Page 13 of Breaking You Open

Louis wrestles his pants back on and opens the door. In the doorway stands the tall, dark-haired man I vaguely recognize from last night.

“Louis, what’s up, my man?” he begins, then pauses when he catches sight of me, and a smug smile spreads over his lips. “Oh, I see. You’ve got company.”

“He was just leaving,” Louis grumbles, sending me a look over his shoulder.

Leaving? Yeah…Of course he doesn’t want me here anymore. I’ve outstayed my welcome, and my usefulness has long since expired.

I rise from the carpet, chin slick with spit and cum, and I wipe it off with the sleeve of my shirt. Now that I’ve woken up from my postorgasmic haze, the only evidence of what happened between us is my aching jaw and the cooling mess of cum in my underwear.

I pull on my pants and pass the doorway. Ravi sends me a knowing smile, but Louis…Louis’s dark and steely gaze stares into nothing, as if I wasn’t even there.

I wipe my chin and ignore the foolish tears pressing against my eyes. What did I expect? Why even say goodbye? Why even deign to look at me? I’ll be gone like Louis wants, and our time spent together will soon be nothing but a memory. This was a one-off, a pipe dream, a half-imagined ideal that will never come true.

Chapter 4

Louis

Ravi stares at mewith a raised brow. “Dude, seriously? Did he just suck your dick?”

“What? No.”

He makes a kissy face. “Now I know why you brought him home. No wonder. He’s pretty cute, isn’t he? Totally worth abandoning your shift for.”

“Shut up and get in,” I grumble.

Ravi saunters past me into the apartment, a toothpick in his mouth, as seems to be the case in the lack of a cigarette or a joint.

“So,” he says, turning to me with a suggestive smile. “What happened yesterday?”

I roll my eyes and run a hand through my scraggly hair. I need a fucking shower. “Nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing,” Ravi says. I send him a murderous look, and he shrugs and throws me the key to my motorbike. “Anyway, thanks for the loan.”

I throw him the key to his car in return. “I hope you didn’t scratch her up.”

“I hope the same for you,” he counters.

“How was the rest of the night?”

“Oh, I don’t know, nothing much happened. It’s a little blurry, to be fair.”

“Don’t tell me you got drunk,” I growl. “You were supposed to fucking take over my shift.”

Ravi throws his hands up. “Louis, you know me. Can’t resist a good party when I’m feeling the vibe. Mike had a bong, and after that, it was lights-out for me. He had to drive me home.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Relax, relax. He’s a good driver when he’s high.”

“What about your shift?”Myshift, more like.

Ravi shrugs. “No worries. Party went on for quite a while, though, from what I hear. A miracle the neighbors didn’t complain.”

“Maurice pays them off,” I say with a wave of my hand.

Ravi stares at me. “He does? For a party like that? Why?”

“Says he likes to keep an eye on the younger population in town. To vet prospects, you know.” Say what you will about the parties at Joshua’s house, but their connection to the Black Claws MC is covert enough to attract folks who wouldn’t otherwise be into the lifestyle. And if Maurice is more interested in the young girls and boys who frequent the place, well…

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