Page 25 of Heart Sick Hate

I take a step back, and like a predator sensing my retreat, Crew swings open the door.

Fuck him.

Of course he’s in nothing more than a pair of gray sweatpants that hang so low on his waist his muscles draw a line straight to places I should not be thinking about. His tattooed chest is on full display, every ripple of his arms flexing as he grabs the sides of the doorframe and smirks at me.

Devilish confidence I’d like to smack off his face.

“Crew.” I grit my teeth.

His lips tilt in a devious smile. “Already with the attitude? You’re the one standing at my doorstep in the middle of the night.”

He’s right. I am. Doesn’t make me hate him any less.

“Can I come in?”

I think he’ll shut the door in my face just for the fun of it. He’s unpredictable, and you can never guess how he’ll react or what he’ll do. But instead of locking me out, he takes a step back, letting me in.

This is a terrible idea.

Why I’m walking past him instead of running doesn’t make any sense. But the gravity of this place, of my decision,of himpulls me inside. And when he closes the door behind me, air holds in my lungs.

“Drink?” he asks, brushing past me and walking into the kitchen.

A large granite island separates the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and it feels bigger than it did the last time I was here. Or maybe I feel smaller.

The dark gray walls expand with every breath. Black and gray furniture; sleek lines that draw out the wideness of this space.

Working at the shop with Crew, in a not-so-great part of LA, it’s easy to forget he comes from money. It’s only when I see him here or at his father’s house that I’m reminded just how far apart our worlds are.

He tips the whiskey bottle at me, and I shake my head.

The booze might give me more confidence, but I don’t need anything else clouding my judgment right now. That’s already twisted enough.

Crew shrugs, pouring a shot and downing it before setting the bottle aside.

He’s been drinking more lately. Partying more lately.

Not that I can judge when I’ve been getting high more lately.Lately—somehow everything is escalating. I’m not sure what his reasons are, but I know mine.

“Did you come here just to stare at me?” Crew’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Out of those gray eyes of his that root me in place.

I shake my head. “No.”

This all played out better in my imagination, where I was more confident. While right now I’m standing on shaky ground as I try to pull myself together.

“Then why—”

“I want you to take my virginity,” I cut him off, and I’m not sure a sentence has ever felt more vulnerable.

His eyes pinch as he works over what I said. Processing for a moment as the words float in the space between us. Only then does he react.

Barely. The smallest tick of a smirk.

“Funny.” Crew shakes his head, pushing off the counter and walking across the room to sink into a big leather chair. “You almost got me with that one. Why are you actually here, Echo?”

I swallow the frustration bubbling to the surface, clenching my hands at my sides. “Thatiswhy I’m here.”

“You’re not a virgin.” His eyebrow ticks as his gaze drops down my body and back up again, pausing when his stare lands on my left hand, to the solid white gold purity ring that sits there. “You’re not.”

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