THE COST

CHAPTER TEN: THE COST

 Aaron’s POV

I couldn’t stop watching him limp away.

Leon moved like every step cost him something… shoulders a little hunched, one hand brushing absently at the fresh bruise blooming along his cheek. The morning light hit it just right, turning the mark an ugly shade of purple. Someone had put their hands on him after I’d left him in that penthouse bed. The thought settled heavy in my gut, somewhere between satisfaction and a sharp, unexpected twist of anger.

Last night had been… fucking incredible. And now here he was, walking like my cock had left a permanent reminder between his legs, and all I could think was how badly I wanted to do it again… properly this time. Make sure the only name he remembered was mine.

A slow smirk crept across my face despite everything. Leon, you really are a naughty little mouse.

I leaned back against the tree trunk, bark rough through my shirt, and let my mind wander. What if I just… broke him a little? Leaked one of those filthy stories he wrote under his anonymous handle? Let his priest father read all the ways his son fantasized about getting fucked senseless by “Damian.” The image made me almost laugh out loud. It would be so easy. One message. One screenshot. Watch the perfect little preacher’s family implode.

“Aaron! What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

Sonia’s voice cut through the quiet. She came strutting across the grass, hips swaying in that tiny cheer skirt that barely covered anything. Her top was tight enough that her tits looked ready to spill out with every step. Usually, that view would have me hard in seconds. Today, it just felt… loud.

“Missed me already, sweetheart?” I forced the grin, sliding an arm around her waist the second she was close. My hand dropped lower, giving her ass a firm squeeze out of habit. She giggled and pressed into me, her fingers already working at the buttons of my shirt like she had zero shame and even less patience.

“Stop it…” she laughed, but her body melted against mine, warm and soft in all the familiar places.

Her hands kept fumbling, brushing over my chest. “Aaron… there’s no one around. We could…”

“Slut,” I murmured against her ear, the word slipping out automatically. Part of me wanted to do it. Bend her over the low wall behind the tree, flip that skirt up, and fuck the frustration out of my system. It would be easy. Loud. A decent distraction.

But even as my dick twitched at the thought, my mind kept drifting back to Leon. To the way he’d looked this morning… bruised, sore, trying so hard to walk normal. To the idea that he might be somewhere right now, still feeling me. Still thinking about last night, even if he didn’t remember it was me.

I gently caught her wrists and buttoned her top back up, ignoring the pout she gave me. “Can’t have other guys seeing you like this, babe. I’d lose my mind with jealousy.”

Total bullshit. Jealousy had never been my thing with Sonia. But the lie rolled off my tongue easy. Truth was, half the thrill I used to get from fucking her came from knowing Leon might be watching from the shadows, taking notes for whatever depraved story he was writing next.

Sonia sighed dramatically but let it go. I gave her ass one last pat and sent her on her way before heading to class.

The lecture was already halfway done by the time I slipped in. The professor shot me a look that could’ve curdled milk, but I ignored it and dropped into the seat beside Damian. He didn’t even glance up from his notes… perfect, neat handwriting filling the page like always.

“Where were you?” he asked under his breath.

“Busy with Sonia,” I muttered, kicking my feet up on the desk in front of me. The chair tilted back dangerously. I closed my eyes, hoping for five minutes of peace.

“I heard from my uncle. If your GPA tanks again this semester, your dad’s shipping you overseas right after graduation,” Damian broke the quiet.

The words hit like cold water. I sat up so fast the chair legs slammed down with a screech that turned every head in the room.

“Fuck… since when?” I grabbed Damian by the collar and yanked him close. “When did my old man tell you that? Why the hell wouldn’t he say it to my face?”

Our families had been tangled together for generations. My father treated Damian like the son he wished he had.

 Overseas? Some rigid school where my last name wouldn’t buy me shit. The idea made my stomach twist. I wasn’t ready to lose all this.

“He said unless you pull at least one A+, the paperwork’s already signed,” Damian replied, his expression caught between real worry and that familiar look of pity he gave me sometimes. “You know how he gets when he decides something.”

“Kill me now,” I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “That’s harder than going a whole day without getting laid.”

As I slumped back, trying to shake off the dread, my eyes caught movement near the back door. Leon. He was hovering there like he didn’t belong, hoodie pulled low, one hand lightly touching the bruise on his cheek.

Something possessive flared hot in my chest.

I slid out of my seat without thinking and moved through the rows. When I reached him, I stepped in close from behind and leaned down until my lips almost brushed his ear.

“Leon?” I breathed. “Looking for something? Or someone? Still chasing after Damian?”

He startled so hard he nearly tripped over his own feet, spinning around with wide eyes. The flush that crept up his neck was immediate. Up close, the bruise looked worse. My fingers itched to touch it, to trace it but that’d be weird.

“No!” he whispered, shaking his head too fast. “I… I came to find you.”

That threw me. Me? After everything?

But then he kept going.

“I want you to teach me… teach me how to make Damian mine.”

The sentence landed between us, awkward and honest and so fucking ridiculous I almost laughed. He wanted lessons? On seducing my best friend? While his body still carried the ghost of my hands, my cock, my cum?

I leaned in again, a smirk I couldn’t quite hide pulling at my lips.

“Oh, little mouse… you really have no idea what you’re asking for.”