We Make Mayhem [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty-Three

Despite going to bed at an ungodly hour, I was in the A/V studio at seven-thirty the next morning. Partly because I had an upload deadline, but also because during editing, I was conscious enough to be able to edit out stuttering and misspeaking, but zen enough not to really understand the words themselves. It was like stealing another forty-five minutes of sleep.

The night before, when we got home, Mom and Dad sat me down on the couch, convened in the kitchen, and presented a united front to hand down my sentence.

No car. Dad would take me to and from school. No friends, no outings, no parties, nothing but my A/V club duties.

"For how long?" I asked.

They blanched. Almost eighteen years of parenthood and they had forgotten to hash this part out beforehand?

"A week," Mom blurted out.

I grinned. I could tell by the look on her face that as soon as she said it, she knew it wasn't long enough, but if she took it back and stretched it out there would be a huge screaming match and it was one-thirty in the morning and no one wanted that.

So a week it was. A week without being alone with Noah—that was the main loss, but I would see him in class and I was already counting down the hours until lunch, when I'd have him for a whole hour. Maybe we could sneak off, find some empty stairwell or something...

The studio door opened and shut behind me. I jumped, my blood spiking with adrenaline. Was it Noah? Had I summoned him with my mind? God, the things I could do to him in this studio.

It was Chloe, leaning against the door with her arms crossed over her chest. Staring me down. I tried, but I couldn't hold her gaze.

"Tell me the truth," she said.

"About what?"

"You know exactly what."

"No, I don't."

"Don't give me that bullshit."

"I'm not yours to boss around anymore. Talk to me with respect or get the fuck out."

Her eyes softened the tiniest bit. Maybe I had tricked her into thinking I wasn't afraid of her. I was.

"Did you download Temptr while we were still together?" she whispered.

"No."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Did it tell you Noah Lord is your match? Or is it's just a coincidence that you're all over him barely a week after breaking up with me?"

I could tell her yes, just to piss her off. I could refuse to dignify that question with a response. I could tell her it wasn't a coincidence, that I had loved him from the minute I saw him, that it had nothing to do with Temptr.

I had so many options that I froze. That was the wrong choice.

"Oh my God, Riley, how could you be so stupid? After everything you know about Decker Lord, you actually buy that Noah Lord, of all people, is your 'soulmate'?" She made quote marks with her fingers as she spat the word out. "And since when do you like guys, anyway?"

"Not before now," I said. "He's the first guy I've ever even looked at, let alone loved."

Chloe deflated. A grayness settled over her face. It was only when I recognized the sadness in her eyes that I realized I had admitted that I loved Noah. I felt horrible, but I also felt a thrill deep in my stomach. Someone else knew, now, that I loved Noah. That didn't feel scary at all. It felt right.