Page 73 of Swallow Your Sorries

So‘daddy’isn’t a kink of hers, but I know what is.

During my forty-eight hours of grace following the lake incident, I’d found another way to satiate my appetite by joining Elle remotely via her phone. Turns out my little dove likes my finger necklaces. What’s more? She likes them from blokes who resemble me. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin. She’d even searched for men with undercuts.

“Even I don’t watch porn in public,” Hale says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and falling into step beside me.

“Elle watched this GIF twelve times last night,” I say, tilting my phone screen toward him. “Who does he look like?”

Hale’s eyes go wide as he grins at me. “You have a doppelgänger.”

“I’ve infected her and now she’s sick with obsession.” I shake my head. Last night, I’d watched her surf through hours of throat grab and finger fuck content on mute. I bet she was hiding under the covers from Stassi and Aria, though they aren’t ones to judge. Aria was probably on a circuit of stepbro filth at the same time.

“And who could blame her?” Hale says, squeezing my shoulder.

I pause mid-step and eye his massaging fingers.

What the hell does he want this early in the morning?

“Doesn’t mean she’ll give in so soon,” Bae says, eyeing the screen as he joins us.

“It’s all an ebb and flow. We flowed and now it’s time that we ebb.”

Bae glances ahead to the dance studio. “Ten hours to break?”

“Maybe nine. Partner work is awfully intimate, isn’t it?” I ask, saving Elle’s smutty inspiration to my notes. I’m always willing to learn and improve.

“Romantic even. When we dance, it can create a love story. A fantasy. And we all give into our fantasies eventually,” Hale says, giving me another little squeeze.

“I’ve made so many of her dreams come true already. Who am I to deny her this?”

“Your charity is unparalleled,” Hale agrees.

“Just tell him what you want already.”

We turn to see Zedd and Étienne. Of course, it’s Zedd who spoke.

Étienne aside, I normally don’t have practical classes with any of them except for Stretch class that we’re all headed to now. It’s pretty common for students in figure skating and other forms of dance to partake in some lower-tier ballet classes to improve their flexibility and stability.

Hale wrinkles his brow and drapes his other arm around Zedd’s shoulders. “I’m offended.”

“There has to be a reason you’re kissing ass so early,” Zedd says flatly.

“You smell like spices,” Hale says, sniffing Zedd’s neck. Zedd swats him off, but Hale’s grip is relentless. “Where did you go so early this morning?”

“Food and Nutrition.”

“You were in Home Ec?” Hale asks incredulously.

“What are you, a dinosaur?”

“A Giganotosaurus.” Hale nods and wiggles his eyebrows. “Want to guess why?”

“Diplodocus,” Étienne says thoughtfully, and Hale pauses before grinning like the schoolboy he is.

“Nice.”

“They don’t call it Home Economics anymore,” Zedd mutters, ignoring them.

“Since when have you been interested in cooking? Or nutrition?” Bae asks.

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