Page 12 of Unfix Me

“They wouldn’t let me work at their firm. I was supposed to work under my dad.”

“Then they’ll miss out on a badass lawyer with the most gorgeous hair. And when you become a partner somewhere else, they’ll be eating their words.”

He frowned down at his fries. There were gears turning somewhere under all that pretty hair. I smiled at West, who looked mischievous. He loved to stir the pot, especially when it came to parents. If he refrained, he would’ve ended up with a few less black eyes in high school, but he couldn’t help himself and I’d never found a way to keep him from reacting to his dad’s bullshit.

Brooks raised his head, showcasing a determined expression. “If I find the balls while I’m here, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“Atta boy,” West cheered. “Let’s get some more burgers. I’m freaking starving.”

I tossed a fry at his head. “Extra lines for you tomorrow, fat ass.”

He mocked me all the way to the order counter. Brooks and I burst into laughter, earning us some wicked glares from the other tables. Screw them. We were freshmen and we were having a good time. There were worse things we could get up to in a city like this.

Chapter 5

Sen

“Georgia,” I repeated, glancing sidelong at Kasey. “I didn’t take you for a southern girl.”

She laughed; a light sound that almost got lost in the open courtyard. “It was never by choice. My dad was in the military and that was the last place he was stationed before he got out. Clearly, my parents didn’t love me enough to move somewhere better.”

“Good thing you made it here, then. What are you studying?”

“Photography.”

The way her face lit up was adorable. I’d found out that Kasey was a cheerleader, which made a certain amount of sense. She was beautiful and charismatic. In the few days we’d been talking, though, I’d taken her out of the stereotypical box and discovered that she was more than that. She was interesting and smart with an inclination toward deep thoughts. Maybe it made me an asshole that I’d assumed otherwise, but it got straightened out.

My parents would like her. That was one of the first thoughts I had when we ran into each other today. It was ridiculous, obviously, but I often thought about things like that. I wondered what would make them happy and if they’d be satisfied with who I brought home one day. They liked Brianna, my high school girlfriend of three years. When she left for college, they’d been sad about it. Surprisingly, I got over it very quickly. It had almost felt like a relief. I guess that relationship had run its course.

“What sorts of things do you shoot?”

“I like macro photography,” she replied. “Especially nature. It’s a challenge and you really have to see it in your mind. It’s not just ‘point and shoot.’”

“You’ll have to show me sometime, but I’ll definitely be a little lost.”

“If you want, we can go-”

She was cut off by a huge figure that nearly collided with us. Strong arms came around me, lifting me off the ground a little. Just before I was sure the hug was going to end in asphyxiation, I was released.

“Sen!” West greeted too loudly.

“Uh, hey. What’s up?”

He slung an arm over my shoulder and started walking. “I saw you across the way and decided we needed to hang out. You didn’t come out for burgers the other day.”

“Yeah, I was busy. Next time, though.”

It seemed weird that Kai told him he’d invited me. Maybe it was West who told him to in the first place. That made me feel a little bit bad for declining, but I felt weird when it happened. Sick, almost.

“Good. We’re going tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I repeated.

He made an affirmative sound. I kept walking, unsure what to say. This was West and we were friends. I was sure there’d be a few people there.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Burgers sound great.”

“No, this time it’s pizza and ice skating.”

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