I fucked up. But what’s done is done. Faith and her piece of shit boyfriend will be long gone by now. I don’t even know if they found what was left of my money before I returned.
“Where are you going?” Ryder barks when I take off toward the parking lot to find a way home.
“Grabbing a cab.”
“Fuck that, man. I’ll take you home, help you fix the place up.”
Spinning around, I glare at him but the heat in it doesn’t last long, my anguish over the whole thing taking over instead.
“Everything will be okay, bro. We’ll figure this shit out.”
“I’m not sharing her with you,” I state.
“Yeah,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “We’ll fucking see about that.”
* * *
“He really went for it, huh?” Ryder asks, looking around at the state of my house.
I grunt in response, making a beeline for the freezer. It’s not the most inventive hiding place, I’m more than aware of that but it worked for me. Or at least it did before that bitch returned to my life.
Pulling the door open, I shove my hand inside the cold space, reaching right to the back. Relief floods me when I find my stash.
“What the fuck are you— oh,” Ryder breathes when I reveal my find. “So that was what all this was about?”
“I’d say so. I gave her almost half just to get rid of her. She knew I had more, just obviously didn’t know the hiding place.” I shrug. Putting it back in the freezer.
“Thank fuck because it looks like you’re going to need it to sort this shit out,” he mutters.
Ignoring the mess, I stomp over shattered plates and glasses that litter my kitchen floor, and fall down onto the couch, utterly defeated.
“I can’t afford this place anyway,” I confess. “It’s probably a sign I need to find somewhere else. Somewhere smaller, cheaper.”
“But you just got a promotion, you got more money right?”
“Yeah, but this place is still too much. It was fine when I had help with the rent but—”
“For fuck’s sake, Styx. Just accept my help. I’ll take your spare room. I’ll pay you, you know I’m good for it.”
“It’s fucking charity and—”
“No. No, it’s fucking not. It’s being a friend. It’s helping you when you need it. And hell, it’s not like I’m gonna crash at the compound forever. Sometimes it is nice to get away and have some breathing space. It seems like the perfect solution to me. I can come and go, you get the rent you need to keep your home and once we’ve found a way to make it up to our kitten then we can—”
“Don’t,” I growl.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re not sharing, you mentioned. But I call bullshit on that.” I sneer at him, although I must admit that I don’t totally hate his suggestion. “You love her, you don’t want to share her. I get that. But also, I’m pretty sure she wants me. You just need to figure out if you love her enough to put up with me too.”
“You’re assuming she ever talks to either of us again.”
Ryder waves my concerns off as if they’re nothing.
“What?” I snap. “What do you know that I don’t?”
“Nothing. Other than that girl is pretty addicted to both our cocks. She’ll talk to us again. Even if it’s to demand we make better use of our mouths.” A smirk curls at his lips.
“Fuck,” I hiss, scrubbing my hand down my face. “I fucking hope you’re right about that.”
“One-hundred-fucking-percent, bro. She’s gonna be begging for another ride on my dick before long.”