Page 78 of Kiss-Fist
He hugs Thom after and seems to relish in his nerves. ‘Happy you could make it.’
Thom’s hands have lost a little of their confidence under the watchful eye of my Deaf friends. ‘Thankyou. It looks fun.’
Fayid grins wider and slings his arm around Thom, pulling him closer. ‘Great. Want to sit? You can be next to me.’
Thom just flushes red and glances back at me, the expression on his face almost frantic. ‘Leave him alone,’ I snap, and Fayid rolls his eyes, pulling out a chair for Thom, which will be right next to me. It’s all totally fine.
Until it isn’t.
Rome moves over to me and arches an eyebrow. Christ, I knew this was coming, but I really, really don’t want to have this conversation in front of Thom. He won’t be able to catch all of it, but he’ll understand enough.
‘Really?’ he signs. ‘A hearing guy? I mean, I know he’s hot and all, but I thought you said none of those.’
I roll my eyes and then sigh. ‘I broke the rules.’
Rome laughs and then pulls me into a side hug. ‘Yeah, I get it. I’ll miss fucking you, but you can call me when it ends.’
Then he moves over to Thom, who was watching us with a cocked head, and god, I hope he didn’t understand any of that. I mean, there’s no way, right? It was signed too fast for him to get it. And most of it were signs Denver wouldnothave taught his students. At least, not yet.
My eyes move over to Rhett, who is chatting with Mellie, and I thank the stars above that he didn’t decide to interpret any of that. I mean, he may once we’re all around the table chatting, but right now, I’m safe.
Right?
‘You okay?’ I ask Thom, and he swallows, giving me a small nod.
‘Yes.’
‘You want a drink?’
He peers at me and then nods toward the bar. ‘I can get it.’
I watch as he stands there awkwardly and then waves his hand, getting everyone’s attention. ‘Want new drink?’
It’s so fucking cute, and I love that he’s making an effort. That he’s trying. Everyone seems to think so too. Fayid shakes his head as Mellie gulps down his beer and then asks for another. When Thom doesn’t understand, Mellie just grins and signs slower. So slow, in fact, that my eyes start to cross, but I adore him for trying to make Thom feel included.
Thom eventually understands and bobs his head as Rhett offers to accompany him to the bar. Rome is the last one to give his order, and when Thom turns his gaze toward him, Rome grins wickedly.
He always was a shit.
‘Yeah, I’ll take a Ramos Gin Fizz.’
I stare at him, hating that he’s fingerspelled that way too fast. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it on purpose.
‘Slow,’ Thom says, his mouth moving into a small frown. ‘Please.’ It’s not even about the fact that he’s new. He also struggles with spelling, and it’ll always be harder for him.
Rome rolls his eyes and does as requested, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially because Thom caught that and is getting flustered. Thankfully, Rhett steps in.
‘Don’t be a dick.’ He turns his face toward Thom, and his lips move, telling him what it is Rome wants.
Swallowing thickly, pink in the cheeks for all the wrongreasons, Thom meets my gaze, then looks at Rome and nods. ‘Be right back.’
Rhett casts a glance at me. He’s obviously checking to see how pissed I am, and when he knows I’m not going to explode, he pulls Thom to the bar.
‘Stop it,’ I say, turning toward Rome and glowering. ‘Don’t be mean to him.’
‘I wasn’t being mean. I was telling him what I wanted.’
‘You signed too fast on purpose. You’re being an asshole.’
