Page 68 of Brutal Little Secrets

He looks at the ground. “I’m done with that. I was stupid. But she’s willing to forgive me.”

“Are you done fucking around on her?”

His gaze jerks to mine.

Smirking, I lean forward and give him a look. “You want to make sure Annie doesn’t have any options but you? Why?”

“She’s smart and talented.” He tugs at his tie. He’s fucking lying. “I like her. Okay? I messed up, but I’m sure she’ll give me a second chance.”

“You want me to go to Damon and tell him to ignore the hot little piece in his house?” I rub my chin like I’m thinking it over. Instead, I’m thinking about how she looks spread open and needing my cock buried inside her.

“She’s not a hot little—yeah.” Chase rubs the back of his neck. “I think I still have a chance.”

The doors open, and Annie and Keira walk in. Annie has a rule about not flirting or fucking around during rehearsal, but fuck, I want to go kiss her right now to make this asshole realize Damon isn’t the only competition he has.

Annie glances my way, and her cheeks flush pink. She seems on edge. I wish I could pull her into a closet and see what’s wrong. If it’s just stress, I could make her come to ease some of that tension. She glances away.

“I’m offering her a future.” Chase clears his throat. “Can Damon say the same? We all know he fucks girls and that’s it. That’s not what EvanAnn needs.”

“What do you know about what Annie needs?” I’m curious what he thinks she needs.

“Connections. She thinks she’ll get them in college, but she needs people like my parents who are already connected and want to push her to the next level. My dad is already setting her up with a director who mentors students. She needs someone who believes in her and her process and will do anything to support her.”

“And that’s you?” I arch an eyebrow.

He smirks. “I have the money to grease the wheels, but also the connections she needs. I can make her dreams come true. All Damon is going to do is break her heart.”

“And what do you get?” I’m curious if he’ll finally come out with why he needs Annie.

Chase’s eyes narrow on me. “EvanAnn is enough.”

EvanAnn

The school is dark as Mark and Mia walk out with me. We just finished our rehearsal. They have amazing chemistry on the stage. They embody Desdemona and Othello. All the other bullshit doesn’t matter. This is what’s important.

And I’m floating a little because of how great rehearsal went.

“Evan.”

Damon. My heart stops.

I turn and see him striding toward us. Fuck. I pushed that whole bathroom incident to the side while I worked, but I really don’t want to explain why Damon is suddenly possessive of me to Mia or Mark.

“You guys go on. Damon will make sure I get to my car.” I smile. “Again, great job tonight.”

Mark nods. “See you tomorrow.”

Mia hangs back for a moment. “Are you good?”

“Sure. We’ll talk later.” I glance toward where Damon strides toward me.

Yes, I’m still keeping secrets from my new best friend. I don’t know how I’m going to unravel all this, but it’s not like Damon asked me to be his girlfriend. He blackmailed me into a physical relationship and then decided to announce it to the girl who wants him while she was trying to pay me off. The girl who may be the reason I was a target in the first place. But he didn’t actually ask, and I doubt being my boyfriend is what he really wants.

Seriously. How is this my life?

Besides, we can fix this. It’s not like everyone knows he called me his girlfriend and that a big part of me really liked that the guy I’m fucking wants to claim me in public and not keep me a secret, but...

But there’s something else we have to deal with. And yes, I may have a potential creep trying to scare me, but that doesn’t mean Damon has to make a big deal out of what we’re doing. Or that I need to like the idea of him holding my hand or bringing me to school. We’re not dating.