Let them try me. Chad. Hank. Margo, whoever the fuck she is.
The food comes and none of us say a word. We just eat like animals trying to pretend we’re men. Pretend we’re fine. But this isn’t how men behave. Not real men. Not when she is locked up and the air tastes like blood and guilt and betrayal.
She’s mine.
Benji dips his cheeseburger in the cheese sauce.
The fuck? Wasn’t that for the fries?
But now I can see it. Him feeding her like this is a Hallmark flick with a secret praise kink and no felony record.
She’d lean in, all warm eyes and wicked mouth, giggling like a goddamn siren as he spoons up cheese-drenched burger bites served from his fingers.
Fucking fingers I could break in one squeeze.
One little crunch.
And of course she’d lick them clean, wouldn’t she? Because she’s like that. Filthy and sweet and starving for affection.
And he’s the kind of bastard who’d give it to her without making her beg.
My onion rings are delicious and I hate them. I hate me.
She’d want extra ketchup.
My brain flashes to that night. Me snapping, red fucking everywhere. Ketchup. Rage. Her voice cracking.
I scared her.
I bet Benji’s never even raised his voice. Not once. Not even when she told him she fucked me, too.
Rhys is chewing slowly, watching me with that calm, clinical gaze, waiting for my internal collapse to reach the surface.
Fuck you, doc.
Does it eat him alive, knowing I’ve been inside her while he’s out here playing paper dolls and pushing worksheets? He could touch her. He could change the game.
But he won’t. Because he’s a coward.
He doesn’t deserve her.
Maybe I don’t.
Benji might.
That’s the worst fucking part.
“You decide about the drawing class?” Rhys asks, like we’re just three guys shooting the shit.
“No,” I grunt. “Drawing naked people doesn’t fix shit. Is it a man?”
Rhys shrugs. “It is sometimes.”
Benji perks up. “Wait, you draw naked people?”
“Yeah, he does,” I say, chewing rage with my onion ring. “Doc thinks it’ll help me be less angry. I think it’s just his kink.”
Benji’s whole face lights up like someone handed him a praise sticker. “Where’s that at? I didn’t know we had sex clubs in town.”
