Page 77 of Their Wicked Ways

“How did you find out about them?” I asked. “You said it was because of your neighbors?”

“I overheard them and another set of neighbors talking shit about me and discussing how they could hear Naomi and Jacob fucking while I was at work.”

“They talked shit about you when you were the one who was cheated on?” Wes asked.

“Oh yeah.” He shot us a wry smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m the asshole who drove her into the arms of another man. The one with the broken dick who couldn’t give her what she needed. Did I mention that everyone, and I meaneveryone, knew about my little swimmer issue? It’s super fun having your entire community know your private medical info and talking about your dick like they’re discussing the weather.”

“That’s beyond fucked up. You were the victim in every sense of the word,” I said.

He shrugged. “Not according to them. But whatever. I confronted Jacob after I heard about them, and he confessed everything. He wasn’t even sorry. He got what he wanted.”

“So you lost both of your best friends in the same moment?” Wes asked. “That’s horrible.”

“Yup,” he said sadly. “And my whole support system, my family, and the only community I’d ever known.”

15

EZRA

“How long were you married?”Wes asked when Jett paused.

“Three and a half years. The divorce was finalized right before I came to live with my aunts.”

“Have you dated at all since you left?” I asked.

Would that make him shut down? He’d already told us so much, but I wanted to get a better understanding of his experience with sex and dating.

He shook his head. “I went on a few dates with a girl my friend Chanel introduced me to, but those were basically just hanging out together at parties.” He dropped his eyes and stared at his knee like the winning lottery numbers were written on it. “She was nice, but I didn’t like her that way. Thank fuck she ghosted me before I had to figure out a way to tell her that.”

He lifted his gaze and peered at us through his lashes. “But that’s it.”

Jesus, he looked so young and vulnerable when he did that. But not young in the sense of his age, more like his innocence was shining through the bratty bravado he fell back on when he was feeling vulnerable.

That look did things to me it had no business doing. The only other person who’d ever stirred those kinds of feelings in me was Wes. And now Jett.

I pushed those thoughts out of my head and focused on the conversation. I’d hoped that hanging out in a no-pressure atmosphere would help calm my lust for him, but all it was doing was fueling my desire to wrap him up and protect him from the world. To give him a safe space to be himself and explore all the things he had to suppress in order to survive his upbringing.

I was attracted to him; there was no question of that, but the more time we spent with him, the harder it was to deny that I liked and wanted all of him. And I knew I wasn’t the only one grappling with those types of feelings.

“I’ve spent a lot of time working through all the homophobic shit I was exposed to growing up, so dating wasn’t really a priority for me,” he continued. “And honestly, I’m still salty about everything, so I kind of swore off dating women for a while. Any time I’ve thought of being with someone again, it was always with men.”

My body tightened as he dragged his tongue over his lower lip.

“I like both,” he said shyly.

That look hit me right in the chest. Sassy and silly Jett confused the fuck out of my dick, but shy and vulnerable Jett wreaked havoc on my emotions.

“I’m bi,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to my inner turmoil. “But after being out in the real world for the past year and a bit, I realized I’m more attracted to men. I wanted to explore that, but I didn’t know how, so I waited until I was ready.” He huffed out a laugh. “Then I went balls to the wall, so to speak, and fucked two men at the same time. No one can ever say I don’t commit to things.”

“Why did you go to the club that night?” I asked. I’d wanted to ask him for weeks, but it hadn’t come up. Now might be my only chance for a while, and I was taking it. “You said something happened, but you didn’t elaborate.”

“I found out Naomi and Jacob not only got married, but they had a baby.” He held our gazes. “My mother sent me their birth announcement after over a year of radio silence because she knew it would hurt me. I was supposed to go out with my friends, but they had to cancel, and I got in my head and made a snap decision.”

“I don’t know if this is okay to say, but I really dislike your mother,” Wes grumbled. “She’s worse than mine.”

Jett smirked. “Same. And it’s fine. I’ve pretty much accepted that she doesn’t love me. She just sees me as an extension of herself, and I did the unforgivable by becoming my own person.”

“That’s a lot to deal with, especially being so young,” Wes said in that tone that always made me feel better when I was hurting. “The adults in your life failed you by not preparing you for the real world. I hope you don’t blame yourself for anything that happened in your marriage.”