“Born and raised,” she says, her chin jutting just a bit.
“Are you a Darling?” I ask.
She laughs. “You’re wondering how an out lesbian got a job at a fancy school in a small town like Faulkner?”
“Well…”
“The way I see it, if you want to make it around here, you can either be what they want you to be, or do what they want you to do,” she says. “Most days, think I made the right choice.”
She swings around and heads out, leaving me standing there to digest her words.
I start for the door that leads out to the football field, but just as I reach it, it swings open, and I find myself face to face with Preston. My heart does a little flip in my chest, and not for a pleasant reason. I freeze, and he pauses when he sees me, just staring for a long moment.
Finally, he steps inside, forcing me back a step if I don’t want to collide with his broad, solid chest. He releases the door, letting it close behind him with a click of finality when it latches. His eyes never leave mine. “I thought I told you to disappear and not come back,” he says, his voice a threat that sends a shiver cascading across my skin.
“I thought I told you I won’t bow to your demands,” I shoot back, forcing my tone to remain even, though my heart is hammering in my chest.
“You’re not very smart, are you?” Preston asks, taking a single step toward me.
“Don’t confuse lack of obedience with lack of intelligence,” I answer. “I know what I’m doing.”
I curse myself the moment the words are out of my mouth. I can see Preston latch onto them, his sharp eyes focusing in on me with more interest than I like.
“I bet,” Preston says, cocking his head to one side. “I think you’re more conniving than my boy gives you credit for.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, taking a step back, hoping to put distance between us without him noticing.
His eyes drop to my feet for just a second. I’m not pulling anything over on this Darling boy. “I think you do,” he says slowly. “You like to play the innocent victim, but you’ve got venom in your veins, don’t you, Dolce?”
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever called me by my name instead of that stupid dog name you made for me.”
“You’re more than a dog,” he says, stepping forward.
I step back, quirking my head to peer up at him. “I am?”
Quick as a snake, his hand whips out, his fingers closing around my wrist. “You think you are, anyway,” he says. “You think you’re a honey badger. But I’m going to teach you different, little doggie. You’re going to learn that if we say you’re a dog, you’re a fucking dog.”
“Let me go,” I say, yanking at my arm.
Preston’s grip only tightens. “See, that’s the problem with you,” he says. “You keep thinking you have the power to negotiate. That you have something we want. But you don’t.”
“I have something Devlin wants,” I blurt, digging my fingernails into his hand, trying to free my other wrist.
Preston lets out a snort of laughter. “No. We didn’t take your virginity because we wanted it. We took it because we knew you valued it.”
So, Devlin told them I was a virgin. Of course he fucking did.
“Youdidn’t take anything,” I point out. “Your family didn’t fuck me, Preston. No one touched me but Devlin.”
Preston lets out a snort of laughter. “No, baby girl,” he says, his voice dropping. “Maybe Devlin’s the only one who wrecked that sweet pussy, but when my family says you’re fucked, you’re fucked.”
“Well, I’m sure Devlin will be happy to know his dick belongs to all of you.”
“It sure as shit doesn’t belong to you,” Preston says, stepping even closer. “You think because he busted your cherry that he gives a shit what happens to you afterwards? I could throw you naked at his feet, and he’d just step right over you and keep walking.”
“Well, he’s given a fuck a few more times since then,” I retort, anger pulsing through the hurt. Because he’s saying the same things Devlin does, and after a while, I can’t help but wonder if it’s true. Maybe I’m nothing but a stupid girl, thinking it means something when all it means to Devlin is an easy fuck.
A flash of surprise crosses Preston’s face, so fast I could almost believe I imagined it. But I didn’t. He doesn’t know that Devlin’s been with me again.