“My name is Vera,” I told the bouncer when he asked for a name. Thank goodness we were here so we could stop talking about Hamilton’s sex life.
“Ah. With Jared?” he said after typing something on his iPad.
“That’s me.”
“Welcome to Throwback.” He removed the velvet rope, and we filed inside. I really wanted to get tonight over with. Things were easier when we were just fucking. At least I could pretend this meant something when Hamilton was worshiping me with his mouth.
Jess and Infinity stepped in front of us, then maneuvered through the crowd toward an empty table. This bar was definitely swankier than what I was expecting. Jess was right. Guys in suits lined the stools, and students I recognized from some of my classes were sipping martinis and gossiping in low voices. We stood out like a sore thumb.
I scanned the room, looking for Jared, but he wasn’t here yet. Hamilton grabbed my elbow, stopping me from following after Jess and Infinity. “You’re upset,” he whispered while pulling me in for a hug. “Tell me what’s wrong, Petal.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied before pulling away. “You can talk about all the women you’ve fucked. You can even leave here tonight with someone if you’d like. We aren’t exclusive by any means.” I was pushing it a little far, but I needed to believe what I was saying if I was going to escape this with my heart intact. Plenty of people did casual romps. I wasn’t sure I could do this with Hamilton.
Hamilton smirked. “So, if I were to leave with…” He scanned the room and stopped when his eyes landed on a beautiful blonde woman sitting at the bar. She had a short skirt and curled hair down to the middle of her back. Her lips were unnaturally plump, matching her large breasts. “Her,” Hamilton finished. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Have at it,” I replied, my voice harsh.
“What if I wanted to fuck her, then come over to your house? Would you let me use you up while my skin still smells like her Chanel No. 5 perfume?”
I raged. Cruel words tumbled out of my mouth without my consent. “I might have to kick Jared out of my bed first, but sure.”
Hamilton scowled. “Good to know we’re both on the same page then.”
“Right? Jess told me what to expect going into this.”
“She did, huh?” Hamilton asked. “What exactly did she tell you?”
I looked over at the table where Jess and Infinity were sitting and staring at us. “She just said you’re a whore, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up.”
My insecurities were a sharp shovel digging me a hole. Deeper and deeper. “Oh, I’m a whore, sweetheart,” Hamilton whispered before grabbing my hips and jerking me forward. “I like to fuck. Hard. Raw. I’d bend you over one of the tables in front of everyone and not think twice about it.” My breath hitched at his words. I could feel his hard length pressing against me. “But right now, I’m only a whore for you, okay?”
Hamilton chewed on his lip, as if debating what else to say. “Jess likes you. She’s also the most opinionated person I know. Jess speaks her mind, and she doesn’t know what to make of this, because she’s never seen me like this. She’s not me, though. You worried about me fucking other girls while we’re doing this plural thing, you talk to me about it, okay? Don’t end us before we get our fill.
“Jess likes to tease me, but that’s not the whole truth. Miss Gladde? She was in an abusive relationship. I helped her escape. I saw the bruises and walked in on Coach slapping her across the face. I helped convince her to leave and got my dad to find her a job at a boarding school overseas.” Wow. I wasn’t expecting Hamilton to say that. “And in the interest of transparency, I was in love with Jess when we were teens. It was a drunk pity fuck because she knew she’d never love me that way.” My brows shot up, a million questions filling my mind at once. “I don’t love her anymore—at least not like that,” Hamilton added. “And the twins? That was just fun. My nanny was a pedophile. We laugh about it because the truth isn’t nearly as fun. I use humor to cope, I suppose.”
“Oh,” I replied because I didn’t know what else to say.
“If you want me to write up a list of all the people I’ve fucked, I can. But you should know that none of them compare to you. I’m not spitting bullshit to make you feel good. It’s terrifying, Petal. I want you. Only you. For right now, have faith in that, okay? I won’t go fucking some cheap looking blond if you promise to never joke about Jared being in your bed again. I don’t trust him. Something is off about that guy. I’m putting up with this because I like making you happy.”
I looked over at Jess and Infinity. They were giving us quizzical looks. “Okay,” I replied. Hamilton smiled and kissed me on the mouth before wrapping his hand around my wrist and dragging me toward the table.
When we sat down, Hamilton scooted my stool as close to his as possible, and he put his arm around the back of my chair. I felt wired and weirded out. I was still consumed with thoughts of Jess and Hamilton.
Hamilton cleared his throat, then grabbed my hand to kiss it. Jess stared at the move. She and Infinity had already ordered drinks and were sipping on them while staring at us. “So, is this serious?” Jess asked while nodding at the two of us. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief.
“Very,” Hamilton replied easily.
“How serious?” Jess asked. “I thought this was—”
“Sycamore Tree, Jess,” Hamilton replied gruffly. Was he embarrassed? What did that even mean?
“Sycamore Tree?” Jess let out a long, low whistle. “Wow, Hamilton.”
“What does that mean?” I asked while looking between them. It felt weird to be talked about so openly.
Infinity waved her hand. “It’s some code word they’ve had since they were teens. They had this tree in the park between their houses that they’d meet at.”
“Our safe haven,” Jess replied. “My parents were assholes. They thought they could beat the disobedience out of me.” She cleared her throat before continuing. My heart broke for her. “Hamilton was my only friend. He always protected me. I just had to text him Sycamore Tree and he’d drop everything to be there for me. It kind of became a code of sorts, but it’s hard to explain. I guess you’d have to experience it. Remember when you threatened my dad?” Jess took a sip of her drink. Infinity gave her a side hug.
“Your dad is a dick.” Hamilton didn’t go into detail about their past, he just eyed me and grabbed my hand again.
“Affirmative,” Jess replied.
I filed this information away. There was so much about Hamilton that didn’t fit my original assumptions about him. He was the kind of man that helped out his history teacher. He dropped everything for his friends. He was serious. Poetic. Devoted. Physical and unapologetic. He had a rough childhood. Each layer of his personality added something else for me to obsess over.
We started talking about lighter subjects, thankfully. I liked Jess’s zero fucks attitude. She wasn’t afraid to poke and prod for answers, but I needed a break from the seriousness. She and Infinity started to get a buzz and were kissing when Hamilton turned to me. “I hate the dude, but Jared is smart,” Hamilton said in a low voice. “He picked a place known for their discreetness.”