Page 23 of Defend Me

“And what about you, Brooks? What are your vibes?”

“Whatever the situation calls for, buddy. You wouldn’t get it.”

“I’d get it. Maybe…”

Brooks cackled softly as he sat down. The rest of the game passed with casual conversation. West didn’t get fucked up as bad, but it was clear that he wasn’t doing well. In the last quarter, Kai took over, which seemed to worry the guys. When they won, though, Sen rushed down the steps to meet his boyfriend while Brooks watched fondly.

Suddenly, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Come on. We have a study session.”

Yeah. A study session sounded like a completely normal end to my day.

*****

I’d assumed that we would go to Brooks’ place, but he had me lead the way to my dorm. I didn’t know exactly what his deal was. What I did know, based on what I’d seen from him, was that he very likely lived somewhere nicer than I did. It would make sense to go there, but I was just going with the flow at this point.

“Dean says he’ll be here after he showers,” Brooks said before he dropped onto my bed. “Oliver is on his way.”

The room wasn’t messy, but it wasn’t up to par. If I’d known that he’d want to come here, I would’ve deep cleaned it. There were a couple of soda bottles on the nightstand and not all of my clothes had made it into the hamper. I tried to casually pick things up the best I could while he was distracted on his phone.

“So, what’s your guys’ deal?” he asked.

“We’re just casual friends, I guess. We smoke sometimes.”

“That’s cool. Is he grumpy with you too?”

“No.”

Brooks frowned. “Lame.”

“You slept with his girlfriend.”

Something flashed in his eyes that made me drop my gaze. “I didn’t know. When I found out, I never talked to her again.”

“I didn’t say you knew. It’s just what happened.”

“Mm. Well, Dean should choose better girlfriends.”

“You should sleep with better people.”

His expression lightened. “Yeah, I probably should. Are you spoken for?”

I swallowed hard. “Uh, no.”

“Why not?”

“I dunno. I’m not most people’s type.”

It was silent, so I looked at him. His lips were set in a tight line as he stared at the floor.

“Did I make it weird?” I joked.

“No, I just don’t like when people think they’re less than what they really are.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

When he got to his feet, he started to approach me. Instinctively, I backed up. He kept advancing and it seemed like my retreat made his eyes light up.

This must’ve been what it felt like to be stalked by a predator. I just didn’t know if it was better to escape or get caught. There was no way someone like him would be into me in any serious capacity.

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