Page 36 of Unfix Me

“Your entire life is spur of the moment, my guy.”

“Your dick is spur of the moment.”

“I don’t know how to take that.”

“Like you’d take a-”

“No,” Kai interrupted, sounding exasperated.

“Fine.”

“Oh, Sen. West said you need a job.”

I turned to look at him. He rolled onto his side and propped his face on his hand.

“Part-time,” I confirmed.

“The rink always needs a hand. People tend to quit often.”

“Isn’t that a bad sign?”

“No, it’s just more work than some of them think. It’s not just handing out skates and yelling at kids.”

“Are they flexible?”

“Very. I’ll pick you up on Saturday and you can shadow me. Cool?”

“Wait. You work there?”

He nodded. “You think I could afford to rent that place out for my birthday? They knocked, like, seventy-five percent off for me.”

I shrugged my mouth, considering. “Do I get free Dippin’ Dots?”

“After the manager leaves, absolutely.”

“Alright, I’m in.”

I didn’t think he had the power to just offer me a job like that, but I had a feeling he could convince anyone to do anything. Did the ice rink sound like a fun job? Not really. I hated skating. Yet, here I was, agreeing after hardly thinking it through.

I added a reminder to the calendar on my phone. Looking at it, I grimaced. On Friday, I had another appointment with Derek. If I could, I would cancel it. Unfortunately, I didn’t seem to get a say in my life anymore.

Chapter 13

Kai

Dad fell this morning. His balance wasn’t great these days and I always worried about the day it would happen. Aside from his disease, he was sixty-two. That alone came with its own risks.

Apparently, he was fine except for some bruises. Those could worsen, but I was trying not to worry. It didn’t do him or me any good, especially when I was on the other side of the country.

Be positive, West would say.

Trying, buddy. I’m trying.

Sen was surprisingly upbeat when I picked him up this morning. It actually helped to brighten my own mood. During the drive to the rink, he told me about how he failed his driving test twice, which pissed off his dad. When he brought him up, he sobered a little, but I redirected the conversation and he was okay again. I wondered what was going on there, but I didn’t want to ask right now.

It was still early and I had him doing some food prep. It was extremely simple and even though he’d seemed uncertain at first, he figured it out quickly. I learned that he’d never had a job before. It wasn’t that strange, but I was surprised since he was twenty. He did say his parents were overbearing. Maybe they didn’t want him to work while he was going to school back home.

When I was sixteen, I got a job at the movie theater. I used the money to save up for my car, which I bought just after graduation. It also gave me some savings, which took some strain off of my mom. I had the scholarship, but it didn’t cover all of my expenses. The last thing I needed was for her to worry about me when she had Dad to take care of.

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