My Boyfriend's Thirst Trap

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My boyfriend found out my deepest, darkest secret.

He dug up my shameless history of aggressively thirsting over a shirtless fitness influencer on TikTok.

Right now, he sat on the couch opposite me, holding his iPad.

His voice was completely flat as he read the comment I left, word for word.

[ Daddy, my bed is so empty. Are you big enough to make me sweat? ]

Chapter 1

He dragged out those last few words, slowly raising his eyes to pin me to my seat.

I shrank back, my shoulders hitching up to my ears. I couldn't even look him in the eye.

[ "My bed is so empty, yet my For You Page is just flooded with my future husbands." ]

His mouth twitched in a cold, humorless smile. "Wow, Teagan. You're already calling other men your husband."

Heat crawled up my neck, burning right down to my collarbone. "Please, stop reading"

"I haven't even heard you call me that," he stated.

"Nno, I was just copying what everyone else was saying"

My usually refined and preppy boyfriend tapped into the influencer's profile from my activity log. He tilted his head, staring deadpan at the guy's bulging, perfectly oiled muscles.

The sight made my ears burn so hot they felt like they were bleeding.

I wanted to throw myself out the window and end my short, miserable life right then and there.

The video looped to an end. Cole looked thoughtful. "You into this kind of body?"

My survival instincts immediately kicked in. "He's got nothing on you."

"You've seen mine?"

"No."

He drew in a sharp breath. "Teagan, you are completely different when you're with me. Your mom swore you were the ultimate good girl.

She said you never even dated before graduating college. Hell, I had to overthink and build up for two weeks just to hold your hand."

Guilt gnawed at me as I twisted my fingers into knots. "I only act tough behind a screen Besides, that was over six months ago. I haven't left a single thirst comment since I met you"

"Since you met me, you just silently watch them instead, right?"

I choked. Damn it, he read me like a book.

I never should have left my phone unlocked on the coffee table. He spotted my TikTok account and snooped right through my liked videos. A complete disaster.

"It just popped up on my feed, so I clicked it," I mumbled.

Cole stayed silent. He just kept scrolling through my embarrassing digital footprint.

His silence cranked my anxiety up to a ten. I wanted to snatch the iPad out of his hands, but I didn't have the guts.

As he kept scrolling, a muscle twitched in his jaw. Then, a deep flush crept up the tips of his ears.

Finally, he set the iPad down. He stood up and leveled me with an icy stare.

I'm dead. I am so dead.

My sweet, innocent persona had just gone up in flames.

The only reason Cole even dated me was because I shared a passing resemblance to his childhood crush.

Genevieve lived up to her name. She was the rare, soft-spoken, and effortlessly elegant girl next door. Every move she made belonged in a classic romance movie. Honestly, she practically molded his entire standard for women.

As for me? I just survived under my mom's strict, suffocating rules. It made him mistake my repressed survival tactics for being a quiet, well-behaved girl. We only ended up together because our families set it up.

Now that he had seen my true, unhinged colors, I figured he was about to dump me.

Chapter 2

"Cole." I laced his name with as much desperation as I could muster. "Please don't tell my mom"

He shot me an icy side-eye. He snatched up the iPad and walked out, letting the front door slam shut behind him.

I stared blankly at the empty doorway. Fine, walk out on me, but why the hell did he have to take my iPad? My stomach tied itself into anxious knots. I tossed and turned the entire night, barely catching a wink of sleep.

At work the next day, a coworker noticed I was practically a walking corpse and kindly slid a cup of coffee onto my desk. "You look awful. You've got bags under your eyes."

My chest tightened. I was only twenty-three, and I already looked like a sleep-deprived raccoon. "I got dumped," I mumbled.

She gave me a sympathetic nod, patted my shoulder, and walked away with a heavy sigh.

By mid-afternoon, the news of my tragic breakup had spread through the entire department. Everyone looked at me like I was a rescue puppy. Someone even let me cut the line for the bathroom stall.

When the clock finally hit five, my well-meaning coworker offered me a ride home. She gave me unsolicited, seasoned advice on not being too heartbroken. She swore she always knew Cole was bad news and said it was a blessing I got out before things got too serious.

"Teagan. You're off the clock," a familiar, deep voice cut through the air.

