Page 21 of Hushed

“We’ve been fucking on and off for four years. It wasn’t supposed to be a big affair thing, and I am really sorry about doing it in your bed, but it was kind of hot. So when he called me up from Idaho to say he’s crossing the country all alone and unprotected, I stepped in.”

“What the absolute fuck!” Bastien screams.

“Baby boy, it’s fine. I told you he’d be cool with it.”

“I’m not cool with it!” Brice shouts in my ear. “How many times did you fuck my boyfriend in my house?”

“Actually, precedence. I came first, so technically, you were fucking my boyfriend. And be fair to him. He did try to lock me out of your place a few times. He said he would fix that window I had to break before you came home. He did, right?”

“Oh, my God,” Bastien moans.

“Which window? The cracked one in the bedroom?” Brice demands.

“Sorry about that,” I say, delighted to give him a concrete image.

“We were not a thing then!” Bastien shouts, scrambling for the phone. “I was never your boyfriend! Brice, he’s joking. We just had sex a few times. He’s not and never was my boyfriend! Give me that fucking phone! What is wrong with you, Levi?!”

“Baby boy, let me clear up a misconception. You are my boyfriend. Jesus Christ. Do you remember when I had you over your own kitchen table and I made you agree that I was your boyfriend?” I lower my voice. “You know how demanding he gets with a really good fuck. Oh, actually, you wouldn’t. But that’s okay. That’s where I came in.”

Bastien shrieks. “Brice, I never cheated on you! You have to believe me!”

“Of course not, honey,” I say. “You just slipped, and I happened to be the one watching outside your window for the exact right times when I knew you were the most vulnerable, and that’s how I won you in the end. It was a long game, but worth it, don’t you think?”

Brice huffs into the phone. “You two deserve each other,” he says. The phone goes dead.

I smile and hand it back to Bastien. “See? Problem solved.”

“By making me into a monster!” he shouts.

“No, actually. By making me into a monster. Think about what I sounded like. I sound like a crazy person who fucked you once, laid a claim, and has been stalking ever since. You are, officially, radioactive for him.” I take a bow.

“That was cruel.”

“Maybe. Sometimes cruelty is in the eye of the beholder. He can move on now. And so can you.” I trace his cheek with my knuckles. “He’s never going to bother you again.”

“You’re not like that in real life, are you?”

“Kinda late to ask that question, isn’t it?” I ask, laughing. I take his hand. “You want to see what they’re doing down here in this park?”

He purses his lips, like he’s not sure how to answer, and for a moment, he looks a little nervous. And then he offers me a hesitant smile. “Okay,” he says in a small voice.

“I will never hurt you.”

“If I keep being a good boy?” he asks. This time, he doesn’t disguise his fear.

“No. Not even if you’re not. Please trust me. I’m worth it.” I kiss his knuckles.

This time, when he gives me the smile, it’s doubtful for a beat or two, and then he takes a deep breath. “Thank you, Kitten.”

“For being too crazy for your ex to mess around with?”

“Oh, my God, the stories he’s going to tell his friends about me now.”

“About how I stalked you into submission?”

He giggles and I laugh with him for a beat. “You ready for our next adventure?”

He nods. “I guess so. I had a really mean math teacher when I was sixteen, if you really feel like settling scores.”