Peter
Ididn’t bother with the limo.
Instead, I cruise through the streets in the Aston, the engine roaring as I crank it up. There’s nothing quite like driving one of these cars. For a moment there, it’s almost as if machine and man become one. It’s a feeling that can’t be replicated...unless we’re talking about Becky. She’s the only thing that can make my heart race faster than a fucking Aston Martin.
“BeckyandDarian,” I mutter under my breath, the memories of what happened bubbling up to the surface. His lips on mine, his groans of pleasure, and… “No, I’m not going there. Not right now.”
I rev up the engine and race through the streets as fast as I can. When I finally get to Greenwich Village, the adrenaline coursing through my veins has already made me forget all about Darian. Instead, my mind is abuzz with thoughts of Becky. God, how is it possible to want someone this fucking much? It’s the sweetest kind of madness I’ve ever known.
I walk up the steps and knock at her door. No comes to get me, but I hear voices coming from inside the house. With a shrug, I try the handle. Surprisingly, the door isn’t locked, and so I just step inside.
“Hey,” I start to say, “I came as fast as I—”
A glass flies across Becky’s living room, its path leading straight to my face. Without even thinking about it, I duck under the damn thing, and it hits the wall with a sharp noise, the glass shattering into a thousand shards of crystal.
“What the fuck was that for?” I cry out, looking from the shattered glass to Becky. She’s standing in the middle of the living room, arms folded under her breasts, and she’s glaring at me. She’s not happy, that much I can tell.
Standing beside her is Darian. Immediately, I clench my fists, the adrenaline inside me slowly turning into rage.
Has Darian been dripping poison into Becky’s ears? That has to be it. Why else would she hurl a glass at my face? Judging by how hard she threw the damn thing, she was definitely going for a bullseye. Thank God I have fast reflexes, or else I’d have to pay a surgeon for a new nose.
“Oh, so you’re gonna stand there and pretend you don’t know,” Becky says, pushing the words past her gritted teeth. Whatever bullshit Darian has been feeding her, she clearly believes it. “How could you?”
“How could Iwhat?” Now I’m the one frowning. “Will anyone tell me what the fuck is going on? Look, I don’t know what Darian has been telling you, but—”
“This isn’t about Darian,” she cuts me short. “This is about you.”
“Please, go on.” I roll my eyes at her. Probably not the smartest thing to do, since she only seems to be getting more pissed by the second. Just to be careful, I narrow my eyes and see if there’s another glass in her hands. Thankfully, there isn’t.
“You sold us out,” Becky hisses. “You pretended to be on our side, but you were just playing us. You signed with Max.”
“I...what?” I want to be mad, but the only thing I manage to do is laugh. “Look, I can explain what—”
“Don’t think that I’m an idiot,” she insists. “I saw the documents.”
“Hang on, that doesn’t—”
“You just can’t help it, can you?” Darian growls, stepping in front of Becky. He has his fists clenched, and his shoulders are rolled back in that aggressive way of his. His eyes are narrowed into dangerous slits, and he has the look of a man spoiling for a fight. “For a moment there, I thought that you had changed...but you didn’t. You remain the same self-centered, spoiled asshole you’ve always been. You still think you’re better than everyone else.”
“Look, dude, if you want to run your mouth, you better see a therapist,” I growl back at him. “You seem to have some unresolved issues in your past. Now, get out of the way and let me speak to Becky. Your ugly mug is making me nauseous.”
I step forward and, right when I’m about to sidestep him, the asshole shoves me back.
“What the hell, man?” I clench my fists. If this asshole wants a fight, then he’s about to get one. “Stop behaving like a little boy and get out of my way.”
“No.” He says it with such finality that I can’t help but become angrier. “You act all high and mighty all the time, but you’re a piece of shit, Peter. Even back then, when we were in college, I could tell that—”
“This again?” I grit my teeth so hard that pain shoots up my jaw. “Stop living in the fucking past, Darian. That shit with Vanessa has nothing to do with this.”
“I’m not the one who’s living in the past,” he replies. “You are. All these years, you’ve been angry at God knows what, always trying to compete with me and—”
“Compete with you?” I laugh. It’s a dry kind of laughter, but fuck it. “I don’t need to compete with party boys. I don’t need to compete withanyone. I know my worth, Darian.”
“You’re worth nothing,” he says. “The three of us, we were supposed to be together in this...but you sold us out. You’re trash, Peter.”
I don’t have to stand here and listen to this.
Before I even know what the hell I’m doing, I’ve cocked my arm back. A split second later and my fist is flying straight into Darian’s face. He tries to move out of the way, but it’s too late. My fist connects with his face and he reels back.
“You fucking asshole,” he growls, and then he’s the one throwing fists my way. He does it fast—too fast for me to dodge—and one of his punches catches me in the stomach. I double over, but I’m not quite done. Pushing through the pain, I charge at him like a hull and tackle him to the ground.
We roll around the floor like two gladiators in the arena. Sure, we don’t have spears or swords, but that’s for the best—the last thing Becky needs is to have Darian’s bloody entrails splattered on the wall. Even so, there’s enough hatred here to keep us going.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Becky rushes toward us, and she sounds so pissed off that I can’t help but stop myself from battering Darian. That gives her enough time to get behind me. Grabbing me by the back of my shirt, she gives me a savage pull, yanking me away from Darian. “I want you out of my house! Right now!”
“You heard her,” Darian says, blood trickling down from his cut lip. “Better get going or else I—”
“No,” Becky snaps. “I want youbothgone.”