Cole stepped into my line of sight, dressed in crisp slacks and a dress shirt. Bathed in the golden hour sunlight, he looked annoyingly handsome. "Hungry?"

My coworker's jaw practically unhinged. You could see her mentally recalculating who the real catch was.

He gave the people around me a polite nod and smoothly took my purse from my shoulder. "Let's go. I'm taking you to dinner."

And so, under the burning, envious stares of my colleagues, I bit the inside of my cheek and climbed into his car.

Cole kept his eyes on the road, the only sound between us the steady hum of the engine.

I finally cracked. "It's a little hot in here," I muttered.

He didn't even blink. "Take your jacket off, then."

The old Cole would have immediately turned up the AC for me. My throat closed up. I clamped my mouth shut.

He was officially sick of me. What a jerk.

Cole took me to our usual steakhouse. I had a gut feeling this was our breakup dinner. The thought made a bitter lump form in my throat.

I flagged down the waiter and ordered three high-proof tequila shots straight away. I had zero tolerance for alcohol, but just smelling that sharp, burning scent made me feel like I was already losing control.

We ate in suffocating silence. Neither of us had the energy to speak. I forced down the last piece of my steak, tasting absolutely nothing. I figured it was time for Cole to drop the hammer.

Cole locked eyes with me. His tone was perfectly level. "Want to catch a movie?"

I blinked, completely caught off guard. "But it'll be really late by the time it's over."

"It doesn't matter how late it is. I'll take you home."

I assumed he picked some moody, heartbreaking romance to match the vibe. I didn't realize the truth until we sat down and the opening credits rolled.

Great. It was one of those gory, hardcore exorcism horror movies.

He knew damn well I was terrified of this stuff!

And he still brought me here!

I whipped my head to look at Cole, my muscles tensing to bolt.

"Shh," he hushed me, keeping his eyes on the screen. "It's starting. Pay attention."

When he saw my fingers gripping the armrest, ready to run, he offered some comfort. "It's actually a comedy. It's not that scary."

Fine. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt just this once.

I was an idiot for ever trusting a man.

Chapter 3

The movie hit a massive jump scare. I ducked my head and squeezed my eyes shut, burying my fingernails into my palms.

Warm breath ghosted over my ear, followed by Cole's voice. "It's fine. You can look now."

I relaxed and popped my eyes open, only to be blasted by a grotesque, blood-splattered demon face filling the entire screen. My breath caught in my throat as goosebumps erupted all over my skin.

A low, muffled chuckle vibrated from the seat next to me.

Unbelievable. He did that on purpose.

I wanted my sweet, considerate Cole back!

When the credits finally rolled and the house lights flickered on, I stood up on shaky legs. Couples were walking out pressed closely against each other. I fully expected Cole to grab my hand. He knew exactly how terrified I was of the dark.

Instead, his voice cut through the air, cold and detached. "Let's go. Unless you want to stay in here alone."

Son of a bitch.

I had to pull back the hand I had half-extended toward him, my nails biting into my palm. I trailed behind him in silence.

The ride back was suffocatingly quiet. Cole kept his hands draped over the steering wheel, completely ignoring my foul mood. He had changed.

Before, no matter what happened, he'd always make sure to drop me off before eight. If I stayed out late with friends, he'd get worried and drive across town just to pick me up. He knew I was scared of the dark. He used to grip my hand tight whenever we walked past that broken streetlamp in my complex.

When they finally fixed that light, a stupid part of me had actually been disappointed.

Now that he realized I wasn't the flawless, innocent angel he imagined, his whole attitude had done a one-eighty. Was all that tenderness just meant for Genevieve 2.0?

Half an hour later, the car pulled up outside my apartment building. Cole turned his head. Seeing my bloodshot eyes, his thumb brushed the corner of my eye.

A faint, mocking smile touched his lips. "Did the movie make you cry?"

I glared at him. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked flatly. "Sleep with you?"

He suddenly leaned toward me in the cramped car, his broad shoulders instantly stealing all the oxygen from my lungs.

He didn't even look at me, just slowly unbuckled my seatbelt.

His knuckles brushed against my collarbone, a barely-there touch that sent a jolt down my spine, right as his low, husky voice grazed my ear.

My eyes went wide.

He patted my cheek, a dark amusement swimming in his eyes. "Go on. I'll watch you walk in."

