Page 12 of Longing for the Minotaur
“I understand so much more. And that, I’m really, really grateful for.” Finally, she looks up at me again. “Why did you out me and Cory?”
Huh? My brain stutters to a halt.
“Cory?” I ask. “Who the fuck is that?”
“My boyfriend. When I was a freshman.”
Right. Cory, that skinny guy who was always trying to get in with the football players. He thought being a filthy-mouthed jackass was the way into the cool-kids crowd, and he said some things about Valentina he regretted when I beat him to a pulp later.
“Because I couldn’t stand him,” I growl. “Because he didn’t deserve you.” I lean down closer to her, still holding her hand, clasping it tighter as my lips reach her ear. “Only I do.”
CHAPTER
FIVE
VALENTINA
Never in my life have I been so supremely taken off-guard. The very last thing I expected Banon to say was that he lusted after me in a bikini. And my voice? Who notices somebody’s voice?
I can feel Banon’s heavy breaths against the shell of my ear, and it sends a shiver down my arms. Instantly, my body is awake, remembering every last dirty thought I’ve ever had about him.
Dirty thoughts thathehas apparently also had aboutme.
If I hadn’t seen the pained expression on his face as he told me, I would never believe what he just said. I can’t help but feel like Banon’s messing with me, somehow. Am I going to wake up and this will all be a dream? Is it an elaborate joke and I’m walking right into it?
He tattled on me having a boyfriend because he was jealous. That makes it sting far less.
Banon holds my hand, perilously close, the scent of his cologne filling my nose. He’s worn the same one since high school, and it still does unspeakable things to me. My body iswarm all over, so warm that I don’t even notice the cold breeze picking up.
“I was fifteen when you left home,” I say slowly, still trying to understand.
Banon exhales. “I know. Fucked up. So fucked up. That’s why I had to go.”
That makes so much more sense now, too. It’s not how I would’ve gone about it, but at least I understand.
“Hey.” I lean back so we can look at each other. It’s always been wonderful to me how inhuman his face is, with his long muzzle and broad nostrils and wide-set eyes. “You don’t have to be ashamed. With me. Of how you feel.”
He inhales sharply. “Really? You’re not… horrified?”
How could I be, when I’ve had the same thoughts ever since I met him? That first time I was introduced to Dad’s new girlfriend and her teenage son, I was a goner.
“Well, would it be even more horrible of me if I said that I get it?” I wrap both my hands around his. “That I’ve felt the same way since the day our parents got married?”
His jaw flexes. “It wouldn’t be horrible, no,” he says, voice strained. “Not at all.”
“Then what you feel isn’t horrible, either.”
Banon doesn’t look like he believes me. “You can’t be serious.”
I guess it’s time. He’s bared his soul to me, told me the truth he’s been hiding all along, and now I should do the same—take a leap, hoping it’s the right one.
“Dead serious. I couldn’t take my eyes off you on that Cancún trip, either.” I bite my lip, thinking of the moment that changed my life forever. “And… I saw you. Once. With Lillian. Back in high school.”
His brow wrinkles. “What do you mean, with Lillian?”
“Prom night. You brought her home.” I swallow hard as I stare my shame right in the face. “I peeked.”
His eyes get huge. “You saw me fuck Lillian?”
