Page 105 of IOU

“Because I liked living with you.”

She swallows and a small sniffle squeaks out before she turns in Bostic’s arms, hugging him likehewas the one who just admitted that he broke all his rules for her.

I take a step back and yell “Fuck” into the open air, grabbing my hair and tugging. I want to feel pain. Ineedto get rid of this feeling in my chest.

“I love you, okay? Is that what you want to goddamn hear? I’ve been in love with you since you called me out on the beer.”

I think back to the time when she asked me to breathe on her to prove I drank the beers I carried around all the time.

“You figured me out in a matter of days. No one has ever had the nerve to question me.”

Sebastian lets out a scoffing noise that I don’t bother addressing. I mean someone other than him. He didn’t need to figure me out because he knew me before the rumors created me.

“You want to know the reason I don’t smoke those cigarettes I tuck behind my ear when I’m thinking, or drink the beer I carry around to feel normal?”

Ainsley’s tears lessen and she quiets.

“Tell her, Mitchell. Go ahead and fucking tell her why I owed you a fucking favor in the first place.”

At least the nasty look she gives is not aimed at me this time.

“Boss?” She turns and steps out of his hold. Fucking finally! She folds her arms over her chest and settles her shoulders as if she’s preparing to self soothe.

Mitchell flashes me a glare and then clears his throat. “A year ago, we got a nine-one-one call.”

My watch starts beeping and Ainsley and Mitchell both stop to look at me. I wave my hand that I’m fine.

“To my apartment, to be exact,” I add when they both just continue to watch me and not speak.

“Maverick had been pulling all-nighters, working and playing poker, trying to get his grandfather’s business back up and running,” Mitchell explains. “He had developed the heart condition and didn’t know how to control it, so he began drinking and smoking more. It dulled the effects of the fast rhythm until one day it didn’t.”

Ainsley gasps and makes a move like she wants to come to me but stops herself.

Bostic continues, keeping his gaze on me, his eyes flicking to my watch occasionally. “I was the first one on the scene.”

I remember the night when I answered the door, sweating and terrified. I wouldn’t let anyone else in. I knew I needed help, but I didn’t want anyone to find out and call my grandfather. He was in the rehab hospital, learning to walk again after the stroke. My brother was a junior, running the house and spending his evenings at the rehab center, annoying the old man. They did not need another thing to worry about. I was supposed to be working hard and getting my degree, not being found in my apartment drunk and having a heart attack.

“After a little coaxing, Maverick allowed me inside and I put him on the monitors. After a lot of drunk arguing, he finally agreed to do some breathing exercises.”

I was such an ass that night. Even if I was scared, I would have rather died than gone to the hospital.

Ainsley interrupts, “You taught him how to convert the rhythm.”

Bostic nods. “He refused to go to the ER, though.”

Ainsley looks at me as if she could beat my ass.

I shrug. She should know this about me. “It was a year ago,” I add.

Is she going to be pissed off at me forever?

“So, when his rhythm converted and he refused to go to the ER, I made him something to eat and then I left.”

I narrow my eyes. “But he came back,” I tell her, filling in the missing information. “Just like he did with you. Your ‘Boss’ over here is a nosy bastard.”

I chance a look at Mitchell, who only grins at me. “He talked me into going to the ER and getting checked out,” I add. He also swore he wouldn’t tell anyone. “Then he drove me home and I felt obligated to return the favor. So I offered him a game of poker, which he lost epically.” I point at him. “I did learn something, though,” I admit. “His tells.”

I offer the man who’s been like a father to me this past year a grin. “As time went on and we began playing poker regularly, I noticed he would always bring a case of beer and a pack of cigarettes. But he never drank or smoked. Ever.” I shake my head and smile. “I had the worst time figuring out the purpose behind it. One night, about six games in, I finally asked him why and he said, ‘Everyone has a vice. I’ve found that I don’t need to drink or smoke to feel the comforts of its effect. There’s power in restraint.’”

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