Page 20 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

“Didn’t you fuck her?” someone else chimed in.

The bloke nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, for a bit. Last year. Nothing serious. She was…bit boring.”

“What do you think happened?” another voice asked, curiosity dripping from their tone. “I heard someone spiked her.”

“No way,” someone else countered. “The whole netball team was out. Why would they spikeher? You seen the others, yeah? If you wanted to fuck one of them, it wouldn’t be Connie.”

Aaron couldn’t bear to hear any more. So he slunk off back to the kitchen where it was quieter, the buzz of the party muffled by the door closing behind him. Resting against the counter, he poured himself another drink. The noise and the people felt like static in his head. Didn’t feelreal. They weren’t part of his life, where death and destruction were the norm. Where it wasn’t something to frame with flippancy.

“You hiding in here?” Leaning casually on the doorframe with a grin plastered across his face that Aaron could read a mileoff, Max was trying to get in his pants more than his boyfriend was.

“Your mates are pricks.”

Max laughed, then wandered in, grabbing a beer from the fridge and cracking it open. “Taylor shouldn’t leave you here all alone, should he?”

No, he shouldn’t. Cause Aaron wasn’t someone who played nice when people provoked him. And he could feel the itch under his skin, the heat rising in his chest, begging him to bite back. Confrontation brought out the worst in him. Years of having to protect himself, to assert his place in an unforgiving world, had made him quick to rise to a challenge. And Max was just another twat who thought he could poke the beast and not get clawed.

He should thank his lucky stars Aaron had been going to therapy recently.

Max’s expression didn’t waver, but Aaron saw through it. The smirk, the confidence. It wasn’t real. It was a mask. A thin veneer covering his insecurities. Max didn’t see Aaron as a threat because he didn’t take him seriously. To Max, Aaron was a toy, something to poke, prod, and test, not realising that some things snapped back harder than expected.

Max chugged back some beer. “We used to share in this house. Til you came along.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. That was the thing about people like Max. They were arseholes because it made them feel bigger, stronger, in control. Aaron knew the type. He’d spent his whole life around people who thought dominance was a game, and validation came from how much they could take from others.

“You feeling left out?” Aaron mock pouted. If Max wanted to test him, let him. But Aaron wasn’t someone who broke easily, and he wasn’t afraid to remind people of that.

“Me? Nah. I get enough. I’m guessing Taylor’s the one feeling left out though.”

Aaron said nothing.

“Saw you on the pole.”

“I’m sure you had a good look.”

“I did.” Max winked. “Y’know, Taylor won’t be back for hours. And he won’t mind if we make our own amusement until then.”

“Play Twister?”

Max laughed. “If that’s how to get your arse in my face.”

“You wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

“I’ll bet I can do more with it than Taylor can.” Max cocked his head. “Or does.”

Aaron could smell the desperation. The need to get one up on Taylor. On George. He was one of those blokes. Needed to have it all.

Max stepped closer. “If he’s not satisfying you, I can give it a go?”

“Fuck off, Max.” Aaron prodded his chest, pushing him away. He wasn’t worried. More bored. “You’ll get a sprain with how much you’re bending over to crawl up my arse.”

Max chuckled, then raised his hands, stepping back. “All right, all right. No offense, yeah?” He turned his back, sorting out drinks, then handed a JD and Coke to him. “Peace offering.”

Aaron hesitated before taking the glass. Max might be a prick, but he was harmless compared to the vast majority who tried it on with him. He’d had way worse than some chemistry student wanting to pick up bragging rights. So he took the cup and knocked it back in one swoop.

“Nice.” Max grinned, gathering the other cups. “Look, we always try it on with each other’s boyfriends. It’s like an initiation.” He pointed a finger. “You just passed. Well done.”

Max left, but Aaron stayed rooted to the spot, staring at the floor, mind a jumble of indecision. He could leave. Head back to his Halls, crawl into bed, and block out the world. Or he could sneak up to Taylor’s room, zone out in front of his TV, andpretend the party wasn’t happening downstairs. He did neither, instead, staying where he was in the kitchen. He drank. One drink turned into another, then another, until his tongue felt thick and his lips dried out. He staggered over to the sink, fumbling for a glass and filling it with water. He rarely got this drunk, this quickly, but the edges of his sight blurred, and he blinked, trying to focus, but the motion only made his head swim.

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