Page 51 of Silver Edge
“Yes. He’s my boss, nothing more,” I snapped.
“I see. Have you had sex with him?” Ton was the only other person I knew in the world who was more blunt than I was.
“No, I didn’t fuck my boss to get the job.” I fought the rising anger inside me, but I was losing.
“I didn’t say you had. How’s your desire to get high?”
I clutched my knee, forcing my voice to calm. “I’m not high, I didn’t fuck anyone I met on the street, and I haven’t touched a sip of alcohol. I’ve remained committed to my promise.”
There was silence for a moment. “You’re doing well, Scarlet. I’m proud of you.”
A peculiar feeling, a kind of lightness lifted me. That was the first time he’d praised me since the night I’d made the promise to commit to this lifestyle. He didn’t give compliments easily. “Thank you.”
“But there’s something else bothering you, isn’t there? You can ask me anything, Scarlet. I’m not here to judge you. I want to help prevent you from making mistakes, not condemn you when you do.”
My mind spun out of control with the thought of someone helping me decipher Drake. “I do have a question, but you won’t like it, and I’m not sure I want to ask you.”
“Whether I like it or not, you want an answer or you wouldn’t have brought it up. Instead, you would’ve made a quick excuse to get off the phone.” Ton was right. He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.
“Fine. How do you know when it’s okay to sleep with someone and not consider it promiscuous sex?”
A long silence filled the phone line.
“Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Don’t hang up, Scarlet. It’s not that. The fact you saidsleepinstead offuckorsexmeans something. You’ve never used the termsleepwith anyone. It shows you’re thinking in a different way. As far as an answer to your question goes, a committed relationship where you love each other is the best way to remain straight.”
I sighed. “How do you know when it’s love and not lust?”
He cleared his throat. “You’ll know, Scarlet, but don’t rush into anything. If you want me to talk to this guy, I will.”
“No, please. I don’t want that. Don’t worry. He’s not pressuring me or anything, so you have nothing to worry about. Don’t go showing up here with a golf club to beat him up.”
Ton laughed. “That only happened once.”
Out of all the forced conversations between us, this one was the strangest. Ton sounded different. “Are you okay?”
“You asking because I’m not yelling at you to come home?” Ton asked.
“Um, yeah. Actually, you’re not lecturing, ordering, or even Ton-threatening.”
“Ton-threatening? Really?” Ton tried to sound annoyed, but there was a hint of happiness to his voice.
“Are you high?” I blurted.
“No, Scarlet, I’m not high. I’m thankful. You’re doing well. I’ll admit, Walter kept me from racing to Atlanta to bring you home.”
I huffed. “You’ve been talking to Hawaiian? So you didn’t trust me.”
There was a moment of silence, and I knew he was choosing his words carefully. “No, I didn’t, but I’m starting to. It takes a while. I’ve been burned by people in the Straight Edge community before. I’ve seen too many fall back into their old ways.”
“That girl you brought in the day I left?” I asked, guilt slapping me in the face for abandoning her and Ton.
“She ran off, but she’s back now. I’m not sure she’s committed enough to make it, though.”
I had an urge to reach through the phone and hug him. Odd. “You can’t save everyone.”
“I can try.”
