I'm Done with Her

My girlfriend, Piper Wolfe, and her childhood best friend, Cole Carter, could physically feel each other's pain and sensations—or so she claimed. We were in the middle of a heavy make-out session when she suddenly shoved my shoulders, almost throwing me off the bed, and pulled out her phone to dial Cole. "Cole! It’s ten at night, why are you chugging ice-cold beer? If you don’t care about your stomach, at least think about mine!" Cole’s voice muffled through the speaker. "You don’t get to judge me! Tell your boyfriend to go easy on the kissing. My lips are burning! If you keep this up, I’m just gonna find someone else to kiss!" Piper’s chest heaved. Her voice spiked with panic. "Don't you dare!" By the time she hung up, they had made a pact: as long as she kept her hands off me, Cole promised not to hook up with random girls. She turned back to me, her eyes wide and pleading. "Finn, please. I can't stand the feeling of another girl touching and kissing me by proxy. You understand, right?" I loved Piper way too much. My stomach sank, but I gave in. As long as our love was real, a platonic relationship wouldn’t hurt me. Until I caught them together. Piper had Cole pinned against the wall, their lips locked in a deep, rough kiss that left his lips swollen. "I don't care how many boyfriends you date," Cole murmured against Piper’s skin, breathless, "You're only touching me." Piper laughed, running her fingers through his hair. "Relax. You're the only one who actually turns me on." Cole smirked, wiping his lips. "Still, out of all the guys you've dated, this current one takes the crown for idiot of the year. You told him we shared physical sensations and he actually bought it?" "Hey, don't ruin a good thing." Piper giggled. "You better make sure I don't lose him. He's way too convenient." A sharp, violent ringing filled my ears while my mind went blank. I was paralyzed by the horrific realization that my entire relationship was just a joke to them. What neither of them realized, though, was that I was the kind of guy every girl secretly craved, and starting today, I was done being played. Chapter 1 The moment I walked over, Piper Wolfe and Cole Carter ripped away from each other. Piper scrambled for a cover story, but her lie had been completely blown. "I was just blowing sand out of Cole’s eye. You know how our connection works," she added, her voice shaky, "It feels awful for me when he gets stuff in his eye. You’re not starting another petty fight, are you?" I just shook my head, my gaze coldly sweeping across Cole’s swollen lips. I reached out, grabbed Piper’s chin, pulled a tube of toothpaste out of my bag, and squeezed a thick glob directly onto her lips. "Finn, what the hell are you doing?" she gasped, taking a step back, "How am I supposed to eat now?" "Well, Cole’s lips look like someone really wrecked them," I said, letting the accusation hang in the air. "Aren't you two physically connected? I just didn't want you to suffer, so I brought some toothpaste to cool the burn." Before Piper could recover her composure, I kept pushing. "Didn't you two swear off physical contact with other people? Since Cole broke the rule, does that mean you and I can finally kiss?" Cole’s face darkened instantly, his eyes shooting daggers at Piper. "Don't you dare!" I pulled out my lip balm, coated my lips, and stepped right into Piper’s space. "So, are we doing this or what?" Piper shoved me away without a second thought. "There are people everywhere, don't you have any shame? Let's just go find a booth." Whispers from the surrounding crowd invaded my ears. "How pathetic," a girl murmured nearby, "Those two were practically devouring each other a second ago. They're clearly together. And he's standing there begging her for a kiss right in front of her boyfriend?" "Predictable," another guy snickered, "Got shot down hard." I stood glued to the floor, watching their backs as they walked away, fighting to drown out the burning stares pinned to my neck. By the time I caught up, a group had already claimed their usual table. Piper immediately nudged me toward them. "Go talk to that girl over there and ask if we can share the booth." My hands balled into tight fists as I stared at her. "Why me?" "You know why!" she scoffed, annoyed, "Cole and I share sensations. If some random girl touches him, gross, I can't handle that!" Cole chuckled, leaning his weight casually on Piper’s shoulder. "The thought of Piper being touched by another girl is hilarious! So, you're our only hope, Finn!" Even though I already knew she didn't care about me, I couldn't stop the question from spilling out. "Aren't you worried someone will hit on me, Piper? I'm your boyfriend." Piper reached out and gave my nose a teasing pinch. "Don't be dramatic, silly. It's just a little harmless flirting, it's not like I'm going to break up with you over it. Just go." People had a habit of paying attention to me. The moment I walked up to the booth, the girl took one look at my face and instantly agreed to let us sit. Cole threw Piper