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Right about now, I could throw something unfairly cruel his way, something about how I thought I had that with Charlie, but I’ve spent long enough making my dad pay for what happened with my ex-girlfriend. It never changed a damn thing anyway. So, this time, I don’t say a word.
But I do wish I could tell him that whatever the hell he’s talking about just isn’t in the cards for me. Because every girl I date never fits. They either want what I can’t give or give me what I don’t want. There is no compatibility with other people when you’re a self-absorbed asshole only looking out for yourself—or so I’ve been told.
“I hope you know I’m telling you this because I wouldn’t do it without your approval.”
“Bullshit,” I bark back. He’s lying, and I know it. “You want my approval, sure, but you would do it anyway.”
His mouth turns up in a small smile as he shrugs. “I do want your approval, though.”
“I don’t care. I really don’t. I think you’re crazy and probably a little stupid for expecting someone like Charlie to commit the rest of her life to you, but I’m not gonna stop you. It’s your funeral.”
He laughs. “Technically, it’s a wedding, but thanks.” We fill the silence with small talk, and he seems a little more relaxed now, as if he just needed to get that part off his chest. I still can’t picture him up at the altar with Charlie, but I’m going to choose not to think about it anymore.
Rule #5: You’re kinkier than you think.
Beau
Someone nudges my arm, and my eyes pop open. I’m staring up at the popcorn ceiling of Dash and Brody’s apartment. I must have nodded off after those hits off the joint. I lost count of how many times it made its rounds.
Brody’s offering me another, but I shake my head. Why couldn’t the asshole just let me sleep?
With a shrug, he puts the joint between his lips and turns his attention back to the video game he’s playing with Dash. There’s another guy over here that I’ve only met a couple times, and he’s browsing his phone on the recliner, his presence making me uncomfortable. I hate when they bring new people over. I miss when it was just us three.
Well, technically it was four before Peyton went and gotengaged. Jesus. Are we at that age already? I’m only twenty-two, and he’s only a year older than me. I’m nowhere fucking near ready to even think about that shit.
And to think Charlie is about to get engaged. If we hadn’t broken up, would I be ready to propose? The idea seems insane to me. I mean…what’s the fucking rush?
“Hey Victor,” Dash says to the guy on the recliner. “You want in?” he asks, holding up the controller.
“No thanks, man. I’m chatting with some chick on this app.”
“Like a hookup app?” I ask. When he glances up at me, I sense a little pretentiousness on his face. As if he’s so much more mature than me.
“No,” he replies with a smug grin. “It’s more than that. It…uh…matches you up with other people who like the same sex stuff you like.”
I freeze, my eyes laser-focused on the coffee table, afraid that if I move, I’ll give everything away. Yeah, I know that app. I know it really fucking well.
“What?” Dash blurts out with a laugh.
“Yeah, it’s calledSalacious. You take this kink quiz and based on the results—"
“Are you guys hungry?” I interject. “I’m going to order some pizza.”
Brody stares at Victor. “Like…what kind of sex stuff?”
Victor turns his phone toward the guys, and I have to look away. “This chick I’m talking to wants a guy to degrade her and shit.”
“What?”
“Holy shit,” the guys reply.
“Sounds fucked up,” I mutter, rising from the couch and heading to the kitchen to escape the conversation. I don’t offer up the information to my friends about my dad’s company, and I certainly don’t delve into the relationship between him and Charlie. I keep my shit private.
I watch from the tiny kitchen as the guys abandon their video game to pull out their phones, both downloading the app like it’s fucking Candy Crush or something, and the sight of it grates on my nerves.
Maybe they’d think my dad was some kind of hero for owning a sex club and a kink matchup app, but I know they’d look at me differently if I told them.
“Beau, do you have this app?” Dash asks, his eyes glued to the screen.
