Page 38 of Make Me Pretty
It’s disgusting.
I readjust my dick as I step into the locker room. It smells like body odor, dirty socks, and stagnant water. So refreshinganda complete boner killer.
Dropping my bag to the bench, I strip my sweat-soaked clothes off and let them fall to the concrete floor with a loud plop. Wrinkling my nose, I grab my soap and step into the communal shower area, turning the knob until lukewarm water spits from the spout. The spray is sharp as it hammers down across my flesh, but I relish in the sting.
I close my eyes, focusing on the rush and fall of the water to try and clear my mind, but I can’t. That fucking look he gave me—likeIdisgusthim—keeps flashing through my mind.
It makes me want to choke him again, to make him see howwronghe is. But even Abel knows the moment I put my hands on him again, every crumbling, hastily built wall between us will cease to exist.
From the moment he showed up at school, he’s been all everyone can talk about. The bruises and odd-looking scars he wears like a badge of honor. The way his eyes rake over everyone—of any gender—with heavy perusal. Not necessarily out of interest but almost like he’s picking them apart piece by piece to see what’s at their centers. Boasting in every atrocious rumor. Smiling with glee.
The dude is fucked up with a wires-crossed kind of chaos.
I shiver while stroking my cock, thinking back to the moment that started this visceral abhorrence between us. Heavy breaths. The distinct swapping of spit. Theshlickof Abel’s hand on another person’s dick.
The bright whites of his eyes cutting through the darkness to find me,dying and confused and sick.
CHAPTER 12
PERIS
“Fuck,”I groan, rubbing my hand down my face as I stand under the spray of water. I open my eyes, letting the water flow over my lashes and into my mouth. Every inhale has it rushing in, on the precipice of choking me.
Exhale. It splatters to the floor.
I don’t know how long I stand there before the water splutters and instantly burns cold. I jump back with a hiss, slamming the handle down to shut it off. Body plastered in goosebumps, I reach for my towel and knot it around my waist. My wet footsteps echo on the concrete in heavythwapsas I trek back to my belongings, somehow feeling worse off than before.
As I reach for my duffle, my ears prick, gooseflesh prickling along my wet nape. My hands still, the tip of my index finger brushing the very edge of the zipper. The silence is sharp and potent as it burns through my ear canals. A sense of déjà vu washes over me in a heavy shudder, making my skin crawl and burrow deeper.
Static zips through the air.
With my jaw locked tight, my fingers curl into my palms before I flex them, extending each digit as far as they’ll go. I walk the length of the bench to the merge of another wall oflockers. My bare feet falter at the sight of a tiny bundle huddled in the corner. A wrinkle forms between my brows, and I look up through my lashes to the ceiling in question before dropping them back to the black blob.
Withpink fucking shoes.
“Abel.”
Said shoes curl inward as Abel lifts his head, like he was waiting for me to call his name. His eyes are a little red and shiny, and the tip of his big, sharp nose is wet. Cheeks pink. Skin glistening.
My stomach swoops as my conscience hightails it right out of my brain. “Fuck.” I digest the sight before me with greedy eyes.
Abel looks fucking wrecked. So sad and helpless—which he very muchisn’t,but…
Fuck, he’s incredible.It flips something unfamiliar in my gut. Something warm and muted.
My rock-hard dick stirs beneath my towel, and for the first time, it’s a welcome feeling where Abel’s concerned. This isexactlyhow he’s meant to look. Frail and weak. On the floor with tears in his eyes. Finally bearing the consequences of his own actions.
Jesus.I really want to see how far I can go. How badly I can wreck that pretty face of his.Ruin that disgusting mouth…
“Is this what you wanted, Peris?” Abel rasps, cutting through my rapacious thoughts as he peers up at me through white-blonde lashes. His gray irises are striking, outlined in feathery black and glossy with a fresh revolution of tears.
I’ve never been so hard in my life; I can’t even think to questionwhyhe’s crying, let alone in the locker room, of all places.
“Want me all sad and pathetic at your feet?” A sharp hiss rips through my throat as every muscle contracts, my body engulfed in flames. I step toward Abel, eyes devouring the sight of hisruddy cheeks and quivering bottom lip, blonde hair caressing the sharp angles of his face.
The hem of my towel skims the tops of his knees as I draw near enough to touch him. Abel’s eyes never leave mine, fiercely sharp and provocative while equally demure and pathetic.
I reach down with a surprisingly steady hand to shove the hood from his head. White hair flops out, brushing his pierced ears. I greedily delve in, wrapping my fingers around the locks until my knuckles bump against his scalp, and then, I yank back until the cartilage bulges from the center of his long, slender throat. I score a nail down over the ridges, watching rapt as a long, red line blooms across his pale skin.
