Page 31 of People Like Us

“You didn’t have your cough drops this morning,” he noted.

I shifted a bit, before saying: “No.”

“Did you forget them, or did you not need them?” There was something desperate in his voice that I couldn’t pinpoint. It made me nervous how hard he was to read. Most people were easier to perform for.

I knew exactly what people wanted to hear from me in most cases, which I loved because it made managing their expectations easier. But with August, it felt like he only wanted the truth, and that wasn’t something I was well versed in giving.

“I didn’t need them,” I swallowed around the words as they left me.

“Why?” he asked, brows sliding inward.

“You know why,” I said around a smile, tilting my head to the side.

“I don’t,” he said quickly. “You could’ve not needed them because you didn’t blow him,” he shrugged, “or you could’ve not needed them because you didn’t let him beat the shit out of your throat, Lola.” His expression was too unbothered for his tone to be as cold as it was.

“The first,” I said quickly, growing agitated with his insistence that I be detailed in my answers.

“Did you have sex?” he asked, quieter now.

I sighed. “Yes, August. I had sex with my boyfriend. Does that bother you?”

“No,” he said easily. “Does it bother you that I don’t care?”

“Why would it?” I said, the irritation beginning to come out in my voice. I started to pull my finger away from his, but he only held mine tighter.

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to be jealous,” he said with another casual lift of his shoulders. His attention went back to the TV.

I shifted, turning my body toward his. “Why would I want you to be jealous, August?”

He glanced at me briefly, an annoyed look suddenly on his features. “Don’t do that, Sin. There is no one to perform for here. I have no interest in being friends with the version of you that only says what you think I want to hear. You know I think about you. And I know you don’t think about me the same way, but we both knew you do still think about me. I’m not going to judge you for liking the attention I enjoy giving you, so don’t pretend it isn’t happening, okay?”

I bit my lip, trying to ignore that he had just said my earlier thoughts out loud.

“Okay,” I agreed. Then, after a beat, “So, you aren’t jealous?”

He shook his head. “Anyone could have you like that, and as long as you want them too, then that’s fine. But I want you like this, and I know no one else gets you like this.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Honest,” he said easily.

I shifted again, looking back at the TV. “How do you know I’m honest with you?”

“Because you have nothing to lose with me,” he said simply. I didn’t have time to think this over before he asked: “Did you fake it?”

It took me a second to realize what he was asking. “No,” I finally answered.

I could almost hear the smile in his voice as he asked: “How did that make you feel?”

“Irritated,” I said without really thinking about it.

“What else?” he pushed.

“Robbed,” I answered, surprising myself. “Like I didn’t get what I worked for, and it pissed me off that he didn’t care. He didn’t even offer to do it another way.” August’s ring finger had reached over, pulling mine under it.

“Did you tell him you were pissed?”

“No,” I said, and the word came out breathless.