Page 43 of The Jester and His Outlaw: Part 2

His answer catches me off guard. I wasn’t expecting him to tell me so much.

I sit back, acting relaxed, which I am. My stomach is full of some damn good food and my muscles are worn out. I cannot judge their relationship. It isn’t for me, but it makes sense. We are only human. To think that humans are allowed to loveonlyone person is a bit ludicrous. “Shit, that makes sense. I would say communication is key. Be honest with them about how you’re feeling. Don’t let it fester, yeah?”

“It feels silly to say that to them. Clearly, they’re meant to be together. They’ve known their whole lives that’s how they would end up. So sometimes, I don’t feel like I fit in. It sounds terrible but—” He stops, scrubbing his hand over his face. I feel for the guy, this can’t be easy. He doesn’t seem to have many other friends, though he and J are closer than they used to be and Charley is Foxy’s best friend. It’s not like he could take it to his parents either, so who does he talk to about it?

“Hey, I’m not judging you, man. You tell me as much or as little as you want, okay?” I have to be honest, I thought their problems would be with Jensen’s sexual orientation. I’m glad it’s not.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m in this simply because Foxy didn’t want to let me down. We have our own history and while we have chemistry, I can’t help but feel it isn’t as strong as theirs.” He blows out a breath and I have to admit to myself I’m not sure how to handle that one.

Sipping my water, I think through what I want to say. I’m happy that he feels he can share shit with me. I like Kai, I really do. He’s a good guy and one day, he might very well be my family, but I don’t know him well enough to know what I can and can’t say around him. He’s a straight shooter, so I would think I could say anything, but you never know.

“I don’t know Foxy the way any of you do, but I know she doesn’t play games. She’s always been honest with me and certainly brutally fucking honest with Charley. I’d say if she is with you, it’s because she doesn’t want to let you go, not that she’s afraid of letting you down. You may not see it because you’re focused on what they have, but she looks at you with the same fire in her eyes as she has always looked at J. I’m not blowing smoke up your ass, ‘cause that’s not me. I can’t begin to understand, but I get it. It makes sense that you might have some doubts. You’re human, man.” I bite into a chip after dipping it into salsa. There’s really no room left, but my appetite is healthy tonight and I want to take advantage of that. “I know you can talk to either of those two and they’re going to listen to you.”

His eyebrows climb his forehead, and I give myself a mental pat on the back. If anyone said that shit to me, I’d sure as hell hear them. I’ve never been a wise person or anyone to spread advice, but if anything, I understand human emotion.

“You’re right. I just need to stop being a chicken shit if I want this to work.” He laughs, a light sound that still seems to let the weight off his shoulders.

“Somehow I don’t see you as being a chicken shit,” I tell him. Kai stops the server and asks for the check. When the guy comes back, he hands his card to him and sends him away. Fucker.

“Thanks, man.”

He waves me off. “Don’t mention it. I’m paying you for coming out and giving me advice.”

“Normally I’d say don’t take my advice, but those were some pretty wise words.” We laugh, splitting any tension that might have formed. We chat a little longer about anything and everything and, as part of getting my shit together, I’m as open and honest with him as he is with me. I don’t want him to feel like he is putting in everything and getting nothing. I only want genuine relationships in my life and I can see us being good friends.

Kai makes his way to the bathroom as I step outside, needing some fresh air. I’ve never talked that much with Kai, and parts of our conversation were pretty heavy. He’s very protective of his sister and scared of what Jonas might do. That’s hard shit for me to hear, knowing she spends most of her time with me and while I’m training my ass off and putting everything into it, Jonas is a big motherfucker and I don’t stand a chance. At least not for a couple of years.

I laugh to myself. Admitting my shortcomings isn’t easy, nor something I want to do.

“What you laughing at, baby?” Layla’s voice is hoarse, scratchy, and she slurs her words. One hand glides over my shoulders and down over my chest, the other makes its way swiftly to my dick. I growl, latching on to her wrist and pulling it from my body. I turn around where I stand and back up a few steps, annoyed my thoughts captured me and I didn’t realize she was walking up.

“What the fuck is going on out here?” Kai asks with the most authority I’ve ever heard in him. Layla flinches, her eyes scanning him, but he’s looking at me, disgusted. I jerk my hands away as if Layla is pure acid, which she is, but I’m not getting in trouble with my girl for this shit.

“Layla seems to forget what boundaries mean,” I say, leveling him with my stare because I have absolutely nothing to hide and I won’t have him doubting me. I’m not interested in this girl or messing anything up with Charley. “Just getting her off me.” Turning to face Layla, she sways in front of us.

Her hair is knotted and wild looking, eyes bloodshot, her pupils wide and reflective. She looks almost feral. At one point, her makeup was probably done, but a night of partying has it all smudgy and not where it should be. Sweat shines on her skin and she’s so pale she resembles a corpse. Freaky, really.

Kai reaches out to steady her, a frown on his face as he takes her in.

She looks like she has had a hell of an afternoon and she is high as a fucking kite. I’d know that look anywhere.

“Why didn’t we work?” she asks, ignoring what was said. She tries to grab for my dick again, but I jerk my body back. Kai holds her back, his anger quick to rise.

“Because I wanted nothing with you, Layla.” I’m past the point of trying not to hurt her feelings. This girl doesn’t get it at all.

She is so far gone she has yet to make eye contact with me, and while my statement would normally piss her off, she didn’t seem to notice. Her glassy eyes travel up over my shoulder as if I’m not even there. The lights from the car heading toward the curb don’t bother her either. She’s staring straight at them when I have to squint my eyes.

“Stupid, stupid, boy,” she mutters, jerking her shoulder from Kai’s grip. He backs off, letting her go. I give her some room to pass as the car entrances her and I have no interest in stopping her. This girl was never my problem to worry about, so she sure as hell isn’t now. She lost any of those thoughts when she attacked Charley on the ice that day.

I can’t help but feel like Layla just gave us a warning, but I push that to the back of my mind for now. I blame the instinct on this rather weird and ominous situation, and her deteriorating state.

Tripping and stumbling, she teeters on her heels but eventually makes it to the car. I don’t recognize it. It’s a black sedan, the windows illegally tinted, even the windshield, with basic wheels and rims. Nothing special at all, other than it’s a tad sketchy. Something out of a movie with mobsters.

The back door swings open and a sloppy smile spreads across her face.

“Hey, baby,” she says to whomever is inside, beckoning her. As if we didn’t exist, Layla drops her knees to the seat in a less than graceful manner and slides in. After a few seconds, the door shuts, and the sedan merges with traffic.

I’m stunned into silence, staring at the space where the car was.

---