Page 58 of Lords of Misrule
“I would have broken up with her if I thought I had a chance with Charlotte.”
At least I know my instincts aren’t wrong.
“Charlotte’s right. It’s been a long time since you got to stick your dick in something. Maybe you should do that a few times first before you get involved with her.” I lift a shoulder, trying to seem like I’m giving casual advice.
“I don’t want to stick my dick in something,” Hudson snaps.
“What does she want?” Finn asks.
“She seemed open to the idea. You’ll have to talk with her. She might have been trying to spare my feelings or waiting to talk to you. I don’t know.”
“Then it’s a moot point until we get back.” Finn glances at the way my fist balls up on the table and gives me a look.
* * *
When we get back to town I can hardly wait to talk with Charlotte. I want her side of this, and I want to make sure Hudson’s not lying. I don’t think he would, but I also know Charlotte doesn’t care about hurting my feelings. She’ll be blunt as fuck with the truth, and I want to know where she stands with him.
I find her kneeling in the closet of my room. Our closet really, at this point, half of it is overrun with her shit. A thing I half-hate and half-love at the same time. She turns when she hears me come in, smiling.
“You’re home.”
“Yeah. I’m home,” I echo, shutting and locking the door behind me.
Her eyes go to the door and then to me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hudson spilled some secrets about your trip to me and Finn.”
“Oh…” She stands, a flash of guilt across her face before she steels her spine and stands. “Well, I wanted to talk with all of us there but if you guys needed to talk it through first, I guess okay.”
“Yeah. Something like that. And now I want to have the kind of talk only you and I can have. No punches pulled because there’s no feelings to worry about, got it?”
She nods.
“Did you fuck him?”
“No. But we got off separately together in a shower.”
“That just accidentally happened? Just both suddenly in there—you wet and him hard and needing to get clean?”
She rolls her eyes.
“He was drunk. I was kind of drunk. He kissed me, and I told him he was just projecting his feelings about the girlfriend onto me. He insisted it wasn’t true. That he’s wanted me for longer than that.”
“And you?”
“I like him, a lot. And if it wasn’t for the promise I made to you, I would have fucked him that night.”
“So now what? The rich boy wants you and you’re done with us?”
“I never said that.”
“He said he wants you. You just admitted you want to fuck him.”
“He just wants to be part of this. He’s part of it in every other way. But we hold him at arm’s length. He has to listen to us fuck. How would you like to be on the outside like that? I doubt you’d go along with it.
“I’d find my own girl to fuck.”
