Page 92 of Quiet Obsession
She’s not hurt, not angry, not disappointed... she looks like she expected this. Fuck. Isthiswhat she was afraid of? That I’d pick someone else? That she’d give me her words, her body, her trust, and I’d betray it all?
We stare at each other, her expression not shifting until Dash nudges her shoulder. She tears her eyes away, smiles at him, then turns on the sole of her white Chuck and leaves.
“Get off me,” I snap at Zara.
She cocks an eyebrow. “What?”
“Get the fuck off me before I move you myself.”
“What the hell is your problem?” she huffs, jamming her knee into my thigh as she lurches to her feet, readjusting her top. “You’re weird, Creed.”
I don’t grace that with a reply as she stomps away, her ponytail swinging left and right.
“What was that about?” Hyde asks.
If I were as obnoxious as Dash, I’d grab my cock and sayshe wasn’t doing it for me, but I just shrug.
“Not in the mood.”
His brows scrunch and eyes move toward Dash still frozen in place, staring after Millie. My skin fucking crawls and knee bounces while I hold myself back from heading to the bar.
“Alright,” Hyde finally says, pushing to his feet. “Come on. There’s something I want to talk to you about, and I need a few drinks to get it out.”
Fuck.
***
The bar it is, though I’m fucking sober, so what’s the point?
Hyde sits on my right, tearing the label off his Corona while I nurse an alcohol-free beer that tastes like piss, my hand wrapped tight around the bottle, and Jed’s watching me and my fake beer with a frown between his brows.
It’s not every day I show up andbehave.
Normally, fists start flying soon after I enter. Bottles are next and then, if I’m still conscious, anything goes. Chairs, tables, even the flat-screen one fine May evening, so Jed’s probably waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Same here. I can’t promise I’ll stay on my best behavior much longer. Millie’s passive face when she saw me with Zara is burned into my retinas. A few drinks, a few righthooks, and maybe I’ll stop feeling certifiable.
For now, I down onezerobeer after another, waiting for my best friend to sort his thoughts and speak. There’s something on his mind, but fuck knows what.
He was making out with a hot freshman on Saturday, so maybe it’s more than casual sex. Hyde usually sticks to one-night-stands but it’s not uncommon for him to keep a girl longer.
His sour face points toward an uncomfortable truth so maybe he did something dumb like got her pregnant. Or maybe I’m overthinking and it’s just Noah’s interest in Millie he wants to vent about. Or something else entirely.
Fuck knows, but I’m safe. If he found out I fucked his sister, we wouldn’t be drinking right now.
I’d be dead.
He’ll tell me whatever’s eating him when he’s ready, and while he’s gearing up, I’ve got plenty to think about.
I’ve done a stellar fucking job of making myself miserable since I walked away from Millie. I’m not hanging out with my friends because she’s constantly revolving around Noah. Quiet, composed Noah, who doesn’t lose his temper.
The idea of her choosing him because I can’t be what she wants feels like a nine-inch blade in my chest. Ican’tbe, because the hard, cold truth is I haven’t stopped thinking about that equipment room.
I remember the way she moved beneath me, how easily I stopped thinking about anything except taking more. I remember how her nails broke my skin and her breathstuttered when I bit her lip. She was pliant and fierce all at once. She trusted me and didn’t look afraid. She wantedmore. She fucking begged for it, her hips meeting mine, fingers scrabbling to keep me close.
And it scares the shit out of me.
I was seconds away from giving in again on Saturday night after the fight. Seconds from losing whatever restraint I’d managed to build, because the need for her was so strong it drove me halfway out of my mind when we kissed.
