He’d tied himself up in knots worrying about it. He tried to remember what Nolan said about worrying about worst-case scenarios, but all that did was make Kai desperate to feel Nolan’s arms around him, grounding him. Nolan, who could just turn the worry off.
He’d give it until the end of today. If he didn’t find anything, he would have to grow a pair and just ask Liam. He would be insufferable, but at this point, it was better than being the reason they all got evicted.
“Hey.”
Kai glanced up to find Liam standing in the doorway, hanging off the doorjamb. Jason had definitely said something to him, because he’d dialled down his dickishness by at least fifty percent over the last two days. Kai looked at him expectantly. “Geordie needs a date on Friday. He wants you.”
Fuck.He’d promised Nolan exclusivity. Was he going to threaten that at the very first opportunity? Acid rose in his throat. Kai shook his head, and Liam let out an exasperated sound.
“Come on, man. It’s a hundred bucks, and you know Geordie is good people.”
He did know that. Geordie was a good guy. A college professor who was so socially awkward that he could never figure out the dating thing. With Geordie, it was almost never about sex and usually about needing an emotional support human at something he couldn’t get out of. Still. He’d have to bail on his plans with Nolan, and unless he wanted to explain that he was going on a date with another guy, he’d have to lie. He definitely didn’t want to do that.
It was also that the idea of someone else touching him, fake or otherwise, made his skin crawl worse than it ever had before.
He was still short on rent though. Fuck.
“Why are you pushing this? You never push dates if I say no.” He eyed Liam suspiciously.
Liam had the grace to look embarrassed.
“You never say no to Geordie. It’s just weird.”
“I don’t want to do that anymore. I promised.”
“Youwhat?”
Shit.Kai should have quit while he was ahead. Liam stared at him incredulously. Heat flooded Kai’s face. “You know this guy for two days and he’s got you making promises?”
Kai didn’t answer, but Liam kept going. “What the fuck are you thinking? You think you’re Cinder-fucking-ella and thebrother of one of the richest men in the country is gonna be your Prince Charming? You think he’s gonna stay withyou? That’s what you think?”
When he said it like that, Kai felt ridiculous. He had nothing to defend himself with but he also didn’t want to sit there while Liam sowed doubt into his head. Kai got to his feet and beelined for the door.
“Don’t fucking walk away from me!” Liam grabbed his arm, spinning him back, and Kai shoved him off of him.
“I don’t need you putting shit in my head!”
“You need to be for real right now. You want to have some fun? Go have some fun, but don’t be out here making promises to people who will never make them for you.”
“He did promise.”
Liam scowled. “Don’t be fucking stupid, Kai. Men like him didn’t get where they are by keeping promises. He’s using you. You’re just something to play with until he’s bored. Meanwhile, you’re making your life harder, for what? How’re we paying for rent, and all the rest of this shit?”
“I don’t know? I’ll get a job. People do that all the time.” They both knew he was bluffing. A minimum wage paycheque never went far enough, and it was hard to commit to being in one place reliably when they had to take whatever odd jobs they could get to make ends meet.
Liam glared, then huffed out impatiently, “Look, I didn’t want to tell you, but Riley asked Jay for money again.”
Fuck.Kai’s stomach sank. Riley was just like them. Could never make a job stick longer than a few months but that was usually because of Dom and their never-ending string of benders. Every few months, she’d hit up Jason for cash, and he always came up with it.
“How much?”
“Seven hundred.”
The screen door opened, and Jason came through, coming to an abrupt halt as Liam and Kai turned towards him as one.
“Seven hundred dollars?”
Jason scowled at Liam. “This is why I don’t like telling you shit.”
