Secret Kiss: Ruining My Ex

Still got the nerve to kiss me, Taylor? An arm snaked around my waist, pulling me flush against a hard chest. Warm lips hovered just millimeters from my ear.

The phone screen cast a pale glow in the dim room. Dylan's voice message blasted into my ear, backed by his heavy, ragged breathing.

My best bro just got dumped and is threatening to jump off a bridge! I can't just ditch him for you. Can't you be a little understanding for once?

That was his excuse for ditching me in a hotel room on Valentine's Day.

And the "best bro" who was supposedly jumping off a bridge? He was the guy whose lips were currently brushing against my ear.

Chapter 1

I stared at the mirror. My eyes locked onto the large hand resting on my bra strap. My vision blurred slightly.

"Maybe we should stop." My breath hitched. I grabbed his hand, trying to stop his fingers from exploring any further.

I'll admit, the alcohol had made me act a little crazy earlier. But hearing Dylan's voice message had been like a bucket of ice water. I was sobering up, and a cold knot formed in my stomach.

"Stop?" He planted a thick, muscular forearm flat against the wall right beside my ear. The muscles of his chest flexed and fell with his heavy, scorching breaths.

"Who kissed who first? You dragged me back to this hotel room, stripped my clothes off, had me shower, and now you're telling me to stop?"

"I'm sorry."

He pulled back. He tugged his bathrobe tighter around his waist, sat down on the edge of the bed, and crossed one long leg over the other. "Are you messing with me?"

His name was Zane. He was my boyfriend Dylan's roommate.

Today was Valentine's Day. I had wanted to surprise Dylan. I sat on a train for twelve agonizing hours to get to his city, only to find him completely off the grid.

I dragged myself all over his campus looking for him all day. Instead, I bumped into Zane.

"You know where Dylan is, right?" I had cornered him on the basketball court.

"Why would I know?" He looked down at me, amused.

"He said you got dumped and were trying to jump off a bridge. He said he was with you." I shoved my phone screen in his face.

My jaw tightened. He was Dylan's roommate, and he was obviously covering for him.

A few guys from his team drifted over, curiosity written all over their sweaty faces.

"Zane, since when do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, man. Usually girls are the ones crying over you. You actually wanted to end it all over a breakup?"

"Jumping off a bridge? Seriously?"

The group erupted into laughter, doubling over.

Zane shot them a glare. "Fuck off."

In those few seconds of silence, a bucket of ice-cold water poured straight down my spine.

I got it. Zane had absolutely no idea. Dylan had completely fabricated the whole story.

I just hadn't wanted to face the truth, so I had stubbornly pushed for an answer.

"Hey Zane, didn't Blair get back into town today?"

One of the guys blurted it out. He instantly slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had just dropped a bomb.

At the sound of Blair's name, a violent shudder ripped through my body.

So they all knew about Blair. Blair was Dylan's ex-girlfriend. She was also his ultimate taboo.

Dylan and I had been together for three years. He was usually sweet, but the second Blair's name was brought up, a switch would flip.

Before I could even finish a sentence, he would explode and start lecturing me. "You can't seriously expect me to have never spoken to another girl before I met you, can you?"

Then he would pull me into a tight, desperate hug. "Relax. She's not coming back. She's not a threat to you."

"Let's go." Zane tossed the basketball away. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and started walking.

After a few steps, he realized I hadn't moved. He turned back, smoke curling around his jaw. "Weren't we going to find him?"

I snapped out of my daze and forced my feet to follow him.

I didn't have a choice. When I arrived at the train station earlier, my wallet and ID had been stolen.

I had stood there in the terminal, dialing Dylan's number over and over again. It went straight to voicemail every single time. When my battery hit five percent, I stopped calling and dragged myself to his campus on pure luck.

Now, the sun was setting. I was stranded in a strange city, and finding Dylan was literally my only option.

Whether we ended up having a screaming match or breaking up, I needed to find him first.

Sitting in the back of the cab, a hollow, muffled rumble echoed from my empty stomach. I instantly bit down hard on my lower lip, snapping my burning face toward the cold glass of the window.

"Haven't eaten?"

Chapter 2

"Yeah." I kept my eyes glued to the window, the heat in my cheeks refusing to die down.

"Missed dinner, or missed lunch?" Zane's voice was flat.

"Lunch." I dug my nails into my jeans. "But I'm not hungry. Seriously."

The truth was, I had spent the entire day tracking Dylan down. The sick, heavy twisting in my gut had completely killed my appetite.

"Can you handle spice?" He completely ignored my excuse.

I gave up. "Yeah."

"Pull over at that Cajun joint up ahead," he told the cab driver.

I didn't even hear what he ordered. I just kept my head down, shoveling spicy food into my mouth while my eyes stayed locked onto my phone screen under the table.

The battery icon was flashing red at five percent. I was still holding out for a miraclethat Dylan's name would flash across the screen, that he would explain everything and make this suffocating feeling go away.

There was no miracle. Just Zane, sitting across from me, watching my pathetic display for half an hour.

I barely knew Dylan's roommate. The only reason I knew who Zane was at all was because of Dylan's constant warnings.

"He's a total player. Swaps girls out like changing clothes," Dylan had told me once.

"That's why you need a guy like me. I don't even look at other girls. I'm the ultimate loyal boyfriend."

Every time Zane's name came up, it was just a prop to make Dylan look better. He had literally warned me, "If you see a guy like Zane on campus, you stay the hell away from him, got it?"

"Guys are different," he had explained. "He could sleep with a hundred girls, and as long as it's not my girl, I don't care."

"We're still bros. He's got my back when it counts."

I always listened to Dylan. Since that conversation, whenever I went to his dorm and saw Zane, I never said a single word to him.

And now, because Dylan was ghosting me, I was sitting here relying on the exact guy I was supposed to stay away from.

After we ate, Zane dragged me to a club downtown.

"He asked for my VIP card here yesterday," Zane said, his jaw tight. "Said he was planning a surprise."

