AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oz shrugged. “Ten of Coins. Coins mean money.”
“You’re not possibly that simple.” Graham had forgotten his work
“Pretend I am. You don’t fall under that umbrella of those who can’t, teach. You know your shit. What made you say Fuck being paid what I’m worth. I’ll teach.”
Graham was back to the blank staring with no words.
That was super awkward. Like, chibi Luna sweat-dropping, waiting to see what came next.
“What?” Oz asked.
“I’m waiting for the follow up comment about corrupting students.” Graham’s voice was flat.
“I obviously don’t have room to talk. I’m obsessed with the same woman, for probably very similar reasons.”
Obsessed? Oz was obsessed with me? The power in the word rattled my thoughts. Was it wrong that I liked it?
“Success has a lot of shapes,” Graham said. “For me, it includes helping other people achieve their potential.”
And there was that sexy teacher vibe I adored in both men. Another thing they had in common besides me.
“Hmm.” Oz grunted.
Graham scowled. “What is that? Hmm?”
“I respect that,” Oz said.
Simple enough. They’d reached common ground without getting too snippy. Was it too soon to hope this was a trend? If so, I needed the animosity to lessen a lot faster.
Graham half closed the lid on his laptop. “What about you? You were one of the original crew, and most of them are still big names in some way. You vanished.”
“I didn’t choose the video game life. The video game life chose me.”
I let a tiny laugh out at Oz’s reply.
“Really?” Graham’s flat question said he wasn’t as amused.
Oz hadn’t looked at a computer since we sat down. He was stretched out on the blanket, completely casual. “Cord recruited me. I fucked around there for a while, and like you, I wanted to be doing something that had more impact. I’d go into detail, but you’ve already checked up on me.”
Graham shrugged. “I won’t apologize for that.”
“You sure?” Oz straightened and leaned in. “I can’t needle you into feeling guilty? Because I’m getting the impression self-flagellation is your kink.”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you get off on the degradation, or is it an act?”
Oz’s question probably sounded strictly confrontational to anyone, especially Graham, but after last night, it held a deeper meaning for me.
The deep creases in Graham’s forehead implied he wasn’t impressed. “What kind of question is that? Do I beat off while I tell my reflection how shitty I am for the mistakes I’ve made? No.”
“Would you do it while you watched someone else fuck the woman you adore? Would you suck his cock clean after he’d been inside her?”
Geez, this was making me squirm. I didn’t want Oz to be so bluntly aggressive, but I also wanted to hear Graham’s answer.
Red crept up Graham’s neck to color his cheeks, and he clenched his jaw. “Are the rumors true, about the early days of Cord?” His question was calm, as though he were asking about the weather.
“There’s a truth to most rumors. The degree of truth is the real question,” Oz said.
