Page 308 of Filthy Elites

He wouldn’t.

That’s the simple answer.

I’m a fucking idiot.

Idon’t want to be in a relationship like that, and he’s not going to leave a situation where he has unlimited free passes to do whatever the hell he wants to be monogamous with me. Why would he?

“Sorry,” she says, grimacing. “It’s not common knowledge, but with the picture and everything, I thought you knew.”

I shake my head. “Apparently, I don’t know anything.”

TWENTY-SIX

Aubrey

After countless roundsof back and forth with myself over whether I should cancel dinner with Dare tonight, the clock runs out.

A knock at the door tells me he’s here, and my stomach twists with anxiety.

I know I should have canceled. Hannah was the breath of fresh air I needed to clear the fog Dare constantly leaves me shrouded in. If I’d have taken advantage of that clarity, maybe I could have put myself back on track, but I know the moment I let him back in, he’ll fuck me all up.

I didn’t even know what to tell Mom about him coming over for dinner. Earlier, when I was still in his bubble and I hadn’t gone to school yet, I had fantastical notions of telling her he was my boyfriend.

My, how things change in the span of one day.

I’m miserable when I walk to the door. I don’t want to open it. It feels like opening the door to a vampire I know will suck all the common sense out of me and inviting him in to do more damage.

The door opens and Dare stands there, a charming smile on his handsome face and bags full of groceries hanging off his arms. Nothing about his smile changes, exactly, but the moment he sees my face, he knows something is off. I can see it in his eyes.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I say back, my tone subdued. I take a step back to let him inside.

He walks in, watching me carefully as he walks past, but my mom is here and he must want to make a good impression because he puts that winning smile right back on his face to greet her.

I introduce them, but not with stars in my eyes and a goofy grin on my face like I probably would have earlier. I thank Dare and take the grocery bags to the kitchen so I can unpack them while he talks to my mom. He has his gym bag with him and tells her he’ll be back to talk to her after he showers.

Realizing he’s a guest in this house and might not even know where the bathroom is, I abandon the groceries to show him the shower and get him a towel.

As soon as we’re far enough away from my mom, he grabs my wrist and hauls me into the bathroom with him.

I glance at the door as he closes it and blocks it with his body, trapping me in here with him. “Um, my mom is literally right out there. I told you nothing could happen in here.”

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Try again.”

I sigh, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing is wrong, I just don’t want my mom to think… I don’t know, that we’re doing something we shouldn’t be in here.”

“I don’t think your mom has anything to do with it. I’ll ask one more time. What is wrong?”

I open my mouth to say nothing, but he said he’d only ask once more, and I don’t know what Dare’s next move is when his first attempt doesn’t work. “I heard some things today,” I finally say, so hesitant I don’t look him in the face.

He doesn’t sound surprised. “What kind of things?”

“Discouraging things.”

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