“You said he reminded you of me,” Rutledge said. “But he takes it to a whole new level. He doesn’t know when to stop.”
“Yeah,” Shawn murmured. “He’s a narrow-minded, self-absorbed, high-handed asshole, and he fucked you up. But it doesn’t excuse you when you act like a dick. And if you keep being so insensitive and keep treating people like pawns, you’ll turn into him. Do you want that?”
“I didn’t bring you along so you could psychoanalyze me.”
“No, you didn’t bring me along for that,” Shawn said, his voice quiet. “But I’m done.”
Rutledge’s gaze sharpened. “What?”
“I’m a bit sick of being treated like a cheap whore by your family.”
“I wouldn’t call you cheap,” Rutledge said, his voice clipped.
Shawn laughed softly. “Okay, maybe I deserve it. I needed money and wasn’t proud enough to say no, but I’m kinda sick of it now. That’s it, Professor.”
He turned to leave, but Rutledge crossed the distance between them in a few strides and grabbed his arm. “You can’t leave. We have a deal.”
Shawn looked at him, ignoring Rutledge’s painful grip on his arm. “We had a deal. I’m ending it now. I think I more than earned the money you paid me for this trip. You can keep the money for last night’s sex. On the house.”
He tried to yank his hand free, but Rutledge’s grip only tightened. “You can’t just decide to leave.”
“Why not? Why do you even mind?” His smiled brightly. “Didn’t you say you get bored of straight guys after you fuck them? Lucky for you, then.”
Rutledge’s lips pressed into a thin line. His grasp loosened.
Yanking his arm free, Shawn strode away.
* * *
By the time Shawn managed to dress the girls and get them out of the house, Rutledge’s car was waiting for them.
Shawn stared out the window for most of the drive, feigning interest in the scenery passing by. The twins were doing all the talking. He didn’t look at Rutledge, but the tension in the air between them was palpable, and the sheer amount of anger and frustration was overwhelming. Shawn wasn’t even sure why. It wasn’t like Rutledge was his ex or something; it wasn’t like they had been dating; there was no reason this should affect him. He had sucked his professor’s dick for a few weeks(granted, not something he was proud of), had been dragged along to annoy Joseph Rutledge and got paid handsomely for it. He was finally done whoring himself out, and now he had a few months to find a better job without worrying about the bills every day. So everything was fine. Great. Fantastic, actually.
Yet it was such a relief when the car finally stopped in front of his building.
It took Shawn a few minutes to get the girls out of the car. Rutledge already had Shawn’s suitcase out.
“Thanks, I’ll take it now,” Shawn said, without looking at him.
“Don’t be silly,” Rutledge said, walking toward the building. “You don’t have three hands.”
“The girls don’t need me to carry them. They’re old enough to walk.”
Rutledge ignored him, of course. Of course.
“We can walk,” Emily confirmed.
“But I wanna be carried,” Bee said.
Shawn glared at Rutledge’s back and picked up the girls. “You don’t even know where you’re going.”
“I know your address. I’m capable of figuring out where your apartment is.”
Scowling, Shawn could only follow him, albeit reluctantly.
When they reached his apartment, Shawn hesitated. He didn’t want Rutledge to see it. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed of it—fine, maybe he was embarrassed of it.
He opened the door and ushered the girls inside before closing it and turning to Rutledge.
Rutledge set the suitcase down, his expression stony.
“I…” Shawn said, shifting slightly on his feet. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
Rutledge nodded curtly. But he didn’t move.
Shawn cleared his throat, hooking his thumbs in his hip pockets and rocking back on his heels. “Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For helping me figure out I’m not straight.”
“What?” Rutledge said, almost without inflection.
“Yeah. In case you couldn’t tell, I liked having sex with a man.” Shawn smiled faintly. “I didn’t expect it, but I did. A lot. So… I have more options now. I guess I should thank you for that.”
