Page 27 of The Edge of Never

They shrugged, as if saving me from freezing to death was an everyday occurrence.

“I was scared when you passed out, but you were still breathing, and I could feel your heart beating under my palm. So I waited until you were warm and got out to organise everything in the tent. That only made me cold as hell, so I got back in with you so I wouldn’t freeze.”

They removed their hands from my chest and rubbed their arms. The chill in the air made a shiver run through me.

“Now you’re awake, I need to look at your ankle, so we’ll have to put up with the cold for a bit.”

Kit shifted in my lap. I gritted my teeth against the movement.

Can they get off me now?

All I could focus on was their body pressed against me in places it shouldn’t be.

“Are you still with me, Thane?”

I let out a breath and steeled myself. I had to stop thinking about them like that. It was fucking dangerous.

“Aye.”

“Okay, good.”

They finally shifted off me. Instead of feeling relieved about it, I wished they had stayed. Their warmth was welcome, even if the feel of their body wasn’t.

Who are you kidding? You like how they feel against you. Stop lying.

Kit shuffled about the tent, leaving me reeling from my wayward thoughts. I must still be delirious from earlier. There was no way in hell I found Kit attractive and wanted to feel more of them. It couldn’t be the case. No one had made me feel this way. And Kit was the very last person I would ever wish to be with. They pissed me off too much. Yet a wee, distant part of me wanted them in a more intimate way. It felt deadly to acknowledge that fact, wrong even.

The only person I had wanted for most of my life was Jenna, at least, wanted in the sense that being in a relationship with her made me happy.

Jenna might be gone, but it didn’t make me miss her any less. It didn’t make me want to move on, despite knowing I eventually had to. Callan had reminded me of that enough times to make it stick in my head. Only I didn’t know how to let go. To truly lay Jenna to rest after all that had gone on in the moments before I lost her for good.

“Right, you ready?”

My eyes darted towards Kit, who knelt by my feet. They’d put their glasses on while I wasn’t paying attention.

I nodded, worried if I spoke, I would blurt out something I’d regret. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake my reaction to them being pressed up against me. It was an entirely alien feeling.

Kit carefully extracted my ankle from the sleeping bag. I hissed at the pain.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered, even though it wasn’t. None of this was.

I stared down at my swollen, red ankle as Kit examined it with a furrow between their brows. They moved it from side to side, then up and down.

“Fuck.”

Kit gave me a sympathetic look and placed it back down on the sleeping mat.

“I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a sprain.”

“It fucking hurts.”

“I have some paracetamol in my pack, but you’re going to have to rest it for a while.”

Kit shifted away to where they’d put our packs and started digging through theirs.

“Kit.”

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