Page 43 of Unfix Me

“You look tired,” Brooks noted.

I forced a laugh. “Aren’t we all?”

“Sure, but you look more on the verge of death than most of us.”

Kai perched his chin on one hand and studied me. A lump formed in my throat under his stare. It felt sort of aggressive, honestly.

“Just not sleeping well,” I muttered.

“Stressed?” Kai prodded.

“Since I was born.”

He smiled a little. “You should find an outlet.”

“Like what?”

“Sex,” Brooks answered, waggling his brows. “Or a rage room. I don’t know which is better, actually.”

“Probably the rage room.”

“There’s one in the city that has ax throwing. That’s something I can get behind.”

“It’s not a half-bad idea.”

“How do you de-stress, Kai? Ice skating?”

He smirked at Brooks. “I liked your first option.” His gaze shifted to me. “Lots and lots of sex.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out my water bottle. As I took a long drink from it, he continued to watch me. I’d thought we were mostly fine. He offered to drive me to the rink for work and it had been awkward but tolerable the couple of times we’d done it. It had seemed like we’d be able to exist around each other, even if we weren’t friends. Now, it felt like he was taunting me.

Maybe he’d gotten bitter after he thought about it more. I knew that I’d been a dick and it was messed up to stop being someone’s friend, regardless of what Derek said. Kai claimed that he wasn’t offended, but it sure looked like he was.

“I think it’s a healthier outlet than some others,” I said casually.

“Kind of depends on who it’s with. Some people are boring. Unimaginative.”

“Sounds like you’ve been with your fair share.”

He snorted. “I’m only nineteen, you know, and I’m not going around banging every guy who’s willing. I have standards.”

“Like that guy, Parker?” Brooks asked.

“No. He flirts, but we’re not like that.”

“You might be cute together.”

“This might surprise you, but I’m more of a relationship guy and I wouldn’t date him. I’d at least like it to be a possibility, even if it doesn’t actually end up happening.”

“Hm. I like that. For jocks, you and West don’t seem to be douchebags like some of the others.”

“And for a pre-law student, you don’t act like a stuck-up snob,” Kai returned before popping a chicken nugget into his mouth. “If you were into men, I might even put you in the ‘maybe’ category.”

Brooks’ cheeks darkened a little and he laughed nervously. “Well, I swing both ways, but I’m not looking right now, so keep those hands to yourself.”

Kai’s brow went up as he noticeably checked him out. “Alright, Brooks. I see you and I respect that you know what you want.”

I was so goddamn uncomfortable. Two out of my three friends- if you could call Kai that- were into guys. How the hell did I end up here? As I studied Brooks, I tried to decide how I felt about this new information. I didn’t think it bothered me, but it should have. Just having Kai close to me made alarm bells go off in my head.

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