AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But God, he wanted it now.
“What are you thinking?” Caleb pressed.
Bodhi let out a small, tense breath. “Your sheets feel good.”
Caleb let out a laugh that looked almost like it was startled out of him. “Oh. Thank you.” His gaze roamed Bodhi’s face like he was writing a dissertation on his expressions. “Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?”
Bodhi didn’t. He’d separated himself from the ugly feelings at the bar and the last thing he wanted to do was revisit them. He never did understand how people got so much enjoyment, or whatever it was they felt, out of rehashing old emotions. Bodhi wasn’t a liar when he said he was over something.
It didn’t mean trauma didn’t affect him. It just meant he didn’t need to actively revisit all the bad things in order to move on.
But it was clear Caleb was bothered by his frantic texts, and that was fair. At the very least, Bodhi owed him an explanation. “Ravi wanted to go to a Deaf event. It was a campus club thing.”
Caleb’s lips twitched into a half smile. “I figured that. The community ones are usually held somewhere parents can bring their kids.”
Bodhi wasn’t a fan of those. He wasn’t very keen on children and probably never would be. But tonight, he discovered he didn’t like the events at a bar either. “It was loud. The music was pounding in my chest,” he demonstrated a beat with a fist against his sternum. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“I’ve been to stuff like that. I understand,” Caleb told him gently.
Bodhi swallowed heavily as the ugly parts got closer. “Ravi told me to have a drink and relax. I got two, and I started to feel sick, and I panicked.”
“Is that when you threw up?” Caleb asked.
Bodhi shook his head. He realized his hands were trembling a bit and he took a slow breath to calm his heart. “I went into the bathroom. A guy was there—he followed me in.”
Caleb’s expression darkened, but his hands remained still, so Bodhi went on.
“He was signing so fast, but I couldn’t follow. I was seeing double. He wanted to kiss me.”
Caleb looked angry which made Bodhi start to panic. “Did he kiss you?”
“He backed me into the wall and held me against it.”
“Hewhat?” Caleb pressed.
Bodhi squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t look at Caleb. “I threw up on him.” He dropped his hands to his lap for a beat, but he didn’t look up at Caleb’s face. “Then I ran. And I texted you.”
There was a long second of total silence, then a careful touch against Bodhi’s hand. He looked up to find another one of Caleb’s typical unreadable expressions, though there was more fire in his gaze than usual.
Bodhi had no idea what to say, so he remained silent and still.
Eventually, Caleb drew his hand away. “Are you okay?”
Bodhi nodded quickly. “I’m fine. I was more sick than scared.”
He could easily read the look on Caleb’s face that said he wasn’t sure if he believed Bodhi, but it didn’t matter. He’d been overwhelmed and the alcohol didn’t go well with that. And the guy had been far too forward and handsy, but Bodhi hadn’t necessarily felt trapped.
He was more upset that Ravi had dragged him to a place that made him feel so awful, like it was some sort of task that needed to be done.
Get Bodhi out and around Deaf people: check. Problem solved.
Bodhi hadn’t looked at his phone in a while, so he had no idea if Ravi noticed he was gone.
Caleb touched his hand again, drawing his attention back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Bodhi nodded. “I promise.”True biz. “It was just too much.”
Caleb’s brow furrowed deeply. “I don’t understand why Ravi would bring you there. It sounds like the worst place for you.”
