Page 32

THIRTY-TWO

KIT

Trent collected our bags out of the back of the car he hired to drive us home from the airport. I’d readied myself with a firm handshake and a quick goodbye, but he had other ideas. And honestly, after the last five days, I didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Aren’t you going home?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He plowed ahead with a shake of his head. “I want to check on Derek and make sure he didn’t miss me too much.”

The hand I’d extended to take my bag fell. I planted it on my hip instead. “You think you’re the person he wants to see?”

“I figured he’d want to see both of us. I’m sure he’s eager to find out what he missed.”

“There is no us, Texas.”

The sex was great, but the rally was over, and, by extension, Trent and I were over. I had to make the differentiation now before I risked my feelings over a guy who’d be dating a supermodel come fall.

He grinned before feigning a hurt expression. “I can’t believe you’d say that to your favorite teammate.”

“I have a whole kickball team full of teammates. Don’t get cocky now.”

Despite the post-coital conversation the night before, we did not seem to be “going back to normal.” I followed him into the elevator, ignoring when he listed into my side, knocking me off balance with a lopsided grin.

“We’re back,” I called into the empty living room, disappointed not to find Derek. “You here?”

Trent slid into the apartment behind me, setting our bags by the door. A solid thunk toward Derek’s bedroom sent me scrambling toward the closed door, visions of Derek laid out on the floor, hurt.

“Derek, what’s going on?” I called, slamming open the door and immediately regretting that decision. “Oh, no. I didn’t mean…”

I swept an arm over my eyes to block out a very naked Gavin standing beside Derek’s bed. Gavin hit the floor as Derek flailed, letting out a shout of pain. Palm fused to my face, I stumbled back, missing the door completely and slamming back first into the wall.

Trent’s arm wrapped around my waist as he pulled me out of the room. “Sorry, man. We should have called to let you know what time we’d be back.”

Only when the door slammed shut did I uncover my eyes. “What the hell was that?”

Trent marched to the kitchen, grabbing two sodas from the fridge. He popped the tops and handed one to me. “Well, when two people really like each other?—”

I grimaced. “No. Not that. Gavin?! I didn’t even know Derek liked him.” I slugged down a gulp of soda, setting the can on the counter. “They’ve known each other for years.”

He shrugged. “Weird things happen when people spend a lot of time together.”

My cheeks burned at his observation. I shook my shoulders, slaking off the insinuation. “Yeah, fine, maybe.”

We finished our drink in silence, waiting until Derek and Gavin emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed this time.

“Welcome back,” Derek greeted us with a smile as he hobbled into the living room. A black contraption made of metal and fabric covered his leg from ankle to thigh.

Gavin held Derek’s arm, taking most of Derek’s weight on his hobble to the couch.

He carefully lowered Derek onto the couch. “Do you need anything?”

Derek beamed up at Gavin. “A water?”

They shared an intimate look that make my chest tight and a million questions bubble in my throat. None of which I’d ask with Trent and Gavin around. Still, what the hell had happened while I was gone?

“You’re looking good, buddy.” Trent clapped a hand on Derek’s shoulder, leaning down to give him a half hug before sitting opposite him on the chair. My chair. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Derek smiled, taking a glass from Gavin.

Gavin sat down beside him, and I stood in the center of the room, awkwardly searching for a safe place to sit in my own apartment.

Trent wrapped his hand around my wrist, pulling me down nearly on his lap before I redirected for the armrest. “Glad you had someone to help you out.”

Gavin’s cheeks blushed, but Derek reached across his lap, squeezing his hand. “I can’t say I didn’t miss you two, but Derek took great care of me. How was the rally?”

“Fine.” My voice pitched up as Trent’s arm grazed my ass on its way around my waist. I pushed it away and shot Trent a warning look.

Derek eyed me. “You okay, Kit?”

“Fine.”

“You’re acting a little weird.”

“I’m just tired. Exhausted, really. I should go make some coffee. Does anyone else want a cup?”

His brown eyes narrowed before they skipped to Trent. “Nope. Something is off. What happened?”

“Nothing happened. We did the rally, we sold the car, we came home.” The words sped out of my mouth.

“We slept together,” Trent added offhandedly.

My heart stopped. “What the fuck, Texas?”

He tilted his head, a look of puppy dog confusion on his face. “Were we not going to tell Derek?”

Derek’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, and his mouth dropped open.

“If it makes you feel better, we’re sleeping together, too,” Gavin interjected over the sudden awkward silence.

Trent snorted. “Oh, we knew that.”

“It was a one-time thing. Rally rules. We weren’t supposed to bring that information home.” I ignored the couple on the couch, my focus on Trent.

His green eyes glinted, the edge of his lips turning up. “Three times.”

“Two and a half at best.” A dumb thing to say because my mind immediately jumped to the shower that morning where, yeah, there hadn’t been penetration, per se, but I hadn’t exactly been quiet about how much I enjoyed myself.

Derek pitched forward in his seat, eyes roving between Trent and me like he was watching a particularly juicy reality show. Which he sort of was.

“It didn’t mean anything,” I said emphatically. “Rally rules.”

“You keep saying that.” Gavin’s face twisted in confusion. “What are rally rules?”

“She’s just a little shy.” Trent wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me into his lap. “But definitely into it.”