The words hit me like a physical punch to the chest.

So while I was packing my bags to surprise Dylan he was planning a surprise for someone else?

I stepped into the club, my palms sweating. The place was packed. Strobe lights sliced through the heavy air, blinding me with every flash.

A guy reeking of cheap alcohol stumbled directly into my path. "Well, look at you, college girl." He slurred, reaching out. "Wanna have some fun?"

I froze. Before I could step back, a thick, tattooed arm shot past my face, shoving the guy back hard by his shoulder.

"Back off." It was Zane.

His expression was ice-cold as he blocked the crowd. Wherever I walked, he trailed a few steps behind with lazy, heavy strides. Every time someone got too close, he just glared them down or snapped a warning.

I sped up, pushing through the sweating bodies, scanning every booth and VIP section. Dylan wasn't here.

Zane finally stopped by the bar. "You wanna wait for him?"

I gave a stiff nod.

He ordered a whiskey for himself and a juice for me. At first, I stuck to the juice. But as the clock ticked past one hour, then two, the sharp glass in my chest twisted deeper. I shoved the empty juice glass away and grabbed a bottle of liquor.

"Can you handle that?" Zane's dark eyes locked onto mine. "If you get wasted, I'm not"

"I'll pay you." I cut him off, grabbed a glass, and threw it back. The alcohol burned straight down my throat, so sharp it forced tears out of the corners of my eyes.

His hand paused on the counter. A muscle ticked in his jaw. Finally, he let out a harsh exhale. "Drink."

I have no idea how we left the club. My memory was just fragmented flashes of Zane's arm firmly wrapped around my waist, keeping me upright, and his low voice rumbling against my ear.

"Where are you staying tonight? I'll drop you."

"Dunno. The street." My brain was swimming in a heavy fog.

"You don't have a place?"

"Nope. Gonna take me in?" I tilted my head, flashing him a sloppy grin.

"Where's your ID?"

"Stolen."

He didn't say a word. He just stared down at me, his chest rising and falling with a heavy sigh.

"We're going to my aunt's hotel. I'll talk to her."

Chapter 3

"We're meeting the family already?" My voice spiked. "I don't even have makeup on!"

He shot me a dark look. "Does Dylan know you act like a total lunatic when you're drunk?"

The second Dylan's name left his lips, the tears started all over again. "He never let me drink. That's why I've never had a drop before."

He let out an exasperated breath and dragged me straight to the International Star Hotel.

The receptionist clearly knew exactly who he was. Her eyes lit up the second we walked in.

"Zane. Is this your girlfriend?"

"No." He gripped my shoulders, steadying me on my feet.

"So, one room or two?" The receptionist's gaze swept up and down my messy figure.

"One."

One? Both the receptionist and I stared at him.

"You're staying here. I'm going home. What the hell were you thinking?"

Oh.

"I can't check her in without an ID," the receptionist said, looking uneasy.

"Use mine then." He pulled his ID from his wallet and tossed it onto the marble counter.

She took it and started typing away on her keyboard. Then she reached for her cell phone to type out a message, but Zane's large hand slammed down over hers, pinning it to the desk. "Don't text your boss."

"But if she finds out, she'll chew me out," the receptionist protested.

"There's nothing going on between me and her." Zane shot me a sideways glance. "Don't make drama out of nothing."

He got the room key. Seeing that I couldn't even walk in a straight line, he ended up escorting me upstairs anyway.

I had never set foot in a hotel this luxurious. My heels sank into the plush carpet in the hallway, and the glaring light from the massive crystal chandelier above the spiral staircase made my head spin.

I fumbled with the key card a few times, failing to get the door open. Zane finally lost his patience, snatched the card, and unlocked it himself. He flipped on all the lights and did a quick sweep of the room to make sure it was clear before letting me step inside.

That was the exact moment I saw Dylan.

More accurately, it was Dylan and Blair.

Dylan was carrying her on his back, walking step by step down the corridor, right toward my room.

My very first instinct was relief. I wanted to run straight to him. But a second later, my feet glued themselves to the floor.

"Dylan, aren't you going to spend today with your girlfriend?" The girl rested her chin on his shoulder, tilting her head as she spoke to him.

The tips of his ears flushed a deep red. His voice was incredibly soft. "I don't I don't have a girlfriend."

Something inside me snapped clean in two.

He didn't have a girlfriend.

My fingertips turned instantly ice-cold, and it felt like someone had shoved a fistful of shattered glass straight into my chest.

I jerked backward, my heart hammering like I was the one who had just been caught cheating.

I practically threw myself backward into the room and slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong with you?" Zane was just turning around to leave. He frowned, completely baffled as I locked the deadbolt.

"Don't speak." I pressed my back against the heavy wood, physically blocking his path to the exit.

He gave me a mocking look and reached for the doorknob. "Stop acting crazy."

"Just wait a second, please." My voice was a desperate whisper.

I felt utterly pathetic. But I didn't dare face Dylan's betrayal head-on. I was a complete coward.

"Did you lie about losing your ID on purpose? Was this your plan all along?" Zane stared down at my face, his tall frame boxing me in. "I don't do the other-man thing."

I pressed my ear flat against the door. Dylan and Blair's voices were getting closer, growing louder with every passing second.

My hands shook as I pulled out my phone right in front of him. I pulled up Dylan's contact and fired off a single text message.

[ Let's break up. ]

"Now you're not." The second the message sent, my alcohol-soaked brain short-circuited, and I leaned up and pressed my lips directly against Zane's.

He froze. His entire body went rigidly still. His eyes darkened into a bottomless, dangerous black.

"Do you even know my name?" he demanded, his voice dropping an octave.

"Zane," I whispered.

A dark, humorless chuckle vibrated in his chest. "At least you know that much."

Chapter 4

"Are you done acting crazy? Open the door." He rapped his knuckles hard against the wood.

"Wait a second."