I stumbled out of the car, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. Did Cole just deliberately flirt with me?

But the second I reached my front door, reality hit me like a truck. I had been so busy spiraling into depression this morning that I had locked myself out. The only spare key was with Cole.

Swallowing my pride, I pulled out my phone and called him. It rang a few times before he finally picked up. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot my keys. I'm locked out." I kept my voice painfully small. "You haven't gotten far, right? Could you bring me your spare"

A heavy, two-second silence hung on the line. He sighed. "How are you this clueless?"

"Please?" I begged softly.

Then, a soft, distinctly feminine voice filtered through the speaker. "Is that Teagan?"

It hit me like a physical blow.

Genevieve was with him.

A sharp, suffocating cramp seized my chest. I forced my breathing to stay even, masking the sudden spike of panic. "Actually, just hail an Uber and have the driver drop it off."

"Yeah," he muttered, and the line went dead.

A few minutes later, a text popped up.

[ Here. ]

I quickly typed back.

[ What's the license plate? I'll come down and grab it. ]

I had barely reached the hallway when the elevator doors slid open. Cole was standing right there.

I blinked. "Wait, you came up yourself?"

"Did you lose your key?" he asked, stepping out into the hall.

I shook my head. "Just left it inside."

He walked straight past me toward my door, fishing a key out of his slacks. "You're lucky I kept this on me."

"Cole, have you been working out extra behind my back?" My eyes dragged over the taut V-taper of his torso and the broad cut of his shoulders pressing against his dress shirt. "Are you training for a bodybuilding competition or something?"

He didn't miss a beat. "I've always trained."

"So, you've got abs too?"

A dark, knowing edge slipped into his tone. "You want to see them?"

Chapter 4

I just stared at him.

Ever since Cole uncovered my true colors, every conversation we had felt thick with an unbearable tension.

He stood in the doorway, key in hand, his posture going rigid as some unknown thought crossed his mind.

"Put it in already."

The second the words left my mouth, I realized what a terrible double entendre that was. My face instantly burned up.

He shot me a slow, loaded look.

Damn it. We were never going back to our pure, innocent days.

Cole slid the key into the lock and gave it a twist. The door finally clicked open.

I kept my head down, trying to slip past him as quietly as possible.

Just as I grabbed the handle to shut the door, Cole's voice stopped me. "Not even going to invite me in for a glass of water?"

I hesitated. Every instinct told me to say no, but the guy had just driven all the way over here to rescue me. Slamming the door in his face felt ungrateful.

Cole took a long stride inside. His dark eyes swept over the living room couch, shifting as they locked onto it. He was definitely thinking about yesterday's iPad incident.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone suddenly buzzed. The rigid lines of his jaw instantly softened. I knew exactly who was on the other end of that call.

Sure enough, he pulled the phone away from his ear just long enough to look at me. "Never mind. Rain check on that water."

He cast one last, deep look at the couch before turning on his heel and walking out of my apartment.

Unbelievable. Walking out on me to go cater to another woman, and he still had the nerve to tell me he'd be back. What did he take me for?

Right before I went to sleep, my cheating boyfriend texted me.

[ Asleep? ]

I left him on read.

[ Still scared? ]

Two minutes later, he fired off a video link with an aggressively cute thumbnail. Given his track record, I braced myself and clicked it with trembling fingers. It was just a funny cat compilation.

Thank God. No jump scares this time. The video did ease my anxiety a little, but I still refused to text him back.

He didn't text me the next day. In fact, Cole went completely off the grid for three straight days.

I caught the gossip from a mutual friend. Genevieve had a massive blowout with her fianc and ran off to another city alone. Nobody knew where she was, and her family was losing their minds trying to track her down.

Rumor had it she was pregnant, and everyone was terrified she might do something reckless.

Cole had to be the most frantic one out of all of them. No wonder he didn't have a spare second for me.

I was right in the middle of wallowing over the fact that my boyfriend was madly in love with someone else when my mom called. She immediately demanded to know why I was ignoring Cole's texts.

Was she even talking about the same Cole? I blinked in surprise. "How do you even know about that?"

My mom scoffed. She practically bragged that it was her birthday yesterday, and Cole had driven out of his way to deliver a gift in person.

