Page 28 of Just a Little Prick

Lora

Fucking Bradley.

“You should have known better.” I wasn’t sure if scolding myself was making things better or worse, but I didn’t stop as I walked through the alley back to Bakeology. “You should have known that a guy like that wouldn’t stop screwing other girls.”

What a dickhead. That was literally the problem. Bradley only thought with his dick.

God, I felt so stupid.

A hand landed on my shoulder. I spun around, letting out a yelp.

Bradley. Fucking Bradley.

“You—” I started.

He leaned forward and kissed me. Hard. Heat surged inside me. I rose on my toes, leaning into the kiss. I hated how easy it was to want him, even when he was being an asshole.

I pushed against his chest, away from him. “You—you’re such a jerk!”

“Lora,” he started.

“Jerk!” I stared at him, mouth opening and closing.

“Lora.” He leaned forward, his hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay? You said you wanted to keep things quiet, right? If I turned a girl down, everyone I work with would know something is up! And they’d tell Kenzie, and we’d be screwed.”

I took a deep breath.

He was right.

“And besides,” he continued. “This is just hooking up, you and me. Friends with benefits. You can’t get angry with me for checking out other women.”

Right.

I exhaled, shutting my eyes tight. We weren’t really together. Just fooling around.

No getting attached.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea anymore.

I nodded slowly.

Bradley squeezed my shoulders gently. “Lora. It’s okay. I don’t want to go see her, anyway. Why don’t we get together tonight?”

“Maybe.” I wanted to say yes. I couldn’t.

“Maybe? Okay. Well, just text me. All right? Whatever you decide.” He let go.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll text you.”

“Okay.” He took a step back. “Have a good rest of the day.”

“Yeah. You too.”

I walked back into Bakeology.

Immediately, Kenzie looked up at me. Her eyebrows shot up. “Lora? Whoa, are you okay?”

“I—” I couldn’t tell her what had just happened. She couldn’t know. “It’s just Chris. Texting me. Being an asshole.”

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