Resist Me

Chapter 2

West

Going shopping in person had actually been a trash idea. Most of the places didn’t keep things in stock and had to order the items online anyway, so I saw no point. I thought about trying to get the car back before Kai noticed, but he’d already sent me an angry text, so I decided to milk this for a while.

I sat in the coffee shop, scrolling through bed frames on my phone. Why were some wood and metal so expensive? I was sleeping on it, not driving it to work. They’d better be pretty damn durable for that price.

Bringing my coffee to my lips, I winced a little at the heat. My stomach growled and I looked at the time. Six. Damn, I’d been out longer than I thought. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t eaten. I scanned the menu above the register, trying to decide if anything here would satisfy me.

A loud, annoying laugh drew my attention to a table by the window. The guy there was tall and lanky with close-shaved hair. His smile was wide and over-exuberant. I got along with a lot of people, but something about him seemed like it would annoy me .

An awkward- or maybe uncomfortable- laugh made me shift my eyes to the other person at the table. His curly hair wasn’t as voluminous as usual, but it looked damp like he was fresh out of the shower. In just a t-shirt, his tan skin was visible. Colorful tattoos snaked up his arms and over the obvious definition in his biceps.

As I stared at Lincoln, he brought a coffee cup to his lips. His eyes traveled around the space as if he wanted to look anywhere but at his buddy. Were they friends? He didn’t seem to like him very much.

Good. I hoped he was having a terrible time.

Maybe you’ll be better at fetch .

Ever since he called me puppy at the Halloween party, it seemed to be his go-to for name calling. Joke’s on him. I loved dogs. They were loyal and always down for a good time, just like me.

Because I was a bit of a nosey bitch, I continued to cycle between scrolling and watching them. It was hard to tell what was going on, but I didn’t think they knew each other well. Lincoln was nodding along to what the other guy said. He looked like he was trying to be nice while praying for some sort of escape.

Kicking my feet up on the little coffee table, I leaned back in my chair. It was wide with a deep seat and made this place feel cozy. I hated sitting at regular tables. They were stiff and uncomfortable. Give me a place to kick back and I’d make myself at home anywhere.

I came across a black bed frame that caught my eye. It was low to the ground, only raised by about a foot. The entirety of it was covered in fabric and it had a very modern feel. It was a little expensive, but if I was going to spend the money on furniture, I’d rather it be stuff that would last me a while. I’d take it with me after I graduated and put it in my fancy condo.

Add to cart. The dopamine rush was immediate.

As I put in my card information, I hummed a song that I’d heard in a video earlier. It was stuck in my head and at this point, I was singing it out of pure hatred for the thing.

When I looked up, I saw Lincoln’s eyes trained on me. It made me shift in my seat. He should mind his own damn business. He was probably thinking up another puppy joke right now.

From this distance, I couldn’t see the details of his eyes, but I knew that they were hazel. Sometimes, they were more green than brown and vice versa. I wondered what they looked like today. Maybe they’d be black to reflect his demonic soul.

Raising a brow and licking my lips, I maintained eye contact. His friend said something that drew his attention back to the table. It felt like I won some challenge- a staring contest. One point for West.

I went back to looking at furniture, moving on to couches. Those were even more expensive than the bed frames. Seriously, didn’t they have any budget options? The only affordable ones I saw looked way too small for men our size.

A shadow loomed over me and I raised my gaze to the tall, broad-shouldered asshole in front of me.

“Shopping?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“What do you want?”

He glanced over his shoulder quickly, then back at me. “A favor.”

I leaned my elbows on my knees and he took a step back.

“Go on,” I prompted.

“I tried to let this guy down easy three times now, but he just keeps talking. Get me out of it and I’ll owe you.”

Peering around him, I met the guy’s eyes. He looked away quickly, focusing on his coffee cup.

“What’s the nature of your relationship?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Can you help me or not?”

A grin spread across my face. Getting to my feet, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into my chest like we were old pals. He leaned close to my ear and his breath wafted over my skin.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Damn, Porter,” I said loudly enough to reach his table. “It’s such a coincidence running into you here. I have something majorly important to talk to you about. You free?”

“Not really.” He glanced over at the table where his companion was watching us. “Is it that important?”

“Life or death, my guy.”

He nodded and motioned for me to follow him. When we got to the table, I held my hand out.

“Hey, I’m West.”

The guy took it tentatively. “Frank.”

It was an effort not to laugh. He looked way too young to be a Frank .

“Sorry to interrupt this, uh… thing. I have something super urgent to talk to Porter about.”

“Porter?”

