Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
He had started staying at Jared’s house until Jared’s parents eventually took him in when he was fourteen. Alexander’s parents didn’t care: his father was too busy fucking someone on the side and telling Tanya how much he loved her, and his mother was a broken woman—broken by lies and her own inability to let go of the man who didn’t deserve her love.
Except Alexander didn’t think it was love. Love was the quiet, affection and attachment he felt for Mila. He wasn’t obsessed with Mila. She didn’t drive him crazy. If Mila cheated on him, he would be… reasonably upset, but he would tell her to leave and never return. He would get over it. He would never share his partner, but he would never be the clingy, hysterical wreck his mother had become. Tanya was obsessed with the man, unable to let go and see anyone but him.
Sometimes he wasn’t sure which of them he despised more.
Liar. Christian’s voice echoed in his mind again.
Alexander closed his eyes and breathed the cold air in.
Chapter 5
Alexander wasn’t in a good mood when he arrived to pick up Mila, and her tardiness didn’t improve his mood, either.
“I’m so sorry,” Mila said when he called her. “But I really need to hand in this assignment today. Professor Rutledge will fail me if I don’t. It’ll take half an hour at most. Wait for me?”
“Fine.”
He hung up, put his cell phone into his pocket and leaned against the wall, prepared for a long wait.
He eyed the students milling around. With finals coming up soon, pretty much everyone looked stressed.
But not everyone was stressed.
Alexander’s gaze fixed on the student who looked as carefree as ever, smiling and laughing as he talked to others.
Christian.
Alexander felt his body tense, for no reason at all. He inhaled deeply and relaxed, his eyes still on Christian.
After a few minutes of watching, Alexander came to the conclusion that the guy was a shameless flirt. The way he smiled at people was… indecent. To be fair, Christian wasn’t doing anything particularly outrageous—he just smiled and looked people in the eye—yet it was enough for other students to stare, and drool, and try to touch him. The guy couldn’t possibly be unaware of the effect he had on people, so it meant he was doing it on purpose.
Alexander’s lips twisted. He couldn’t stand flirts; he had zero tolerance for them. Most of them didn’t know the meaning of the word loyalty. They loved being admired and wanted; one person was never enough for them. They were everything he despised.
His eyes followed Christian as the guy moved from one group of students to another. He watched as Christian lay a hand on some guy’s shoulder and laughed. The guy’s eyes practically glazed over with lust as he stared at Christian’s lips.
Alexander watched as Christian stepped away from the guy and wrapped an arm around some pretty girl’s waist. The girl put a hand on Christian’s chest and stroked it.
Disgusting.
Christian stepped back, winked at the girl, kissed her on the cheek and turned—
His smile froze on his lips when he saw Alexander.
After a moment, Christian muttered something without even looking at the students around him and made his way to Alexander.
“Got bored of breaking hearts?” Alexander said. The words came out sharper than he had intended.
“Huh?” Christian said, coming to a halt very close to him—again. The guy either had no concept of personal space, or preferred to pretend he didn’t.
“You know what I mean,” Alexander said, glancing at the guy and the girl who were still staring dreamily at Christian.
Christian glanced back and chuckled. “Breaking hearts? Are you serious? I was just talking to them.”
“Of course you were,” Alexander said.
Christian leaned against the wall next to him, his head cocked as he studied Alexander. “Were you watching me?” he murmured, with a hint of a smile, his fingers playing with the sleeve of Alexander’s jacket.
“I was waiting for Mila.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Christian’s fingers traveled down his arm to Alexander’s wrist. “Were you watching me?” he murmured again, fingers sliding under the sleeve and stroking Alexander’s skin.
“I was bored,” Alexander said, without looking at him, his body rigid with tension. What was it about this guy that got him so worked up?
“And there was no one else to watch, right?” Christian’s thumb stroked his wrist gently.
Alexander fixed his gaze on the girl who was in his direct line of vision. “You were the only familiar face.”
Christian laughed softly. “You’re such a creep.” His fingers continued to stroke Alexander’s skin.
“You’re the one trying to creep me out,” Alexander said, still looking at the girl. “Is this some kind of gay chicken? I’m not scared so easily.”
“You were pretty scared yesterday after you kissed me.”
“I wasn’t scared. I didn’t kiss you. I didn’t know it was you. It was a silly mistake.”