Page 53 of Kiss-Fist
Like kissing him and touching him.
We probably won’t do much talking, to be honest. That’s been kind of our thing since we started this…affair? Feels weird to call it that, but what else could it be? We’re still no strings. We haven’t defined anything, and Robbie hasn’t given me any indication he wants more than hooking up.
Shit, I really have to figure this out. I should ask him on a real date. Something romantic. Something a Deaf person would like. Something that doesn’t involve us taking all our clothes off the second we’re in each other’s presence.
“Hey, you’re not leaving, are you?”
I spin at the sound of my brother’s voice. Dex is walking toward me, dripping with sweat from his spin class. There’s a very short woman following behind with very long, dark hair and tawny brown skin. She’s not sweating nearly as much as he is.
“I have a class at four.”
The woman’s eyes brighten. “Oh! Are you at the university?”
I flush. I hate that it embarrasses me still that I never did go to a four-year university. I barely made it through my associate’s degree, and that was with the massive amount of help the disability services office gave me.
“My brother’s not a scholar,” Dex says with a snort. I wince, and he realizes his fuckup. “Hey, no. I didn’t mean it like that. He’s taking a language class at the community college, but he alreadyfinished his degree.”
It’s a nice attempt at a save, and I don’t hold it against him. It’s a sore spot, but he’s not wrong. I’m not a scholar.
The woman sticks out her hand. “Oh, that’s awesome. I’m Aminah.” Her palm is a little rougher than I expected. Not as bad as those muscly badass women who have made P90X their entire personality, but she definitely lifts.
“Thom.”
“This is who I was telling you about,” Dex says, wagging his eyebrows at me.
Oh. Ohshit. I need to say something. “Yeah, about that?—”
“Dex told me about the double date,” she says, and shit, she sounds excited. She bounces on the balls of her feet. “Your boyfriend sounds adorable.”
Adorableis not a word I’d use for Robbie. I mean, yeah, he can be, but I think words likesexyandhot as fuckwork better. And he’s not my boyfriend, but I can’t exactly tell them that he’s just some guy I’ve fucked around with for the last month and a half—and that I’d like to fuck around with more. A lot more.
So much more.
“Uh. Thom?” Dex says.
Whoops. I realize I missed whatever Aminah just said. “Sorry. ADHD brain,” I say, tapping my temple. I tend to lose track of conversations and get in my head, even when my meds are at full capacity. “I’m about to be late, but about that date?—”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to tell you. My sister owns this restaurant up on Fifth Avenue. Bubbles and Bliss?” Aminah said excitedly.
I’ve heard of it. Swanky as fuck and impossible to get into.
“I called her when Dex told me about the date, and she got us a table for next Saturday at seven, if that sounds good to you?” Aminah’s eyes are bright, and oh god, Dex looks smitten. He’s staring at her with literal hearts in his eyes.
I can’t ruin this.
I don’t want to be the one responsible for their demise.
“I still need to talk to Robbie,” I say. My voice comes out all hoarse and weak. “But I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”
“Great,” she says. She sways forward and grips my arm. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know you and your boyfriend.”
My boyfriend. I wish.
And damn it, I like her. I have a good sense of people, and I can tell she’s amazing. I don’t want to let my brother down. He’s one of the only people in my family who stuck up for me when I came out. He was also the only one who had any faith in me when I said I wanted to open a gym and become a business owner. When I told my parents, they laughed and asked how I expected to run anything when I couldn’t remember to feed myself half the time.
Dex had gone off, and neither of us has spoken to them since.
I have to support him as best I can, and if that means talking to Robbie and maybe ruining this good thing we have because, once again, my mouth moved faster than my rational brain, so be it.
