After getting bitten by an animal, Ryder finds himself developing strange new abilities. What's more, two guys at his university begin trying to convince him to move to their respective towns. It's not until his run-in with the local rogues that he...
Ryder folded his arms and faced the music. "It depends on what your answer is. 'Yes' or 'no?'"
Kendric blinked. Then, after a brief pause, replied, "No."
*ring*
Yep. He made himself look like a total weirdo.
Abruptly, he sat on the floor against the wall and hung his head. "I'm sorry. I know that was a weird thing to ask. I was up late and..."
"The truth is, I do have something I want to discuss with you." Kendric cut him off. "I was thinking we could talk tonight. Although, I'd rather it be just the two of us."
Odd. Adan also had wanted to talk to Ryder about something this week. And now Kendric does too?
"Uh, sure?"
"So you'll tell your friend the movie is canceled?"
"Oh, uh, no. I can't do that." He stuttered. "He uh, is looking forward to it. But how about after the movie just me and you talk? That way no one gets disappointed."
"We could talk now."
"True. I don't have a class for another forty minutes."
Kendric checked his phone. "That won't be enough time."
"Sounds important."
"It is." The man plopped down beside him.
"What are you doing?"
"Staying with you. I don't want you to be alone for now."
"Why not?"
"You said you don't like people staring at you."
Ryder did notice that while some people looked his way, they were mostly staring at Kendric now.
It was funny how such a simple gesture made his chest tighten. As deadpan as Kendric was, he was also very sweet and considerate. Too bad he was going to be taken soon.
Wait, what?
Ryder was shocked by his own thoughts. He just officially broke up with Delilah, though technically they'd been broken up for a month. Now here he was having strange thoughts about a guy at school.
He found his eyes wandering over to Kendric. As usual, he was wearing dark greys and blacks, with a silver chain necklace and his arm tattoos exposed. His wolf cut gave him an edgy appearance, but his constant calm expression made him look cool and collected. And the man's arms had a decent amount of muscle on them. Anyone would consider him handsome. Gorgeous even.
Stop it, Ryder!
He shot to his feet. "I'll go to class a bit early. I appreciate you thinking about me though." He hurried off before Kendric could question him.
He already had too much on his plate. The last thing he needed was to question his sexuality too!
He was early, as expected, and waited in the hall for the students to let out. Once he was allowed, he took his seat by the window and waited for Adan to show up. Oddly enough, the man didn't.
Class started and he texted him, asking where he was and if he was sick. Luckily he got a response that he'd still be going to the movies but that something came up at home that he was dealing with.
'You can ignore that weird text I sent last night.' He hurriedly typed.
Next, he attended club with Kendric. Today they did a jeopardy-style quiz about different cooking methods around the world and the cultural meaning of certain dishes. This only upset Ryder as he was reminded about his earlier quiz.
Not knowing any of the answers, he didn't participate and watched Kendric win a gift card.
"I could drive you to the theatre." Kendric offered after the club let out.
Ryder knew it would save him money with how much he'd spent on Ubers. But with the thoughts he was suddenly having, and the fact that he was trying to set Kendric up with someone else, he felt like it'd be better not to. "Nah, I'll meet you there."
"Nonsense." Kendric put a hand on his back and started guiding him toward the parking lot.
"What are you doing?"
"Driving you."
"You don't have to!"
"And why shouldn't I?"
Ryder didn't have a good reason. It wasn't like they were going to different places.
He huffed as the man held open the door for him, making sure Ryder went inside.
He shot another text to Adan, letting him know they were on their way to the theatre now. Then he glanced out the window as they pulled away from the college. Off in the distance, near the trees, he could have sworn he saw movement.
He already knew who it was, and felt irritated that the rogues had gone through the trouble of following him to class. Were they going to spy on him at the movies too?
"Just giving you a heads up, the theatre you picked isn't very popular," Kendric warned.
"Even better." Ryder tried hiding his nerves.
This was going to be his first and last shot at getting these two together. After the full moon, he wasn't sure if he'd see Adan or Kendric ever again.
Yeah. That's right. No point in getting too attached.
Pulling up, he saw exactly what the man meant. The parking lot only had a few cars, and the pavement was worn and cracked with weeds poking up. The sign in front had a few lights broken so that it read "oves" instead of "movies". The walls were a dull tan color, with posters of the current and upcoming movies plastered in the front windows.
They stood near the ticket booth and waited. When Adan's Toyota Camry pulled up, he heard Kendric suck in a sharp breath.
Showtime.
---
A/N: I imagine if this were 'Inside Out' then all the emotions in Ryder's head would be wrestling nonstop.
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