Page 129 of Deceptive Games
Tension lined his features, and he sighed. “About what?”
“Not sure. It’s either about the shit at school yesterday, or something else,” I shrugged, climbing in with them.
At first, I thought he was going to bail, but he stayed until all three of us were clean and ready to get out.
We all got dried and dressed, wandering downstairs to find Caden and Tyler already sitting on the couch, Skeeter lounging back in one of the recliners with an impatient look on his face.
“I thought it was a family meeting,” Lukas muttered, making Skeeter scoff.
“Me too, but Josie told me to stay.”
“And you just did as you were told?”
“Of course. Who knows what dirt I can get on you fuckers at a family meeting,” he joked, taking Rory’s hand and tugging her onto his lap.
Lukas dropped down beside Tyler, so I took that as a hint that he wanted space. I sat in the other recliner, just as Josie appeared.
“Oh, good. You’re all here,” she said with surprise, sitting on the empty couch and clasping her hands together on her thighs, her eyes going straight to Rory. “Please don’t take this as me prying, I just need to know about things happening under my roof.”
“Is this a safe sex talk?” Caden asked dryly, and she cringed.
“Look, I was under the impression that Rory was seeing Lukas, but it’s obvious Skeeter is still hanging around, and people talk. So, this isn’t a scolding, this is an information exchange.”
“You want to know who she’s fucking?” Skeeter chuckled, his tongue toying with one of his lip rings.
She scrunched her nose at that, but nodded. “Honestly? Yes. You’re all adults, but I need you to be safe. I’ve been blindsided by a few questions recently, and I’d love to have the facts so I know how to handle it.”
“Why?” Rory asked flatly, her fight or flight starting to kick in.
“You need to understand that people watch our every move. The Holloways, Johnsons, Gilberts, and James’ families are some of the richest in the country, so people get nosey. I also need to know that whatever you’re doing is smart. Are you using protection?”
“No,” Skeeter grinned, doing his best to make Josie uncomfortable. “Ruins the experience.”
“Would you shut the fuck up?” Rory hissed, her cheeks flushing. “I’m on the pill.”
“The pill won’t protect you from STDs, and it’s obvious this isn’t exclusive,” Josie replied, waving her hand in the air to indicate to all of us.
“I’m not sleeping with anyone else,” Caden answered, her eyes narrowing.
“You know better than to not use condoms.”
“I always did, but?—”
“You guys know taking the pill has to be consistent, right? I know this is a sensitive subject, but I highly doubt when Tristan took her that he was giving her the pill. She’d missed days of taking it, which means it’s not effective. I want all of you to get tested, and I’d like it if you found something better as birth control, Rory. Is this a relationship? Help me understand.”
“No,” I said before Rory could freak out too much, Josie’s attention coming to me. “We’re just seeing what works. A lot happened and we destroyed her trust, so this is just us trying to figure things out together. I’m happy to get tested.”
Josie’s eyes moved around the room to the others, who all nodded their agreement, and Rory cringed. “The pill is one of the only things that works for me.”
“Have you tried the shot?”
“No.”
From what I’d heard, birth control was expensive. She probably hadn’t tried a bunch of different things due to her finances.
“Can you maybe try that one? I’ll pay for it,” Josie encouraged, and I could tell this whole conversation was making Rory highly uncomfortable.
Lukas leaned forward, holding her gaze. “Hey, if you don’t want to, I’m happy to use condoms.”
