Page 39 of Bent, Not Broken

Letting him shovel more food into his mouth, I grabbed a bottle opener and popped the tops off both our beers. He took his from me, washing down the food with a big gulp. I laughed, and he cocked a grin my way. “I might be a little hungry.”

“A little?” I sipped from my bottle, savoring the slightly hoppy brew. Being here with Polunin, eating and drinking like we’d known each other for years, felt… comfortable, and a calmness settled inside me for the first time since we argued this morning. I’d spent the entire day wound up, a ticking time bomb that everyone in the bullpen avoided. Even Paxton seemed unsure about approaching me, but he had no choice, seeing as he was my new partner. I kept quiet throughout my shift, though, replaying the argument with Polunin again and again in my head until the shame and regret began to etch itself inside me, and I started to think of ways to apologize. Him turning up to my house put a dent in my plans, which annoyed me more than him being there did. I liked making the first move, on my own terms.

“You left your uniform at my house,” he said, jerking me from my thoughts. I glanced at him, and only realized then that he had finished the entire plate of food and was sitting back against the chair, patting the food baby currently settled in his stomach. He wore a cocky grin, and my own mouth curled into a smile. It felt strange to be this relaxed.

“Yeah, I keep an extra in my locker at work.”

“That’s what you get for storming off in a huff.” He shrugged. “Luckily for you, I didn’t throw it in the trash. You would have deserved it, and I can be that petty when I want to be.”

“Please don’t. Do you know how expensive that uniform is?” I took another sip of beer. “We don’t get paid enough to keep buying them. We’re not like lawyers and their fancy suits.” I made a point of pinching the shoulder of his nice shirt.

He chuckled, slapping my hand away. “Easy on the merchandise, Slater, this was expensive.”

“I’m not surprised. It looks good on you.” I snorted and took another sip before setting the bottle on the table. “Back to Slater, are we? What happened to Evan?”

Polunin’s eyes widened and he took a big swallow of his own beer before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Panic flashed in his gaze, but it disappeared, and the usual smug look replaced it. He placed the beer on the table so he could cross his arms. His grin was more subdued, and uncertainty lingered in the twist of his lips. The lawyer I hated felt more like a memory now, someone who didn’t exist except in my mind because this wasn’t the Polunin I remembered. “Don’t jizz your pants, Slater. I thought I’d give you something to remember when we part ways.”

“When are we parting ways?” The question made my chest hurt, and I blamed it on how much I liked getting off whenever I wanted. I didn’t fucking do emotions. I fucked. That’s it.

His smile dwindled and he leaned against the table, cupping the beer bottle in his hands. He peeled at the sticker. “Do you want to?”

The easier answer was yes. I could put all this behind me. “I’m not gay.”

He sneaked a quick look at me and frowned. “I never said you were.”

“Good, because I’m not.” I glanced at the clock on the wall, which ticked loud and clear in the otherwise quiet room.

“Okay….”

“You’re the only guy I’ve been interested in.” I swallowed around the sharpness in my throat and stared at anything but him. The blue walls, the old cupboards, Mom’s old cookie jar with the Cookie Monster on it that sat on the counter in the corner. “The pool boy at your house didn’t interest me. I’ve never been attracted to other guys. None of the cops at work.”

“But you’re attracted to me?”

“What do you think?”

The chair scraped on the floor, and I glanced at him to see that he had moved closer. He grinned, teeth all straight and perfect. The slightest hint of scruff stood out on his jaw. He was so unlike a woman, and I didn’t care. “You could be bisexual. You don’t have to be gay to like a guy.”

“I only like you, though. Not other guys. No fucking idea why, you’re an annoying shit.”

He placed his palms over his chest, blinking rapidly at me. “Aw, that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received. Thank you.”

I rolled my eyes and coughed to hide the laughter that wanted to escape.

“Well, I am a guy, though, so you’re not as straight as you think you are. So you could be bi, or maybe demisexual, or pan—”

“I’ve heard of that word!” I looked away quickly when he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I mean, my partner, Paxton, said he’s pansexual. He explained it to me. Didn’t know it was a thing.”

“Oh, it’s a thing. I think King’s one.”

“King? As in the president of the Kings of Men?” My question came out sharper than our conversation warranted, but I hated hearing about those motorcycle clubs.

“Yeah. He fucks anything that moves, or so I’ve been told.” He flushed and fumbled for his beer on the table. He stared at the floor while he took another absent gulp.

Sourness churned inside me at the way his ears got all pink, and I had a feeling that Polunin knew from experience about King’s preferences. I gritted my teeth and shoved myself to my feet, taking his plate to the sink and dumping it in, making it clatter against the stainless steel. I grabbed the edge of the basin until my knuckles turned white. Of course Polunin had fucked other guys, he’d talked about his sex life in brief more than once, so I didn’t know why it mattered so much. I didn’t know what was worse, though, hearing about him fucking other men, or that it was King, a well-known criminal who laughed in cops’ faces.

“Was he good in bed?” As much as I tried to keep my voice calm, there was an edge of anger to it that made my chest squeeze. I sounded too much like him, like my father, and I hated it. Taking a deep breath, I let my grip loosen on the sink and the entire thing creaked.

“Um… yeah? I guess so. He’s got a nice cock.” His arms wrapped around my middle from behind, and I tensed when he pressed up against my back. “But yours is better.”