Page 32 (1/2)

"What did you do?"

"I told hi me or I would kill hiain, I would have killed him I told him to stand up I told hinatius, because if he returned next se a student for sex"

"You wanted him?"

"I wanted to hurt him"

"Why didn’t you?"

"I didn’t love him," Søren said

"You hurt sley said "Now you tell sley met Søren’s eyes It was past tense, the word he’d used Loved, not love But it was enough Tonight it was enough

"Here’s sley said "I fuck for money"

Søren looked at him in shock and dismay

"Why?" he breathed "You have all the money in the world"

"It’s not the money It’s the paper trail Makes it easier to blackoing when I left you alone with Blaise A DA’s wife The DA I paid off to get your Virgin Queen her ‘Get Out of Jail’ card"

Søren didn’t say anything at first The silence was the purest hell

"How e?" Søren finally asked

"Why? You want to buy an hour with ive you the friends-and-family discount"

"I want to knohat price you put on so I considered priceless"

"Sex isn’t priceless"

"It ith you"

Kingsley’s stouilt and sorrow Søren laid a hand on the top of Kingsley’s head

"I absolve you," Søren whispered

"I’ve killed people"

"I absolve you"

"I’ve fucked half of Manhattan and three-fourths of Europe"

"I absolve you"

"Absolve sley laughed once hed with hih died, and the roo of the water against the side of the pool whenever Kingsley sley rested his forehead on Søren’s chest, too tired to hold it up any longer