Page 72 of Unfix Me

If West was with a girl, he might’ve been upstairs, in which case, Kai would find him. As far as I knew, we were only here to make sure he wasn’t picking a fight with the senior quarterback, Lincoln. I didn’t really know anything about him, but they had beef for some reason. From the talk we had about it, I thought it might just be insecurity or competitiveness.

I wandered into the kitchen and was hit with a cloud of smoke.

“Sorry,” a guy said, waving his hand as if that would help.

“It’s fine.”

“Want a hit?”

I eyed it, considering. There were a few times in high school that I’d smoked weed, but I never made it a habit. I had mild anxiety and it just seemed to make it worse at first. After a while, I chilled out, but the journey to get there wasn’t worth it.

“I’m good. Just looking for a friend here.”

“I can be a friend.” He flashed me a sultry smile. His blue eyes were glassy and I was sure he was fucked up on more than some marijuana.

When I didn’t respond, he stepped closer. I sucked in a breath as a fresh wave of fear hit me. He was hitting on me. I didn’t have any interest in him, but it ignited that intense feeling of wrongness that had plagued my mind for so long.

His hand touched my chest, then trailed lower. I shook my head, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Setting my jaw, I swatted his hand away.

A large figure appeared beside me, the smell of juniper cutting through the booze and weed. The guy with the joint glanced at Kai and smiled coyly.

“Hey, you’re on the football team.”

He stepped closer to me. Kai suddenly fisted his shirt and thrust him backward.

“Yeah, I am on the team,” he said, a dark tone to his voice. “And I suggest you get the hell out of here before I put your head through a wall.”

“Jeez. What did I do?”

I didn’t know what he saw in Kai’s eyes, but he looked at me with a tinge of fear, then picked up the dropped joint. He hurried past us with it hanging from his lips.

“You look sick,” Kai noted, taking my face in his hands.

I turned away, all too aware of the people around us. “Did you find West?”

“No. He won’t answer the phone, either.”

“Maybe he went home already.”

“Maybe.” It didn’t sound like he believed that.

“We can keep looking.”

“No, I just want to go home.”

Just then, there was a commotion in the living room. Kai bolted in that direction and I followed. People had cleared from the middle of the room slightly, giving us a view of West, who shoved on Lincoln’s chest.

“God damnit,” Kai growled, pushing through the crowd.

“Touch me again, Densmore,” Lincoln challenged. “See what happens.”

The smile on West’s face spoke of too much alcohol and even more stupidity. He charged forward, but Kai got in-between them, grasping West’s shoulders firmly.

“We’re leaving.”

West pushed him away, making him stumble. I immediately jumped into action, appearing at Kai’s side.

“Take your puppy,” Lincoln said, waving a hand at West before he turned away.

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