“Lincoln,” I clarified. “Me and Linc, we go way back.”

“Uh, okay. That’s fine.” He turned his attention to Lincoln. “We can reschedule.”

“Yeah, we can do that,” he replied.

“Ugh, you’re a peach,” I told Frank. “It’s not every day I have to tell a man that I’m carrying his child.”

They both stared at me, one in confusion and the other in frustration. I smiled and rubbed my hand on my stomach.

“He has a habit of not wrapping it up,” I went on. “I told him, ‘Linc, let’s not be reckless.’ But he had to go and be reckless.”

“Okay, I’ll text you,” Lincoln said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door.

“It was nice to meet you, Frank. Maybe I’ll name our bastard child after you.”

We made it outside, but he didn’t stop. He continued dragging me along until we were on the side of the building. There was a dope, red motorcycle parked there and I wondered how hard it would be to ride. It was one of those sports bikes that could easily turn me into cream corn on the highway.

“What is your problem?” he demanded, whirling on me.

“Problem? You needed saving, so I came in and put on an act for the damsel in distress.”

“Can’t you just be agreeable for once?”

“I am agreeable.”

He snorted and turned around. My mouth dropped open when he swung his leg over the bike. I would not be impressed. Or jealous.

“I didn’t even know you were gay,” I noted, leaning back against the brick.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Sure, I guess. Are you not out?”

He let out a dry laugh. “If I wasn’t out, would I go on a date in a public place near campus?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re not very smart.”

“Mhm.”

“Are you ashamed of it? ”

He gave me an exasperated look. “No. Just because I don’t advertise my life to the world doesn’t mean I’m ashamed. If someone asks, I’ll tell them.”

“Interesting.”

“Right. Thanks for the save or whatever.”

“So, this favor you owe me… You didn’t specify any conditions, which was a mistake on your part. I could ask you to drive your bike off of a bridge.”

He started his motorcycle without a word. I watched him as he backed out of the space and left the lot. What a weirdo.

Since it’d be awkward to go back inside to fake a miraculous pregnancy, I decided it was time to face Kai’s wrath. The drive back to campus only took five minutes and when I reached the dorm, I didn’t even have to knock. He was standing outside of his door, arms crossed and a furious look on his face.

Kai was like a dog, always watching people through his window. He probably saw me as soon as I entered the courtyard.

“Before you say anything-”

“Keys,” he interrupted, holding out his hand.

I dropped them into his palm and he turned around. I followed him into the room and stood there with my hands in my pockets, feeling a bit like a scolded child. Sen was sitting on the bed; his eyes widened slightly when he saw me.

“Sit,” Kai commanded without looking at me.

Reluctantly, I sat on the edge of his bed. He ran both hands through his hair, then returned them to his sides. When he finally turned those dark green eyes on me, I raised my chin.

“You can’t keep doing things like this.”

“It was just a quick trip,” I argued.

“It doesn’t matter. Not only could campus security stop you, but there are cops that roll through here too. We’re in the city, West. They’re everywhere.”

“If I don’t break any laws, it’s fine.”

“That’s not the point. Your license is suspended, which means you can’t drive. That’s all there is to it.”

My jaw worked as I listened to him. I loved Kai and it was impossible to deny that he usually made good points. Clearly, I was in the wrong, but it didn’t seem like that big of a deal .

“Nothing bad happened.”

“You’re being reckless,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Trying to start fights with Lincoln constantly, getting shitfaced on Halloween, leaving practice today, taking the car. What the hell is going on with you?”

“I’m a problem child. You know this.”

His eyes flashed with more anger than I’d seen from him in a while. Usually, it wasn’t directed at me and when it was, I had a hard time not meeting him in that place. I had a reactive side, which I could control well enough. Ever since I got here, though, it’d been harder.

“Look,” he sighed. He sat beside me on the bed and put a hand on my shoulder. “A lot is going on. College is harder than high school and the team is more demanding. I get that, but you have to get it together, West. Willow is coming here in two weeks. I can’t take care of both of you.”

“You don’t have to take care of either of us,” I snapped. “We’re not children.”

“You know that’s not… West, where are you going?”

I flung the door open and hung a left down the hallway. The last thing I needed right now was to be treated like a kid. Sure, I took the car and I’d been temperamental. That didn’t mean that Kai needed to babysit me. Willow… Well, she was mine to deal with. My sister, my responsibility, my fault if you were to ask my dad.

I had nothing better to do, so I plopped onto my bed and started scrolling through more online stores. If the only thing I had was an adequately furnished, roach-infested apartment, then I guess I’d take it.