My shoulders slumped against the heavy door, the adrenaline rapidly draining from my system as I realized I had no logical reason to keep him locked out. But Dylan was right outside.

He stared down at me in the tense silence, a harsh curse slipping past his lips.

Then, he leaned in, his large frame pressing me flat against the door. His hand clamped firmly over the back of my head, tilting my face up just before his mouth crashed down on mine.

Maybe it was the absolute devastation of seeing Dylan, or maybe the liquor was finally taking over my brain. I was completely out of my mind, my lips parting and slowly kissing him back as his heavy breaths mixed with mine.

A low chuckle vibrated against my skin as his lips trailed down to the nape of my neck.

"Does Dylan know you're this wild?"

I sank my teeth lightly into his shoulder. "Shut up. Don't talk about him."

He hissed sharply, but his broad shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Fine. Whatever you want."

Before I could get another word out, my phone buzzed sharply in my pocket, shattering the heavy tension.

It was Dylan.

Staring at his name flashing across the cracked screen, my entire body went rigid.

Zane leaned casually against the wall, watching the show like absolutely nothing had just happened. "How many minutes are you making me wait?"

"Minutes for what?"

"I'm taking a shower. Give me your final answer when I get out." He took a few lazy strides toward the bathroom before pausing, tossing a glance over his shoulder. "Just a heads up. I shower fast."

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white, a violent tremor shaking my hands.

"Taylor, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dylan's voice was loud and harsh.

This was the voice I had been desperate to hear all day, but now, a bone-deep exhaustion settled heavily over my shoulders.

"Exactly what it says." I forced my voice to stay dead flat, swallowing down the sharp glass in my throat.

"Why? What gives you the right to just dump me out of nowhere?" The natural, entitled arrogance in his tone had not changed at all.

A spark of pure anger ignited in my chest. "How about you answer my question first? Why didn't you pick up your phone all day?"

"I literally just told you. My best bro got dumped. If I didn't keep an eye on him all day and he did something stupid, who's taking the blame?"

"Why can't you just be mature about this?"

What a great friend. I let a beat of heavy silence pass. "So where are you right now?"

"I'm with Zane, obviously." His voice didn't even waver.

I stared straight at the frosted glass of the bathroom door, watching the silhouette of the man moving inside. A dark, hollow laugh slipped out of me. "Can you put him on the phone then?"

"Dylan" A girl's soft voice drifted through the receiver from the background.

A violent shudder ripped through my spine.

"What is wrong with you? You don't even know him! He's literally falling apart, and you're throwing a tantrum over this?" His voice spiked, sounding suddenly panicked.

"Fine, break up with me if you want. Don't come crawling back crying when you regret it."

He hung up.

Even after Zane walked out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped low around his hips, I was still standing frozen in the exact same spot, staring blankly at the dark screen.

He walked right up to me. Seeing my eyes still glued in the direction of the shower, a slow smirk spread across his face.

"If you wanted to watch, you should've just told me. I would've left the door open."

"What?" I blinked, finally snapping out of my daze just in time to see his face leaning in dangerously close.

He lowered his head, brushing his lips softly against mine. His voice was a deep, raspy rumble. "Did you dump him?"

"Yeah."

His large hand cupped the back of my head, his fingers sliding down to rest heavily on my bare shoulder. "So now we continue?"

I stared at the mirror. My eyes locked onto the large hand resting on my bra strap. My vision blurred slightly.

"Maybe we should stop." My breath hitched. I grabbed his hand, trying to stop his fingers from exploring any further.

I'll admit, the alcohol had made me act a little crazy earlier. But hearing Dylan's voice on the phone had been like a bucket of ice water. I was sobering up, and a cold knot formed in my stomach.

"Stop?" He planted a thick, muscular forearm flat against the wall right beside my ear. The muscles of his chest flexed and fell with his heavy, scorching breaths.

"Who kissed who first? You dragged me back to this hotel room, stripped my clothes off, had me shower, and now you're telling me to stop?"

"I'm sorry."

He pulled back. He tugged his bathrobe tighter around his waist, sat down on the edge of the bed, and crossed one long leg over the other. "Are you messing with me?"

"I let me get your number." I pulled out my phone.

Chapter 5

He stared at me, slowly pulling out his phone. He tapped open his Venmo QR code and tossed it onto the mattress.

"I'm sending you the money for the drinks and the room."

A dark scoff rumbled in his chest.

"You aren't leaving?" I eyed him. He didn't look like he was going anywhere, which was a massive problem.

"It's midnight. The dorms are locked. Where exactly am I supposed to go?"

"Don't you live around here?"

"My place is clear across the state. You paying for my Uber?"

A dull throb started at my temples. I typed a number into my phone and hit send. "Is fifty bucks enough?"

He glanced down at the notification on his screen. A harsh, humorless laugh escaped him. "Are you trying to buy me?"

"Is it not enough? I swear, that's literally my grocery money for the next month."

He didn't say another word. His jaw clamped shut as he stood up and started getting dressed.

My eyes locked onto the hard ridges of his abs. Heat rushed straight to my cheeks. "Can't you do that in the bathroom?"

His voice dripped with heavy sarcasm. "You already paid. If I don't give you a show, I'd be ripping you off for that fifty bucks, wouldn't I?"

Wow. How thoughtful of him.

I sat there and watched him for two solid minutes. I witnessed the entire process, my face burning so hot I thought I might spontaneously combust.

If I stared at him for even one second longer, I wasn't going to get a single wink of sleep tonight.

As he pulled the door open, he threw a dark glare over his shoulder. "If I let you play me again, I'll drop my damn last name."

I sucked in a sharp breath. Talk about a temper.

I spent the next three days rotting in that hotel room, waiting for my replacement ID to be mailed out so I could actually leave.

The day before my flight out, Dylan insisted on seeing me. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

"We've been together for three years. No matter what happens, we need to see each other face-to-face and end this on good terms."

So he finally got Blair settled in and remembered I existed? The guy must be exhausted.

