Page 40 of Fragile

“Fucking hell,” I mutter. “Okay, so here it goes.”

Hudson rubs his hands together in glee, and it’s really fucking hard to concentrate when he’s acting like he’s in a candy store or some shit. “So, like, say you’re with a girl, and you kiss—”

“Dude, I do more than kiss girls—”

“Hudson,” I chastise, snapping my fingers to get him to focus.

He shakes his head. “Right, okay, kissing girls, I’m listening.”

I take a deep breath. “Like I said. Say you kissed a girl, and you liked it more than you would normally?”

His brow furrows. “Do you not kiss girls often?”

Exasperation claws at my nerves. “No, I do, but… Fuck, I don’t know, like a girl who is more than just a hookup, you know?”

“Oh, okay, I’m with you.”

The couch bounces beside us, and I hadn’t even realized that Jay walked into the room. “What is he with you for? You aren’t concocting some kind of orgy with a bunch of people, are you?”

“I mean…” Hudson debates, just as I firmly say, “No!”

Then, without missing another beat, Hudson says, “Miles needs advice.”

My hands raise in frustration, then drop to my lap with a thud. “Hudson, what did I just say to you twenty seconds ago? You have to keep your mouth closed.”

He shrugs. “You haven’t even said anything yet. Just told me you kissed a girl and you liked it.”

“Isn’t that a song?” Jay muses.

“Probably.”

“Guys!” I say through gritted teeth. This was the worst idea ever, and it’s only getting worse.

Hudson slaps my chest, chuckling to himself. “Listen, if Jay ever gets over his hateship he has with this chick in his class, hecan come to me for advice now, because I’m clearly the best at it. Right, Miles?”

“You haven’t actually done anything yet, except raise my blood pressure.”

“He constantly does that for me. Also, I don’t have a hateship,” Jay grumbles, sitting back against the couch.

Hudson snorts. “You do, first step is admitting you have a problem. And yours happens to have blue hair, a nice ass, and a quirky attitude.”

Jay flips him off, and I stiffen, my entire body tensing at the offhand comment from Hudson. Yet another day I’m reminded of the tightrope I’m walking when it comes to football, and everything I’ve got on the line.But you don’t have a problem, Cooper. This is temporary.

The reality is, bringing Quinn into any of it is a terrible idea. And here I am, discussing the option of what the fuck I should be doing if I like her more than a hookup. Fuck. Abort,abort.

Hudson’s hand lands on my shoulder, drawing me out of my thoughts. “I’m sorry, buddy. Kissing. Girls. Not just hookups. I’m all ears. Go.”

“This was a mistake.” I stand, shrugging him off and storming toward the door.

“I’m listening now, dude, come back!” he yells as I push open the door, his voice growing more distant as I pick up my pace.

A tug on my arm has me turning around when I come face to face with Jay.

“Did you seriously go to Hudson for advice? We both know I’m the one you should’ve come to.”

I hesitate, unsure what the hell I should do now. “Yeah, he was just there, and I was in my head.”

Jay hums an acknowledgement. “Well, I’m here if you still need to talk?”

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