a suggestive wink, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Damn, Finn's got pull. You hit the jackpot, Piper!" Piper laughed right along with him. "Right? I had no idea Finn could be such a flirt. Guess I picked the wrong spots when we first started dating, sticking to quiet libraries and parks." I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw throbbed, a sharp pain slicing straight through my chest. The girl sharing the booth leaned in, curious. "So, who here is actually a couple?" She gestured to a sign on the table. "The bar is running a couple's trivia challenge. Match ten answers in a row with your partner, and your entire tab is free." Without a second of hesitation, Piper threw her arm around Cole's neck. "We're a couple!" She leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Finn, Cole and I have that shared connection, so we're guaranteed to win. Just play along so we can get free drinks, okay?" She didn't miss a single question, casually blurting out exact details about the most sensitive spots on Cole's body. Meanwhile, the drink she ordered for me was a mango cocktail, the one thing I was violently allergic to. I let out a bitter laugh, picked up every single glass on the table except the mango drink, and drained them one by one. When the two of them finally came back to the table, arms draped over each other's shoulders, Piper froze. She watched me knock back glass after glass, looking bewildered. "Finn, don't get the wrong idea," she stammered, "I only knew those answers because of the connection." Cole cut in, loud and obnoxious. "Whoa, Finn! Did you drink all that just because you thought the tab was free?" He smirked, shaking his head. "Too bad the deal only covers mine and Piper's drinks. You're stuck paying for your own stuff, man." Piper grabbed the bottle sitting next to me. "You opened something this expensive?" she gasped, "If you get stuck washing dishes in the back to pay for it, don't expect me to stick around." I looked at both of their smug faces and smiled. I gestured casually to the mountain of high-end bottles scattered across the table. "You've got it wrong," I said smoothly, "All of these were sent over by other people in the bar." I leaned back, meeting Piper's eyes. "So just like you, I'm not spending a single cent." Chapter 2 "Someone gave these to you? What exactly did you do for them?" Piper frowned. "Finn, do you even remember that you're my boyfriend? They aren’t from some..." She caught the dirty insult right on the tip of her tongue, swallowing it back the second my eyes locked onto hers. "I know, okay? It’s just a few bottles of alcohol." I shrugged. "If it bothers you that much, you can pay for the whole bill yourself, girlfriend. Or wait, since you and Cole share feelings, does that mean you share a bank account too?" Piper pinched the space between her eyebrows, radiating pure annoyance. “I knew it. You're jealous again,” she added, her voice dropping, "You saw the connection between me and Cole with your own eyes." Yeah, I saw it. I saw it when I caught her texting him every single detail of her day, twenty-four hours a day, like a full report. She documented every word she said to me and every time our skin touched. Under every single update, Cole left replies like: “You’re not allowed to speak more than ten sentences to him tomorrow.” or “Good girl today. I’ll let you eat lunch with him tomorrow.” Piper actually followed every single instruction. When I tried to break up with her back then, she wrapped her arms around me and begged me to stay. Then Cole showed up under my apartment building, tears streaming down his face, demanding an explanation from Piper. "What happened to make you this heartbroken?" Cole had yelled at Piper, "I was sitting in the movie theater watching a comedy, crying my eyes out because of you." They had played me like a total idiot. They ed the whole tragedy together, leaving me completely in the dark. Now, the booze on the table was gone, but Cole was still clinging to Piper, refusing to go home. "I’m not done drinking!" Cole slurred, glaring at Piper, "If you don't stay with me, I'll drink alone. I'll hook up with some random girl just to let you feel what it’s like to have another girl touching your body!" Piper immediately looked ready to give in. She was ready to cave right then and there. I stared at their cheap little performance, my chest tight. "If you go drink with him tonight, we're over." "Finn, why do you have to force me into a corner like this?" Piper snapped. I didn't offer a single word back. I turned on my heel, flagged down a taxi, and slid into the backseat. Piper let out a heavy sigh, but to my surprise, she ended up sliding in next to me to head home. She leaned in, trying to smooth things over as the city lights blurred past the window. "Finn, don't be mad. If I didn't feel everything Cole felt, I wouldn't care if he drank himself to death. But you're different. I hate seeing you unhappy." Piper’s words hit me like cold water, leaving me totally numb. Deep down, a knot twisted