Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Steve raised a brow. “Oh, are we back in the closet again? You know I won’t say anything, right? I’d rather give up glitter for life than to stab you guys in the back.”
“I know. It’s just that we’re not exactly together.”
“What? Last time I saw you guys, you looked like you were on your honeymoon. Trust me, I see a lot of honeymoon couples coming through here, and you had that look.”
“Well, I guess the honeymoon’s over, as they say.”
“Don’t say that. I refuse to accept it. What happened?”
“He dumped me, okay? Forget about it. I’m just gonna do my job for as long as I have it, and then I’m gonna go back to school.”
Steve laughed and crossed his arms. “Now I know you’re full of shit. I mean, I haven’t known you for very long. Maybe you fall in love weekly or something. But Kage? I have literally never seen him with anyone. I was so happy for him. I don’t even get that happy when I get a new boyfriend.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Steve. We’re not together. And as for him never having been with anyone, I’d be willing to bet he’s been with more people than I have. Just because he hasn’t paraded them through the lobby—”
“Shhh…” Steve glanced over my shoulder and pasted on a fake smile. “How’s it going, Mark?”
“Crap,” I said under my breath, then turned around reluctantly.
“Well, if it isn’t our absentee intern,” Mark said. “Wish I had your hours. That would be sweet, wouldn’t it Steve? If we could come and go as we pleased, and work out of our free high-roller suite.”
I had not expected such hostility from Mark. The last time I’d really interacted with him was when we’d gone out drinking together, and so much had happened since then. It didn’t bother me too much, since I’d already figured out he was a major douchebag.
“Yeah, I had to go to Georgia. My mom had cancer, and they had to remove both breasts.”
“Oh,” Mark said, looking at least a little chagrined. “Sorry to hear that. I hope she’s doing alright.”
“She is, thank you.”
“So, where’s Santori, Jr.?” He looked around, as if he thought Kage might be hiding behind the potted trees or in the empty luggage racks.
Steve sniffed derisively. “You know, I wish Kage would beat your ass every time you called him that. I’ll bet it would only take one time for you to get the message.”
Mark only smiled, clearly pleased with his passive-aggressive attack on a guy who wasn’t even there to defend himself. But who cared, anyway? It was just a name. Kage’s uncle came off as an asshole for sure, but I didn’t get why the name was such a big deal.
Michael Kage Santori. The thought of his name brought a mental image with it, and even in my current mental state, I had to sigh. Everything about the man was an aphrodisiac to me, even his name.
I took up for him, anyway. “Come on, Mark. Why do you keep calling him that when you know he doesn’t like it?”
Mark laughed. “Because I like nicknames. They’re fun. I need to come up with one for you, too. How about Santori’s little bitch? Will that work?”
Steve glared at Mark. “Why don’t you just fuck off, Mark? Nobody invited your skanky ass over here in the first place.”
“I’d rather work than be seen with a couple of queers, anyway.”
“Got something against your own kind?” Steve yelled at Mark’s retreating back as he walked through the door to the office area.
“Your own kind?” I turned back to Steve. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Steve shrugged and started needlessly tidying up behind the desk. “Closet case,” he said.
“Is that just a guess, or—”
“Not a guess,” Steve said, looking up from his tidying and batting his lashes.
I stared at the closed door Mark had just walked through, trying to wrap my head around what Steve had let slip. I tried to remember everything Mark had ever said to me.
“But he talks about pussy all the time. Like constantly. He’s obsessed with it.”
“Over-compensation,” Steve said. “Trust me, he’s probably gotten less pussy than I have, and I’ve never been with a girl.”
“Really? You haven’t?” For some reason it surprised me to think that there were grown men who had never had sex with a female.
“Don’t look so shocked. You think your boyfriend has ever been with a woman?”
“Is that a trick question?”
Steve chuckled. “No, it’s legit. I don’t know for sure, but as far as I know, he never has.”
“What about Vanessa?”
“I think they were sweethearts when they were kids or something.”
“Hmmm…” I pondered for a moment. “I honestly don’t know, Steve. We never really discussed it.”
“You know what I think? I think he’s never had a relationship with anyone but you.”