tell you?”
“They were having sex and he wanted it rough. When she declined he slapped the shit out of her.”
“No. I don’t believe it.” I’m shaking my head and staring at Kent in horror.
He looks like he knows exactly what I’m hearing.
“Is he there?” she guesses. “Give him the phone. Give Kent the phone!”
Shaking, I hand it over. “She wants to talk to you.”
He takes the phone and holds it to his ear. His face is pale, frightened and reproachful at the same time as he listens to what Becca tells him. “Good, now listen to me. I like your sister. A lot. All that shit with Gwen didn’t happen the way she says. I don’t abuse women. But she asked me for it and I was caught up in the moment. Should I have done it to her? No. Of course not, but I have my own issues.” He pauses to listen to her. “She’s a big girl. She can make her own choices.” And then he hangs up and hands me back my phone, cutting off her loud angry reply. “Who do you believe, Rain? Me or some chick that got mad at me for doing exactly what she wanted?”
“What did Becca say?”
“She’s going to shoot me in my dick if I don’t leave you alone. Does she own a gun?”
That makes me laugh uncontrollably hard until my stomach hurts. “Yes. She got one after someone tried to break into our apartment.”
He pales further. “She really doesn’t like me.”
“Do you blame her? I don’t like you right now either.”
“Do you believe me? It was kinky sex gone wrong. I would never actually hit a woman. I don’t want to punish them that badly.”
“Did she call the police?”
“She didn’t do anything because she’s lying. She couldn’t handle it and turned it around on me. Do you believe me? You have to believe me.”
“My common sense is telling me to run right now.”
He leans forward and kisses me softly, barely touching my lips. “Don’t listen.”
“You have to fix yourself. Let your anger go and stop taking it out on all women. Not all women hurt you. Willow did. She’s only one person.”
“Not all men broke your trust. Your dad did. He’s only one person. You have to learn to trust us again. Start with me.”
He kisses me again, this time longer, his soft supple flesh melting against me. His lips are persuasive and sexy, kissing me in a way that leaves me confused and wanting.
He’s doing it on purpose. I let him confuse me. My common sense is screaming at me to run and any deterrence is welcome. But there is something deep down inside of me that truly believes it was kinky sex gone wrong. With Kent it’s disappointingly plausible.
I free my lips from his persuasive kiss and sit back in my seat. “What did she say when she asked you to hit her?”
He drives with his eyes on the car in front of us. “She said, ‘Do you want to do something different?’ because we’d hooked up a couple times before that. I said yes. She said, ‘Spank me.’ I laughed. She got mad. She was serious. She wants me to spank her. I do it. And it’s hot. I liked spanking her.” He swallows hard. “I do it again. She loves it. Then she starts blowing me. She tells me to pull her hair. I do it. That’s hot too. And then she says to slap her. I didn’t believe her at first. Because who asks that? Then again, who does it?” He sighs and turns right, pulling into the library parking lot. “I do that too. And guess what?”
“It was hot,” I whisper.
“It was hot. I do it again. She loves it, on her knees in front of me. She says harder. But this time it’s too hard. She gets pissed and starts crying because she’s embarrassed. Suddenly she’s screaming for me to get out. I hit her because she asked me to. I’d never actually hit her. She had to tell her friends something.”
I picture Gwen. Dark ash blonde hair, green eyes, and the sultry look she constantly wields over men. In my mind I want to dislike her. It isn’t difficult. We never got along before I learned what Kent did to her. I don’t suppose we will now. But I can’t dislike her to make myself feel better. Why would Kent lie to me? He’s done things to women in front of me