"Fine. Pick me up at the International Star Hotel."

"Why are you staying there?" His voice instantly went thin, completely losing its usual confidence.

"A friend recommended it."

"What friend?"

I didn't give him a name.

"When did you check in?" he pushed.

"The day you went MIA."

Listening to the sheer panic leaking through his voice was almost funny.

It was pouring rain outside. By the time he showed up, he was completely soaked.

I honestly thought we were going to sit down, lay everything out, and I'd get to yell at him. I pictured dumping a hot coffee over his head and walking away forever.

Instead, he announced we were going to a KBBQ place so we could talk while we eat.

He always assumed Korean BBQ was my favorite. Every time we fought, he would drag me to this place. He would grill the meat for me, gaslight me into thinking I was overreacting, and I would end up forgiving him every single time.

What he didn't know was that I actually hated KBBQ. In the past, I only went along with it because I was so desperately in love with him that I wanted to give him an easy out.

But this time, I agreed to go. I just wanted to see how long he could keep up the act.

"My roommates are all inside. You haven't officially met them yet, right?" He only dropped that little detail as we were getting out of the car.

That meant Zane was in there.

I had spent the last three days drowning in the misery of my breakup. Zane hadn't exactly crossed my mind.

But now, just hearing he was inside, my brain instantly flashed back to the scorching heat of his lips pressing against the back of my neck. My stomach tied itself into a massive knot.

"I'm not going in." I spun around to leave, but he grabbed my arm.

"Taylor, come on. I already told them I was officially introducing you today. Just don't make me look bad in front of my guys."

I froze. Introduce me how? As his brand-new ex-girlfriend?

We had been together for three whole years. He had never officially introduced me to his friend group. He hadn't even posted a single picture of me on his socials.

Now that we were broken up, he suddenly decided it was time to show me off. Pathetic.

"You're seriously making me go in there?"

"We're already here."

"Fine." If he wanted to play hardball, I could play right back.

Chapter 6

Walking toward the private room, I kept telling myself Zane and I hadn't even done anything.

He was a total player. God knows how many girls had kissed him. One more or one less wouldn't make a difference to him. Play it cool.

But the second I stepped into the room and our eyes locked, it took me exactly two seconds to rip my gaze away.

I sat down directly across from Zane. He looked away, his long fingers casually flipping open and snapping shut a heavy silver Zippo lighter.

I froze. My mind flashed back to the hotel roomthere had been a silver lighter just like it sitting on the nightstand. I had wondered whose it was.

"This is Taylor."

"These three are my roommates."

Dylan finished his intro. Not a single person made a sound. The only noise was the meat sizzling on the grill.

Just my luck. When I had cornered Zane on the basketball court a few days ago, the two guys standing right next to him were these exact two roommates.

"This is Zane. If you don't believe me, you should at least believe him." Dylan nudged Zane's arm, silently urging him to play along. "It's all this guy's fault for threatening to end it all that day. He drained my phone battery, which is why I missed my girlfriend's calls."

The other two guys at the table nearly bugged their eyes out of their heads.

Zane slid his gaze over to me. "Yeah," he drawled, his tone lazy. "My fault."

At that, the other two guys looked like their eyeballs were about to physically pop out of their sockets.

A cold prickle washed over my scalp.

How the hell were they all coordinating this act with Dylan?

"Were you with him the entire day?" I asked Zane. If he wanted to act, I'd play right along.

"Who else do you think I was with that night?" he countered, a slow smirk spreading across his lips.

I choked on my breath.

His tone was laced with raw danger. It felt like he was one second away from dumping everything that happened between us right onto the table.

And knowing him, he absolutely wouldn't hesitate.

I dropped the subject immediately. Zane was way too dangerous to mess with.

I came here to expose a cheating jerk. Now the tables were completely flipped. My stomach was tied in knots, terrified that if I pushed Zane too far, he'd blow my secret wide open.

The five of us sat around the grill, shoving meat around our plates, each completely lost in our own heads.

The second Zane got up to go to the restroom, I pushed my chair back and followed him.

"Why are you covering for him?" I cornered him in the hallway outside the bathrooms, keeping my voice down to a harsh whisper.

He looked down at me, a cold scoff vibrating in his chest. "You kicked me out in the middle of the night. Wasn't that because you wanted to get back together with him?"

I clamped my jaw shut. "That's completely different!"

I admit it. I kicked me out because I was a total coward.

I had spent my entire life playing the good, obedient girl. At home, my dad controlled my every move. In college, Dylan took over that job. Kissing a guy I barely knew was already pushing my absolute limit. I simply didn't have the guts to cross that final line.

"Then what exactly do you want?" He suddenly dipped his head. He took a slow, heavy step forward, his broad shoulders completely blocking out the hallway lights as he trapped me flush against the wall. The scorching heat of his breath brushed against the sensitive skin of my cheek.

"You want to play house with him, but keep me on the hook?"

"I don't want to get back together with him."

"Oh, yeah?" A dark smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, his dark eyes tracking the rapid pulse beating at the base of my throat. "So you're trying to hook up with me?"

"No." Feeling the heavy irritation radiating off him, I rushed to explain. "You're his roommate. How could I possibly"

He stepped even closer, his hard chest a millimeter away from mine. The clean, sharp scent of his body wash wrapped around my senses. He lowered his head, his lips hovering so close the ghost of a kiss brushed dangerously light against my ear.

"Taylor, I'm not that easy to sleep with."

His rough fingertips reached up, tracing the shell of my ear before lightly pinching my earlobe. A jolt of electricity shot down my spine. "I'm done playing your games."

Right at that exact second

"Zane!"

One of the roommates, Finn, suddenly walked around the corner.

Seeing Zane and me practically plastered together against the wall, he physically jumped back, his jaw dropping open.

Chapter 7

My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I thought it would crack bone. Zane, on the other hand, didn't even flinch. He casually pulled a cigarette to his lips, flicked his silver lighter open, and took a slow drag.

