“Sebastian, did you sleep with Kingsley last night?” I glared at my friend, Chelsea for that direct question. She grinned, waiting for my answer, “Come on, Sebastian. We have no one in our lives, so we like to hear about your sex life.”

I am currently studying Criminology at Langley College to prepare for Law School, which is a massive pain in the ass. Three days a week, I have to drop everything important to attend useless lectures and be around annoying people. I would have dropped out, but my Father wanted me to graduate with a degree, something he was never able to do. It is such an inconvenience for my projects, but I have no choice. Besides, from time to time, it’s great to get away from the stress of my family for a few hours and hang out with my two friends, Chelsea, and Sabrina. They were the only people that I got along with here. I didn’t enjoy hanging out with the guys here. I had nothing in common with them. They all try too hard to be somebody they’re not, partying and looking for fights. Some of the guys here actually come from other families, and I have been dragged into some altercations with them in the past. To avoid being kicked out, I kept my distance from everyone.

“No, not lately.” I finally answered, thinking back to her stupid question about Kingsley. Chelsea gasped and shook her head.

“To be honest, I can see that. You seem kind of tense lately.” My other friend, Sabrina, pointed out. “I notice that you sigh a lot and cross your legs when you’re sexually frustrated.” I chuckled and glanced down at my phone. I received new notifications from my new employee, Nathaniel, who agreed to meet me at the apartment today.

I don’t know why I gave him a chance to work with me. I just thought he was cute, and I would like his company. Besides, I was doing him a favour. Instead of hanging out with those idiots who almost got him killed, he can work for us and make more money than ever. When he mentioned his family problems, I felt sorry for him. He seemed like a decent guy and he deserved a chance. That was the only reason. Otherwise, he’d be dead and his idiotic friend too.

“Hello, earth to Sebastian!” Chelsea waved a hand in front of my face, and I quickly pushed it away.

“What?” I hissed. They both started to share an evil grin. I wish I never said anything to these two about my relationship with Kingsley, they never let the topic go. What else is there to say? Kingsley and I have sex, and when we’re not, he’s constantly harassing me for more. Although I made the move on him when we first met, I learned over time that he’s controlling and extremely manipulative and I’m starting to lose interest. Despite that, I know he’ll give me a hard time about breaking this up. If he withdrew his alliance with the Luxe Family, it would devastate my father and he would never forgive me.

My friends observed my frustration with their constant questioning, and they eventually stopped. Before I could open my mouth to change the subject, two girls quickly approached our table. They were cheerleaders. They were both smiling at me like a Cheshire cat. Unfortunately, I had no interest in them. The last time I slept with a girl was three years ago before I met Kingsley. I don’t miss it.

“Hi, Sebastian! We have a game after school today. Would you like to come along? The cheer squad would love to see you there and watch our number.” One of the girls asked, flicking her long blonde hair. She would be perfect for a beauty advert. I was fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

“I don’t like sports,” I answered, better to tell them straight.

“That’s OK. You have an amazing body though. How do you get that if you don’t work out?” I smirked at them.

“I never said I don’t work out, I said I don’t like sports,” I muttered, glancing at the missed calls from Kingsley. There was a slight pause after my comment, and the girls giggled.

“Oh, right. My bad! I’m so stupid sometimes. Anyway, can you come?”

“I’m busy, no thanks.” I declined once again.

“But I really want to-”

“Sebastian is gay. Why are you still trying?” Sabrina cut her off, raising an eyebrow. The cheerleaders looked taken aback, but still had hope in their eyes.

“He isn’t gay. He’s slept with Nadine, Mariah, Anya, Dianne, and Siobhan before. They told us!” They weren’t lying. I did sleep with all of them when I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t have feelings for Jace, the high school quarterback. Ironically, he recently came out. If only I knew. I wouldn’t have wasted my time with these girls, who can’t take a hint.

“That was a long time ago. Are they still bragging about it?” I laughed. Nadine was my ex-girlfriend, the unlucky girl who received the bad news. She wasn’t happy when I came out to her. I received a lovely slap on the face and her brothers were sent after me. Luckily, Kingsley was around to defend me. I suppose he can be useful at times.

“Well, do you have a boyfriend?”

“I do, actually. A gang member. Just come out of prison a few months ago. So, I wouldn’t talk shit if I were you.” I teased them. I smirked as their faces became fixed with horror and they quickly walked away. My friends sniggered, “Just for the record, he isn’t my boyfriend. Hopefully, they’ll leave me alone.” I got up from my seat, “I’m going for a smoke.”

“Hurry up. You are dodging the Kingsley conversation,” Chelsea pouted. I winked as I headed outside. On my way to the courtyard, I passed a guy who couldn’t keep his eyes off me. Does he know me or something?

“Sebastian, heard your deal got hijacked.” He addressed me, smirking at my misfortune. It didn’t exactly go wrong. We gained many advantages. We have the drugs and the cash, plus I have a new little worker who’s willing to do anything I want. I would say the deal went well for me, but I played along with him and sighed.

“Could have gone better, but no one on my end was hurt so…”

“What do you mean no one was hurt? All of my friends got shot up. You could have saved them.” I suppose he was part of the Kingsford Park gang that was shot by those losers. It wasn’t my loss, just an inconvenience.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, that isn’t my problem.” I ended the conversation there and turned for the door. I was dying for a cigarette. I felt someone tightly grab my shirt collar and slam me against the wall. Passing students turned our way. I guess he wasn’t done with me. He didn’t say anything. He just stared at me. I smirked and met his stare. I had never seen him around campus, is he new? He was cute. The guy noticed me checking him out and broke the gaze for a second, “Do you like what you see? If you were interested in me, using violence isn’t exactly the way to convey that.” The mystery guy returned my stare again and tightened his grip on my shoulder.

“I’m interested in you giving back what’s ours.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The money.” He hissed those two words. Right, of course, he wants to know where the money is.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. We were about to trade, got attacked and we fled with our product. The money was nowhere to be seen.” I lied through my teeth. I lie so much it’s becoming part of my normal conversation. The guy didn’t buy any of it and I don’t blame him. It was a lot of cash.

“I know you have it, Sebastian.” I chuckled and finally pushed him away.

“You can decide whether to believe me or not. All I can say is that I don’t have it.”

“I’ll find out what happened last night.” He spat and then stormed off. What a coward. Thought he was going to threaten me further than that. I finally reached the entrance and had a smoke. I could hear my phone ring and I answered on speaker, hoping it was Father. I needed to talk about last night with him. To my disappointment, it was Kingsley.

“Where are you?”

“College,” I answered, lighting up a cigarette.

“I heard what happened last night, are you OK?”

“Yeah, thanks for your concern.”

“Only because I care.” I snorted, which almost made me cough.

“Right.”

“Want to come and see me after school?”

“I can’t. I’m busy,” He sighed at my answer.

“I miss you.” I rolled my eyes. How long is he going to keep bothering me?

“Listen, I have a million things to do right now. The last thing I need is you getting needy.”

“I’m really horny. Come on! I’m sure you can come for a quickie or I could go to yours?”

“Kingsley, I’m busy. Look, I have to go. Lunch is almost over.”

“Sebastian…” I hung up before he begged once again.

Can’t he take the hint?