Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Aven
Trying to do the right thing has never been more difficult, but my secrecy is driving the girl insane, and the insanity is catching.
It’s time to stop trying and start doing.
It’s time to rip off the bandage and let the wound do what it will.
Whether it heals or festers, no matter. It needs light and air.
Aye, I could use some air myself.
I usher Quinn into my room and head for the floor-to-ceiling window. I can’t open the damned thing, but maybe seeing the sky will help me feel less closed in. My back has never felt more against the wall, even when it’s been against the wall in the most literal sense.
I turn to face the lass. She looks like the cat who ate the canary, and she should feel some shame.
If she’d stopped yammering over me earlier, we could have handled this before my sexploits were plastered all over the sim screen for Frankie’s eyes.
We could have broken up three hours ago and ended this nightmare for us both.
Because that’s the only way this can end.
I finished reading the stupid romance book last night, and the moment the male lead told the woman the truth, she took off.
He gets her back in the end, but this isn’t a book and Quinn isn’t a character.
She’s a woman with feelings and a heart I’ve likely broken with my lies.
“Sit on the bed,” I say.
She nibbles her lip and does as she’s told. “We weren’t using it for porn,” she whispers, and I almost laugh.
“All this fuss, just so that you can see my cock and learn if I know how to fuck.”
“Sex is an important part of a relationship,” she mumbles.
“Aye, but so is trust.”
Her head jerks up. “I wasn’t hiding anything from you. You know about Green Guy, and he knows—”
“Ach, that’s not what I mean, lass.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to break up with me?” She finally looks up at me, and the hurt in her eyes nearly breaks me.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” She looks at the carpet again.
I search for the words, but they won’t come. Why is this so hard? “Quinn, there are parts of me you haven’t seen, and—”
“So let me see them! Are you worried you’re too small?” She eyes my crotch. “Too big?” Her gaze falls to the carpet again.
Fuck, I have to do something. She’s spiraling.
“Lass, eyes on me.”
Her eyes move to my face.
“The other part of me,” I whisper as I grip my belt. “The part I haven’t shown you.”
Her parted lips close as her gaze drifts to my crotch.
Her wee fingers grip the comforter tighter with each notch the belt slides past. As I unfasten the button and lower the fly, I realize I’m not even hard.
Granted, the piercing is the important part, but I don’t want to embarrass myself by flinging my flaccid penis at her.
I close my eyes and remember the way she looked last night. With all that moonlight on her skin. So delicate. So soft. I recall the way her breasts bounced so close to my hungry mouth. The mental visions do the job, and I stiffen in seconds.
“Holy shit,” Quinn breathes. “Size is definitely not a concern.”
“Lass . . .”
“I mean, maybe you were concerned I’d think it’s too big, but you’ve seen what I do with those monster dildos.”
“Lass . . .”
“Does it curve or something?”
“Quinn.”
She looks up at me. “I really don’t mind if it does,” she whispers, and damn her for making me smile again.
I suppose one final happy memory doesn’t hurt anything.
I reach forward and take her hands in mine. “What I’m about to show you might make you question everything you know about me. If you have questions, I want to answer them. Just please—”
“Aven, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just falling for you, Quinn, and I can’t keep going until you know everything.”
“Is it herpes? Oh god, it’s herpes, isn’t it?”
Before she spirals any further, and before I lose courage, I lower my boxers and expose my stiff cock, piercing and all. Her gaze immediately falls to the shiny silver ball—the one part of myself I was unable to hide from her as Green Guy.
Quinn’s eyes widen, and she covers her mouth as she scoots backward on the bed. Realization dawns in her eyes, and I brace myself, fully prepared for her to cuss me out.
“Oh my god. I can’t fucking believe it.”
I tuck my dick back in my boxers because now is not the time. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner or not done it at all.”
“What? Are you kidding? Not get your dick pierced? I haven’t slept with a single pierced man in all my life, yet in the span of a few days, I’ve bagged two of them? What are the fucking odds?”
“No, Quinn. It’s me.”
She looks me up and down. “Yeah, I know it’s you. Why would you hide that from me? I’m not afraid of a dick piercing. I’ve learned that I’m the opposite of afraid of them.”
“Lass. I’m Green Guy.” I pull the phone from my pocket and wiggle it in front of her face. “It’s been me the whole time. From the first night until now. It’s always been me.”
Quinn shakes her head. “No. No. No fucking way.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her hidden phone. She taps out a message and hits send. “See? Your phone didn’t do anything. You’re not him.”
“Lass, it’s me. The service for these things is shit. That’s why you got the message to run so long after I’d sent it last night.” The phone buzzes in my hand. “See?”
Those details strike the mark, but it’s still not enough. She snatches the phone from my hand and looks between the two. All of our messages are there.
“Holy shit,” she breathes. Her skin has gone sickeningly pale. “What the actual fuck.”
“Quinn, I’m sorry.”
“Holy shit.” She grabs a pillow from the bed, and I tense, certain she’s about to leap on me and start denying me air. I’d let her. I fucking deserve it. But she doesn’t do that. She just places the pillow over her face and lies back. “Holy fucking shit!”
Her voice is muffled, but I understand it all the same.
I take a step back as the lass lets out a scream and kicks her legs. Aye, I deserve that.
“You are a piece of shit!” she screams into the fabric.
Aye, I deserve that one too.
But when she pulls the pillow away and screams the next sentence, my heart actually breaks. "I fucking hate you, Aven Slade!"
So why is she smiling?