Page 7 of Sweet Vengeance
“Whatever. I’m not here to talk about your dad. Bet it will be nice to have a room to yourself this year. No fuckin’ hooligans disturbing your peace.” He gives a self-deprecating smile.
“I liked being roommates with you. I’ll admit you were tough to get to know, and I have a feeling I’ve barely scratched the surface. It’s your choice in friends I question.”
“Yeah, well, I fit in with them. Plus, Cillian and Rory like you. They want to keep you as a pet.”
My mouth falls open, my temperature spiking, both in anger and maybe…something else; something I’m less proud of that makes my dick stir. I’m absolutely not supposed to think about what it would be like to see Cillian O’Shea naked. He’s a violent, drug-dealing, cocky…person. I don’t even know what else to call him. But…he’s also very,verycute.
Actually, no. That’s not the word for it. Cillian O’Shea ishot. I really like how his messy brown hair hangs down into his eyes and he has to shake it off, yet he still manages to look well put together. Love the way he dresses—often in button-up shirts hugging his nice body. I wonder what he looks like beneath those clothes…how it would feel to get on my knees for him… Rory is nothing to sneeze at either, but—
“Ollie.”
“Hmm?” It takes me a moment to shake off my Cillian stupor.
“I said your name, like, three times.”
The past couple of minutes hit me, and I cross my arms in frustration. “I’m not a pet!” I can’t believe they said that. What a bunch of jerks.
“Yeah, well, be careful. The two of them like to fuck people together, and while it’s only ever been women, I didn’t like the way they were talking about you last year.”
“Wait. What?” I don’t know what to focus on first—the fact that they engage in enough threesomes that Dean is worried about me—which is nice but like,dude, I can take care of myself—or… “They talk about me?”
“Just when we came here to say goodbye.”
Oh. So once. Not that I want them to talk about me more than that. There’s no reason guys like them would be interested in someone like me, and I’m not interested in either of them…even if I might have done a little innocent fantasizing about Cillian. “I hate them,” I tell Dean.
“You’re too good for all of us.”
“Why are you here?” I ask before realizing how that sounds. “I don’t mean it like that. I’m glad you’re here. You just usually aren’t.” Once he started staying with Tiernan last year, he was hardly ever at our dorm.
“I just wanted to check on you, make sure you got the room you were supposed to.”
The room I was… “Did youhackthe school system to get me this room? Jesus, Dean. What if you get caught?”
He shrugs. “That’s what Tiernan is for.”
Because if he does get caught, nothing will happen to him because of who Tiernan is. He staked his claim on Dean, and because of that, Dean can get away with anything.
“You shouldn’t have done that. It’s not fair. I don’t deserve this room.”
His brows draw together. “Why not? You deserve it as much as anyone does.”
“Yes, but now I know I only got it because of you.”
“So? It was going to go to someone, and that someone just happens to be you. If you don’t like it…”
“No, I like it,” I rush out. But I shouldn’t like it, shouldn’t keep it, because that’s not right. I didn’t get this room fairly.
“There’s nothing you can do about it now. Just keep the room. Enjoy it. You deserve it after the shit you put up with from us last year.”
So that’s what this is about. Dean feels bad for…what? His boyfriend kicking me out of my own room numerous times? Fighting Cillian there? His rampant mood swings when he was with me? All those things are true, but I like Dean too much to want him to feel bad about them. “Thank you…for the room…and for being my friend.”
He frowns. “Why are you thanking me for that?”
“Who knows? I get confused when I’m around you.” I can’t figure out what to think half the time. It’s not often your roommate joins the mini mob. Is that how it works? Is Dean a member now? What terrible things has he done?
I shake my head, not wanting to go there. When there’s another knock on my door, I groan and look at the ceiling, knowing that whoever it is isn’t here for me. They’re here for Dean, which means it’s either Tiernan, Cillian, Rory, or all of them.
“Someone is at your door,” Dean says.