"What the hell are you screaming for?"

"What are you what is this?" Finn stood completely frozen at the end of the hall, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Take a piss and keep your damn mouth shut." Zane exhaled a cloud of smoke. He shot me one last dark glance over his shoulder before walking away.

Back at the table, the air was suffocatingly thick.

"Taylor, why is your face so red?" Dylan frowned at me.

I kept my head down, staring at my plate. But someone else at the table was panicking way more than I was.

"She's just hot!" Finn abruptly shoved his chair back. "I'll I'll go open a window."

The entire table stared in dead silence as Finn cranked the window wide open, letting a freezing gust of wind blast into the room. Everyone instantly huddled deeper into their jackets.

"Taylor, what took you so long in the bathroom anyway?" Dylan pressed.

"Dylan's girlI mean, the women's line! The line for the women's bathroom was super long!" Finn shouted, answering for me again.

Everyone at the table turned their stares on Finn.

"Right. I just thought maybe you ran into someone you knew." Dylan's brow furrowed, visibly weirded out by his roommate's spaz attack.

"No! I swear to God, she didn't run into anyone she knew!" Finn practically threw his hands up in surrender.

The table stared. I stared.

The only person who seemed to be enjoying this trainwreck was Zane. A low, raspy chuckle escaped him as his lips curved up. "Fascinating."

Zane didn't even stay for the rest of the meal. He pushed his chair back and left early.

Dylan drove me back to the hotel. The second we reached my door, he let out a heavy sigh, acting like he was dealing with a toddler. "Can we stop the drama now? I explained everything. I'll just pretend you never mentioned the breakup."

"Didn't you say you didn't have a girlfriend?" I tilted my head, a hollow laugh slipping out. "Are we still playing this game?"

The muscles in his jaw instantly locked. "Taylor, are you misunderstanding something?"

"Misunderstanding what? That your phone was off for twenty-four hours, and you only remembered I existed after you finished consoling your 'bro'?" The smile on my face felt like cracking plastic. "Let me ask you something, Dylan. Was the 'bro' you were comforting that night a guy or a girl?"

The blood drained from his face. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"Do you have any idea how many calls you can make on five percent battery?" I took a step closer. "Fifteen. My phone was at five percent that day. I called you fifteen times. You didn't pick up a single one."

Fifteen times. With every single dial tone, the suffocating grip on my throat had pulled tighter and tighter.

"Taylor I" He swallowed hard. "I really was comforting Zane that day! But after he calmed down, I just I just happened to go pick up an old classmate."

"Is that so?" A sharp burn bit the back of my throat. "What kind of classmate is more important than your own girlfriend?"

Important enough to leave me stranded in a strange city, completely ghosting me?

"I I was going to find you later! But your phone was dead."

"It was Blair." I was done spinning in his circles.

He froze for a split second. "Yes."

A heavy, dead silence dropped between us.

He completely dropped the act, his voice rising defensively. "I promised I'd pick her up three months ago! She injured her leg. I already told you not to visit this weekend. You decided to just show up unannounced. Why should someone else have to change their plans just for you?"

Three months ago.

They had been in contact this entire time. I hadn't seen him in six months, and the person he actually wanted to see wasn't me.

The very last shred of warmth in my chest died, leaving nothing but a hollow, freezing void.

"Well, congratulations. You're free now. No one is going to ruin your plans ever again."

I stepped back and slammed the heavy hotel door straight in his face.

He instantly started pounding on the wood.

"Do you want to know what I hate about you the most?" his voice raged through the door. "You never plan anything! You just pull these brainless surprises out of nowhere, and every single time, I have to drop my own life to babysit you. Do you honestly think everyone else has as much free time as you do?"

Chapter 8

"You know why I never introduced you to my guys?" His voice was a harsh sneer through the wood. "If your garbage community college was actually worth bragging about, do you think I would've hidden you?"

I had planned to scream at him. I thought we would have a massive, relationship-ending fight.

I never expected I would need to physically hit him.

I grabbed the clear plastic box sitting on the hotel desk.

I had carefully carried this cake across three states, clutching it on buses and in crowded train stations, making sure not a single corner got smashed. I did it all just because he had casually mentioned he was craving it.

I had played the whole scene out in my head. I pictured his surprise, his gratitude when he saw I brought his favorite dessert. I thought it would make the agonizing twelve-hour trip worth it.

Instead, I had stood in the pouring rain, holding this box, dialing a number that went straight to voicemail over and over again. I dragged it through his campus, checking his dorm and the basketball courts, only to find out he had ditched me to pick up his ex-girlfriend.

"Didn't you say you loved this?" I yanked the door open with one hand, gripping the clear plastic cake box. "Bought it just for you."

The corners of his mouth had barely started to lift.

"Eat up." I slammed the entire cake, plastic tray and all, directly into the bridge of his nose. Frosting exploded everywhere.

I slammed the door shut.

"Taylor" his muffled voice called out from the hallway.

I didn't care how many times he yelled my name. I slid down the cold wood of the door, burying my face into my knees as my chest violently spasmed, dragging harsh, jagged breaths from my throat.

"I'm sorry. Just open the door. If you don't open it, I'm going to sit right here until you do," Dylan pleaded through the door.

Sorry?

It was way too late for that.

He kept knocking and pacing outside for a few minutes. Just when I thought he was actually going to wait me out, a faint ringtone buzzed in the hallway.

"Blair?" His voice instantly softened. "Right now? Yeah I'm free."

The violent shaking in my chest stopped dead. I shot up, grabbing the doorknob, ready to swing it open and actually hit him this time. But when I yanked the door open, the hallway was empty.

I walked back into the room and collapsed onto the mattress. My eyes caught on the dark string of wooden beads resting on the nightstand.

After a few seconds of staring at it, I pulled out my phone and pulled up Zane's contact.

[ You want to come to my room? ]

[ ? ]

[ You dropped your bracelet. ]

I snapped a picture and sent it.

