“What else do you wanna know?”
I steadied myself and let out a sigh, trying to focus on the rivers of condensation on the side of his coffee cup instead of my uneasy reflection in the lenses of his sunglasses. “Why do you go to Otter House?”
“I knew that was coming.” He snickered and held his hands up. “You sure you want to know?”
I sat up rigid, realizing I might have flung myself over a line that was not meant to be crossed. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable, or—”
“It’s okay, I really do want to tell you.” He heaved out a breath and ran his hand down the side of his face. “But first you need to understand, I have this really serious allergy. It’s really only developed the last few years, but it’s fucked with me pretty bad.”
“To what?” I leaned forward in my chair, as if I could catch the words I was so eager to hear.
“Every time I do oxy, I break out in handcuffs.”
It took me a moment to digest what he actually said, and when I looked up at him, I was met with a toothy grin that spread wide across his sun-stained cheeks. His brilliant laugh filled the little patio again, and I swore I could feel other peoples’ eyes on us.
I scoffed. “You really think you’resofunny, don’t you?”
“What? It’s not a joke,” he insisted, still laughing between words.
“God, Brooklyn, are you always like this?” I asked him.
Brooklyn took a sip of his latte and then waved it around in his hand. “You mean charming, funny, and an absolute fucking pleasure to be around?”
Despite the fact that he was clearly joking, he was, to the detriment of my own willpower, exactly those things, but wasn’t sure he actually knew that.
“Joking aside, that’s what it is, then?” I asked. “You were doing OxyContin?”
Brooklyn nodded. “Started with Vicodin. Graduated up to oxy. I did my stint in rehab three months ago, and as of next week I am done with outpatient at Otter House.”
There was a pause, and Brooklyn dropped his gaze into his lap. “If that’s weird for you, or you don’t wanna hang out again, I get it.”
Without thinking, I reached across the table and put my hand on top of his. The way my body reacted to him without warning was infuriating, and my head couldn’t keep denying what my physical being already knew. There wassomethinggoing on here.
“If I’ve learned anything from what’s going on with my sister, it’s that you never really know what people are going through, and so it’s kind of messed up to judge them for it,” I said.
When he smiled at me, I smiled back. His energy was infectious. When I realized my hand was still on his, I recoiled as if he’d shocked me. He dropped his gaze again, but I was able to catch a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.
“Is she doing okay?” he asked. “Your sister.”
“She is.” I nodded, and I actually believed it when I said it. “And by the way, thanks for telling me the truth.”
“Well, I’ve learned lying doesn’t really get me anywhere, and I learned that the hard way.”
“It seems like you’re getting the hang of it.”
“I’m trying.” He shrugged. “That’s more than a lot of people can say.”
The softness of his voice took me by surprise. “Can I ask you something else?”
“Nope, any more questions and I’ve gotta start charging you by the hour.”
He smirked and bumped my knee under the table with his, and I let out a giggle. Inevergiggled. He was back to effortlessly endearing, and it made me feel more at ease than I had with another person in a long time.
“What happened?Howdid it happen?” I didn’t know how many lines I was crossing with him, but I’d never been so compelled to simplyknowsomeone the way I wanted to know him.
“It was pretty straightforward, honestly,” he continued. “I was a center fielder, and all the hard throwing caused a lot of wear and tear on my elbow. I tore my UCL in the middle of my junior season, and I had to get Tommy John surgery. I got pumped with painkillers because I didn’t wanna be sidelined my whole senior season, so I tried to rush my recovery, and sure, I wasn’tin pain, but it got to a point where I couldn’t function without them, even when I was technicallybetter. That’s really it.”
It didn’t really seem likethat was it, but I didn’t press him further. Like with Nikki, I wanted him to come to me on his own terms.
