The Checklist (Explicit Version)

Chapter 3

   "So many fucking questions," he grumbled in annoyance but otherwise said nothing else before stomping to the left side of the room, where a bar sat. "You want water, princess?"

   "Sure, and stop calling me princess."

   He made a noise under his breath, but for some reason, I doubt it was a sound of agreement. 

   I watched him lower his coffee onto the bar and roughly snatch a paper cup off the table before stopping in front of the water dispenser. For a moment, I admired how muscular he was, even if his jacket was hiding his back. As if he could feel my gaze, he pushed his shoulders back tensely.

   Hurriedly, I shot my head to the L-shaped black desk behind me, which didn't have much of anything besides two monitors. A large, black office chair faced the direction of the windows opposite of the entrance, and through the blinds, I recognized the back of the shop. Behind the chair, covering the whole wall on the right, were three separate industrial storage cabinets.

   All the furniture was black. I was surprised that the walls were a dark, dirty green rather than black as well.

   "Here."

   Myles tatted hand shot in front of my face, making the water splash in the cup from his aggressiveness. Hesitantly, I gripped the bottom while simultaneously avoiding where his hand rested on the cup.

   "Thank you." I took a slow sip of the cool liquid before lifting my head to his. He watched me soberly, but I noticed how his eyes tracked my movements assessingly. "What?"

   His eyes flared with ire before it went away. "Your boyfriend is a piece of shit."

   "And that's why he is my ex-boyfriend." My tone was hostile, but I felt the ache in my chest growing. I lowered my gaze before holding the cup with both hands. "I never expected him to be perfect. I can separate fiction from reality. But still, I thought... I thought he was my own version of prince charming. The realistic version, at least. We were supposed to end up together. That's what our mom's wanted. Heck, that's what movies and books promised. It was my fault for believing they'd promise fidelity, too."

   "We've known each other since we were twelve. Twelve. Our moms were good friends, and they made sure me and Remi would be good friends. They never pushed us to be together, but I knew they wanted us to date." Flashes of my past come back to me, but the memories felt like they belonged to someone else. "Remi wanted us to date. Ever since we got to high school. It was easier to avoid his feelings back then because we didn't go to the same school, but university happened and... I caved. I caved because I knew it would happen eventually. And he cheated on me. Remi. The guy who swore to love me forever. It's almost embarrassing, right? That a guy who claimed to love me so much, cheated. There must be something wrong with me."

   "Maybe I do have high standards," I whispered but Myles' harsh scoff reminded me that I wasn't, in fact, talking to myself.

   "If he can't keep his dick in his pants, that's on him. Not you," he grated through his teeth. "People cheat because they want to break up, but they're fucking cowards."

   Cracking a smile, I looked at him over my lashes. "You never cheated, Myles?"

   "That would require me to have been in a relationship, princess."

   Rolling my eyes at the nickname, I asked, "You've never dated anyone?" I was grateful we were moving the conversation onto him. When he shook his head no, I frowned. "Why?"

   "Why? You want to date me or something?" He shot back crudely, almost defensively. "I don't do girlfriends, princess. I keep to myself."

   "Well, that sounds lonely. Do you have friends?"