Page 38 of Unfix Me

He hummed his acknowledgement around his mug. I stepped up to him and his eyes widened slightly. He remained completely still, watching me like I was a predator. I took the cup from him and set it on the counter, then nodded toward the door.

“Let me show you the back so you know where to find something if a little girl throws up on the ice.”

“Is that going to happen?” His voice was small, but his expression didn’t betray that anything was wrong.

“It’s happened before, so it’s best to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

I circled his wrist gently with my fingers so that I could guide him. He jerked free more forcefully than usual and I tried to hide the way it made me feel. I was too quick to touch people sometimes. Me and West did it often and he was even worse. It was easy to forget that not everybody was okay with it.

“Sorry,” I said genuinely. “If I’m too much sometimes, you can always tell me. I won’t be offended.”

“It’s not that.”

I turned around to walk backward. This place was familiar to me after working here for two months and it was easy to remember what obstacles might have me on my ass. He tried to keep his eyes away from me. Had I offended him more than I thought?

“Hey, man, we’re friends. You’ve gotta spill when something’s eating at you.”

“It’s not important,” he muttered.

“Wrong answer. Please. Pretty please? I’m not opposed to getting on my knees.”

“Fuck.” He stopped abruptly, balling his fists at his sides. “I don’t know if I can be your friend.”

It took me a moment to register his statement. I stared at him, unblinking, for an awkward amount of time. So far, I hadn’t known him to be blunt, but that right there… That was pretty damn blunt. And shocking.

“Well, that’s…” I trailed off, then shook my head. “Did I piss you off somehow? Things seemed fine earlier.”

“It was, but you’re just sooutand I’m dealing with shit.”

“Out. As in, outgoing? Or out of my mind.”

The way he looked at me, abashed, made it sink in.

“Oh. Now I’m really confused, Sen.”

He swiped a hand down his face. “Just forget it. I don’t want to go through this.”

When he tried to brush past me, I put a hand on his chest, forcing him back a little. He twisted to rid himself of my touch. It felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

“That’s not something we just forget. I’m gonna need you to be crystal clear with me.”

“You’re gay, Kai.”

A clipped laugh escaped me. “Yes, I’m gay.” I performed a dramatic bow, making a sweeping gesture with my arm. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what does me being gay have to do with anything? You’ve known for a while now.”

“And I didn’t know how I’d feel about it. I thought it was okay, but now… It doesn’t feel okay.”

“Hm. I see.”

“Look, I don’t have a problem with gay dudes, but…”

“But you don’t want to be around them. Right.”

His expression fractured into something he shouldn’t be allowed to feel when he was the one being a dick.

“I don’t mean it like that,” he insisted.

“Nobody ever does.”

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