Friends

Chapter 44

A/N: Chapter 45-88 along with other exclusive content can be found on my Patreon!

Marc's POV:

"Bro... she begged."

Jaylin exhales on the other end of the line. "Shit."

"Bro... and her arch? I've never seen anything sexier."

"You stay strong?" he asks.

"Barely," I mumble.

"Nah, fam. She was naked in front of you, had the demon arch, and was begging you to fuck her—and you expect me to believe y'all didn't do anything?" he says, voice full of sarcasm.

"I'm serious," I say, pacing my room with the phone pressed to my ear. "Like—full on. Told me she needed it. Told me she was ready. Looked me in the eyes and meant it. And nothing happened."

There's a beat of silence.

I stop walking. "What?"

"I don't believe it," he says again.

"I didn't do anything," I snap. "She passed out before I even got back with the condom."

"Okay," Jaylin says slowly, "so that's why nothing happened. Not because of your willpower—but because she was drunk," he says like he just solved a mystery.

"Don't do that," I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's not like that."

"I know it's not like that," he says. "I know you. That's why I'm calling it out. Because I know you've been plotting on her since you two moved in together."

I drop down onto the edge of the bed, staring at the floor.

"She just..." I pause. "She gave me everything last night. Not sex—everything else. The way she looked at me, Jay. Like she felt safe. Like she finally trusted someone to hold her and not hurt her."

"And you think that means she's ready?" he says gently, but firm. "Marc... the last time she felt safe, she ran back to Kendrick."

My chest tightens.

"That was different," I say. "She didn't even know what safety felt like back then. Now she does."

Jaylin doesn't answer right away. Then—

"Maybe," he says. "Or maybe she's still stuck in that pattern. You think one night fixed that?"

"No," I admit. "But it felt like the first step."

"Then treat it like that," he says. "A step. Not a promise. Because if you throw your whole heart into someone who's still healing, and she flips on you? You're gonna feel betrayed by something she never even guaranteed."

I drag a hand down my face.

"I just don't want to walk away from her, Jay."

"I'm not saying walk away," he replies. "I'm saying don't try to build your whole world on someone who's still learning how to stand."

There's a long silence between us.

"So..." he adds finally, trying to break the tension, "how was the rest of the night?"

I crack a small smile. "Like something out of a damn movie."

Jaylin hums. "So this all happened after the dinner, right?"

I hesitate. "Not exactly."

He catches it immediately. "Marc..."

"There's something else I didn't tell you," I say, exhaling hard. "Maria was there."