Page 9 of Dominated By Love

“Why are you home in the middle of the night if it’s nothing? Did something happen at school?”

“K, can you please just drop it?”

“I don’t think I can. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, I would literally do anything in the world right now other than talk about my problems.”

“That bad?”

“Yes!”

“Do you need me to help you get your mind off them?”

“How do you suppose we do that?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips as I waited for his brilliant idea.

“I was in the basement playing football. I know you suck, but it might help clear your head.”

Our house had a finished basement that the boys had turned into a game room. I didn’t go down there much since it was pretty much a boy’s space with a pool table, Pac Man arcade game, and even one of those basketball shooting setups. The only time I went down there was when I wanted space to dance. There was plenty of floor space.

“You hiding out because you’re scared of a little thunder?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I see you got jokes.”

Years ago, I’d overheard Supreme saying that KD was scared of thunderstorms. He denied it, but that didn’t mean Supreme let it go. Seeing how the basement was soundproof, there might have been some validity to my brother’s claim.

“Where’s Supreme?” I asked, looking around.

“He went to see his girl. Your dad is probably doing the same. I been down there for a couple of hours. I came up to grab a snack and found you.”

“You didn’t find me. I wasn’t lost.”

“Do you want to clear your mind or not?”

“You know I can’t play that freaking game, and you suck at pool. I know you’re just trying to find a way to get me to talk so you can report back to Supreme.”

He put his hand over his chest. “I’m offended. Do I look like a rat to you?”

“Well, actually,” I said, fully prepared to fire off one of my witty responses.

I opened my mouth to answer, but it had been so long since I actually looked at him that I was almost caught off guard when I gave him a once-over. When had he gotten so big? The white tank top he wore looked like it was begging for mercy.Unable to focus on his chest, I let my eyes fall. Huge mistake. The bulge in his black sweats made me swallow and snatch my eyes away.

“I’m not going to make you talk about something you clearly don’t want to discuss.”

“Well, I’m not sure playing a game is going to distract me right now.”

“It works for me, but you’re right. It might not work for you.”

“What’s on your mind, other than the weather?” I asked, wondering what he was avoiding.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell, remember?”

“That is not what I said.”

“You didn’t say much of anything. I respect that. I’m just saying maybe I don’t want to talk about my shit either. Sounds like we both need a distraction.”

“What kind of distraction were you thinking?” I asked.

“You don’t want to talk or play games, but maybe we can do something that doesn’t require you to think at all.”