Page 9 of Unfix Me

Chapter 4

Kai

I didn’t know why it bothered me so much, but since Sen ran out of that bathroom, looking like I’d shit on his face, I’d been replaying it.

Had I been rude? I asked the same question yesterday, even though he was the one who knocked me over. He almost did it again this morning. It would’ve been even worse since we were both basically naked.

Maybe he was afraid of naked men. I’d been in football since middle school and I’d seen more dicks than I ever wanted to. It didn’t matter that I was attracted to men. I didn’t want their junk in my face all the time, especially attached to sweaty, smelly dudes.

I laughed to myself when I thought about him being scared of seeing some dick. Maybe he was intimidated. Or he was aggressively homophobic to the point of being unable to be around men in shower rooms. Gross.

That still didn’t explain his aversion to me before today.

It wasn’t important. The only reason I was thinking about it was because he sat a few rows ahead of me talking to a woman with raven hair. If I remembered correctly, her name was Kasey. Or Macey. Something like that. She was a cheerleader and as soon as she met the football team this year, she tried to attach herself to West. When he brushed her off, she came for me. He shut that down quickly when he grabbed me by the jersey and planted a kiss on my lips.

West was straight, at least as far as I knew. He’d never said any different and I’d only seen him with women. As far as wing men and best friends went, he was god-tier. Not once since we met had he displayed any reservations about my sexuality. He’d be the first to knock someone out if they said something wrong. I’d be the second.

When Montaghue turned around to write some important dates on the board, Kasey leaned over to whisper in Sen’s ear. Her lips brushed his skin and he seemed to shiver. I didn’t take him for someone who was so easily flattered, but he appeared enthralled with her.

I wasn’t surprised she’d set her sights on him. Sen was attractive in the boy-next-door way. Because of his build and the football pin on his backpack, I wondered if he’d played sports before he came here. He was pretty tall, just a couple of inches shorter than my six-foot-three frame. I was sure he’d easily fit in and make friends.

When the clock on my phone showed it was ten, I grabbed my bag and left the room. I heard others follow suit and the hall filled with the sounds of raucous students. My next class didn’t start for an hour and I intended to grab some food in the meantime, but I was still bothered by my two encounters with Sen.

My dad always told me that you should meet hostility with kindness. He was arguably a better person than me, but in this case, I thought it was the right move. It was possible that Sen would be spending time with West, which meant we’d see each other. Part of me was also annoyed by his disdain. Seriously, what’d I do to earn it?

I leaned against the wall and waited for the students to shuffle out. When I spotted Sen and Kasey, I stepped into their path with a smile.

“Hey, Sen.”

Kasey, despite knowing I didn’t bat for her team, tucked her hair behind her ear while she checked me out. Sen looked like a deer in headlights. His cheeks pinked and I cocked my head, curious about his reaction.

“I’m sure you don’t mind if I steal him, Kasey.”

She said something, but I ignored her. When I latched onto Sen’s wrist to pull him to the side, he quickly shook me off.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Saying hi.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a nice person?” I offered.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re following me around now?”

“No,” I laughed. “I was sitting three rows behind you. I won’t take it personally that you didn’t notice me.”

“Okay.”

His anger had died down. It was replaced with the same uncertainty he’d displayed yesterday.

“I’m a nice person,” I repeated. “And we clearly got off on the wrong foot.”

“I don’t think we got off on any foot. We’ve only met once.”

“Twice.”

His face flushed again. “Right.”

---