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“Screw your permission,” I say harshly.

“I’m not giving it. I'm trying to be an adult here.”

“You are the strangest adult specimen I’ve ever met. But sure, I will agree. I’m not going to help you run her out and I’m not going to force her to do anything. If it happens, it happens.”

Seems fair.

A lock clicks into place inside of me. I somehow needed to say it, or to hear him say it.

“I believe Gilli is a problem. For me, personally. I’m going to ignore her.” Soren finishes off the last bite of his potato. “She’ll get tired of the cold shoulder soon enough. Once summer comes and the tourists are out in force, then she’ll move on to another spot.”

“If she doesn’t?” I counter.

“We’ll deal with it then.”

Tase lifts a finger to signal Ellie and orders another round of liquor, sighing like he needs it to function with us present.

I’m pleasantly full and not in the mood for more, but if he’s buying, I won’t refuse.

“Things won’t be fun for her. The waiting game continues,” Soren mutters.

The drinks arrive and the three of us lift our glasses together in a clink. Soren downs his but I wait, meeting Tase’s gaze over the lip of his glass. He meets my eyes briefly before looking away first.

He’s got the same idea I have, I’m sure of it. The same desire to bed her.

Well. Well, well.

I’ve always been a fan of friendly competition.Let the best man win. And all before Soren gets his way and she runs.

Chapter 17

Gilli

The boys went out for the evening and I thought I’d be able to breathe easier with them gone.

Unfortunately, they’re phantoms in my head, and I think about them more often than not.

Specifically, I think about what happened in the woods with Soren. I let him touch me. Iwantedhim to touch me.

To make myself useful, I scrub the floor in the kitchen on my hands and knees until the linoleum shines.

I don’t want to look for Maxxx8U stories online anymore. I’ve seen enough to occupy my night terrors for the next ten thousand years. And I’d promised Aiden I’d stay in the house while they’re gone.

But when I asked him what time they’d be back, he only shrugged and teased me about missing him already.

Not the case.

I’m good on my own. As long as I have direction, I’m able to take the first steps.

Only in the cabin, I’m out of my element. There are no texts to study for school or videos to plan out for my online account. There are no costume changes. There’s only me and my fantasies which have no business staying as long as they have.

Once I finish with the floor, I head to bed. A reasonable hour, really, so maybe I’ll finally get some decent sleep.

I peel off my dirty clothes and exchange them for sleep shorts and a loose tank. The cleaning spree bordered on manic.

And it’s probably the reason why I drop right into sleep.

A deep breath takes me from half asleep to full awake, my mouth as dry as a bone. The clock flashes five minutes after midnight but it takes me a second to make out the numbers, my vision blurry.