Rule No 1:No Strings Attached
That much was obvious, and it needled at something in me I didn't have a name for yet.
"I'm not playing with her," I said, and the lie came easier than it should have, easier than it should have felt in my chest, too. "I actually like her, believe it or not. So maybe worry about your own relationship and stay out of mine."
Silence on the other end, long enough that I thought the call had dropped. "Fine," Brooks said finally, tight and clipped. "Just don't hurt her."
I hung up before he could say anything else, tossing the phone onto the mattress beside me and dropping back against the pillows, staring up at the water stain spreading across my ceiling that I'd been meaning to deal with for mo