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Now he’s telling him.

Ben’s face is still red, but his gaze doesn’t leave mine. I’m not ready to forgive him, although I want to hear whatever made him do that.

Bobby looks at me once, apparently decides I no longer need a guard, and heads for the living room. He moves so fast he nearly catches one shoulder on the wall.

I wait until he’s gone. “Now we’re sharing secrets?”

“I talked to Grayson.” Ben rubs the back of his neck. “And Micah.”

My fingers tighten around the beer. “Micah?”

“I went to Marlowe’s. He was there.”

“Why did you go to Marlowe’s?”

Sindre walks into the kitchen before Ben can answer. He goes straight to the cooler beside the island and starts digging through the ice for another beer, although there are several sitting right on top.

Ben’s mouth closes. Sindre glances between us while he opens his drink. He is absolutely waiting to find out whether we’re going to keep talking in front of him.

Somebody else is going to come looking for beer before Sindre gets bored enough to leave. I put mine on the counter. “Come on.”

Ben follows me down the hall. Every step takes us farther from the party and makes what we’re doing feel less like a quick conversation. By the time I open my bedroom door, I can hear him breathing behind me.

I let him walk in first, then close the door.

That puts him between me and the bed.

I want to put him on that bed and fuck him until he says my name the way he used to. I don’t even know if he wants to try again.

Great.

Ben stops near the foot of the bed. The dresser behind him still holds a pair of his gray sweats, some socks, and a shirt he forgot after one of the nights he stayed over. I thought about bringing everything to practice in a bag, but returning his clothes felt like agreeing we were done. I kept shutting the drawer instead.

He has no idea they’re there.

I stay beside the door. He’s close enough that I can feel his body heat, and I hate how badly I want him to cross the rest of the room. Wanting him is what got me through every smaller answer he offered before.

“Are you here to tell me you’ve figured everything out and I’m not an exception?” I ask.

“No.”

My hand goes back to the doorknob. I asked for the truth, but I was hoping for a different one.

Ben sees the movement and starts talking before I can open the door. “I think you are the exception. I seriously have never looked at another dude the way I’ve looked at you or wanted another guy like I want you.”

The same word hurts just as much this time. Telling Bobby and Micah about us doesn’t help if Ben still wants me to live in a category where none of this has to count.

I turn the knob. “Okay, well, that’s flattering.”

“I’m not done.”

I don’t open the door, but I keep my hand where it is. “By all means.”

Ben takes one step toward me. “I’ve also never looked at another woman the way I’ve looked at you.”

That gets my attention, although I’m not giving him the satisfaction yet. “I know you weren’t a virgin.”

“Stop being a dick and let me talk.”