Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,50
child and my best friend since we were kids. So yeah, I let it be known no one was to even think about touching you. I never said you were mine, but I made it clear if anyone made a move, they’d answer to me.”
He sounded so reasonable, but what he was saying was crazy. I knew full well what groups of guys could talk about, especially when shifts got slow. I wasn’t some wide-eyed virgin. I was in the trenches with these men. Personally, I would never get involved with someone I worked with, but that should’ve been my choice.
“My sex life is none of your business. If it doesn’t affect Ellie, you don’t get a say. How dare you, Victor.” My hands were shaking. I’d never been so mad at him, not even when he slept with someone else while I was recovering from my accident. “Our friendship is going to be over if you can’t admit how wrong you are and promise to stop.”
His chin lifted with pride, but something akin to panic swam behind his dark brown eyes.
“Don’t be crazy, Kat. Be pissed at me, but don’t threaten to walk away from me. We’re for life—and that’s never going to change.”
My eyes narrowed, trying to see what could possibly be going on inside this man’s head. He was telling me not to be crazy when he was the one acting like a lunatic.
“I feel like I don’t know you.” I shook my head. “You have to know what you did was wrong. You do know that, don’t you?”
His mouth pressed into a thin line as he stared back at me, unblinking. The breath whooshed out of me. I’d like to blame his behavior on his recent breakup with Casey, the sweetest woman I’d ever met, but I couldn’t since he’d apparently been doing this for years.
“I won’t apologize,” he finally said. “My only concern is keeping you and Ellie safe.”
“I can’t believe you. Ellie is my only concern. You know better than anyone why I would never bring some random dude home to meet her.”
He poked a thick finger at his chest. “The difference between you and me is I’m concerned for you too, not just Ells. I don’t want to see you get hurt or your reputation ruined. It’s my job to look out for you, and I take it fuckin’ seriously.”
Had I entered into an alternate reality where Veego was my overbearing dad instead of my childhood friend? We’d never had a conversation like this.
“I’m not your responsibility. I don’t want to be your responsibility. You have to stand down, Victor, or I will walk away.”
“Kat,” he stepped into my space, “you need to stop saying that before I get pissed. I understand you’re mad at me, but I’m trying to get you to see this from my perspective. Don’t you get I care about you?”
I backed up a step, then another. “I know you do, but being possessive and smothering isn’t the way to show it. It’s the direct path to driving me away from you.”
He scrubbed his face hard with both hands, releasing a groan of frustration. “Fine. Fine. Do whatever you want. Be with whoever you want. I don’t care.”
I cocked my head. “You shouldn’t care. I’ve never given you shit over the women you’ve slept with—and I know there have been multitudes over the years. You’ve kept all that separate from Ellie, and that’s all that matters.”
He nodded, stark and decisive. “Right. That’s all that matters.”
We’d come to an agreement, but I felt like I was missing something here. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess Veego’s possessiveness was due to his feelings for me—that he was jealous over me receiving attention from other men. But I did know better. He’d never once hinted at wanting more than friendship over the years, and I’d made it abundantly clear that was all I’d ever want from him.
“I don’t get you,” I said quietly.
He lifted a heavy shoulder, turning his head toward his flowers. “Not much to get. I thought I was doing right by you.” He turned back to me. “How did this come out anyway? Are you interested in one of the guys?”
“No, I’m not.” I crossed over to his porch, taking a seat on the top step. And though I was mad and confused, I patted the space next to me. This was Victor, the boy who helped me pull my first tooth out when I was too