Page 37 of Resist Me

She smiled and it made breathing feel a little easier. “Yeah, I’m sure. I need something new. A fresh start, as cliché as that sounds.”

“No, you’re right. It helps. The only things I’ve missed since leaving home are you and Kai’s parents. Everything and everyone else have barely crossed my mind.”

“Sounds like you’re a selfish dick.”

I pulled a face, which made her laugh.

“Oh,” she exclaimed suddenly. “Have you had any more roach run-ins?”

“Ugh. Not yet, but I’m sure it’ll happen. I got this spray that I put around the floorboards, but I don’t know if it’s working.”

“It’s gonna take more than that. If they’re in ours, they’re in the neighbors’ too. They have to treat the whole building.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put on my best Karen hat when I get there and give the manager a piece of my mind.”

“You’ll get us kicked out.”

“Only if I threaten her or something. Don’t worry. I can keep my cool.”

“Sure you can.”

Willow launched into a story about how she came to the rescue of a Walmart employee who was getting badgered by a middle-aged man because the store was out of the yogurt he liked. I couldn’t keep from laughing throughout it. Talking to her made me feel lighter than I had in a while and I actually felt excited about the future now that we’d be together again.

*****

Sen stared in horror as I loudly sang ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber in the cafeteria. It had been in my head since I woke up, even though I hadn’t heard the song in ages. Since I couldn’t get rid of it, I decided to make it everybody else’s problem.

He turned to Kai, who shrugged, unbothered by my American Idol moment. He was used to it. Being my friend resembled developing Stockholm Syndrome. Eventually, you learned to love me and all of my flaws.

“Maybe we could hear something different,” Kai suggested when he couldn’t stand Sen’s desperate pleas any longer.

I drummed my fingers on the table for a moment, then grinned before I climbed on top of it. Sen was bright red and looked ready to flee, but Kai wrapped an arm around him and nuzzled into his neck.

“And I will always love you,” I belted, extending my hand toward my best friend.

He laughed, then looked at Sen, who shook his head frantically. Kai ignored him, joining me on the table. He directed his attention to his boyfriend as he started singing. I was pretty sure the poor kid was gonna throw up. Personally, I’d be completely wooed if a man sang to me like this.

It was a wonder we hadn’t been kicked out of this place yet. Most of the students seemed entertained when we did things like this, but it was clear that some had been done with us on day one. They could always go eat somewhere else or reach around and pull that stick out of their ass.

“What the hell is going on?” Brooks asked when he reached the table with a sad-looking salad.

“I died,” Sen muttered. “Somewhere along the way, I died and I’m suffering for my sins in hell.”

“It’s all that sodomy,” I noted with a wink. Kai punched me in the stomach, making me curl forward. “God, learn to take a joke as well as Sen takes your-”

I scrambled off of the table when he tried to hit me again. Holding up my hands in a placating gesture, I bit my lip.

“No need to get violent.”

Sen tugged on Kai’s arm until he sat down beside him. He glared at me for another moment before he took a bite of his sandwich. Brooks chuckled, coming around to sit by me.

“He’s just a teensy bit protective,” he murmured in my ear.

“I think the term you’re looking for is ‘crazy asshole.’”

“I don’t know. I’d kill for love like that. Wouldn’t you?”

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