Page 123 of Love Sick

Hard to be raised by sisters, then stumble into the real world only to realize this is the way men talk about them. When we were in college, I remember Tori overheard some guys objectifying her at a party. She drunkenly—and facetiously—­demanded they drop trou so she could decide which of them she wanted based on the size and look of their dicks. Their outrage was hilarious, but the fallout wasn’t. Tori was branded a whore. The men got off without another mention.

“God, I fucking hate Lexie, but her tits—” Greg says, doing the whole chef’s kiss thing. “I’d do her first if I could tape her mouth shut.”

Liam laughs, but Asher shoots Greg a disgusted look. “Bro. What the fuck? That’s called rape.”

Greg rolls his eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Okay, yeah. I’m sure Lexie would agree.” Asher stands and walks away, leaving Greg to glare after him.

Huh. At least they’re notallassholes. I sort of wish I wasn’t starting to like Asher, though. Does he still want Grace? I can’t really tell.

Ignoring the scene, Max shakes my arm, bringing my attention to him. “I’m glad you’re getting this out of your system.”

Getting…what?I glance at him. “Huh?”

“This thing.” He motions toward me. “You know. With—” He mouths,Grace.

Inspecting his dark eyes, I try to decipher his meaning. “This…thing?”

“Yeah.” He leans his elbows on his knees and sips his whiskey. “I mean, she’s been in your head since the beginning.”

“What?”

“You remember why you started this, right? All those strongly worded papers you wrote about women’s health. Maternal mortality rates. Wanting to change the landscape of OB-GYN.”

Where is this going? Of course I remember the papers. I’ll never forget what happened to the women in my life.

Maxwell shrugs and stares at the fire instead of me. “You forgot it all when a pretty girl batted her eyes at you.”

My stomach tightens, and I set my bottle on the ground between us. “I didn’t forget—”

“You’re slippin’, bro. Your CREOG score. You don’t think that has to do with her?”

Of course it does.“I’ve always been a bad test-taker. All she ever wants to do is study.”

It’s not her fault I can’t concentrate on anything but her.

He snorts. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Maxwell, you need to back off. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He sighs. “All right. Maybe I’m wrong. I’m sorry. Okay?”

I say nothing. Is he right? I’m haunted by her, but it will pass.

Won’t it?

Maxwell meets my eyes. “It’s not my business. I just… Be careful, man. What they say about her—”

Anger slices through my doubt. “Stop. That’s all bullshit, and you know it.”

Maxwell shakes his head, almost like he pities me, and every organ in my body turns to stone.

“Tell me you don’t believe it,” I say.

With a deep sigh, Maxwell turns back to his drink. “No. I don’t. Not really. She’s too straitlaced to do the shit they say. She just… She’s in your head, and I don’t know if you’re in hers.”

That lands about as gently as a boulder in my chest. “Why would you say that?”

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