"Wade, what the hell are you doing with Katelyn?" Zero asks loudly. Wade flips him off. Zero shakes his head and walks away. I break away.
"Wade, you should go. He's going to tell Abram, and after he finds out, a leg is not the only thing that'll be ripped off," I say. Wade scoffs and rolls his eyes.
"Whatever," Wade mutters. He looks upset. He glares at the wall next to my head and shakes his eyes. "Whatever," he says again and starts to walk away. I grab his arm.
"What do you mean, 'whatever'? Are you angry at me?" I ask. He glares.
"Yes," he says harshly. "If you didn't like me kissing you, you should have told me-"
"Wade, seriously?" I interupt him, looking at him like he's an idiot. "Why the hell do you think I didn't like it?"
"You were so eager to get me off-"
"Yeah, so Abram doesn't murder you in ways only taught in North Korea," I explain. "God, why do you have to take this the wrong way?"
"I'm not taking this the wrong way. You're scared of him, aren't you?" he says, looking at me. "For God's sake, if you want to kiss me, don't let Abram get in the fucking way, Katelyn!"
"I'm not scared of him. I could take him and you know it," I almost yell. "You're just making this complicated."
"How is this complicated? I'm physically attracted to you and I want to kiss you. It's not that hard to comprehend. Fuck, Katelyn, you act like you've never even kissed a guy before-"
"I've never kissed anyone before," I practically scream. It makes Wade shut up. "So yes, this is a bit complicated for me, Wade. I've been a woman hiding her gender in the military for seventy years, and when I wasn't doing that, I was either in New York starting fist fights with my brother or locked in a cage in Mexico with my brother. The only person who ever knew that I was a woman is James and-"
"Oh, and like he's never tried to pull anything on you before," Wade scoffs. I glare at him.
"No, he hasn't. God damnit, Wade, how many times do I have to tell you that I've never, ever, in my entire life, kissed a guy before to make you believe me? Even if I had a dust-sized speck of a chance, Abram always got in the way. That's why it's complicated to me. That's why this is new to me, why I didn't really know how to kiss you back, okay? It's not helping that I've known you for barely a week, either!"
"Come on, Katelyn, like you've never seen a man who wants you-"
"If I have, I didn't know how to deal with it, just like how I don't know how to deal with it now," I yell. "God, Wade, if this is your idea of cheering me up, you're doing a fucking fantastic job!"
"My idea of cheering you up didn't really involve the unknown fact that you'd never been with man, okay?" Wade yells back, tugging at his hair. "You should have said something."
"I'm saying it now."
"Before I kissed, you, damnit. I might have been-"
"What? Nicer?" I ask, looking at him like he's stupid. "You would have laughed and not believed me and carried on with it anyway. Don't think for a second that you would do otherwise because you know you wouldn't."
Wade looks at me. We both sigh at the same time.
"Look, Wade, I need way more time to get used to this... whatever, that we've got going on," I manage. "I have no idea what to do and-"
"I can easily teach you what to do," Wade insists, coming closer. I put a hand out to stop him.
"And Abram-"
"Abram has no fucking bussiness in your love-slash-whateverthehellthisis interests," Wade points out, angry. I sigh.
"I know, but right now, I just want to actually get to know you a bit more. I want to take things slow, okay? We barely know each other, so the last thing we should be doing is-"
"Having this conversation. Normal people meet in bars and two hours later they're scoring in the sheets. So I have no idea what the huge deal is."
"The huge deal, Wade, are the facts that A) we're not normal people meeting in a club, B) Abram and, C) like I've said about a million times, I need time and space to handle this, okay? Romance or romping in the sheets has been about the very last thing on my mind for the past seventy years or so."
"You!" Abram bellows from down the hall. I groan. "Get the hell away from my sister!"
"Wade, I'm going to castrate you!" James shouts, claws extended.
"Do you see what I mean?" I basically plead. "Guys, we're just talking. Ever think Zero just enjoys calling me a whore?"
"That son-of-a-bitch!" Abram shouts and goes hounding for Zero. James stands where he is, staring. It makes me feel awkward. Wade sighs.
"Promise me one thing," Wade says in a low and quiet voice.
"Okay, what?"
"You won't go off with another guy while you sort this... whatever the hell you want to call it, I don't know, issue or whatever, out. Okay? I'm the guy involved here. No one else."
The slight possessiveness in his voice somehow manages to turn me on and scare me at the same time. I nod.
"Okay. I promise."
"Good," he grins, kissing my cheek. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a gunman to decapitate."
I shake my head and laugh as Wade zips down the hall, waving to James as he goes. James looks at me as I dial the code for my door. I look at him.
"You alright, James?" I shout down to him.
He nods like it pains him.