Arranged love

The door opens a tad, but Titan holds it shut with his weight. And I finally understand. The Kings must be in there, beating the shit out of some unlucky soul. It happens. Often. The Dark Kings are bullies. They will make you bleed. No matter if it’s with their fists or a knife. I once heard that Cross burned a guy on the face with a cigarette.

Without caring what’s going on, I reach over and grab E’s hand, yanking her into the women’s bathroom. I rush into a stall. “What was that about?” I ask, undoing my jeans.

She sighs. “Well, you know last weekend when we fucked the guys in the game room at the party?”

“Yeah,” I answer slowly, wondering where she’s going with that.

“That wasn’t the first time I’ve had an audience.”

I nod to myself. “I remember you and Bones mentioning that.” I unzip my backpack and pull out a tampon before I finish up in the stall.

“Yeah, well …” She pauses when I exit. “Before that, I let Bones fuck me in the men’s locker room after school hours.”

I remember that too. It was when I was mad at Luca and thought he was texting me, but it was her phone going off. “That’s nothing new.” I snort washing my hands.

“Yeah, but Titan was in there and watched us.”

“What?”

She bites her bottom lip. “At the time, I didn’t think Bones knew, but what he said in the game room last weekend confirmed that he knew Titan was in there watching us.”

I stare at her wide-eyed. “Well … Are you mad at Bones?”

“No. Should I be?”

I chuckle, yanking towels out of the dispenser.

“I … uh, I …”

“What?” I turn to face her. “Spit it out.” She knows she can tell me anything. The girls and I don’t keep secrets from one another.

“I wanted him to join us,” she admits.

My eyes bug out. I was not expecting that to come out of her mouth.

“I know.” She places her hands over her face. “I’m such a slut.”

“Hey.” I pull them away. “You are not a slut. You’ve only ever slept with Bones. It’s totally understandable to want to try out another dick.”

She laughs.

“There’s nothing wrong with being sexually hungry, E.”

She looks down at the floor and nods once.

“And Bones obviously seems okay with it. Maybe you should offer-”

“Absolutely not!” she interrupts me, turning to face the mirror. She slides her hand down her white Gucci dress. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”

“I’ve never had a three-way,” I admit. And although I was one hundred percent turned on when I watched Bones fuck her, I have no interest in a threesome.

She rolls her eyes. “No, I mean why did we have to skip class to rush in here? Did you pee your pants?” She chuckles softly. “Or were you afraid you were going to shit yourself?”

“Oh. I had started my period.”

She frowns. “I’m not on.”

We’ve been on the same cycle for almost a year now. Poor Jasmine has never had one the same time each month. “I know. I’ve been sweating bullets, thinking I was pregnant.”

“What?” She gasps.

“It was a false alarm.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, but I’ve been nervous as fuck. We don’t always use condoms, and I also don’t take my pills religiously. Plus, I was drinking at the party. I didn’t realize I was late until a few days after.

“Why didn’t you tell me? And what would you have done?” she asks wide-eyed.

I shrug. “I hadn’t thought that far.”

Throwing her head back, she sighs. “See, this is why I can’t afford a threesome. What if I got pregnant and didn’t know who the dad was? Bones and I don’t use condoms. Well, we did in the beginning but not anymore.”

I don’t say anything. It sounds so irresponsible when she puts it that way.

“Come on, let’s go to class,” she orders.

We walk out of the women’s bathroom, but my upper arm is grabbed, and I’m pulled to a stop.

“Haven.” Luca stands there in the busy hall, his dark eyes boring down on mine. “May I speak to you?”

“I’m late …”

“It’ll only take a minute.” He yanks me back into the bathroom, then locks the door behind us, shutting Emilee out.

“I’ll see you in class,” she calls out through the door.

“I’m on my period,” I tell him. “We can’t have bathroom sex.”

“I know. We heard you girls.”

“You heard …?” My voice trails off when I realize what he means. Narrowing my eyes, I demand. “Were you in the men’s bathroom with the Kings?”

The rooms share a wall. I didn’t hear them, but I wasn’t really listening either. Now I know it’s because after they were beating the shit out of some guy, they were spying on us.

He doesn’t answer. But he doesn’t have to. I already know that answer. “You had no right …”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“You should have told me you thought you were pregnant,” he snaps.

“Why? To push you away?”

He lets out a long sigh and steps into me. Cupping my cheeks, he frowns. “You think I’d leave you?”

“The thought crossed my mind,” I admit softly. I’ve taken five pregnancy tests, and they all said negative, but none of them helped ease my fear. What my mom would say. How I would tell him. It has consumed my every thought. I think to the point that I was convincing my body I was growing a baby. The stress alone probably kept me from starting.

“Haven, I’m never going to leave you.” He pulls me into him. “I just wish you would have told me. My job is to take care of you. And if we get pregnant, then I’ll take care of both of you.”

“If we get pregnant?” I arch a brow.

“Of course. You’re not alone in this relationship, Haven.”

I went that very next day to get on the shot. I told my mother about my pregnancy scare and that I had missed some pills, so I chose the shot instead. I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep getting them. “I didn’t read the contract,” I blurt out. I need him to understand that I don’t know all that is required of me.

He stays silent, but he’s no longer snoring, so I know I woke him up.

“I do love you,” I whisper. “And I’d love to have a family with you, but I won’t allow you to harm any child of mine.”

He shifts, and I close my eyes.

“Haven. Haven, look at me,” he orders, placing his hand on my face to tilt it toward him.

I open my eyes, and they sting from unshed tears. “I may be my father’s son, but I’m nothing like him. I don’t want my parents’ marriage. And I would never, ever hurt you or our children.” He presses his lips gently to my forehead, and the first tear rolls down the side of my face.