Page 173 of Defend Me

My anxiety made my hands sweat sometimes and the last thing I needed was to appear weak here, but I couldn’t just not shake her hand.

When I did, her eyes snagged on my black nails. Brooks did them for me last night and I’d painted his toenails since he thought he couldn’t pull off the nail polish look.

“You have such an interesting name,” she said when she let go of my hand. “How long have you been together?”

I looked at him briefly, but I couldn’t read anything on his face. He had his hair wrapped around his hand tightly and was holding it off of his neck, but he let it go when he saw me looking.

“Um…”

“We should go,” he suggested.

“You’re right. I made a reservation and they won’t hold it forever. It was nice to meet you.” She started to turn, then stopped. “You know, since Noah won’t make it to breakfast, you should all come.”

Brooks looked like he’d be ill. I felt the same way.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because they’re your friends. You don’t tell us enough about what you do. And I only just learned about your boyfriend the last time we talked, but you didn’t tell me anything about him.”

“I said it’s not your business who I’m seeing.”

Ignoring him, she looked at us again. “Sorry, I didn’t get your names.”

Kai wrapped an arm around his boyfriend. “I’m Kai. Me and Brooks have been friends since the beginning of the school year. He’s an incredible, genuine person, but I’m sure you know that.”

“I’m Sen.” He lifted his fingers in a little wave. I expected him to seem awkward, but he held himself well. Sometimes, I forgot that he wasn’t quiet or timid. It was just that all of his friends were loud.

“Well, it’s up to you,” Ava said, “but you’re more than welcome to join us.”

Kai glanced at me, then at Brooks, clearly trying to assess the situation. The latter shrugged, keeping his eyes on the floor. I didn’t think either option was ideal at this point. If both ideas were trash, I’d go with the one that allowed me to keep an eye on my boyfriend and make sure he was okay. I could already see him being worn down.

“Breakfast sounds great,” I decided. “If it’s okay with Brooks.”

By the time Ava turned around, he was wearing a polite smile. “Of course. I’d love it if everyone got to know each other.”

“Perfect.”

She headed for the door and Brooks came up beside us. He passed me his keys, brushing my fingers as he did so.

“Take my car, all of you. I’ll ride with her.”

“Why don’t you come with us?”

“Because if I try to do that, she’ll insist we all go with her and I’d rather follow my phone off the balcony. Just… it’ll be fine.”

I took his arm and pulled him to a stop. “I’ll follow your lead here, but I have no idea what to expect. You haven’t told me a single thing about your parents aside from their jobs.”

Brooks’ nostrils flared. Before he could answer, Ava called his name. Without a word, he turned and followed her out the door.

I shared a worried look with Kai and Sen. Many times, I’d wondered how close he was to breaking. If there was anything that was going to do it, it might be this.

*****

I hated this place.Hatedit.

The lights were bright and the employees were wearing suits. We hadn’t been given a chance to change, so I was in distressed jeans, Converse, and a sweatshirt that was just cropped enough to show an inch of skin above my waistband. Brooks had been wearing a casual black sweatshirt and nice jeans with a beanie when we left, but now he was sans beanie and his hair was tied back neatly. It was a direct affront to everything I held dear.

Kai was in a tight t-shirt that showed off his biceps and he looked more like a bodyguard than anything, especially with his keen eyes wandering the place. Sen was in a maroon hoodie, which might’ve stood out the least among us.

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