“Options,” Rutledge said.
“Yep.” Shawn rubbed the back of his neck. “I can date guys too now.”
Something changed in Rutledge’s expression, but it was gone before Shawn could figure out what it was.
“You can,” Rutledge agreed, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
Damn. Why was it so weird, and awkward—and whatever the hell it was?
Shawn was sure he wasn’t imagining the tension, the frustration in the air, yet Rutledge’s face betrayed nothing. And it pissed Shawn off. He wanted to shake him. He wanted to shock him.
So he said, “You know, I actually can’t wait to find out if sex with other guys will be different. It’s all new and very exciting.”
Rutledge looked aside for a moment before a smile formed on his face. “Are you trying to make me jealous, Wyatt? I don’t do jealousy. Jealousy is for insecure men with small dicks and low self-esteem. And you have to care to be jealous. I don’t.”
Shawn bristled at the implications. “Why would I want to make you jealous? I don’t like you. Your family is horrible, you’re an ass, you’re beyond fucked up, and you’re a commitment-phobe. And you don’t like children—which is obviously a big deal for me. You’re everything I don’t want.”
“Good.” Rutledge glared at him.
Their gazes clashed and a rush of carnal hunger slammed into Shawn with a force that stole his breath.
His fingers trembling, Shawn found the doorknob behind him and stumbled into the apartment.
Shutting the door, Shawn leaned against it, breathing hard.
Fuck.
Chapter 13
“I don’t get it,” Christian said a week later, looking at him from across the table at the campus cafeteria. “Why is he such an asshole to you? I mean, he’s always an asshole, but lately he’s been a super asshole when it comes to you.”
Shawn suppressed a sigh. Christian was right, of course. Rutledge had been treating him like shit the entire week. Not that it came as a complete surprise.
“Seriously, did you kill his cat? Or—or leave a bloody chicken on his doorstep or something?” Christian shook his head. “There has to be some explanation. It’s getting ridiculous. People are starting to talk.”
Shawn’s coffee cup paused halfway to his mouth. “Talk?”
“Never mind.” Christian grimaced, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Just some stupid rumors.”
“What rumors, Chris?”
Christian took a sip from his coffee. “Some think it’s suspicious that Rutledge didn’t give you a failing midterm grade.”
Shawn stopped breathing. “What?”
“Some say you blackmailed him into giving you a passing grade. I told you it’s stupid.”
Shawn relaxed, leaning back in his chair. “Yeah. Stupid.”
“Actually, it is a bit strange, don’t you think? I thought he’d fail you for sure. But he didn’t, and now he’s a total asshole to you. The whole thing is weird.” Christian gave him a probing look. “You sure you aren’t hiding something from me?”
Shawn felt a pang of guilt. He took a gulp of his coffee and looked at his cup. “Maybe.”
“All right, spill,” Christian said, training his eyes on him.
Shawn began tracing the rim of the cup with his finger, following its shape. “I… remember the advice you gave me? On Rutledge?”
Christian chuckled. “You mean flirting?”
“Rutledge didn’t give me a passing grade because he took pity on me
, Chris.”
Christian’s eyebrows furrowed; then his jaw dropped. “No way. You actually followed my advice?”
Shawn grimaced. “Not exactly.” He looked down at the sandwich on his plate and pulled at the cheese sticking out at the edges. “I did more than flirting.”
A clang made him look up. Christian had dropped his fork and was now looking at him with wide eyes. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish.”
Christian glanced around and then moved his chair closer. “So what did he make you do?”
“What do you think? Not a hand-job for sure.”
“Holy shit. You sucked him off?”
Shawn nodded curtly.
Christian let out a short laugh. “Wow, I never thought you’d actually flirt with him, much less... So, what was it like? I mean, were you grossed out?” He sipped his coffee.
Shawn was tempted to say yes. It would have made everything simpler. But he couldn’t bring himself to lie.
