Page 141 of Devious Lies (Cruel Crown)
“Done.” That glint never left his eyes. If anything, it grew, a balloon near its popping point. “Eat the food.”
Beside us, my phone buzzed. I shot my eyes to it, praying it wasn’t a notification from the Eastridge United app before I remembered I’d shut those off. Reed’s name flashed on the screen.
I didn’t move to answer.
Nash had picked up the sandwich again, but it hovered in his hands as he eyed the phone. “You’re ignoring him?”
“He’s proposing to Basil.”
I didn’t elaborate.
“I don’t understand it.”
“Neither do I.” I automatically bit into the sandwich when he held it up to me, then stepped back after I realized what I’d done. His amusement didn't waver as I glared at him, chewed, and swallowed. “I don’t like him like that anymore,” I added since he continued giving me a look that suggested I did.
“Sure.”
“I swear.”
“I believe you.”
“I mean it.”
I swiped hair out of my eyes and frowned, realizing something. Reed never made me feel like I floated in the air while tethered to the ground. A feeling I only knew existed because it was the type of off-balance that engulfed me whenever Nash neared.
As if the memory of who he used to be made who he currently was that much more enticing. The fighter who fed me turned into the billionaire C.E.O. who fed me, and not a single person in this fucking world could guess why, but at least I came closest.
“Reed and I never would have been good together anyway,” I added.
“I know.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”
Nash tilted his head and scanned my body. “Did Reed ever make you come?”
“We both know he didn’t. Either your point is flying over my head, or it’s so meaningless, giving it my attention would be a waste of time. I could be listening to Danez Smith poems right now.”
He ignored me, a glimpse of a smile forming. “Did he ever make you wet without touching you?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Not everything in life is about sex.”
Nash set the sandwich down. “Not my point.”
That smile shined in full force, and it occurred to me that I didn’t remember ever seeing it. His smile could cure cancer, abolish student loan debt, and bring world peace. I wanted to pocket it and save it for myself. World peace sounded boring anyway.
“Would you ever let Reed touch you like I have?” he asked, engulfing me with just his words. It was like we stood in the unfinished suite again, and I couldn’t get the taste of him off my tongue.
I focused on my toes, wiggled them inside my Chucks, and counted each one to distract myself. “I can barely believe I let you touch me,” I muttered.
Or that I’d let you do it again.
“Did you ever feel like fighting for him?” His eyes read my face, collecting all the answers he needed from the dumbfounded expression pasted on it. “If someone looked at him wrong, talked to him wrong, touched him wrong, you would pick up a fucking sword and dive into battle without remembering to grab your armor?”
“I’d fight for him,” I protested.
I would.
Reed was my best friend.
