Page 23 of Rule Breaker
“Your mouth says fuck off, but your body language says—” Kayden gave me a long once over and and I started sweating. “No, it still says fuck off.”
“Remember that.”
“At least I know what your bracelet is going to say.”
“Exactly. I’ll hold my arm up and everyone will back away.”
The bus started moving, rolling out of Rochester. Maybe, once I was back on campus, I’d stop talking and revert to my usual grunts and glares. Today was a weird fucking trip. And I didn’t even get high.
“Well, that’s enough human interaction for me for today. For a lifetime,” I admitted as I reached for my laptop. “I’ve gotta work on my economics essay.”
“There’s an essay?!” Kayden shouted.
Heads turned in our direction and I gave my teammates my favorite sign.
I gave Kayden the side eye. “It’s due on Wednesday.”
“Shit!” Kayden blurted and reached for his bag. He pulled out his tablet and started typing. “Oh yeah, phew. I have a note in my calendar to work on it tomorrow. Jesus, Mad, don’t scare me like that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Be quiet and let me work. Can you do that? One hour?”
“One hour? I don’t know if I can do it for one minute.”
Placing my headphones on, I glared at Kayden and made a zipping motion over my mouth. His face turned bright red. Hestarted working on his tablet, but his knee was jumping, the seats were vibrating, and there was no way I was going to be able to concentrate.
Do it. Write.
Could I? Not with Kayden staring at me. I was barely into my first paragraph and I couldn’t take it anymore.
I whipped off my headphones. “What?”
“Do you have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? I shouldn’t assume.” He paused. “Are you dating?”
“What the fuck is it to you?” I snapped.
“I’m just curious,” he shrugged. “You said you don’t like people. So, does that mean you’re not into sex? I mean, I think about it. A lot. Not you. I mean, sex. Not with you. Just sex. In general.”
Kayden’s face was near purple. And he wasn’t the only one. I swallowed hard, not prepared for this conversation. For Kayden, for this conversation, for anything that happened today. I wanted to go home. Maybe if I slipped our driver a fifty he could run me across the border to Canada…
“I get it,” I bit out. “And the answer is none of your business.”
“Okay, but?—”
“Kayden, don’t. Talk my ear off about anything else, just not that, alright?”
Kayden nodded. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t know why I asked that. Ignore me.”
“Ignore you? What do you think I’ve been trying to do since I met you?”
“Will you two shut up!” Axel interrupted. He got up out of his seat, two rows in front of us, and turned around. “Some of us are trying to sleep. Isn’t it bad enough we sucked ass today? Now we have to listen to you two argue?”
I placed my laptop aside and stood up. “Watch it, Axel.”
“Or what?” he bit back.
“Take it easy,” Kayden added. “Maddox and I were just talking.”
Axel scoffed. “Whatever. Keep it down.”