“No,” Shawn said. “It was okay. Even the first time.”
Christian choked on his coffee and started coughing.
“The first time?” he said when the coughing finally subsided. “You mean you did it more than once? Is he still forcing you to do it for a grade?”
Shawn wondered whether whoring himself out for a grade was better than whoring himself out for money. He wasn’t sure.
“Look…” Shawn ran a hand over his eyes. “I don’t really want to talk about it. Yeah, it’d been going on for a few weeks, but the important thing is, it’s over now. I ended the deal.”
“But did you, you know… did you fuck him?”
“Yeah,” Shawn said, struggling to keep his voice casual. “I fucked him. Well, he fucked me.”
Christian grinned, brown eyes dancing with mischief. “How was he? Any good?”
Smiling crookedly, Shawn shook his head. “Come on, do we have to talk about it?”
“Of course we have to talk about it! You had sex with Rutledge! Rutledge!”
“Hush,” Shawn hissed, glancing around. “I don’t want to talk about it. Nothing to talk about. It didn’t—it didn’t suck, but obviously I’m glad the whole thing is over.”
He felt Christian’s eyes on him, unusually serious and assessing.
Shawn fidgeted under his scrutiny. “What?”
“Then why is he so pissed at you if it’s over?” Christian said, drumming his fingers on the table.
Shawn had an idea why, but it wasn’t something he wanted to think about. “No idea.”
Christian gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t press any further and looked down at his cup. He fell silent, a distant, thoughtful expression on his face.
Shawn eyed his friend. Come to think of it, Christian had been a bit distracted all day. “Something wrong?”
Christian looked up. “Not really. Just…you know Mila?”
“Mila?”
“The girl in Rutledge’s class? Very pretty, curvy, dark hair?”
Shawn shrugged. “It’s a big class. Can’t say I remember her. So what about her?”
“She invited me for a threesome.”
Shawn raised his eyebrows. “And what’s the problem? It’s not like you’ve never done threesomes before.” There was very little Christian hadn’t done, actually. His friend got so many lewd offers sometimes it got silly. The guy didn’t even have to try. If Christian wasn’t so damn likable, all guys would hate him.
“The problem is her boyfriend,” Christian said.
“What about him? You know him?”
Christian hesitated. “Not exactly. But I’ve seen him around. He always picks her up after school.”
Shawn snorted a laugh, finally realizing who his friend was talking about. “The straight guy you’ve been crushing on for ages?”
“Come on, I don’t have a crush on him,” Christian said with a lopsided smile. “I don’t even know his name.”
Shawn gave him a look that said, Please. “Yup, you don’t have a crush on him. You just stare and drool whenever you see him.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
Christian laughed. “Fine. Maybe. Just a tiny one. But come on, who doesn’t? All girls stare at him and drool whenever he comes. The guy is ridiculously good-looking.”
“So what’s the problem?” Shawn said. “Shouldn’t you be happy you’ll get to have sex with him?”
Christian looked at him like he was an idiot. “He’s straight. It’s not going to be that kind of threesome. We’ll just share his girlfriend; that’s all. Maybe I’m wrong, but I got the feeling the threesome is entirely Mila’s idea—she always flirts with me, and I don’t think he even knows I exist. I don’t think the guy is all too happy about her inviting me to join them. I don’t know… I get the impression he’s the possessive type.”
“A tiny crush, yup,” Shawn teased. “Very tiny.”
Christian’s ears turned red. “Oh, shut it. Anyway, that’s the problem: I’m not sure this threesome is a good idea. The guy will probably hate my guts for touching his girl.”
“Then tell her you can’t do it.”
“I already told her I would.” Christian gave him a sheepish look. “Couldn’t resist the chance to see him naked.”
Shawn shook his head. “You’re hopeless, man.”
Christian grinned. “At least I’m not fucking Professor Asshole. Come on, tell me he has a tiny dick! It would make my day!”
