“Shut up!” Dash pushed back from the table. The look of devastation on his face made Thorne sick. The pancake lay in his stomach, weighing him down.

“Please, I—”

“Just stop. You’ve said e-fucking-nough. I can’t believe this. I thought… You’re actually offering to hire me full time. To be… Oh my God.”

Dash ran to the bedroom. Thorne followed, watching him grab his bag and toss it on the bed. He grabbed Dash’s arm, but Dash wrenched free. “Don’t touch me.”

Oh God. How had he screwed up so badly? “Dash, please.”

Dash ignored him, continuing to pack his things, even the things he’d started leaving at Thorne’s place.

Thorne had to get his attention. “Riley.”

Dash turned around, and for a moment Thorne braced for a punch. “Don’t you dare call me that. You’ve just made it very clear that you never thought of me that way. I’m nothing but an employee, and my working name is Dash. Don’t worry, though. You won’t need to call me anything. I won’t be coming back.”

Thorne had to do something. The look of shock and pain on Dash’s face was killing him. “I made a mistake.”

“Yeah, maybe your biggest one ever.”

“Look, I didn’t mean—”

“You really thought I’d agree to let you hide me away here? To be your 24/7 dirty secret?” Dash shook his head. “I actually thought… Fuck!”

“Dash, I didn’t explain things right. Please just listen to me.”

“No. That’s where I went wrong to start with. Listening to you, believing you, not so much what you said, but what you didn’t say, what you… Oh fuck.” He slammed his fist against the top of Thorne’s dresser. “I actually thought you were going to ask me to stay because you wanted me for me.”

“I do.”

“No, you want to own me,” Dash snarled.

“That’s not—”

“You want me to work for you.”

Was this about him not being out? “Dash, I don’t know if I can give you what you want, but at least talk to me about it.”

“You could give me everything, but you won’t.”

Could he? What did Dash want? “I… Let me explain.”

“No, I’m done being an idiot.”

“You know I care for you. That I’ve never—”

Dash pushed Thorne out of his way and headed toward the door. “I don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t just care for you. I love you, or at least I did.”

“You…what?” Thorne couldn’t believe it. His head spun. Dash…loved him? Oh, fuck. He’d ruined everything.

Dash turned to face him. “I love you. Are you happy? Does it make your heart sing that you conquered me, that you succeeded in owning one more thing?”