Page 59 of Obnoxious Bad Boy

Drama. As if my pain is nothing.

I shake my head. “Why are you being so smug? It’s super easy not to get drawn into crazy relationship trouble if you just don’t experience those kinds of emotions.”

Yasmin shrugs and sips her boba tea. “I suppose that’s true, but you should still look out for yourself. I’m not saying this to be mean, but it’s been weeks, and you’re still a wreck.

“Well, I liked him. And now I’m never gonna see him again, unless it’s in passing. All because of a stupid mistake.”

Yas watches me for a moment and chews on a tapioca ball before speaking. “Don’t shout, okay?” she says, pretty much informing me that I will want to. “But maybe you’re lying to yourself? Maybe it was more than just a friends with benefits kind of situation?”

Ugh. “Can you stop alluding to this? I’m serious. I just like him as a person, and it bothers me that he has to deal with all this fallout.”

She stares at me. “You could have taken the spotlight off him if you really wanted to.”

Heat boils my brain. “What good would it do if I came out? We’d both be in trouble, and I don’t think it would really change his situation if I was miserable too!”

“So remind me again why he dumped you?”

Now that’s harsh. But also accurate, so I sit on the sofa and meet her gaze. “We were arrested and kept in the cell overnight. He started wondering how we should come out about our relationship, while I’ve been telling him from the start that I don’t want to be in one right now. So I reminded him of it, and that’s when he dumped me.”

The way she pointedly slurps her tea through a straw is infuriating. “So you didn’t want to be in a relationship, and now you’re not in one, but you’re unhappy about it? Sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it. But all sarcasm aside, maybe he just wasn’t the guy for you if he couldn’t keep things on the down-low.”

I rub my hands, staring at the tattooing chair where I first kissed Aaron, and unwanted emotions squeeze my guts, tying them into knots. “Well, I did like him. If the situation was different, I’d totally date him for real. But I was honest from the start. Maybe this kind of situation just isn’t something most people can do in the long-term,” I mutter, though maybe she’s right. Maybe I was dragging Aaron down? He has his future secured, and many plans my presence might have messed with.

We’re too different to make things work.

"I'm sure there must be a guy in the area who is in the closet who and will be happy to sleep with you on a regular basis. You’re hot stuff, Vex.” She makes a pouty face, trying to cheer me up, but her suggestion is all about looking for someone new and moving on from Aaron. As if it’s that easy. I want Aaron back in my arms, not some random guy to suck my dick.

I miss his texts, his smiles, even his rants about the books he’s reading. I like how opinionated he is.

I miss watching weird old movies together and the way we always had something interesting to discuss. Most of all, I miss the way he’d hug me with his whole body, as if I was the only island left in the middle of a stormy ocean.

I mattered to him as a person.

The classes at the university haven’t started yet, and I’m wondering whether he’s back already or still pickling in his parents’ home. And just like that, I’m shooting up to my feet.

“I think I’m gonna grab a coffee.”

Yasmin glances at the notebook on the reception desk. “Your next client’s in two hours, so you’ve got time to clear your head if you need it.”

“Thanks,” I say and grab my jacket, though my head is already at Rainbowology. If Aaron’s back, that’s the place where I have the best chance of spotting him.

Sage’s in the middle of a biomechanical-style tattoo when I ask him whether he wants something from the cafe, but once I take his order, I’m off, jogging along the damp pavement, toward the neon with the cafe’s name. It’s already dark, but I still cover my head with a hoodie, not wanting anyone approaching me.

I don’t know what I’ll do if Aaron is there, sitting in his usual spot with a laptop containing a story I never got to read, but I want to see him, make sure he’s fine.

My heart leaps when I spot him through the window. He looks so cozy in a massive dark green sweater I want to slide my hands under it. But my gut tells me something is off.

He’s not alone. Which wouldn’t be all that strange, since Aaron has friends he meets up with at the Rainbow. I haven’t seen that guy around though. He seems closer to my age than Aaron’s, and as much as I hate to admit it, he’s very handsome. Tall, blond, preppy, with an elegant plaid scarf hanging off his neck.

Though he also has shorts on, and pristinely white sneakers, which makes me shake my head, because who the hell walks around like this in the middle of winter in Indiana? The tennis racket resting by the table in a colorful case answers that question, but my thoughts come to a halt when the handsome dude leans toward Aaron with a smile. Is this... a date?

I can barely breathe as I push through the door, stopping when Aaron glances my way. He doesn’t say hi, just looks down, as if his tiny espresso was the most interesting thing on the planet. I shouldn’t feel slighted but I do, because after spending so much quality time together, surely we owe each other an acknowledgement at least? I storm through the cafe, ignoring the sweet scent of freshly baked pastries.

Aaron and his date happen to sit at a very non-romantic table, close to the sandwich counter. I skip the short line and go straight to the glass cabinet with food, which leaves me just one step away from the guy who’s forgotten me so completely.

Am I spying? I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but yes, yes I am. My blood is thumping so loudly I can barely hear them. I’m angry, I’m jealous, and a complete mess. Seeing Aaron after weeks of no contact wakens a beast in me. I want to fuck that mask of indifference off his face so bad, but instead I watch his reflection in the glass, pretending I can’t decide which sandwich to buy.

“Your mother said you ride horses. Is that true? That’s pretty important to me,” the blond Lacoste ad says.