Trent’s hand slid down my back, his thumb brushing over my spine and sending goosebumps down my arms. And it felt good. Really good. I hated how good it felt.

“You don’t even like me,” I argued.

Trent’s hand stilled on my back. “I like you.”

I winced at the faint timbre of hurt laced in his voice. “You know what I mean.”

“So…” Derek straightened, regaining his voice. “I guess the trip was a success?”

“We came in first place.” Trent dropped his hand, but I didn’t stand. Instead, I set my hand on his knee. Not exactly an apology, but close. “Thanks to Trent.”

Derek’s eyes traveled down my face, his eyebrows knitted. Gavin looked around expectantly and just as an awkward silence settled on the room, he piped up. “That’s great, right?”

“On our first rally? Amazing. Unheard of.” I yammered on, my voice getting more high-pitched, my chest tighter. “Did you check out our team account?”

“Every day,” Gavin chirped brightly.

“They just loved interviewing you two, didn’t they?” Derek shared a smile with Gavin. “I told you something was going on.”

“Nothing’s going on,” I said weakly, desperate to change the subject. “Water. Do you need another glass, Derek? You know, after surgery, it’s really important to stay hydrated. Let me fill that up for you. Gavin? Trent?”

I surged up from Trent’s lap, already in the kitchen before either of them could respond.

The kitchen was pristine, and when I opened the fridge, I found it fully stocked. Cleaned, even. No milk rings or shriveled fruit. Apparently, Gavin had been doing a little more than just taking care of Derek. The water filter was full, and I poured two glasses, drinking one before returning to the living room with the second.

“They only kept me for a day after the surgery.” Derek leaned forward, booted leg splayed out in the middle of the room. “I spent last night at Gavin’s house.”

“I live on the first floor,” Gavin said.

“The doctor said the stairs weren’t great for my recovery.” The corners of Derek’s eyes shuttered. A wince. A telltale sign he was about to give bad news. “I’m actually staying with Gavin for the time being. Just until I can move around a little better.”

“Wait, what?” I shook my head, wondering if I hadn’t heard him correctly. Derek wasn’t staying here?

“You’ve got your test coming up and work. You can’t spend all your time being my nurse,” Derek explained softly.

“And Gavin can?” I blurted out, clocking the hurt look on Derek’s face but unable to stop myself.

“I’d be happy to check in while Gavin’s at work.” Trent stood from his seat, placing a hand on the small of my back. “And I’m sure Kit would be happy to do the same. Whatever helps you rehab faster.”

His palm pressed against my back, thumb skimming my spine. A gentle reminder to take a breath. “Right,” I said with an exhale. “Right, of course. Whatever I can do to help.”

“I live on State Street. It’s just a ten-minute walk,” Gavin murmured.

I winced at the worry in his voice. Worry I’d caused. I gave him as much of a smile as I could muster. “Perfect. We can all pitch in.”

“I’m not an invalid, guys.” Derek placed his empty glass on the side table.

I shot him a tight smile, the panic at losing my best friend to his new…boyfriend? I hadn’t even been gone a week. “Let me put my things away, and we can tell you all about the rally.”

Trent grabbed up my bag before I could stop him, long legs eating up the length of the small hallway to my room. He pushed open the door, gawking. “I’ve never seen your room before.”

He took a slow lap, but there wasn’t much to see. A few pictures of my friends and family on the wall above my bed, a stack of laboratory textbooks on an otherwise bare desk, my twin bed with faded purple sheets.

“You okay?” He rifled through the books, pushing aside A Brief Overview of Urinalysis and opening Basic Parasitology . He shuddered as he stumbled over a picture of Dracunculus medinesis emerging from a patient’s foot.

I shut the door behind us, leaning back against the wall. “Yeah, fine. I’m just tired, probably, jet-lagged? Can you be jet-lagged if you didn’t leave the time zone?”

“I don’t mind sticking around, you know. If you want some company with Derek gone.” He metered his words, brushing his fingertips over a picture of my parents and me standing in front of my high school. I wore a blue graduation cap, robe, and a beaming smile. “Or you can crash at my place.”

I barked out a laugh. “We just spent five days trapped in a car together. You’re signing up for more?”

He shrugged, leaning against the desk. He kicked his long legs out, crossing one over the other, his knuckles white on the edge of the desk. “I don’t mind.”

“I’m not sleeping with your again,” I said, not entirely sure I believed my own words.

He laughed. “I’ve heard that before.”

“I mean it. We’re home. Things are back to normal.”

“Okay.” He gave up without a fight, and I hated the disappointment that filled my stomach at the easy way he gave up on the idea. “The offer still stands.”

“I’ll be spending all my time studying.”

“I can help. Quiz you, I mean. I don’t know shit about whatever the hell you’re learning, but I can ask questions.” He pushed aside the coagulation theory book, opening the study exams underneath.

“How much of a ten molar stock solution do you need to add to make two liters of a one molar diluted solution?” He narrowed his eyes and let out a breath, flipping back to the cover. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You don’t want to stay here, Texas.”

“I don’t?”

Despite the low hum of warning, I wanted him to stay. I didn’t want to spend the night alone in my apartment. I wasn’t quite ready to go back to my life before the rally.

I exhaled, tipping my head back. “Okay. Why not? What’s another couple of days?”