Page 28 of Between the Boards
Kairi peers at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “He’s reading a self-help book,” she says, unimpressed.
“What’s wrong with self-help books?” I ask. “It just means he’s committed to self-improvement. That’s a good thing.”
“Maybe,” she shrugs.
We both continue staring like complete creeps, and when he glances up and catches us, Kairi gasps and we immediately jerk our eyes away.
“Well,” I mutter, pushing back my chair. “There goes that. I’m going to the restroom, then we can leave.”
“He’s still staring,” she squeaks, sneaking another glance. “Please hurry.”
I risk a look myself and he is, in fact, staring at Kairi. My eyes narrow before I can stop myself, and when I catch myself wanting to sit back down and stare at him until he leaves, I force my legs to move toward the restroom.
Ever since Kairi and I were intimate three days ago, I’ve felt ten times more protective of her. I was worried she wasn't going to be able to keep it meaningless, but turns out I’m the one who couldn’t.
I said too much, I did too much, and I wanted too much.
And now I’m out here trying to set her up with another guy so that I can shove these feelings somewhere deep, and pretend to be the supportive friend that I’m supposed to be.
The supportive friend Iwantto be.
Not the jealous asshole I feel myself becoming over some stranger with dark hair at a coffee shop.
Kairi and I need to talk. We need to reset the boundary we bulldozed straight through, because sleeping with Kairi cannot happen.
It just can’t.
After finishing up in the restroom, I head back out only to find the guy from earlier sitting in my seat and talking to Kairi. I immediately join the line to order again, giving myself something to do while I watch them.
They’re talking about his book, and Kairi is smiling, completely locked onto his every word as she twists her earring between her fingers. When she leans forward to see whatever he’s pointing at on the page, he briefly touches her arm and I almost rush over there. I flex my fingers as she laughs, her head tipping back before she reaches for her phone.
“Don’t do it,” I mutter under my breath, but she hands it over.
He types something and then his own phone rings obnoxiously loud a second later. He grins, says something, and a moment later Kairi’s phone goes off too.
When she giggles, instead of feeling my usual calm, I feel my stomach twist. I should be happy for her. Encouraging, even.This is exactly what she wants—a guy noticing her, pursuing her, putting in the effort. But instead, I feel sick with jealousy.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“What can I get for you–oh! You’re back.”
I turn to find the barista waiting for me to approach the counter, but I glance back once more just in time to see the guy stand, wave goodbye to Kairi with an easy grin, and head for the door.
“I’ll take a medium iced coffee and a medium strawberry matcha,” I mutter as I walk up to the counter and tap my card against the payment terminal.
A minute later, I carry the drinks back to the table.
“Ready to go?” I ask, handing Kairi the matcha.
“Yes!” She beams, taking it from me and standing.
My eyes land on a book laying on the table. “What’s that?”
“Oh!” She grabs it as we head for the door. “You know that guy from earlier? The one who caught us staring?”
“Yeah?”
“He came over after you left and introduced himself. His name is Hayden.” She giggles. “We started talking about the book he was reading and I found out he actually wrote it. He left it for me to read.”
