Friends

Chapter 58

A/N: The Book is FINISHED! Read the entirety of it on my Patreon along with other exclusive content if you want to check those out!

Marc's POV:

She's told me everything I think I need to hear. Now I just need to find an excuse to leave.

"Nya, this was absolutely amazing. I really did enjoy your time, but I've got content to make," I say, trying to stand.

"No, that's not how this works," she replies flatly.

Not how this works? What is she talking about?

"Not how what works?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"I answered all your questions about Jasmine. Told you about her background, her love life. Now it's your turn. The whole point of me setting this up was to see if you're good for her. I was an open book, hoping I earned your trust. Now it's your turn."

Interesting. Now I look like an asshole if I don't want to talk about myself. Like I've got something to hide. I thought she just liked hearing herself talk. I wasn't expecting her to be calculated. Well, two things can be true at once.

"I'm an open book. Ask away," I say with a casual shrug.

"What's your body count?" she fires off immediately.

Straight to sex. Typical Nya.

"I honestly don't know. I stopped counting once I hit twenty," I reply calmly.

"You're okay with Jasmine being inexperienced? She's only been with one guy," she asks, eyes narrowing.

"Well, we haven't had sex yet, so I don't have much to say on the topic. But for me, it's not necessarily about experience—it's about energy. I'm okay with teaching her things, but there are some things you can't teach. You can't teach enthusiasm. And from what I've heard and the conversations we've had, she's got a lot of it. So we're good."

"That was the correct answer," Nya says with a small grin. "I was waiting for you to go off about how she's close to being pure or something."

"I actually prefer experience," I admit, "but like I said, there are other factors that come into play."

"So why Jasmine?" she asks, tilting her head. "You've been with a lot of women. I stalked your socials. You've got plenty of women in your comment section wanting you. What makes Jasmine so special?"

I lean back slightly, taking a breath.

"I saw me in her," I say slowly. "At first, it started as a crush—one of those dumb fantasy crushes where you convince yourself you're never going to act on it. She's my roommate; let's just keep it like that, so no one gets uncomfortable. She was beautiful, quiet, mysterious. But then..." I pause, choosing my words carefully. "Then I heard her talk about Kendrick. How obsessed she was. How much she loved pleasing him, how good the sex was. And I'm not proud of it, but yeah—it turned into something lustful. I wanted to be the one she talked about like that. I was jealous."

I glance at Nya, making sure she's still with me. She's listening intently.

"But the more I got to know her... I realized it wasn't just about the sex. She's like me in a lot of ways. Broken, yeah. Guarded. But wanting something real. Wanting something healthy, even if she doesn't know how to get there. She's been through hell and still wants to be soft. That takes strength. And I respect the hell out of that."

Nya's expression shifts, eyebrows rising slightly.

"What do you mean by broken?" she asks carefully. "Because to be honest, that kind of sounds like you're trying to prey on a victim."