“You don’t have to look so stressed out,” Kinn said. We were on our way to a hospital, him driving and me riding shotgun. As his bodyguard, I wanted to drive, but he didn’t let me—which made people in the house even more suspicious of us.
“Can I ask why you’re so damned calm about this? Or do you usually fuck guys without protection?” I was pissed at how calm he was. I wondered if he’d still be smiling like this if he found out he had an STD.
“It’s not that I’m not worried. This has never happened to me either,” he said, shaking his head slightly. Somehow, his answer just made me angrier.
“How many guys have you fucked, anyway? Have you ever gotten tested at all?” I asked, exasperated.
“Hmm…four…five, six. No, it’s ten, twelve, or thirteen,” he said, counting on his fingers. He kept on counting, and I felt the temperature rise in my body as I boiled with anger.
“Fucking lech!” I barked.
“Don’t worry. I have them tested every time,” he said, looking at me in amusement before returning his attention to the road. I wanted to kick that smug fucker out of the car. I scowled the entire way to the hospital.
I got kind of embarrassed when we told the nurse why we were there. The nurses gave us both knowing smiles, and I couldn’t bring myself to look any of them in the eye.
“What brings you here?” the doctor asked calmly when it was our turn to see him.
I looked down, not knowing what to tell the doctor.
“Our condom broke.”
I turned sharply to look at Kinn. He’d spoken to the doctor completely casually, sitting with his legs crossed. Meanwhile, I was so mortified that I wanted to crawl into a hole and never emerge.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” the doctor told me. He probably saw how flustered I was. “When was the last time you had sexual intercourse?”
I was shocked by the doctor’s question—it was like he’d just thrown ice water in my face.
“Just an hour ago,” Kinn replied.
“All right. Let’s get your blood tested, then,” the doctor said.
Kinn and I let the doctor draw our blood. Kinn was annoyingly relaxed about the whole thing. I couldn’t help but think that if he ended up with STDs, it would serve him right. But if he had STDs…would I get them too?
While we waited for our test results, Kinn asked me if I wanted to find something to eat with him. However, I was too nervous to do anything just yet. I forced him to remain at the hospital until our results came back.
Kinn connected his headphones to his cell and started playing games with his friends while I texted Tem and Jom about our schoolwork to distract myself.
“Hey… Hey!” I tried calling to Kinn, but he didn’t seem to hear me. I pulled his headphones out of his ears. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows in question. “I’m taking a day off tomorrow,” I told him. “I need to work on a group project at Tem’s place.”
“Denied,” Kinn replied flatly.
I closed my eyes and sighed wearily. “You can’t do this. It’s my project, too, and I need to help my friends work on it.” I tried reasoning with him, wondering why he had to be so annoying all the time.
“Then they can do it at my house,” he said.
“Why?”
“Just tell them to work on the project there. It’s best if you don’t go out. What if something happens to you again?”
“It should be all right,” I replied. “I went to classes for a week, and nothing happened.”
It was still unclear who was behind all of this since we couldn’t catch the culprit. But Kinn couldn’t just force me to go to university and come straight home.
“The university campus is safe. Anyway, tell your friends to come here,” Kinn said, his voice stern and final. He looked at me sharply, silently warning me not to say no.
“Fuck you!” I swore and kicked him in the shin. Kinn just smiled and tried to ruffle my hair. I had to dodge his hand.
“It’s settled, then,” he said cheerfully. “Who’s coming over tomorrow, anyway?”
“Tem and Jom,” I replied, disgruntled that I had to follow orders. I couldn’t just leave, since I was on the clock tomorrow—Kinn could have used the excuse to deduct my wages.
“Jom and N’Tem?” Kinn repeated.
I glared at him through narrowed eyes, wondering why he’d referred to my friends so differently. “Yeah.”
“Tell them to come here. They know me already, and…” He smiled. “N’Tem is pretty cute.”
I immediately frowned at him. Unpleasant feelings popped into my head, and I remembered what Vegas had told me—you’re not P’Kinn’s type. The men Kinn slept with were usually petite and cute; I could hardly be called either.
Perhaps Kinn was into Tem. I guess you could call him a cute guy. Tem was tall and fit, but he was slender and sweet, too. He had also been crowned the College Prince.19 It wouldn’t be that surprising if Kinn was interested in him.
“Do you like him?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Kinn’s smile widened. “He’s cute.” He leaned closer with a smirk. “Don’t you think he’s cute?”
I sprang up from the bench and stomped off to the bathroom. I didn’t know why I was so easily agitated, but I blamed Kinn for being so aggravating. I was usually an expert at hiding my feelings, but when it came to Kinn, I wanted to let everything out—including my anger and frustration. I wanted him to know how I felt, and that wasn’t like me at all. I’d practically laid my soul bare to Kinn when I’d never let anyone see it before.
Damn you, Kinn!
I returned to sit with him, crossing my arms over my chest and frowning from the stress. Kinn smiled at me occasionally until it was time to get our test results. My pulse raced as we walked over to receive them.
I looked at Kinn in anticipation as he read the report. Then, he said, “It’s negative.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?” I asked. I honestly had no clue how this worked. I’d never gotten tested before.
“You got infected!” Kinn announced. I broke out in a cold sweat. It’s not true, right? Right?!
“I’m just fucking with you,” Kinn said between laughs. “Negative means you’re clean.” He draped his arm around my neck and pulled me closer. Meanwhile, I was still in shock. When I realized he was messing with me, I nudged him sharply in the gut with my elbow.
“Asshole! Don’t scare me like that!” I yelled. The nurses smiled at us. I lowered my head slightly, embarrassed.