Winston raises his eyebrows.
“Anyway,” I mutter, “Castle isn’t here right now, is he? So I stand by my original statement. Fuck off, all of you.”
Winston laughs, Ian shakes his head, and Lily pretends to look offended, when—
“I most definitelyamhere right now, and I heard that,”Castle calls from his office.
I cringe.
I used to swear profusely as a teenager—much worse than I do now—and it really used to upset Castle. He said he worried I’d never find a way to articulate my emotions without anger. He wanted me to slow down when I spoke, to use specific words to describe how I was feeling instead of angrily shouting obscenities. He seemed so worried about it that I agreed to tone down my language. But I made that promise four years ago, and as much as I love Castle, I often regret it.
“Kenji?” Castle again. I know he’s waiting for an apology.
I peer down the hall and spot his open door. We’re all squeezed up against each other, even with the new accommodations. Warner basically had to reinvent this floor, and it took a lot of work and sacrifice, so, again, I’m not complaining.
But still.
It’s hard not to be annoyed by the overwhelming lack of privacy.
“My bad,” I shout back.
I can actually hear Castle sigh, even from across the hall.
“A touching display of remorse,” Winston says.
“All right, show’s over.” I wave them all away. “I have to shower.”
“Yeah you do,” Ian says, raising an eyebrow.
I shake my head, exhausted. “I can’t believe I put up withyou assholes.”
Ian laughs. “You know I’m messing with you, right?” When I don’t respond he says, “Seriously—you look good. We should hit the gym later. I need someone to spot me.”
I nod, only a little mollified, and mumble a goodbye. I head back into my room to grab my shower caddy, but Winston follows me in, leans against the doorframe. It’s just then that I notice he’s holding a paper to-go cup.
My eyes light up. “Is that coffee?”
Winston pulls away from the door, horrified. “It’smycoffee.”
“Hand it over.”
“What? No.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Why can’t you get your own?” he says, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “This is only my second cup. You know it takes at least three before I’m even half awake.”
“Yeah, well, I have to be downstairs in five minutes or Warner’s going to murder me and I haven’t had any breakfast yet and I’m already exhausted and I really—”
“Fine.” Winston’s face darkens as he hands it over. “You monster.”
I take the cup. “I’m a goddamnjoy.”
Winston mutters something foul under his breath.
“Hey”—I take a sip of the coffee—“by the way— Did you, uh—?”
Winston’s neck goes suddenly red. He averts his eyes.“No.”