in my gut. There was no way she would actually come home with me without a fight. Right on cue, halfway through the drive, she clutched her chest. Beads of cold sweat broke out across her forehead. "It hurts! God, it hurts so much! Finn..." she gasped, her chest heaving. A bitter, hollow laugh escaped out of my throat. Even though I saw this coming, my stomach dropped straight off a cliff. Her acting was incredible. No wonder she kept me fooled for so long. "Are you okay?" I asked. "I'm fine..." Piper squeezed her eyes shut, wincing in agony. "Finn, something terrible must’ve happened to Cole. This is life or death. I have to go check on him." I forced a look of fake concern onto my face. "Do you need me to come with you?" She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. "It might be dangerous over there, and I don't want you getting hurt. Go home and wait for me, okay?" She bolted out of the taxi and flagged down another taxi before I could even answer. I touched my chest, feeling my heart hammering against my ribs, then looked up at the driver in the front seat. "Follow that car." Chapter 3 The taxi pulled up right outside the glass doors of the Plaza Hotel. The second Piper stepped out, she lunged toward Cole, throwing her arms around him and slamming her lips onto his. They stumbled through the main entrance, practically tearing each other's clothes off as they kissed. I had seen the gold keycard for the hotel’s penthouse suite sitting in Piper’s pocket earlier, so I didn't hesitate to trail right behind them. When I kicked the door wide open, they were hopelessly locked in an intense, breathless kiss. Piper didn't look shocked at all. If anything, a wave of relief washed over her face. She threw a jacket over her shoulders, leaning back against the edge of the bed with a lazy, bored look. "So, you finally figured it out," she said, "Smarter than I thought." Cole didn't panic either. He smirked, looking over at her. "Where does he rank on the IQ scale compared to your other ex-boyfriends?" Piper actually paused to pretend to think about it. "Second to last. I can't even give him credit for more than that." "We literally had a bet going on when you’d catch on!" Cole held out his open palm to Piper, laughing. "You lost. That means you can't touch me for a whole week." "Fine, fine, a bet’s a bet." Piper groaned playfully. "You're trying to drive me crazy, aren't you?" They kept flirting right in front of me, completely ignoring the fact that I was standing right there. Blood rushed to my head, hot and violent. I swung my hand and slapped Piper across the face. The force whipped her head to the side, but she just turned back, her lips twisting into a wild smile. "Finn, do you know what I like most about you?" Piper said, "Out of all the guys I've dated, you're the only one who actually has the guts to hit me." Rage surged through me, making my entire body go numb from head to toe. "Oh, so you two love pretending you share each other's pain, right?" I hissed. "Let's see how much you really feel." I reeled back, aiming a hard slap straight for Cole’s cheek. The playful smile vanished from Piper's face instantly. She lunged forward and grabbed my wrist with a brutal, crushing grip. "Enough! Finn, are you done throwing your little tantrum?" she barked. Her nails dug deep, leaving jagged red scratches across my skin. "What Cole and I have is strictly physical, just a way to take care of basic needs. It's not filthy like you're making it out to be in your head. Emotionally, I care about you more." Piper reached out, trying to pull me into a tight embrace. "I like you, Finn. Stop being so mad, okay?" Nausea hit me so hard I thought I was going to throw up. I shoved her away with everything I had. "Don't touch me, Piper. You're disgusting." Cole let out a low, amused laugh. "Finn, you've got it all wrong. Piper hasn't slept with anyone but me since the day she turned eighteen. She's clean." He stepped closer, leaning in until his lips were just inches from my ear, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper only I could hear. "Where did you get the confidence to come here and act like you caught us cheating? Piper cycles through boyfriends like dirty laundry, but I’m the only one who stays.” Cole continued, “Finn, I'm the exception here. Honestly, you're more like the third wheel between us. If her family hadn't banned us from being together, do you really think guys like you would even exist in her life?” He was baiting me, pushing every button he could find. Instead of blowing up, an icy chill settled over me. For years, Cole had to stand by and watch Piper move from one guy to the next, while he never got to be the official boyfriend. If I was guessing right, the only way he could keep her tied to him was with his body. Remembering my own irresistible pull, I met Cole’s gaze. "Is that so?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet, "You really think you're the exception? What if I told you Piper won't let me leave, no matter what? Would you still feel so special?"