Page 22 of Becoming Us

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This was good. Right?

It’s not like I was throwing all my boundaries out the window—just these ones. Just this time. It was for him.

Thiswasgood.

He wanted it. Asked for it, even.

I wanted it too. I always did. Anything that involved him I’d always want.

My fingers brushed over the bruise on my neck. He wasn’t just under my skin—he was on it. Marking me.

There was something different about him, but I couldn’t figure out what it was, and even though the feeling of belonging was coursing through me, something kept bothering me.

Wasthis good?

Maybe this is all you have to offer him.

The prickle behind my eyes sharpened, turning into a full-fledged burn.

That wasn’t right. It’s Atty. He’s different. We’re different.

This is normal. We both want it.

I turned the shower on, waiting until the water ran hot. Then hotter.

Stepping in, I let it scorch my skin, washing him off reluctantly.

I rubbed my eyes over and over, willing whatever was coming over me to go away. My chest tightened, like I wasn’t getting enough air into my lungs.

If I said it enough times, maybe I’d believe it.

He’s mine.

He’s mine.

He’s mine.

The unspoken words flooded my mind before I could put up a wall to keep them out.

Is he?

CHAPTER

FOUR

BEFORE

He brushed a powder over my skin with a fluffy brush. The smell hit me—sickeningly sweet, like a vanilla cupcake on steroids. Grimacing, I pulled my jaw from his grasp.

“The more you move, the longer it takes, sweetums,” Garth said in his sing-song voice.

“Why does it smell like that?”

He let out a breathy laugh. “Fuck if I know, but it’s bougieAF, so be grateful you’re getting the good stuff.”

I grumbled under my breath and looked down at my phone, using the small window while he turned to rummage through his kit.

Me

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