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“Remi? Where did you know Angelica from?”

“Our circle.” He replied briefly.

“Then Angelica knew you too.”

Why didn’t you tell me, Eli? Did you deceive me, too?

We arrived at his room, and he laid me down on his bed. I froze when I saw him unbuttoning his pink shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s hot.” His voice came out innocent, but I raised an eyebrow.

“So you can feel heat too.”

“Of course, Mina. I can feel everything.” His hands found my stomach and moved slowly downward. “You know best. Did you feel anything strange?”

I blinked. My eyes dropped to the hand resting on my skirt, and I swallowed. “About your hands?” He nodded when I asked, looking almost nervous. Well… His hands were large and thick, probably better than any average man’s… But I would rather die than admit that out loud.

“Actually… a little. They make me uncomfortable. They’re too big.”

I flushed at my own words. It didn’t sound like I was complaining. Well, I wasn’t. I loved those big hands cupping my breasts, rubbing and squeezing every inch of me, stroking my curls, or when he slipped his fingers inside me. I didn’t care if I melted in them.

Raymond, however, seemed to take me at my word. He looked down at his palm, genuinely puzzled. “Is that so? Do you want them to be smaller?”

“No, Remi. Just forget it.”

“I can change them if you want.”

“Stop being ridiculous.”

“I’m serious, Mina, if you want—”

“I love them!” The words burst out of me. “You don’t need to change anything.”

“But didn’t you say they made you uncomfortable?” He stepped closer, and I looked away.

“They don’t,” When he bit my ear, I stirred. I kept scolding him, but my body kept reacting to everything.

“You have to prove it to me, Mina. I’m so confused right now.”

He grinned and I tried to understand how he could look so seductive even in that stupid cute shirt. Had I bought this outfit for nothing? Why didn’t this boy ever look average?

I reached out and took his hand. He smiled, until I brought his index finger to my lips and wrapped them around it completely. I held his gaze and took his finger fully into my mouth, working my tongue along it slowly, letting it graze the back of my throat. When I made sucking sounds, he moved his finger slightly, lifted my chin with his thumb, and opened my mouth. He stared at his finger, slick with my saliva. His jaw tightened.

“You really want me dead.”

“Did I prove it?”

“Not yet.”

As he leaned for another kiss, I allowed him. This time, I was aware of what I was doing as his strong arms wrapped around me. I would stay in this lucid dream a little longer. In control. In safe.

A little longer.

This time, I would be the one to wake myself up. This time, no creepy force would come to drag me from that sweet dream. I would let myself sleep a little longer—just a little happier, while I still had the choice.

Pretend we’ll never apart. But didn’t I pretend enough? I just learned that my closest friend had watched me be deceived. The person I cherished most saw me as nothing but a spoiled girl to be pleased. My entire life had been a carefully constructed lie.