Page 73 of Falling Madly
“Don’t go,” I pleaded, grasping for his shirt.
He returned on top of me and gently kissed my neck, his arm draped around my waist. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I’d hated him for so long and so passionately. I’d made up my mind, and those opinions had become part of my world—one of those immovable truths I lived by. I’d told myself Trevor was a spineless coward, not worth my time. If it wasn’t true, what was?
Trevor was the best lover, with the world’s sexiest accent.
Trevor was surprisingly fun to be around.
Trevor was my… boyfriend?
I couldn’t think that far. It was way too soon, and we worked together. He was obsessed with me. Our pairing had all the ingredients of a disaster. Maybe that’s why my emotions were all over the place. I wiped my eyes, and we lay still, his body tight against mine, until our breathing synchronized.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said, placing a soothing hand on my stomach.
“You didn’t. I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m not sad or upset. I’m just… emotional.”
I finally sat up and gingerly pulled my leggings back on. I felt awkward and exposed. “All my clothes are dirty and yuck.” I grimaced.
He sat up, too. “Do you want a T-shirt to sleep in?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “But we can’t go into your bedroom.”
“I have one in my bag.” He pointed at the overnight back we’d left by the door and got up to fetch it for me.
It was huge and had a picture of a bear on it. I did a double take. It was my bear—the one I’d designed for the crypto game. The one Boris had modified and used.
Trevor winced. “That’s all I have, I’m sorry.”
“This is why you went to buy an elf costume? To avoid giving me this?”
He averted his eyes. “I didn’t want to rub your face in it.”
“Boris made the ears too big,” I said, staring at the picture. “Bears don’t have big ears. It looks like a teddy bear.”
He still wouldn’t look at me. “I know. They wanted it to be more of a meme coin.”
I huffed, shaking my head. “I thought this was supposed to be the one that went to the moon.” I couldn’t help the sarcasm in my voice. I knew the stock had crashed and never recovered. I took a deep breath and yanked off my elf top, changing into Trevor’s XL shirt, then peeled off the leggings.
“It looks great on you,” he said mildly, throwing another log on the fire before he went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. His phone buzzed on the counter, and he picked it up, staring at it with a deep frown.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
He filled another glass for me, sliding it across the marble island. I sat on a barstool to down it. “How did you get your money out?”
He shook his head, like coming out of a trance, still a million miles away. “You mean… from…” He slowly lifted one finger off the glass to point at my shirt.
“The tokens… coins! Whatever they are. You must have gotten out before the rug pull… to pay for all this.” I glanced across the room.
Trevor’s voice was thick, like it didn’t want to emerge from his throat. “I… I was with Gavin and overheard something, figured oot it was time.” He drained his water. “I’m sure I was half the reason it crashed. We got in so early and I bought more, so I was holding a lot of coins when it went parabolic. Made me one of the whales, I guess.”
“You bought more?”
He gave a solemn nod. “I put in my savings, thinking I’d cash in early. But Gavin was keeping everyone in line, telling us it was going to go ten-X. No one was supposed to pull out. But of course, he did.”
“So, you tipped the others? Charlie, Boris…”
