Page 50 of Filthy Little Secret

What a load of bullshit.

I should have interrupted him the moment I detected the ridiculous analogy, but I wanted to give him a chance to speak his piece so I could be one hundred percent sure it was as moronic and horrible as I believed it would be.

“You’re a dumb sack of shit,” I say.

“What?” he asks, his eyes narrow with confusion.

“Did you think that would do the trick? That I would be totally cool after a little false epiphany about you sabotaging shit in your life?”

“Dude, I know—”

“Dude?Dude?You did not just call medude.”

I rise from the bed, my cheeks filling with heat. I’m so fucking mad I might fucking deck him. He stands, raising his hands before him. “No, please, Mark. Just hear me out.”

“What is there left to hear, Greg? You sabotaged our relationship because you were scared it was going to work out? Are you kidding me? Sabotaging a relationship is not listening when the other person talks or forgetting birthdays. Not fucking their best friend behind their back for two months. At least.”

He tries to interrupt me, but I don’t stop: “No. I’m glad you wanted to talk to me about this because it lets me know just how good of a decision I made, and most importantly, it lets me know what an asshole you are. I can’t even remember what I saw in you. I thought I was so lucky to be the new kid with the guy who had everything. But you don’t have everything. You don’t even know who the fuck you are or what you want out of life. You ride off your parents’ money and do whatever the fuck feels good to you in the moment. No responsibility. No cares in the world. Some people might think that’s a nice life, but it’s an empty one. You can fuck all the guys in the world you want, but one day you’re going to realize how lonely you really are.”

I storm out of the bedroom. He grips my shoulder, but I shrug him off and keep going.

I spin around. “Don’t fucking follow me. Give me a second to leave. It’s the least you can fucking do.”

He steps back and sits on the bed.

I don’t have another second to waste on this asshole.

16

TIM

Iwait in the stairwell, listening to see if Mark needs me.

He and Greg headed upstairs a little while ago. As much as I’m worried about Mark’s feelings, I’m also scared as fuck. Since Greg and Morgan called things off recently, I’m wondering if he’s trying to win Mark back. What if Mark makes up with him? What if he figures Greg just made a mistake and that it’s something they can work through? I keep telling myself I’ll miss the sex, but that’s not all I’ll miss. I’ll miss Mark’s pretty face and those beautiful blue eyes. I’ll miss our talks and joking about Roxxxy Andrews with him.

Fuck. What am I thinking?

I try to chase those thoughts away.

Mark rounds the corner and starts down the stairs.

Shit.

He stops and looks at me.

A tear runs down his cheek. He quickly wipes it away with his arm before saying, “Hey.”

“I was just coming up to check on you.”

“Sorry.” He takes a breath. “It’s been a rough night.”

This would be the perfect opportunity to say something like, “It could be an even rougher night.” Something sexual. Something that could give me a chance to take him off somewhere and fuck his brains out right now. But I don’t want that. He clearly needs to talk to someone, and I wish I could be that person. But I figure he needs to get back to his friends to get the sort of consoling I’m sure he needs right now.

“I know,” he says quickly. “Rules and all.”

He starts past me. I snatch his arm, and he looks at me with surprise.

“Fuck the rules.”

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