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“What did you explain?” I scoffed. “That you had shit going on? What shit? That you were busy? With what?” I pushed at his chest. “You haven’t explained a damn thing.”
Ross grabbed my hands, then yanked me hard up against his muscled body. “Look, Sutton, I’ve been doing my best to take my thumps because this is all my fault,” he said. “However, don’t, for one second, think that my reputation for being fair and patient is going to get you out of this.”
My brows rose. “What in the hell does that mean?”
“It means that I want you,” he repeated. “And I’ll stop at nothing to get you back.” His blue gaze held my green one captive. “I think that’s the point you’re missing in all this.”
“So, because your last name is Carmichael, you get to just…dismiss people, then acknowledge them again when it’s convenient for you?” I huffed. “You have a lot of nerve, Ross.”
His hands tightened around mine, still trapped against his chest. “Fine,” he growled. “How about we make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” I asked, regretting giving him any kind of chance the second I did it.
“Tell me you don’t miss me,” he challenged. “Tell me you don’t think about me anymore. Tell me you don’t slide your hand down your panties and think of all the ways I used to make you scream. Tell me you don’t miss how I used to tie you down and torture you until you cried. Tell me you don’t miss how my cock used to stretch you wide and ready. Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t think about all the ways my tongue used to taste you, my hands used to touch you, and my cock used to fuck you.” His hands tightened around mine. “Convince me that you’re completely done with me, and I’ll walk away and never bother you again.”
My chest was heaving, and my throat was dry. There was no way I could tell him all that and not be lying. I did miss the way he made my body feel. I missed it all. Plus, it was a shameful admission to confess that I did masturbate to the sinful memories that I had of him. In fact, I did it more often than was healthy for my heart and mind.
“It’s not anything I can’t find with someone else,” I lied. “While I might miss the way you made my body feel, I don’t miss the way you made my heart feel.”
Ross let go of my hands, and I was certain my candor was going to be enough to make him walk away, but I was wrong. Instead of walking away-properly shamed like he should be-his hands grabbed my face, and his lips came down on mine in a way that transported me back in time. It felt like these past two months hadn’t even happened. Ross was kissing me in a way that was made to consume all rationale thought. I felt it all the way down to my toes, and it wasn’t his fault that I wasn’t telling him to stop.
When Ross finally broke off the kiss, his eyes were like blue flames, burning me alive with just a simple look.
Or maybe it wasn’t so simple.
“I’m not giving up,” he announced. “I don’t give a fuck if it takes forever to get you to come around, but I’m not giving up.”
“Ross-”
“I’m going to make it right, Sutton,” he said, talking over me. “And not even you are going to stop me from making it right.”
Ross stormed off angrily, and all I could do was stand there and watch. I also wondered what in the hell did he have to be so angry about.
Chapter 11
Ross~
It’s been a hell of a weekend, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I kept finding it harder and harder to hold onto that precious patience of mine. Every day became a harder fight, but determination kept me looking at the bigger picture, keeping my temper in check.
After another fail with Sutton on Thursday, instead of spending all weekend winning her back, I’d had to drive to the city to bail Banks out of a goddamn mess. Usually, it was just some money, or a ride, or something simple like that. This time, it’d been much more than that.
Upon arriving at his apartment, he had confessed to losing his roommate months ago. He was being evicted because he couldn’t make the rent, and it was homelessness or another dip into my bank account. While he still had his job at the club, everything else was shit.
I ended up spending the entire weekend helping him find an affordable place to stay. When Banks had been offended that I’d pick such a dumpy place for him, I had nearly lost it. Giving him a choice between the ‘dumpy’ apartment and being homeless, he had chosen the apartment, I had paid the first, last, and deposit, then had given him another couple of thousand before making my way back home.
The entire drive back had been a fucked-up dip into the inevitable. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep this up. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep rescuing my brother and still maintain what I had going on. I loved my brother, but I wasn’t about to risk my future for his. This wasn’t about his sexual identity, and I was realizing that more and more. Banks was a spoiled little shit, and he was using his estrangement with our parents as an excuse to be an asshole.
I knew he had some emotional issues going on, and I understood that. Being disowned by your parents was a fucked-up deal. However, I’ve offered to pay for counseling a million times over to help him deal with his emotional and mental hang ups. His partying to the point of irresponsibility was beginning to become too much.
Plus, if it hadn’t been enough to be dealing with Banks’ shit, Sutton hadn’t returned a single text all weekend, and my calls had been immediately declined. While I still didn’t blame the girl, that kiss was proof enough not to give up on those two weeks that we’d had together. Sutton might still be hurt and mad as fuck at me, but the girl still wanted me, and I wasn’t above using that to my advantage.
Monday had been typical and busy, but with Tuesday being one of Sutton’s easy days, the plan was to harass her until she caved. At least, that had been the plan until August Remington walked up to me as I walked out of class.
This motherfucker.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you guys are doing, Carmichael,” he said, starting out on the wrong motherfucking foot.
I stopped, and the only reason I stopped was because this wasn’t a conversation to have out loud. “What the fuck are you taking about?”
