Page 15 of Surviving Slater

"What?" I asked.

"How was your date?" he asked.

I shrugged. I didn't really want to go into details but there was still a part of me that wanted Slater to know I wasn't staying at home and moping over him anymore.

"It was good."

"Where did you meet him?"

"Around campus."

"You know him long?" Now he was starting to sound like a parent drilling their child.

"We went on a date before Taylor got kidnapped," I answered. "With everything that was going on, we kind of put things on hold."

He nodded slightly, pressing his lips together.

"What?" I asked again. I knew him well enough to see something was bugging him. The kettle finished boiling but he stood still, watching me.

"We've never been close…" he began to say.

That was an understatement. I had been the one to warn Taylor about Sin. I had been convinced he would use her like he had so many before her.

"And I don't want to tell you what to do…" He seemed to struggle with the next part.

"Just spit it out already, Sin," I said, getting agitated.

"The thing is," he said, "you get guys who are upfront about what they want."

I frowned slightly, trying to follow what he was trying to tell me.

"Like I was. I didn't mislead any girl. I told them from the start there would be no relationship. They knew what they were getting into."

"I don't know what this has to do with me or Steven."

"Then you get the guys who aren't upfront about it—the ones who will tell a girl anything to get them into bed."

My frown deepened.

"Steven has a reputation."

It felt unreal that I was getting warned by the guy who had slept his way through most of the girls in my college. He really had come a long way from when Taylor had first met him.

"I'm a big girl and I appreciate the advice but I can take care of myself," I responded, tucking some hair behind my ear.

His tongue flickered against his lip ring and he gave me a nod.

"Now, are you going to make me coffee or am I going to have to do it myself?" I asked in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the heavy mood.

"I got it," he said before he turned to the task of making us coffee.

I bit my lip as I contemplated his warning. It wasn't news. I knew Steven had a reputation as being a player.

It wasn't like I was looking for someone to put a ring on my finger and give me a happily-ever-after. I didn't think I could even have a functional relationship with someone. There was a chance I was so messed up that I would never find happiness with a partner. I would probably flit from one guy to another, chasing something that was impossible to achieve, never trusting someone enough to allow myself to love them.

But what about Slater?Slater had got beneath my skin in a short space of time. But I put what I felt for him down to lust and the only reason it remained was because we'd never slept together. I'd convinced myself once we had sex it would go away.

At the moment I just needed someone to soothe the hurt Slater had caused by his rejection. I couldn't say I was fond of the feeling. I was probably no better than Steven, since I was using one guy to get over another one.