Page 77 of Boys Who Taint

“No, no, no, I can do it. It’s fine,” she insists.

“Are you okay?” Grey asks her.

She shakes her head and plops everything on the table, then moves away. “I’m sorry.”

And she runs out of the shop without even taking another look, leaving him and those perked-up lips all to himself.

Oh my fucking God.

I burst out into laughter.

Like full-on laughter.

Everyone’s looking at me, even Grey, but I don’t care.

She just rejected him in such a stone-cold manner that it made even my black heart throb. And that means a lot.

“What the—What are you laughing at?” Grey growls at me.

“Good luck with those fucking blue balls,” I say, laughing all the way out of the store.

What a fiery little thing.

Grey

I nearly breakthe happy and gentle facade, piercing the cake with such rage the plate splits into four pieces. Lucky for me, Aspen is long gone, along with my chance to kiss her.

Goddammit. How the hell did I manage to mess that up?

And why the fuck was that airhead Apollo here to witness it all go down?

I scoot my chair back, grab my jacket, and waltz off, leaving the half-eaten cake on the table. Sugary treats won’t satiate the kind of hunger I’m experiencing right now, so I get back into my car, slam the door shut, and start the engine. I can only go to oneplace on this earth to get this out of my system, one place that won’t even blink twice at monsters like me.

And even though it’s broad daylight, I still skid the wheels as I race off, knowing something is waiting for me up ahead that I can sink my teeth into.

Levi

“Tell me how school’s been,”my dad asks as he brings a few coffee cups to the table and then lights a cigarette.

I shrug. “The same.”

“Doubt that.” He takes a drag first, then a gulp of his coffee to wash it all down. After a while, he holds the cigarette out to me. “Take it. You look like you need a fix.”

“Didn’t Mom tell you to quit smoking?” I reply, but I still take the cigarette from him and inhale a much-needed drag.

“Your mom tells us both a lot of things. Doesn’t mean we listen.” He smirks. “Especially not now.”

“You’re in hot water,” I say.

“I’m used to it. She won’t hurt me.” The smirk deepens. “She can try.”

“She’ll use me as leverage,” I say as I hand him back the cig.

He nods a few times and then takes another drag. “I know.”

I suppose I should be happy she’s at work, busy running all the RIVERA clubs that fall under her control. At least there’s no one to chew me up and spit me out. I know Mom says she loves me, but … after what happened at the top of that cliff, it’s felt like she’s let me go.

“Wow, didn’t know you were summoned home too,” Sunny says as she casually grabs a cup of coffee from the kitchen and invites herself to the table. “A happy family ‘tea time.’” She makes quotation marks with her fingers. “What’s the occasion?”