Page 126 of Finlay
I wrestled with myself. I hated opening up to people, especially those I’d only just met. But Bailey was the one person who had an idea of what I’d been through. It might not have been to the same extent, but he understood what Matt was like. “Yes, but not because I think Finn is anything like him. I know he’d never treat me the same way.”
“You’re right.”
I side-eyed him. “I know why I’m so certain, but why are you? Didn’t you meet him for the first time today?”
“Yeah.” Bailey smiled. “But you learn quickly in this life that supes fall into two categories. The first are the conniving, selfish kind. The ones who will do anything to get more power. The second are like Harlow. Loyal to a fault. Fiercely protective. Often stubborn, but always reliable. I suspect Finn belongs in that second category.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Are you saying he isn’t like that?”
“Of course he is,” I said with a bite of impatience. “But how did you come to that conclusion after one conversation?”
“Because Harlow, Cal, and all the others have accepted him already,” he said simply. “They can sniff out someone dangerous at fifty paces. They trust him, which means I do. Plus, he’s close to Danny. He doesn’t put up with twats, so Finn must be okay.”
I couldn’t fault his logic. “Fair enough.”
“Anyway, I didn’t bring you out here to grill you aboutyour relationship status. I want to tell you about how Harlow and I got together.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what that had to do with me, but I’d happily listen. Perhaps this would be the start of another friendship.
Reid would be so proud of me.
“Like I said earlier, what I went through with Matt wasn’t on the same level as what you experienced.” Bailey kept walking, his steps brisk. “But I left the relationship with a lot of scars and warped beliefs about myself.”
“Like what?” I flushed immediately. “Sorry, that’s probably inappropriate.”
“Nah it’s fine.” He shrugged. “It bothered me for a long time, but it doesn’t now. I can thank Harlow for that. It’s not something I generally bring up, but I suspect you might’ve heard similar from him. He’d go on about how I was overweight, how my body shape wasn’t what he perceived to be ideal.”
I scowled down at my shoes. Hearing that he’d said those things to Bailey made me feel oddly angrier than the knowledge that he’d said the same to me. Why was it easier to see how wrong it was when it was happening to someone other than yourself?
“He even belittled me for my choices in the bedroom,” Bailey continued. “Shamed me for wanting to bottom. Said I was too fat for anyone to want to fuck.”
My feet slammed to a stop. “He really said that?”
“Yep.” Bailey realised I was no longer beside him and twisted to face me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed down the bile rising. “It’s just…he said the same to me.”
Bailey cursed under his breath. “Fucker never changed. I’m so sorry. You know it’s bullshit now though, right?”
“Um, yeah.” I gave a nervous laugh. “Finn’s kind of shattered that belief for me.”
Bailey flashed me his teeth in a grin. “Good. Harlow did the same for me.”
I forced my feet to start moving. “Why did you break up?”
“Caught him cheating.” Bailey shuddered. “Worse—he was topping the guy.”
“What a fucking cunt,” I seethed. “How dare he? So it wasn’t that he didn’t like to top, he just didn’t want to topus.What the fuck was wrong with us?”
“Nothing,” Bailey said fiercely. “The fault was with him, Chester. Not you and me.”
“I’m sorry.” I exhaled slowly. “Both that he cheated on you and for reacting like that.”
“It’s fine, really. For what it’s worth, the guy he was fucking was a twink. I think it was a power dynamic thing for him. He wanted to control us, even in the bedroom, because we were bigger than him. Proving that size doesn’t matter or some bullshit.”
“Such bollocks,” I said. Logan was one of the most petite guys I knew and he fucking terrified me sometimes. From the little bits I’d picked up about Harlow, I was guessing he had a similar reputation.