[ Mail it to me. ]

[ Come get it yourself. ]

I honestly didn't even know why I was texting him to come over. I was just vibrating with adrenaline and had absolutely nowhere to direct it.

A few minutes passed. He didn't reply.

He had said he was done playing my games. Looks like he meant it.

My pulse started to slow down, the adrenaline draining out of me. I gave up.

[ I'll leave it at the front desk. The receptionist knows you anyway. ]

[ Don't. ]

[ Why? ]

[ Just don't. ]

[ Fine. I'm throwing it in the trash then. ]

I figured it was just some cheap ten-dollar souvenir anyway.

A few minutes later, my screen lit up with an incoming video call.

I accepted it. Zane's face filled the screen. His dark eyes instantly narrowed, locking onto my face.

"Your eyes are red."

"What do you want me to do with the bracelet?" I deflected, my voice flat.

"I'm out of state. I can't come get it." A lazy smirk tugged at his lips. "What's wrong? Still haven't gotten back together with him? Why don't you just hand it to Dylan and tell him to bring it to me?"

"No. I'm leaving tomorrow." My jaw clenched at Dylan's name. "Why is this so complicated? I'll just leave it at the desk."

"My grandma gave me that. If she finds out I left it in a hotel room, I'm dead meat. Take it back with you. I'll pick it up when I get back to campus."

"Give me your address. I'll mail it."

"If it gets lost in the mail, I'm screwed. You take it." He let out a low, rough chuckle. "Keep it safe for me. You were the one acting so wild that night, stripping my clothes off the second we walked in. Don't you owe me a little responsibility?"

"Stop!" Heat flushed straight up my neck. "I'll hold onto it. Just come get it fast."

"Fast? How fast do you want me?" His grin widened, his voice dropping an octave.

I snapped. "Get lost."

"Are your eyes still stinging?"

"No. Bye." I hit the end call button.

My pulse hammered against my throat. The crushing weight that had been sitting on my chest all day had completely vanished.

Back at school, my roommates knew about the breakup, so no one dared to mention Dylan around me. Zane hadn't reached out either. The wooden bracelet just sat in the middle of my desk.

"Since when are you Buddhist?" my roommate asked one afternoon.

"I'm not."

"Then why did you drop like fifty grand on an agarwood bracelet?"

"Fifty grand?!"

She gave me a crash course. It was incredibly rare, top-tier agarwood. In short: insanely expensive.

No wonder Zane hadn't let me leave it at the front desk.

I instantly grabbed my phone and texted him.

[ When are you coming to get your bracelet? ]

[ Finally missed me? ]

[ In your dreams. ]

I typed furiously, my thumbs flying across the screen.

[ This thing is worth fifty grand?! Why didn't you tell me? What if I lost it? I could sell my organs and still not be able to pay you back! ]

[ Then lose it. You can just pay me back with yourself. ]

I stared at the screen, my face burning.

[ I'm being serious. ]

[ I am too. ]

I let out a heavy breath.

[ Is it even real? ]

[ Don't know. My grandma gave it to me. Just wear it on your wrist so you don't lose it. ]

[ You hold onto it. Send me a picture of it every single day to prove it's safe. I'll come get it as soon as I can. ]

Every day? Fine. I didn't have a choice.

So every day, I wore the heavy wooden beads. I took a picture and sent it to him exactly on time, treating the damn thing like a sacred relic.

At first, he just replied with a single word.

[ Received. ]

Then, one day I forgot. My phone buzzed with a message from him.

[ Show me your hand. ]

I felt like his personal hostage, but I snapped a photo and sent it anyway.

[ Your hand is really pale. Looks soft. ]

Heat flared in my cheeks.

[ Where exactly are you looking? ]

[ You weren't this gentle when you had your hands all over me. ]

[ Zane! ]

[ Yeah? ]

I gritted my teeth.

[ When are you actually coming to get this? ]

[ You keep begging me to come over. I'm going to get the wrong idea. ]

[ I'm telling you to come pick up your own property. What wrong idea? ]

He sent a voice memo. A soft exhale brushed the mic before his deep, raspy voice filled my room. "What did you say? You're my roommate's ex-girlfriend. You text me every day and send me pictures of your body. Are you telling me this isn't some kind of sick thrill for you?"

[ I am doing this to return your stuff! ]

[ Don't you owe me enough already? ]

[ What exactly do I owe you? ]

[ Figure it out yourself. ]

Chapter 9

Figure it out? I had absolutely no idea what went through his head.

"I'm literally begging you. Just come get it. It's a fifty-thousand-dollar piece of wood. I haven't slept or eaten properly in days."

His voice dropped an octave, the playful drawl vanishing into something entirely deadpan. "You want to see me that badly?"

I paused. "Yeah, sure. I'm tossing and turning over you. Can you just come?"

Dead silence stretched over the line for a few seconds, followed by the rapid click of a mouse. "I'm flying out tonight. Book a hotel and wait for me."

I let out a sharp breath. "Fine."

It had been a month since I last saw him. I had no idea why my stomach was tying itself in knots.

From the airport all the way to the hotel room, the silence between us was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Not a single word was spoken.

The second the heavy hotel door clicked shut, he leaned his broad shoulders back against the doorframe. "You aren't heading back to your dorm tonight?"

"I am." The timing was completely awful. Curfew for the main gates was at eleven, and he had literally just walked into the room at ten-fifty.

I shoved the heavy wooden beads toward his chest. "Here. I need to go."

"Going where?" He didn't even glance at the bracelet. Instead, his large hand clamped down over my wrist, his grip iron-tight.

"Back to campus! The gates are locking!"

His dark eyes locked onto mine. Slowly, he released my wrist. "I literally just walked through the door. I haven't even had dinner yet."

I chewed on my lower lip. Guilt flared up in my chest. I pulled out my phone, typed out a Venmo transaction, and hit send. Twenty bucks.

"Is that enough?"

