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“I get her ass!” I declare, making Rose gasp. Holden just barks a laugh.
“This is a serious moment, you two,” Rose scolds, and I nod in agreement. “And you can’t call shotgun on orifices,” she adds, and I scoff.
“The fuck I can’t. Holden took your virginity. I get that radioactive ass,” I say, smirking at the way her mouth falls open.
“You told him? When? We’ve been here for an hour…”
“I didn’t say shit,” Holden defends, throwing his hands up.
“He was smiling. I could tell,” I say, making Rose sigh heavily.
“Insufferable,” she grumbles, making us both chuckle.
“You won’t be saying that when we have you bent over taking two–” My words cut off when a shoe is chucked at my head. “Hey, rude!”
CHAPTER FIFTY
“Lover of Mine” by Louyah
REN
The soft knock on my door can only be one person. In a house filled with five other men, they all knock like the fucking FBI. I sigh. I had a feeling she’d want to talk.
“It’s open.”
“Ren?” Rose asks as she cracks the door and peeks inside. Her worried gaze meets mine, but it doesn’t last. She gasps loudly before bursting through the door. “Oh my god, who are you?!” she cries, and I flinch.
“Butterscotch,” I say and watch as Rose scoops up the seven-year-old cat off my bed. Her fur is long and white with a caramel tint to it. I was using a mouse on a stick to play with her. Now that Rose has entered, the mouse is forgotten. Can’t blame either of them. They’re both cute.
I adopted Butterscotch eleven weeks ago. It was impulsive and a little irresponsible, but at the time, I was feeling…destructive. Self-destructive.
It’s interesting that in a moment of weakness, I went in search of drugs and found myself outside an animal shelter. Instead of self-harm, I found comfort. I can’t deny that that’s exactly what Butterscotch is. Comfort. Company. A pain in my ass.
“Hello, little, precious baby princess!” Rose coos at the cat, who soaks it up like the little attention whore she is. Which is exactly why I brought her home. I wanted Rose to like her. I knew Butterscotch would love Rose.
I look away. I never wanted her to want me until I did. Now, I’m jealous of a fucking cat. My throat tightens. Rose loves Nash. I know she loves Holden too. But in the same way he loves her? I bite my tongue so I don’t demand answers from her.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Ren,” Rose says, putting Butterscotch back on the bed. “That was not why I came in here. She’s very distracting,” Rose laughs, but I just nod, not looking at her again. I can’t.
“It’s fine.”
“Can I talk to you? There’s some stuff I need to say,” she says softly, but I shake my head.
“I heard. You don’t have to tell me. It’s fine. You don't owe me anything.” I glance up at her, finding her frowning. I look away. Fuck, she’s so beautiful. I missed her so much. There’s a long stretch of silence, but when Rose speaks, she catches me off guard with her words.
“Do you remember when I was fifteen, and some of the girls in my dance studio were teasing me? Calling me chicken legs?” she asks. I shake my head. “Well, I was crying, and you asked me if I wanted you to throw water balloons at them,” she laughs. “Relatively harmless revenge.” When I don’t respond, she goes on. “What about when I was eleven, and you barked at some kids who were teasing me during one of the recitals? I think you and the guys were with Nix at more of my recitals than some of the other kids' parents were.” She huffs a laugh.
“No, Rose.” I lean back, unsure why I’m lying. I do remember those moments. I remember every moment with Rose.
“Well, I do. I remember when I was seventeen, and the guy I had a massive crush on said I was ugly, so you spent the next hour telling me the worst standup jokes I’d ever heard until I smiled. Or the time that you bought me ice cream after I fell off my bike, just to make me feel better.”
“What's your point?” I grumble. Why am I being a dick?
“Thank you. For being there. For never letting me feel like I was less than, even when you were doing your best to keep your distance. Of course, I felt like a cock block…but never like I was worthless.” She tries to joke, but when I don’t even crack a smile, she sits beside me on the bed.
“I’m sorry, Ren. For the way I acted. For pressuring you…” My head snaps up, and I frown. Pressuring me? The fuck is she talking about? “I was in rehab. That's why I was gone. I’m doing better now, but…but I thought you should know, you had nothing to do with me leaving.” I search her face, looking for any sign that she’s fucking with me.
“Why would you say that?”