Shawn rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “He doesn’t have a tiny dick. And I’m not fucking him anymore. We’re done.”
He lifted his cup and brought it to his lips, avoiding Christian’s eyes. He thought about the way Rutledge had looked at him back in class: angry and so damn intense it made him instantly hard. He thought about how he’d spent half of the class fantasizing about dropping to his knees before Rutledge and sucking his dick, right there, in front of all other students. He thought about his other fantasies: how he wanted to climb into Rutledge’s lap, shut him up with kisses and then get Rutledge’s cock inside of him—
“You all right?” Christian said. “You look flushed.”
Shawn forced out a smile. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Just peachy.
Chapter 14
Shawn’s cousin Sage lived in a less than safe part of the city. It was partly why Shawn didn’t see him much. The other reason was that his cousin had been weird as hell after he had been released from prison six months ago: he seemed depressed and distant, like he wasn’t even there. At first Shawn attributed it to his aunt’s death—she had died while Sage was still in prison—but it didn’t seem to be the case. Instead of getting better, his cousin seemed only more depressed as time went on. Shawn was worried about him, of course, but truth be told, he had more pressing problems to think about and didn’t have time to visit his cousin.
But since he’d had to drop the kids at Mrs. Hawkins’s place before his night shift, Shawn decided to make a small detour and find out how Sage was doing.
His cousin greeted him with a grin. “Hey, come on in,” he said, opening the door wider.
It took Shawn a moment to recover from his surprise. “You look good,” he said, patting him on the shoulder and entering the apartment. Sage looked great actually; he’d always been the better-looking one out of the two of them. They might share their moms’ blond hair and blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. His cousin’s features were far more delicate—hell, downright exquisite. If Christian had seen Sage, he would never call Shawn the princess anymore.
It actually made Shawn wonder, and not for the first time, whether something…had been done to his cousin in prison. If the rumors about what happened in prison were true, with a face like this… Shawn shuddered.
“How are the girls?” Sage asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.
“Good. I have the night shift tonight, so I just dropped them at their babysitter’s.”
Sage sat on the couch, cross-legge
d, and patted the place next to him.
Removing his jacket, Shawn took the seat. “I can’t really stay,” he said, glancing at his watch. “Or I’ll be late for work. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing—”
The door opened and a man walked into the apartment.
Seeing Shawn, he stopped and stared.
Shawn stared back. The man was tall and pretty handsome, clearly of Hispanic descent.
“Who is that?” the guy asked.
“It’s my cousin, Shawn,” Sage said, rather defensively. “Shawn, it’s Xavier.”
Shawn waited for an explanation, but there was none.
But when Xavier walked over, tipped Sage’s head up and kissed him, no explanations were needed anymore.
The kiss went on and on, and Shawn could only stare. He’d been pretty sure Sage was completely straight.
Well, apparently not.
His cousin actually moaned, and Shawn looked away, beyond uncomfortable. He stood up and cleared his throat. “Um, I’d better go.” He chuckled. “You’re clearly fine.”
Behind him, the kissing stopped.
“Look,” Sage said, sounding embarrassed. “I—”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” Shawn said quickly and headed to the door. “I’ll go.”
“Wait,” Sage said. “It’s dark already. It’s not safe to walk alone around here. Xavier will drive you home.”
“I will?” Xavier murmured.
“No, it really isn’t necessary—”
“He will,” Sage said.
“I guess I will,” Xavier said. He gave Sage a short, hard kiss. “You’d better be naked and ready when I’m back, Blue Eyes.”
Flushing, Sage pushed Xavier to the door. “I’ll come over next week,” he told Shawn. “I haven’t seen the girls in ages.”
Shawn nodded and slid into his jacket.
Xavier moved past him. “Let’s go. What was your name again?”
“Shawn,” he said, not sure how to talk to the guy.
“Where do you live?”
Just a Bit Twisted Page 7