Never Less: A Boyfriend's Dad Romance, page 15
“What are you even suggesting?” I ask.
“Break up with him.”
“What?!”
“You’re fucking miserable, Cora. You think you’re hiding it well. But you forget how well we know you.”
Ezra nods, humming in agreement.
“I . . .”
Shit. They’re right. I know they’re right. I got together with Matt to get my mind off these two. When we started dating, we both liked each other, but at this point we’re no good together. That’s the thing, though. I’d rather be miserable and distracted than miserable with nothing to keep my thoughts occupied.
I’m not sure why Matt has stuck around. Maybe because I’m his ticket to cheap rent? Because he doesn’t have to clean up after himself? It’s definitely not the sex—we haven’t had any in at least a month.
Ezra must sense my mood souring, because he switches the subject. “You excited for Halloween, Moonflower?”
Fuck. We always spend Halloween together. The past couple years, I haven’t been able to come home because I’ve had classes the morning after. This year, Halloween is on a Friday, but I wasn’t planning on coming home. I can’t be around them. Not without my mind spiraling out of control.
“Um . . . yeah.”
There’s a slight pause. Ezra’s smile wavers. “You’re coming home, right?”
Silence. My heart practically rips in two as I take in Ezra’s broken expression.
Wilder jumps straight to anger. “You promised us you’d come back.”
“I’m just . . . really overwhelmed. With school.”
Ezra shoves Wilder, and his expression softens. His jaw is still clenched tightly, though.
“Imani and DeAndre are throwing a Halloween party at their house,” I say. “I’m going to that with the girls. I just don’t think I can manage the drive home. It’s a lot of time, and I’m behind on homework, and I—”
“Don’t,” Wilder says. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it. Sorry I snapped.”
“Is there anything we can do to help you, Moonflower?” Ezra asks.
I shake my head. “No. But thank you.”
The sound of the front door opening and closing drifts into my bedroom. Matt must be home.
“I should go,” I say.
“Got it. Love you, Cora,” Ezra says.
“A lot,” Wilder adds.
“Love you guys too,” I reply quietly enough Matt won’t hear.
I hate hanging up on them, but I do it anyway. If Matt catches me talking to them, he’ll go on a rant about how I care more about them than I care about him. Which is true, but it’s ironic considering he doesn’t prioritize me.
Maybe I should break up with him.
No. I need the distraction.
“Cora?” he calls.
“In here,” I say, picking up the picture I dropped. As I stick it up on the wall again, Matt comes in.
“Oh, are you finally taking that shit down?”
I freeze, thumbtack in hand. “What?”
“The pictures of you and those two. You taking them down?”
“Why would I do that?”
“You hardly see them anymore. Barely talk to them.”
Barely talk to them in front of you.
“I’m not taking them down. They’re my best friends.”
Matt rolls his eyes and leaves. Typical.
I resume staring at the pictures of me and the boys for a few minutes. It only worsens my mood and makes me wish for things that’ll never happen.
For me to not be so damn selfish. For Wilder to not be so possessive. For me to be okay with being just friends with him and Ezra.
“Wishing won’t get you anywhere, Cora,” I mutter.
A distraction—that’s what I need. A shower and then something to keep my thoughts off Wilder and Ezra.
In the bathroom, I pull back the shower curtain to turn the water on. Then I grimace. I asked Matt to clean in here earlier, and I swear he did. I smelled the cleaning chemicals and everything. So why is the shower still dirty?
Stepping back from the shower, I take in the rest of the bathroom. Now that I’m actually looking, most of it doesn’t look clean.
“Hey, Matt?” I call.
“What?” It takes a second, but then he appears in the doorframe, arms crossed.
“Did you . . . did you clean in here?”
“Yeah.” He raises an eyebrow, like he knows exactly where this conversation is about to go.
“But it’s not clean.”
“It is.”
“There’s still soap residue on the shower walls. And it looks like you didn’t even sweep.” Or clean the sink.
He peers into the bathroom. “Looks fine to me.”
“But it’s—”
“If you’re going to be so nitpicky, maybe you should’ve done it yourself.”
I clench my fists. “I’m not being nitpicky.”
Matt rolls his eyes. “You’re just like my mom. All you do is nag.”
“Matt!”
“Whatever. I’m going to bed.” He heads into our room and shuts the door harder than he needs to.
I sigh, re-cleaning the bathroom, which only pisses me off even more. All I want to do is distract myself with one of the shows I’m currently watching.
Once the water is warm, I step under the spray. Immediately, my mind goes to Ezra and Wilder. What would it be like to shower with one of them? With both of them?
I glance down at my round stomach and ample thighs. There’s no way we could be together in this shower. It’s too small, especially considering Wilder and Ezra have both towered over me since we were young teens. Combined with their ridiculously broad shoulders from working out all the time, this thing is just too small. But maybe in a bigger shower . . .
Stop. Just stop, Cora. That’ll never happen.
I finish scrubbing myself clean and then dry off and put my favorite lotion on. After getting dressed, I settle on the couch in the living room, ready to relax, but I find myself scrolling through my shows. None of them seem appealing.
Maybe I should try journaling.
I look around for a notebook for a minute, but then I realize I’m not sure I want what’s on my mind written out on paper. What if Matt snoops through my stuff or finds it by accident? That definitely wouldn’t end well.
Settling on the couch again, I grab my laptop and pull up my old blog. It used to be my own sort of journal when I was a kid. I’d post shitty poems, pictures I took, and whatever thoughts were running through my head.
I made my blog private my sophomore year of high school, so no one has access to it. It’s the perfect place to rant without having to worry about someone reading it. And maybe if I can write out my feelings about Matt, and then the jumble of thoughts I have about Ezra and Wilder, I’ll feel better.
“It’s worth a try,” I mutter, hitting the button to create a new post.
And then I start typing.
Keep reading Moonflower here.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank Abbie (@abbies.reads) for bringing up how women who put an effort into their appearance are treated in fiction. Growing up for me, wearing makeup and looking nice were usually treated as shameful things. Realizing that women who care about how they look are often portrayed as villainous in fiction was an eye-opener for me. It changed how I wrote Liliana for the better, along with Char and Lori. Honestly, it’ll probably change how I write a lot of women in the future.
As always, thanks to my love for listening to me talk about my characters. And thanks to Kenzi, Sam, and Sam for workshopping Liliana and Nate’s breakup scene with me. It turned out wonderfully because of your input! And then, of course, thanks to Lynda, the Best Editor in the Entire World. Your edits were incredibly helpful.
And last (but certainly not least), thank you to my readers who’ve stuck with me from Ruthless Desires to where we are now. Your support means everything to me.
About E. Firethorn
E. Firethorn is the pen name I use for my erotic short stories and romance novellas. My full-length works are under the pen name Elira Firethorn, where I publish dark romance and romantic suspense.
I’ve been writing since I was a teenager, and I’m grateful every day that I get to be a full-time author. If you’d like to stay up to date with my latest stories and adventures, you can check out my website elirafirethorn.com or follow me on Instagram and TikTok @elirafirethorn.
Also By Elira Firethorn
Standalones (E. Firethorn)
Beneath the Tree
Never Less
Ruthless Desires Series
Blissful Masquerade
Perfect Convergence
Undying Resilience
Wretched Corruption
Cruel Betrayal
Vicious Deception
Standalones
Moonflower
For an up-to-date backlist, click here.
Firethorn, E., Never Less: A Boyfriend's Dad Romance