"You tell me." He stared down at his screen, completely ignoring the accept button.

I let out a frustrated sigh and sent another twenty. "Now?"

He didn't say a word. He grabbed the agarwood bracelet from my palm and tossed it carelessly onto the mattress. His jaw tightened. "You drag me halfway across the country, and the second I show up, you run. You're really good at stringing guys along, aren't you?"

"My my dorm actually is about to lock down." If he had flown in earlier, I would have gladly paid for his dinner, but right now

"So let it lock. I'll give you the bed. I'll take the couch." He took a slow step forward. "What exactly are you so terrified of?"

His dark gaze dropped to my lips. "Or are you trying to draw a hard line with me now?" His voice dropped to a dangerous rasp. "We've already kissed. I've already had my hands all over you. Do you really think you can just draw a line?"

A dull throb started at my temples. If I didn't shut him down right now, God knows what else he would say.

"Fine. What do you want to eat? I'm buying."

The heavy tension rolling off his shoulders vanished in a split second. "Whatever works."

I dragged him downstairs and headed down the street. As we walked past a late-night street taco stand, I deliberately steered wide to avoid it, but he stopped and pointed at the neon sign. "That one."

"No. Not there."

"I'm not walking any further. Waste of time."

"I'm serious. Not there."

Before I could even finish my sentence, he walked straight up to one of the sticky plastic tables and dropped into a chair.

The owner walked over with a notepad. The second his eyes landed on me, he paused. "How many?"

"Two." Zane tapped his knuckles against the cheap tabletop, signaling for me to sit. "We're just grabbing a bite. Don't make it so complicated."

My feet felt glued to the concrete. I completely refused to sit down. He let out a sigh, reached out, wrapped his large hand around my wrist, and forcefully yanked me down into the chair beside him.

"I'm dead on my feet. Flights kill me. Cut me some slack, sweetheart?"

Hearing him call me that, the owner shot the two of us an incredibly loaded, awkward look.

A cold prickle washed over my scalp. "Don't call me that."

"What do you want me to call you then?" Amusement danced in his dark eyes. "Tay-Tay?"

I nearly choked on the sip of water I had just taken.

The owner walked back over, slamming a basket of chips onto the table. He stared intently at Zane. "You guys want this to go? Campus gates are locking soon, aren't they? Gonna be able to get back in?"

"We aren't staying on campus tonight." Zane dropped the sentence without even blinking.

Panic spiked through my chest. I practically jumped out of my chair. "I'm just giving his stuff back! I'm leaving right after!"

"Heh." The second the word 'leaving' left my mouth, the dark irritation instantly flooded back into his expression. "You invite me all the way out here, and all you talk about is leaving. You really love playing games."

I just squeezed my eyes shut, entirely out of words.

For the rest of the meal, I kept my head down, aggressively shoving tacos into my mouth in dead silence. He barely touched his food.

I frowned, swallowing hard. "Why aren't you eating?"

"I ate on the flight."

Chapter 10

"If you already ate, why did you"

"Wanted a taste of the local stuff."

"Forget it. I'm not arguing with you. Here's your bracelet." I shoved the heavy wooden beads toward his chest.

He didn't take it. Instead, his large hand wrapped around my wrist, his thumb casually brushing over my pulse point. "Your skin is so pale. It looks good on you."

"I don't deserve it. It's too damn expensive."

He didn't say another word. He just snagged the beads from my palm and carelessly shoved them into the front pocket of his jeans.

We drifted into random banter as we ate. At some point, the conversation got heated, and I blurted out, "Do guys from the East Coast actually eat pigeons?"

He took a slow drag of his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke before his dark eyes locked onto mine. "I don't know about pigeons, but I'm definitely thinking about eating a local girl."

My lungs seized. What did my hometown ever do to him?

By the time we finished eating and walked back to campus, the heavy iron gates were completely chained shut.

"Sorry. Guess you're locked out." He said the word 'sorry,' but the lazy smirk playing on his lips told a completely different story.

I had no choice but to follow him all the way back to the hotel, fully planning to just book a second room for myself at the front desk.

"I'm heading back down." The second we stepped into his room, I spun around to slip out, but his tall frame instantly blocked the doorway.

I stepped left; he mirrored me. I stepped right; his broad shoulders shifted, effortlessly cutting off my escape.

I tried to duck under his arm, but his heavy hand clamped onto my waist. In one seamless motion, he yanked me backward, pinning my spine flush against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

"If you keep playing games, you're going to cross a line, princess."

Before I could drag another breath into my lungs, his head dipped, and his mouth crashed down on mine.

"Zane!" I managed to gasp out against his lips.

"Yeah?" His voice was a raw, gravelly rasp.

"Let go."

"No."

"What exactly do you want?"

"You."

My palm cracked hard against his jaw. Instead of getting pissed, a low, dangerous chuckle vibrated in his chest as he finally released my waist.

"Want a drink?" His eyes darkened, tracing my flushed face. "You're dangerously tempting when you've got some liquor in your system, princess."

"Screw you!"

"Then I'll drink. Once I'm wasted, you can do whatever you want to me. I won't fight back."

He poured himself a glass of whiskey, pulling me flush against his side. His lips kept dropping to my neck, stealing quick, intoxicating kisses. The sharp bite of the alcohol transferred to my tongue, making my head spin with the heavy, heated tension.

Right at that moment, the shrill ring of my cell phone violently shattered the haze in my brain.

I pushed away from his solid chest. "Drink by yourself. I seriously have to go."

The muscles in his jaw instantly ticked.

"It's my dad. He's telling me to come home."

"Why is he suddenly calling at"

"It's not sudden." I hesitated for two seconds before dropping the bomb. "The guy running that taco stand earlier? That was my dad."

"I'm dead." The lazy arrogance completely vanished from his face. He froze for three solid seconds before his hands shot up, rapidly buttoning his shirt and shrugging on his jacket. "I'm walking you home."

"You don't need to."

