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Daniel broke the silence. He shifted away, giving us space to breathe. “You said he accused you of sleeping with someone else while he was away. If he felt threatened by another guy—”
By you,I thought.And heshouldhave been threatened by you. You’re everything he isn’t.
“—he might have seen going bare as a way to tie you to him.”
“Yeah. I think that’s what the condom thing was all about. A test. Like if I said okay and I let him, then I was still his.”
Daniel nodded.
“But I’m nothis.”
“No.”
“And neither is Leslie. We’re human beings, not possessions.”
“Is he using a condom with Leslie?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes. “She’s on the pill. But she has no idea what he’s up to behind her back.”
Daniel’s brows quirked. “Do you think you should tell her?”
I squirmed, remembering Mike’s phone call insisting that if things weren’t over with me and Adam, then he’d have to tell Leslie the truth about us.
Should someone tell Leslie? That was the question of the hour, and everyone wanted the answer. “I don’t know. He loves her. I think now that we’re over…” I thought it might sound arrogant, but I said it anyway. “I think it was just me he wanted. I don’t think he’s sleeping with anyone else.”
Daniel’s eyes softened. “So you still trust him?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Lying for so long had stolen my ability to know who to trust. For that matter, could I even trust myself? I didn’t know anymore. I’d walked away from Daniel for Adam like an idiot. I needed to prove I was trustworthy to myself as much as to anyone else.
“No, I don’t.” I covered my eyes with my trembling hand, and Daniel squeezed my shoulder again. I hadn’t realized how talking about Adam would affect me, but my whole body shook.
“But you trust him withhersafety?”
I dropped my hand. “With me out of the picture, maybe he can just be happy?” I had to believe it, for all our sakes.
“Why did he hurt your arm? Was it over the condom?”
I sighed. “No. After our argument about the condom, we went out with the group to Fusion.”
“The gay club? Interesting choice.”
“Yeah, Leslie wanted to go. I think she was trying to get me to out myself.”
Daniel blew out a slow breath. “Damn.”
“So—I did. I outed myself.”
Daniel lifted his brows. “And how did you do that?”
“I didn’t make out with anyone. I just danced with some guys. But you’d have thought I’d sucked them off on the dance floor with the way Adam freaked out. He was so angry.” I swallowed hard. “He grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go. Dragged me off the dance floor.” I rubbed the bruises. “Then he twisted it to keep me from getting away.”
Daniel’s eyes flashed. “Has he ever done something like that before?”
“No.” I was back in the moment, back in the club. I could feel Adam’s hand around my wrist, see his livid eyes. “Our friend, Mike, and some of the people at the club stepped in. It was over after that.” I didn’t want to tell him about the additional words we’d had back at Adam’s dorm. The way Adam had cried. How he’d outed himself to Mike. The way he’d bargained and begged. That was Adam’s pain, not mine.
“So, you left?” He pushed the mess of curls off my forehead.
