up and still breathing quite hard, “He’s not a kid or a boy, Carter. You know that.”

Rolling his eyes, Carter said nothing. Once he got dressed, he left, shutting the door behind him and leaving us alone.

Now that it was just the two of us again, Zoey turned to me, a smile growing on her face. She about tackled me back to the bed, laying her body on top of mine before nuzzling into my neck. “You did good,” she murmured. “Very, very good.”

Even though it was a stupid thing to smile about, I found myself doing just that. “Yeah? It felt kind of… weird, didn’t it?” I wrapped an arm around her. Zoey didn’t seem to be too worried about the, uh, cum leaking out of her body and wetting her inner thighs, so I guess I wouldn’t be concerned, either. We could always hop in the shower.

“You and that word, weird,” she whispered, shaking her head against me. “It’s not weird, Lake. It’s only weird if you think it is, and you don’t have to think that way.” Zoey practically purred into my neck, “This might not be normal for other people, but it can be normal for us.”

You know, she wasn’t exactly wrong. Everything in life was subjective. Almost everything, really. It was all based on your frame of mind. This… what we had, what we did with the others—Zoey didn’t think it was weird, and neither did Carter or Roman. It was only me, and I didn’t have to think that way.

I could work on changing the way I thought about it, but it would take time. It would be hard. I didn’t come from the most open family when it came to sex and stuff, and it wasn’t like I ever wanted to share my girlfriend with two other guys. But that didn’t mean it would be impossible.

“You’re right,” I told her, and my words caused her head to lift, a smile on her face. I met her smile with one of my own, and then I brought her mouth to mine, kissing her sweetly.

And then I remembered that she’d had both my and Carter’s dick in her mouth, so it was kind of like I was kissing my own dick, or Carter’s.

My cheeks burned, and I ended the kiss, turning my eyes to the ceiling above.

Okay, so some things would still be awkward.

Chapter Nine – Zoey

It was hard getting back into the grind after Lake left, mostly because I missed him so much. His presence was so calming, so soothing. He really was the best part of us all pure and sweet. I loved him so much.

I loved him so much that I wasn’t quite myself Monday or Tuesday. I didn’t pay much attention to my sister either day, nor did I really feel like spending any time with Wyatt. Still, I knew time was too valuable to waste, so I forced myself to eat lunch with him on his break on Tuesday.

Wyatt noticed something was off with me, and when we got our food and sat down together, he said, “You okay? You seem… off today.” He sat across from me, leaning over the table to get a little closer to me. Thank goodness he didn’t try to sit beside me or anything; the kiss he’d given me after the party was still too vivid in my head.

I didn’t want to kiss him. I wanted to kiss Lake. Or Carter. Or Roman. Anyone but him, really. And it was nothing against Wyatt; he was nice. He was sweet. He was everything guys in Hillcrest normally weren’t—and that’s why I was beginning to feel torn.

I was using him, and he’d developed real, genuine feelings for me. What I planned on doing… could I really do it? Did I have the balls to hurt someone like Wyatt all in the name of getting back at my sister?

Time would tell.

“I’m all right,” I said, picking at my food. I wasn’t really hungry. “I’m just… I’m thinking.”

“About what?”

“You’re really nice, and I like you a lot. I’m sorry to drag you into the middle of this thing between me and my sister,” I muttered, frowning as I bit the inside of my cheek, mind drifting off. “Most people want to stay away from drama.” Willow and my parents not included in that number, obviously.

“I’m not a fan of drama, but I meant what I said. I like you, Zoey. What your sister did was shitty. I’m not going to pretend I don’t like you all because your family sucks. That’s kind of what families do—just not to the extent yours does. I’m not going to let Willow drive me away from you, and you shouldn’t let her do it, either.” Wyatt sounded so sure of himself, and his words might’ve made me feel better if I wasn’t already guilty over my plan.

I smiled at him. “You’re sweet.”

He grinned. “I try.”

We talked a little, and I did my best to eat even though I wasn’t really hungry. I walked him back to the store afterward, and I lingered there in the union for longer than I should’ve. I should go to my next class, but I stared at Wyatt behind the register for a few minutes, knowing I could regret my choices later. For now, it was time to fuck shit up around here.

But when I started to leave the union, heading for the glass doors, someone practically bum-rushed me, fury in her eyes. “You can’t leave him alone, can you?” Willow stood before me, her arms crossed. “Seems a little desperate, don’t you think? Desperate is such an ugly color on you, Zoey.” Her sugary sweet tone dripped venom; this was the sister I knew, the one I hadn’t missed a single bit.

“You’d know all about desperation,” I deadpanned, and the comeback flew right over her head.

She glared at me. “You think you can come back here, take what’s mine, and what? What will you do, hmm? Why the hell do you even want him? You have another boyfriend. I followed you two from the party. I saw where you live now, and I know there’s another man there.”

Somehow, I shouldn’t be surprised that Willow had followed Wyatt and me from that party. It was a little amusing, however, knowing she thought I had one boyfriend. The truth would shock her. Or make her unbelievably jealous.

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