"I'll just walk you to your street. I won't go in."

"Oh. Okay."

He was practically vibrating with tension the entire walk back. I honestly had no idea what he was stressing over. Wasn't he just acting like he owned the world ten minutes ago? Turns out the bad boy actually gets scared.

"Are you coming to find me tomorrow morning?" he asked as we stopped at the corner of my street.

"Why would I do that?"

"I flew halfway across the country. You aren't even going to show me around the city, princess?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. "We'll see tomorrow."

"I'll wait for you."

Why was he acting like we were never going to see each other again? I waved him off and walked toward my house.

When I pushed my front door open, the air inside was suffocatingly heavy. There was an extra person sitting on our living room couch.

Dylan.

"Why are you back so late?" Dylan instantly shot up from the cushions the second he saw me.

"I was busy." I didn't even want to look at his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I just flew back into town."

"And why are you at my house? Don't you have your own home?" The words tasted like ash, but I spat them out anyway.

I still vividly remembered visiting his place over summer break last year. He had glared at me and demanded, 'Why do you always run straight to my house the second break starts? Don't you have your own home?' The memory used to make my chest physically ache. He had spent hours sweet-talking me into forgiving him back then. I had been so blindly in love, I actually convinced myself he was just trying to make me more independent.

"I texted you so many times. You didn't reply to a single one." The muscles in his jaw stiffened.

"Didn't have time."

Chapter 11

My dad's face instantly darkened. "In my office. Now."

I followed him into the study. He slammed his hand on the desk. "What the hell is going on?"

"You were the one who wanted this relationship. It's been three years. You two were practically talking about marriage. What exactly are you doing?"

"Dylan bought a whole trunk of gifts and sat here waiting for you all day. And you? Take a good look at what you're doing right now."

Waiting all day? Who asked him to wait?

My dad wasn't wrong. I had always treated this relationship like it was heading straight for the altar. I had this entire fantasy built in my headwe would graduate, get married, and build a quiet, normal life together. But he obviously never saw it that way.

I dragged him to meet every single relative I had. Him? I hadn't even seen a picture of his parents. He always claimed they were too busy with work and wanted to wait until graduation to do a formal family dinner. Like an idiot, I bought every word of it.

Three years together, and we never went further than kissing. He told me he wanted to save himself for our wedding night. I actually admired him for it.

But the second his ex-girlfriend rolled back into town, he carried her straight to a hotel room on the very first night and swore up and down he was single. Hilarious, right? So who exactly was he saving that precious virginity for?

A sharp burn hit the back of my nose, but the pure anger swallowing it up burned ten times hotter. "We broke up." I kept my voice completely flat.

My dad's voice spiked. "Why? Because of that thug you were with tonight?"

My jaw dropped. "Dylan cheated on me."

I laid out the whole timeline. How Dylan went to pick up his ex, left me stranded at the train station, and ignored my calls all day.

My dad paused for half a second. "Picking someone up counts as cheating now? Dylan already explained it was a misunderstanding. You just went out and found some random guy. How does that make us look to his family?"

He saw me with Zane, and his brain instantly hardwired the blame onto me. There was absolutely no point in arguing.

"It has nothing to do with him. I'm just absolutely done with Dylan."

"Done with Dylan? So you can run off with that lowlife? If I hadn't called you home tonight, were you seriously going to" My dad's face turned purple.

"No." I had no idea what kind of Kool-Aid Dylan had been feeding him all day.

"Don't think just because you're in college you can do whatever the hell you want! Let me make this clear. If you pull any stunts with that guy from tonight, don't bother coming back to this house."

He was dead set on the idea that I threw away a three-year relationship over Zane. I clamped my mouth shut. A bone-deep exhaustion weighed my shoulders down.

When I walked back into the living room, my mom was still chatting with Dylan. The second he saw me, he smoothly pivoted the conversation. "Your mom mentioned you're looking for an internship. Want to work at my uncle's firm? I can make a call."

My mom's eyes instantly lit up. "Oh, that would be amazing." She shot me a heavy look, silently ordering me to thank him.

"I'll find my own." I didn't even look at him.

"Sir, look at her." Dylan looked past me, playing the victim directly to my dad.

"Watch your attitude." My dad shot me a stare dripping with heavy disappointment, let out a sigh, and walked straight into his bedroom.

Watch my attitude? For a cheating liar? I spun on my heel and walked straight to my room.

The air in the house turned suffocatingly thick. It was way too late for my mom to kick a guest out, so she set Dylan up in the spare guest room.

In the dead of night, the handle of my bedroom door slowly clicked open. He slipped inside, his shadow looming over my bed as he leaned down, trying to kiss me.

"Get out!" I scrambled backward, my spine hitting the headboard.

He froze in the dark. "I just wanted to talk. Taylor, you never used to be like this. Weren't you always complaining that I didn't spend enough time with you? I I just want to keep you company."

I slammed my hand against the wall, flipping the harsh overhead light on. "You make me sick."

Chapter 12

Sneaking into my room to kiss me while I was asleep maybe the old me would have thought it was romantic. Now, my stomach just churned with absolute disgust.

I couldn't breathe the same air as him for another second. I grabbed my jacket and walked out into the cold night.

I wandered the empty streets aimlessly until my feet dragged me back to the campus gates. I sank down onto the concrete directly under the harsh glare of a streetlamp.

My brain was completely fried from the adrenaline and the screaming match with my dad. At three in the morning, I pulled out my phone and fired off a text to Zane.

[ I can't show you around the city tomorrow. Just book a day tour or something. ]

I figured he was dead to the world, but my screen instantly lit up with an incoming call.

"What's wrong?" His voice was a heavy, gravelly rasp, like I had just dragged him out of a deep sleep.

"Nothing." Regret instantly coated my tongue.

"Nothing, but you're texting me at three in the morning?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"No I was waiting for your call." He paused, the sound of fabric rustling over the line. "Didn't sleep the night before last. Couldn't sleep on the flight either