She lectured me on how impossible it was to find such a respectful, perfect future son-in-law, ordering me to treat him right and stop playing games.

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. "You have no idea. I'm not the one playing games here."

She didn't listen to a word of it. She commanded me to accept Cole's date invitation immediately, going on and on about how exhausting his business trip was and how sweet it was that he still made time for her birthday.

Business trip? Yeah, right. More like a manhunt for Genevieve.

The second my mom hung up, a text from Cole lit up my screen, asking me to meet him tonight.

Under the heavy threat of my mother's wrath, I had no choice but to say yes.

Chapter 5

Before, I would always dress up like a perfect, preppy little lady just to match his taste. This time, I showed up in a baggy gray sweatsuit, not even bothering to brush my hair. I shoved my hands into my pockets and stopped in front of him, rocking a look that screamed lazy but stubborn defiance.

His dark eyes dragged over me from head to toe. A faint smirk tipped the corner of his mouth, but he didn't say a word.

It turned out this guy had booked a ridiculously upscale, wallet-draining steakhouse. We're talking candlelit tables, fresh roses, and vintage wine. Every other guest was in formal evening wear. The hostess stared at my sweatpants so hard my face practically caught fire.

Cole, on the other hand, was completely unbothered. He looked totally relaxed, not acting like I was an embarrassment at all.

I reached under the table and pinched his arm hard. "Why didn't you warn me?"

A low grunt rumbled in his chest. Out of nowhere, he pulled a hair tie from his pocket. He reached over, his long fingers smoothly gathering my messy hair and tying it back. "This is fine. It's a very effortless look."

Swirling the pre-dinner cocktail in my glass, a thought suddenly struck me. I figured I should probably fake some concern. "How's Genevieve? Is she okay?"

Cole's expression remained entirely unreadable. "They found her. Everything is fine."

Duty fulfilled, I gave a simple "Oh," and went back to waiting for my steak.

Cole rested his arms on the table. "Is there really nothing else you want to ask?"

I guess he felt my fake concern wasn't convincing enough. Suddenly, his gaze dropped, locking onto my slightly softer jawline. "You, on the other hand, definitely gained a few pounds."

I froze.

That was it. Because of that one sentence, I decided right then and there to strike first and dump him. I mentally drafted my breakup speech, gathering my righteous fury as I glared at him across the table.

Cole picked up his wine glass. "A little thicker. Feels better to hold."

Heat rushed straight to my face, instantly wiping my brain clean of any breakup speech.

He was doing it again!

After dinner, Cole mentioned there was a highly-rated escape room nearby and asked if I wanted to check it out. I shot that down immediately. I told him he needed to rest after his exhausting "business trip," and jumping into something high-adrenaline right off a flight was bad for his heart.

He stared at me for a long moment before finally nodding. Maybe getting rejected soured his mood, because he didn't say a single word for the entire drive back.

When we pulled up outside my apartment building, I didn't expect him to cut the engine and follow me out of the car.

I turned around. "What are you doing?"

"The streetlamp is out again."

Fine. Even though I was totally used to walking it alone by now.

We made it to my front door without incident. I gave him a stiff wave. "Goodnight, Cole."

He let out a low hum. Before I could reach for the doorknob, his large hand slipped around my waist.

My muscles locked up. I wasn't used to this. The old Cole was always aggressively polite, an absolute gentleman who never initiated physical contact without my explicit permission.

Cole had changed. He was playing dirty now.

My pulse hammered frantically against my ribs, leaving my fingertips numb.

He slowly lowered his head, closing the physical distance until there was zero space left between us.

I could feel the hard, steady thud of his heartbeat and the intense heat radiating from his chest. Damn, he was built.

He brought his other hand up to cup my jaw, his thumb softly tracing my cheek as he brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Actually, this is better," he murmured, his voice dropping to a gravelly register. "You used to be so well-behaved, I was terrified to even touch you."

A violent shiver ripped straight down my spine.

He sharply dipped his head and captured my lips.

This wasn't some hesitant, gentle peck.

His large hand clamped hard onto the back of my head, while the arm wrapped around my waist tightened like a vice.

His hot tongue pushed past my lips with absolute, aggressive possession, driving deep and mercilessly plundering every last ounce of oxygen from my lungs.

Chapter 6