Chapter 34
LOCHLAN
My jaw tightens as I play the video again, absently scrolling the comments.
On my phone in front of me, Velvet Villainess is wearing her mask, her blonde hair up in messy bun, and is sipping a venti Starbucks pink drink while sporting a big white hoodie with the words “You May Call Me Mrs. Grey” across the front.
Call me an egomaniac, but I have sneaking suspicion this one’s aimed at me.
Galina was gone when I walked out of the ladies' room yesterday evening. She blocked or ignored my calls all night. She also spent the night at Morvaine Manor, hanging out with Lucia and fucking Damiano until it was light outside.
And then there was the single text message I got earlier today from her.
Galina
Lose my number, fuckboy.
Hmm. Seems like that might be a solid clue.
I scowl at my phone as I play the video again. In it, Galina is rocking to beat of the cover song, sipping her drink and looking like she’s living her best Eras Tour, girls-night-out, no boys allowed life.
Unsurprisingly, her video today is about a book where a gallant, charming hero saves the FMC from a “fuckboy”.
Yeah. Message received.
I zip up my hoodie, my eyes narrowing as I skim more of the comments. A few, like from Olivia_ann02 or KelseyLuvsReading, are standard “you go girl” stuff.
The other ninety-five percent range from calling me a fuckboy to asking for my balls to be cut off with rusty gardening shears.
InMySmutEra: @TheGhostPrince go play in traffic, MF
CarmensBookRecs: @TheGhostPrince more like ghostED prince lmao #cancelled
MarisolBingesBooks: Bet he calls women 'females.' #GHOSTED
laurenm12: Straight into the trash with him.
Mommaof4boys: @TheGhostPrince but have you considered launching yourself into the sun tho?
UtahReader85: @TheGhostPrince HOLY AIRBALL LMAO
Smutismyhappyplace: @TheGhostPrince I think I speak for all of us when I say I hope your D rots and falls off #F*CKBOY.
Ilana-rama: Villainess Nation, sharpen your pitchforks.
Keisha_bookaholic: LMAO this man is about to realize we all woke up and chose violence.
DanisReading: Someone revoke his breathing privileges pls?
So, you know, about as normal, reasonable, and rational as you’d expect.
“Where you off to?”
I glance up from my phone to see Drago has just walked into the kitchen. The sweating, heavy breathing, red face, and the fact that it’s cold outside and he’s in shorts and a t-shirt tells me he probably just got in from a run.
I shrug. “Gotta go do something.”
“Uh-huh.”
I cock a brow. “Something you want to share with the class?”
Drago chuckles a deep, dark laugh and rakes his tattooed fingers over the scruff on his jaw. “Oh, I got plenty, pal. But mostly I’m just curious why you’re being so secretive with whoever-she-is.”
“Simple. She asked me to.”
His brows shoot up as he looks over at me. “Wait, I was just fucking with you,” he grunts. “Are you for real with someone?”
I…think I still am?
I hope I still am?
Even if her legions of social media fans want to cut my dick off with rusty shears and launch me into the sun for reasons I’m not quite clear about?
I nod. “Yeah, I am.”
Drago keeps staring at me for a second in that weird way he has where you feel his soul has left his body to go haunt someone. Then slowly, he grins.
“Well, shit,” he chuckles deeply. “Who is she?”
I shake my head.
“He?”
My eyes roll. “She.”
“And 'she' is…?”
“Remaining a mystery to you,” I shrug.
He chuckles as he fills a glass with tap water at the sink. “It’s like that, huh?”
“What’s like what?”
I sigh as my brother steps into the kitchen to join the party I’m trying to leave.
“Loch has a special friend, and he won’t say who it is,” Drago grins.
My brother turns to arch a brow at me. “A girl?”
My brow furrows as Drago barks out a laugh. “You don’t think if I was maybe playing both teams, or for the home team entirely, that you, my own fucking brother, wouldn’t know?”
Ronan grins widely. “I’m saying my fingers are crossed, for the sake of our parents, that you still enjoy fucking women.”
I frown. “Huh?”
“Grandchildren, dumbass,” he snickers. “God help us if Demi procreates—”
“Yeah, I’d be okay never talking about our sister procreating, actually,” I grunt. “But what, you don’t think you’ll have kids yourself?”
