Page 93 of Unfix Me

Kai

“Your parents named you something like Seneca and expected you not to be gay,” West chortled.

Sen rolled his eyes, but I allowed myself to laugh. I knew he wasn’t upset about the comment. Over the past two months, I’d learned to recognize many of his expressions. Right now, I could tell that he was amused, but he couldn’t show it because he felt awkward about being called gay. He’d been growing used to it, but he was much more comfortable when it was just me and him.

This whole thing was a journey and I was happy to be on it with him. I wanted him to come out so that I could openly show my affection and not have to maintain distance in public, but when that happened was up to him. We were getting there.

“You’re named after a direction,” Sen pointed out.

“No, it’s Weston, thank you very much. I just don’t like that hick ass name.”

“Brooks is named after a shoe,” I snickered.

“Fuck off,” he laughed before bringing his water bottle to his lips. “My name is cool.”

“Whatever you say, champ.”

I took a bite of my food and glanced at Sen. He had a sandwich, but he hadn’t touched it. The bread was a little squished, like he’d been poking at it. His eyes looked distant as he stared down at the table.

Feeling my stare, he turned. Immediately, he smiled, but it didn’t feel genuine. A minute ago, he’d been joking with us. There was something on his mind now and it couldn’t be good. Probably his dad or something.

We were already sitting next to each other, but I scooted a little closer. Leaning an elbow on the table, I angled myself so that I had a good view of him, then held up a forkful of spaghetti.

“Eat.”

He shook his head, making me narrow my eyes. I grabbed his chin and ran my thumb along his lower lip. His gaze fell, hiding his emotions from me.

“Please,” I murmured.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Do it anyway. When’s the last time you ate?”

“Yesterday?”

“I really hope that wasn’t a question.”

“Yeah, I had that coffee with you.”

“That’s not food,” I pointed out.

He shrugged, which just irritated me. It looked like I’d be bringing him lunch and eating dinner with him every day. I wasn’t complaining, but I wished it wasn’t necessary. Sen would not be starving himself on my watch.

Grabbing his wrist, I yanked on him until he stood.

“Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” he asked. He turned to look over his shoulder as I dragged him through the cafeteria.

“Just relax, Seneca.”

“Stop doing that.”

“Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.”

His cheeks reddened from the exuberant way I was singing. He glanced warily at the people around us. Nobody really gave a shit. The worst that would happen were a few moments of embarrassment.

I’d probably been around West for too long.

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