Page 35 of Lust

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you heard of auras? It’s not exactly that, but this energy around you… I can’t see it, but I can feel it. It’s like the air is a little thicker here, harder for my hands to pass through. Sorry, I’m making you anxious. Would you like to sit down?”

“I’m fine standing.”

I don’t need Cody’s intuitive abilities to detect how defensive Luke sounds.

“Look, can we cut it with the bullshit?” Luke says. “I didn’t come here to hear about auras or talk about how thick the air is. I want answers.”

“Just show him,” I tell Cody, who glances between us, then nods.

“Okay,” he says. “I was trying to make this less awkward, but that’s obviously not working, so let’s get to it. Luke, you mind taking off your clothes?”

Luke’s jaw drops.

Hope he’s ready for shit to get weird.

11

LUKE

Take off myclothes?

The hell?

“Just do it,” Cody says. “I’m not perving on you, dude.”

An odd request, for sure, but now Cody and I are seated in the center of the pentagram, cross-legged and facing one another, in just our underwear. Part of me is convinced that any minute now one of their other buddies will jump out from somewhere, displaying a phone as they record the ridiculous bullshit I fell for. Brad will hunch over laughing that his little Straight Boy was such a fucking sucker, and I’ll go viral for what would go down in history as one of the most epic cases of bullying ever.

But maybe that’s wishful thinking—that I would prefer an ordinary explanation over an extraordinary one, even if it meant my complete and utter humiliation.

With his eyes closed, hands resting on his knees, Cody takes deep, steady breaths.

“Seth, if you could come here,” he says. “I might need to borrow some energy.”

Seth doesn’t question his friend, just moves closer before Cody goes on, “And, Brad—”

Brad starts toward us, but Cody raises his hand. “Back the fuck up because your energy is interfering.”

“Maybe he should leave,” Seth says.

“That’s not fucking happening,” Brad replies through his teeth, and he and Seth exchange tense looks.

For guys who seemed pretty damn chummy when I first arrived at St. Lawrence, now they seem a few choice words away from a fight. I’m sure I have plenty to do with that, but I’m glad Brad’s sticking around for whatever the hell Cody’s about to do. I’ve only just barely started to trust Brad since he opened up the other night. But I definitely trust him more than his two buddies, who I don’t know shit about.

Cody takes a few more breaths before opening his eyes. “Okay. Now we’re gonna rise on our knees and move closer, until our bodies are touching, and you’ll lock hands with me.”

“Why does this keep getting more pervy?”

“All this stuff is kinda pervy,” Brad mumbles.

“Trust me, Luke,” Cody says. “It will make it easier for me to pass the vision on to you. I’ve tried touching with my fingertips and—”

“It’s like fire,” Seth interjects. “Doing it like this, you’ll feel the heat, but it won’t be as intense since it’s spread out.”

The guys really aren’t selling this to me, but I accept it’s what I have to do if we’re gonna follow through with this, so I rise on my knees, and Cody does the same. Unlike with Brad, I don’t feel this intense, inescapable lust as I move closer to him. We push against each other, and it all feels clinical.

I raise my hands.

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