I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. “At what point do I file a missing persons report on a grown man?” I ask Kai, ignoring the jab.
He stops chewing and looks up at me, something about his expression doesn’t sit right. His jaw is firmly set. He’s grinding his molars. His pupils are blown out, and his eyes are bloodshot. I can’t tell if it's anger, or something else. Either way, his sudden demeanor change throws me off. “You don’t. You said it yourself, he’s a grown ass man. You texted him, right?”
“Of course. Multiple times. Nothing.”
He shrugs, his demeanor changes abruptly yet again, and he pops another roll into his mouth. Something I used to find sexy, since I know just how much he can take in that mouth—but now I just find it sloppy and distasteful. “Think you have your answer, babe. Are you a haunted house, because girrrrl—you’ve been ghosted.”
I scoff, his attitude fluctuations leaving me befuddled. “That’s lame, even by your standards,” I remark.
“What’s not lame is you getting your bussy eaten out tonight,” he says with a wink, his voice low and smooth. “Seriously, you should try it sometime. That’ll cheer you up. Always does for me.”
“Why are you like this? What about me right now says I want you to dress me up and take me to bed tonight, hmm?” I’m starting to get annoyed at this point.
He sets down his chopsticks and leans forward with his forearms on the table. “Brooks, I’m going to be real honest with you. I’m really here this summer, because I think I’m finally ready to see if we can work things out and get back together, babe.”
“You…what?” I hiss at him, rearing back in my chair.
“Yeah, I think I’d like to rekindle things,” he replies nonchalantly.
As in, not a single chalant to be had.
As in, he thinks this is how he can win me back.
Well pardon my language, butfuckthat.
I push up from the table and shake my head. “I’m sorry you wasted your time coming here, then. That’s not what I want.” I start to head for the stairs, ready to shut myself in my room and wallow in peace.
“Oh, give me a break,” Kai whines, having the audacity to look stunned that he didn’t get the answer he thought he was going to get. He stands up and cuts in front of me, blocking my way upstairs. “The guy gives you one—probably beginnersloppy—blowjob, and you’re all ‘I’ve found the one’ over him? I call bullshit.”
“Kai,” I sigh, “now here’s the thing you don’t seem to get. I’m not invested in Evan just for the sex. Sure, I told him to use me, but he never did that. He worshiped me, Kai—worshiped. He took his time to make sure that I was pleasured, without expecting payback. He slept with me in his arms that whole night. He took me out on a freakin’ date the next day, even though I protested it every step of the way!
“He’s gotten so much done around camp, it’s unreal. The eight years we’ve been running this place, and this is the best shape the facilities have ever been in. He goes to bat against you for me. He’s got a vested interest in my dream here, and he even said himself he wantssomething deep and meaningful. He is considerate, helpful, kind, and just—ugh… I’m worried about him! What if something happened to him?”
I try to step around him, but Kai stops me by aggressively putting his hands on my waist.
“Get. Your. Hands.Off. Me.” I growl.
“Babydoll, seriously. Can’t we just—” Kai insists, holding me tighter, as I try to fight my way out of his hold.
Then, he suddenly tenses. His eyes flit up to something over my shoulder, and his pupils widen even more. His hands do release me, but then go up to a defensive position as he backs away slowly, almost tripping on the bottom tread of the stairs. He doesn’t fall, however, because he’s caught by the shirt lapels and forcefully hauled back up.
“What the fuck, Kai?” Evan snarls, his hulking form stepping around me from behind. “Brooks shouldnothave to tell you more than once to get your hands off of him.”
“H-he knows I didn’t mean it. Right?” Kai’s panic-stricken eyes dart back and forth from me to Evan, who still has Kai’s button-down shirt collar tight in his right fist.
I’m a little shocked to see Kai so petrified of Evan right now. Kai spars at the gym often, so I’m a little surprised to see he’s not fighting back. While I don’t condone physical altercations, it’s pretty telling that Kai doesn’t appear to find me worth fighting for, despite saying he wants me back.
Meanwhile, Evan is absolutely fuming. Like, I’m getting some serious touch him and die vibes.
“Let him go,” I tell Evan, fearing I may get slapped with a plastic surgeon’s bill for when Kai gets his jaw rearranged by Evan’s knuckles.
Evan shoves him back, releasing him with a flourish of his fingers.Hot as heck, by the way—all possessive and rawr. Kai bolts upstairs,slamming the door to Morgan’s room in a huff. When Evan spins to me, checking to see if I’m okay, I notice he’s had something clutched in his left fist the entire time.
“Is that a bouquet of wildflowers?” I ask Evan, nodding at the small collection of some of my favorites.
Like the absolute adorable man he is, his face softens. His ocean blue eyes turn apologetic. He even goes so far as to nervously nibble his inner cheek.
It’s when I take stock of all this, though, that I notice his face, overall, looks… puffier?... than normal. His lips look noticeably poutier than usual too, now that I’m studying him with real concern. He’s even getting swollen around his eyes, and his skin is all mottled and red.
