I didn’t want to push him, so I decided to change the subject. “I’ve made a decision,” I announced.
“What’s that?”
I didn’t let his foul mood deter me. “I’ve decided to rework the contract and renegotiate.”
He was on his feet like he’d been shocked, fists balled up, glaring at me. “I knew it!” he shouted, eyes still going from me to the ottoman and back again. “I knew as soon as you got what you wanted you’d want more.”
“Jeremy, I-”
He cut me off, furious. “I should’ve known that you wouldn’t change. I’m a fool and I should’ve walked away when I had the chance.” He gathered his things and left mine strewn about. “I have to go. I’m not a toy you can just wind up and use until I’m broken.”
My jaw dropped. I caught his arm but he pulled away and turned, glaring at me. “Jeremy, please, let me explain?”
“What’s there to explain? You wanted to change the contract and you did it.”
“I should’ve talked to you first.”
“Damn right, you should’ve.”
“So let’s talk now.”
He shook his head, face pinched. “I can’t right now. I need space so I can think. If you respect me at all, you’ll give me that much.” I thought about going after him, but Jeremy was right. If I wanted him to know I respected him at all, I was going to have to back off and give him space.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to follow up on a hunch.
Garret picked up on the second ring, and when he heard my voice, I could tell he thought about hanging up. “What do you want?” he asked.
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
“He left. We’re going out to dinner tonight.”
“Did he happen to say anything to Jeremy when he was there?”
When Garret hesitated, I knew all I needed to know. “Never mind, I have my answer. You listen to me, Garret, and you hear me, understand?”
I was pretty sure I heard rocks rattling inside his head when he nodded and muttered something incoherent through the phone. “Sure,” he finally said.
My knuckles hurt and I forced myself to loosen my grip on the phone so I didn’t break it. “Garret, Steve is bad news. I don’t like you and honestly, I could give a rat’s ass if he does you like he does me, but if you bring him to work again, and he messes up what I have going with Jeremy, you’re going to wish you never met me. Am I clear?”
“Screw you,” Garret shot back, his voice trembling just enough that I knew he was scared.
Good, I thought. “Don’t turn your back on Steve. He’s not a good guy.” I disconnected the call and sat there shaking.
Steve had gone too far, and this time, I wasn’t going to roll over and take it. My relationship with Jeremy was worth fighting for, and so was I.
19
Jeremy
I was still fighting back tears when I realized that I had driven myself to Alex’s apartment. I almost kept going, but I decided that talking to Alex would help. He knew Brian better than I did, and I was sure he knew a bit about Steve, too.
Alex answered right away when I knocked on the door. He took one look at my face and ushered me through the door and into the living room. Returning from the kitchen just as I settled down on one of the many sofas that seemed haphazardly scattered around the large room, he pushed a cup of tea sweet tea into my hand and sat across from me.
“How do you always have tea ready?” I wondered, taking a sip of the icy brew and letting the sweetness envelop me. “You do make the best sweet tea.”
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here or am I going to have to pry it out of you?”
Letting out a long breath, I set the glass on a coaster beside me and spent some time trying to find the words to tell Alex what had happened. “I think you were right,” I finally said. “This is a huge mistake and playing with fire only leads to getting burned.”
He tilted his head and took a sip of tea before he spoke. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Brian. He’s not the man for me. It turns out that he’s a manipulative jerk and I should’ve left well enough alone. But my damned pride wouldn’t let me back down from a challenge. It’s my fault, but I don’t know who else to turn to.”
“Jeremy, did something happen? Did he hurt you?”
“No, not exactly.”
“I’m not trying to be daft, but I guess I still don’t get it. Things looked like they were going well between you two.” He leaned forward; his voice low. “Are you not compatible in the bedroom?”
I laughed. “Actually, that went much better than I anticipated. It’s just Brian.” I took another sip and tried to gather my jumbled thoughts up. “I ran into Steve at the office.”
“The ex?” Alex whispered in exaggerated shock. “What was he doing at the office?”
“He’s dating Garret.”
Alex wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t know Garret was fit for human interaction that wasn’t forced, but to each his own, I guess.”
His sneer and the delicate way he sniffed in disdain had me laughing. “I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels that way about Garret, but Steve is really into him. After we encountered him at the office and I had to take Brian home to calm him down, I figured Steve would be long gone.”
“But he wasn’t?”
“No. He was still there when I got back.”
“What did Laura say?”
“She’s on vacation.”
“Ah,” Alex said, eyebrows raising. “So when the cat is away, the mice will play.”
“I have a feeling he’s brought Steve more than once, but I’ve been in and out all week.”
“So Steve appears and Brian loses his ish and,” he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m still not sure where things went sideways.”
“We had sex.”
“And it was?”
“Wonderful,” I gushed. “I let myself be vulnerable and gave him total control and it was the most mind-blowing sex of my life.”
“Forgive me if I still don’t see the problem.”
“When I ran into Steve afterward, he told me about Brian.”
Alex’s lips were pinched and he was suddenly rigid. “What did he say?”
“That Brian only pretends to be a Dom so he can get the man’s guard down. It’s a front and eventually his attention turns abusive but he’s so cunning about it, it feels like you asked for it.”
“Do you know what gaslighting is?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s when abusive people turn things around to make you think that you’re the one at fault.”
“Makes sense.”
“Now, let me tell you a little bit about Steve. The reason you found Brian broken and on the verge of drinking himself into oblivion is because Steve is a champion gaslighter. He’s so good he had most of us fooled for a long time. But it’s not Brian who is the abusive one, it’s Steve.”