Page 22 of Our Hearts to Break

“I wanted her, though.” Tears leak from my eyes and onto his skin. “Doesn’t that make a difference?”

“No,” he says with confidence. “She took advantage of you. That bitch made you do things you shouldn’t have been forced to do at any age.”

I tip my head back to look at him. “I’m broken. You should probably call it quits before I fuck you up too.”

He squeezes me tighter, shaking his head. “You’re not sabotaging something good because of her.”

“I fuck everything up, Riv. I don’t know how to have a normal relationship. Except for our friendship, my relationship with Veronica was the longest I’ve ever had… and it wasn’t by choice.”

The mystery and excitement wore off after the first few times with Veronica. I quickly realized what my mother’s best friend was doing to me was not normal behavior for an adult.

At all hours, she would wake me, wrists strapped to the headboard when I stopped being compliant. She even gagged me the few times I screamed. No one heard me over the music playing downstairs.

So, I stopped yelling for my parents. I couldn’t breathe with that thing covering my mouth. If I followed the rules, she took it off. And if I were a good boy, she wouldn’t bind my ankles to the footboard.

“We’re seeing Dr. Swanson this afternoon.” River runs his fingers down my back, ignoring the sweat matting my skin. “You’re safe now, Nate. Nothing bad will happen. I promise.”

Overcome by all the emotions swirling in my chest, I pull his mouth to mine. His lips part for me, eager and ready. River’s legs wrap around me like a koala. So damn clingy. But I love it when he attaches himself to me.

I’m never letting him go.

“Nate,” he whispers between kisses. “We’re gonna be late for class.”

“Don’t care.”

I rock us forward, moving River onto his back, and rut my hard cock against his stomach. River’s legs fold around me again as my lips assault his.

He moans into my mouth and pulls away. “My professor takes off grade points if we’re late. I’d love to stay here and make out with you all day, but…”

I sink back on my heels and gaze at the beautiful man beneath me.

My god, I love him.

He’s perfect, not a hair out of place after sleeping for hours.

“If we leave soon, we can eat breakfast at Kingston Brew.”

My stomach growls, and I rub my hand over my abs. “I could go for a bagel sandwich.”

River sits up and gives me another kiss. “It’s my turn to pay.”

I slide off the bed and extend my hand. “This is technically our first date. I’d be a dick if I let you pay.”

He gets up with a groan. “We’re not having our first date at Kingston Brew. And we can take turns with the bill. You don’t need to get all alpha on me.”

“It’s just…” I shrug, not sure how else to say what comes next. “I’m used to taking care of women. And well, you’re not.”

He moves his hands to my waist and quickly kisses my lips. “We can figure it out later.”

* * *

After I partways with River at the coffee shop, I head to the other side of the campus. Legal Research is one of the few classes we don’t share. And since I haven’t told him about my deal with Waters, I pull out my cell phone and call my dad.

The line rings twice before he answers.

“Dad, I need your help.”

He snorts into the receiver. “You yelled at me. Hung up on me. Refused my calls. Now, you need me to bail you out of another mess?”

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