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"What do you care?" The words slip out before I have a clue I’ as you win that stupid bet, why the hell do you care what’s going on in my head anyway?"

He stumbles back on his heels, his face blank with shock--and so else I just can’t place "You know about the bet?"

"Da to sleep with rip on my chin It kind of pisses ht to touch me so proprietarily, and part of me wants to lash out To knock hies that I did just have his ck in hts over

"Yeah, I was So what?" This tio I can’t handle being this close to hione so dark that I can barely distinguish the pupil frorabthis discussion is bad enough Having it when I’m nearly ned somehow makes it afrom the top of one of my lamps, for God’s sake--and slip it on, I turn to see that Z pulling up his own pants I grab his shirt from where I took it off in the kitchen, fire it at hiet hih

Except Z seems in no hurry to leave, even after he yanks his shirt over his head Instead, he walks over to where I’ainst the tiny bit of counter space I actually have in this place I try not to look at hi back in s crossed in a pose that screaseconds he doesn’t say anything and neither do I Then again, there’s not much to say, is there? He bet he could fk me and I was prepared to let hi It doesn’t say a whole hell of a lot good about either of us, does it?

When he finally does speak, it’s just one word And though I should have been expecting it, I’m not, and I don’t have an answer--at least not one I want to share with hi, still refusing to look at hio and just walk away It’s what he’s known for, after all It’s sure as hell what I’d do if I was in his place

But it turns out Z’s got ive hi In fact, when I look at hirown roots

"I don’t know, okay?" I finally tell hiood idea at the time"

"Bullshit" He spits the word out

"Excuse me?" Now I do turn to look at him

"That’s bullshit You’re a smart, savvy woman, Ophelia I’ve only known you a little over twenty-four hours and already I’ve figured out that you don’t do anything without a reason"

"Maybe I just wanted to sleep with you"

"Yeah Because we both saell that worked out," he says with a snort "Why don’t you just tell o?"

"Because I never let anything go" He pushes off from the counter, slowly closes the distance between us "And because I can see that whatever’s going on in your head is eating at you"

I start to laugh it off, to tell hi, except he chooses that ently down my face

I jerk at the caress, pull back He follows ht to see from him It hits itation that I don’t kno to recover froer Even with indifference But with compassion? From someone as broken as Z? I don’t have a clue how to deal with that

So I do the only thing I can do I lash out, using the truth like a club "You really want to knohy I was going to sleep with you?" I ask him, my voice a particularly nasty blend of bitch-meets- asole

To Z’s credit, he doesn’t back down, doesn’t turn away, even though it’s obvious now that he won’t like the answer "Yeah I do"

"Fine Whatever The truth is, I invited you in, I decided to sleep with you because I knew you wouldn’t give up I knew you’d keep co me, for the next week, and I just couldn’t deal with your shit So I decided, screw it The best way to ain is to fk you Once you get what you want you’ll be out the door so fast you’ll leave skidseconds he doesn’t move, doesn’t blink I don’t even think he breathes Then, just when I don’t think I can take it anymore--when the silence stretches between us like a piece of barbed wire pulled past its liet rid of ht in the eye "Your reputation precedes you"

"Yeah I guess it does, doesn’t it"

He doesn’t say anything else Instead, he bends down, picks up his boots fro our ht out the door without another word No Fuck you No Go to hell No Have a nice life Nothing but the sound of the door closing behind him as he heads for the stairwell

It’s exactly what I wanted him to do, exactly what I needed him to do Which is why it makes no sense when I sink to the floor and cry for the first ti, hell-filledup sometime soon?" The question is delivered with a kick tohalf a foot across the floor

I ignore both, choosing to operate under the assuo away It worked with both Cas up now