Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,88

he said, negating the disbelief in his eyes.

“It’s Corey,” I blurted out. “And I warned I’d be blocking him if he didn’t stop.” Clearly, being thrown off along with my pathetic statement made me look guilty, but I had nothing to hide.

“Hey, it’s none of my business,” he said, but failed to disguise the hurt in his voice.

“Cooper, it’s not what you think.”

“What I’m thinking is I had no idea you were in contact with Corey.”

“I’m not.”

“So he’s texting you why then?”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.” When his deadpan expression stopped my motherfucking sarcasm in its tracks, I scrubbed a hand over my face and groaned. “This was not what I wanted to discuss tonight.”

“Okay. Well, things happen for a reason. So why don’t you enlighten me on this first?”

“I ran into him in Indiana when I picked up dinner from the steak house. He was with a guy and was surprised to see me. He tried to make small talk, of which I didn’t reciprocate. When he said it would be great to get together and catch up, I shut him down and told him to pretty much have a nice life.”

“He was with a man?”

“Yeah. They had their arms around each other. It was obvious they were together, so, apparently, Corey has figured his shit out.” When his brows rose in question, I added, “I don’t know why he keeps texting me.” I didn’t. “Maybe he’s going through some twelve-step thing. I don’t know.”

“He’s been texting you since our visit to Indiana two weeks ago?”

“No. His first text came this past Sunday.”

“Today is Friday. So if I hadn’t seen your phone…” He left the words hanging. And I knew… right then and there, no matter what I said, it would come off the wrong way.

Chapter Thirty

Cooper

“I would’ve told you,” Ricky proclaimed, but nothing in his demeanor backed up that statement.

“Wait.” Then something occurred to me as I lifted a finger. “The night you picked up dinner at the steak house,” I repeated. “The night we fucked in your room for the first time. That night?”

Wide-eyed, openmouthed silence came until he finally said, “Yeah.”

“The same night you needed me… or so you claimed.”

“I did need you.”

“Gotcha.” I nodded and folded my arms. “To fill an unexpected urge? Wasn’t Corey the only man to ever have fucked you?” I then asked, antagonizing him and not caring a damn in the process.

“No. It wasn’t like that. I swear. What we shared that night was me and you… no one else. It proves how much I care about you.”

A long pause stretched, as hard and steely as my gaze. “Can you understand why I would think otherwise?”

There were so many holes in that story, I felt my stomach churning. Not once had I questioned Ricky’s loyalty, and I wasn’t the drama-seeking type. I hated this crap. It wasn’t my thing… ever. But seriously, what the fucking hell?

He topped… always. He admitted as much to me during one of the first nights we became intimate. He also admitted Corey was the only man ever to be inside him, that until he met someone he truly cared for, that would be something he held close to his chest. I got that. It was why I felt so special in Indiana… the same night he’d seen his ex.

And I was supposed to believe that one had nothing to do with the other?

Not once did I have drama in any of the heterosexual relationships that I floundered my way through. Was it because this one was so very different? Did it come with the territory of being in love? If so, fuck this shit… who needed it?

I had no clear idea what any of this meant. Getting any information out of this man was like pulling teeth. And because of this discovery, a tiny seed of doubt began to grow roots, nestling itself into the layer of confidence I held on to in our relationship. But like a chip in a windshield, with time it could spread into a well-defined crack reaching from edge to edge.

“Cooper…” He said my name in exasperation. “Corey is insignificant.”

“Bullshit, Ricky.” Shaking my head at that blatant lie, I countered, “He is significant enough that you kept your run-in to yourself… and the fact he’s been texting you. He’s significant enough to make your dick hard enough for you to insist we take our relationship to the next level, in a way you hadn’t since you were with him.” He looked