“Pass.” Ro frowns. “Also, I don’t need to. You’re the heir, buddy. I’m the spare.” He winks. “I enjoy putting things into vaginas. Not watching things come out.”
Drago makes a face. “Weird and kinda gross visual, but okay? But also…” He cocks a brow. “We’re totally locked on that loving vaginas thing?”
Ronan’s brow furrows. “What?”
“I think Drago might be wondering if you’re…” Achilles clears his throat and cocks a brow as he steps into the kitchen to join the fray. “Curious.”
My brother scowls at our cousin and then turns to me with a confused expression on his face.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” I chuckle. “That’s a you question.”
Ronan rolls his eyes. “I’m straight, obviously.”
“You do have a photo of Cade Volkov in your bedroom,” Drago snickers.
I bite back a grin when my brother glares death at him. “Yeah, taped to the fucking dart board on the back of my door, shit-weasel. Because he fucked Sofia Cartier last semester.”
Achilles smiles. “That pissed you off?”
“Obviously,” Ronan mutters. “He even sent me a video of it. Fucking prick.”
“But to clarify,” Drago grins, shooting glances at Achilles and me. “That bothers you because he didn’t take you home?”
Ronan holds up two middle fingers as the rest of us chuckle. “Fuck you all.”
Drago's phone dings, and he pulls it out of his pocket. I watch an amused expression cross his face before he chuckles to himself.
“Something nice?” I smirk.
He sighs. “This chick I hooked up with a few times. It’s been a minute. I kinda assumed she lost interest or got smart or something. But lo and behold…” He waves the phone in his hand. “My services have been requested.”
“I seriously can’t believe you actually get laid, never mind repeats, with that mangled equipment,” Ronan says with a sour expression.
Drago grins widely, and before we can see it coming, he’s whipping his dick out, complete with the five barbells of his Jacob’s Ladder piercing.
“Jesus Christ.” Achilles makes a face and shakes his head. “Put your cock away, you fucking degenerate.”
“Yeah, guys, don’t tell Cade that Ronan was scoping out other dicks,” I chuckle, then laugh when my brother storms over and punches me in the side.
“Who’s the girl?” Achilles asks, nodding his chin at Drago, typing away on his phone.
“Local girl, not a student here,” Drago grunts, finishing his text. “Hey, would one of you take a pic of me holding my dick with two hands?”
“Annnnd that’s my cue to leave,” Achilles grunts. He points to all of us. “Don’t go hard if you go out tonight. I want to run those new drills at practice tomorrow and I don’t need the A-team hungover.”
When he leaves, Drago looks hopefully at Ronan and me.
“Like…erect?” I ask him.
“Well, I’m not planning on sending her a photo of my flaccid penis, Loch,” he growls. “So, ideally, yes.”
“Hard pass,” I shake my head. “I will never be that close friends with anyone.”
Ronan just holds up his middle finger again when Drago looks at him. “Yeah, man, just use a fucking tripod, Jesus.”
“Funnily enough, that’s her nickname for me,” Drago grins.
I roll my eyes. “Who is this, anyway?”
He shrugs. “This chick Julia. She waits tables at Christopher’s in town.
Horrible blowjobs,” he grimaces, and makes an exaggerated chomping motion with his teeth.
“But goddamn, she does this squeezing thing with her pussy? Fuckin’ kegels, man.
Those things are like a cheat code. I’m surprised that she wants to hang out, though. ”
My brother frowns. “Why?”
“Probably because she brought me to this party a few months ago and I fucked her best friend in the bathroom.” He grimaces. “Kegels or no kegels, this girl holds a fucking grudge.”
Ronan snorts. “So, fifty-fifty on getting your dick wet or chopped off tonight?”
“Live dangerously, my friend,” Drago grins.
Suddenly, I connect the dots.
Julia.
Julia, who works at Christopher’s. Julia, who made a beyond cringe pass at Roman Nikitin before getting a verbal beatdown from his husband.
Julia, who apparently "holds grudges".
And more importantly, who was working at Christopher’s last night, and who might have remembered Galina as the daughter of the guy who tore her a new one for hitting on his husband.
Fuck.