38
NINE
“You okay?”
It was peculiar, having people ask me that. Rad rarely had, because even if my answer had been “no,” there wasn’t a hell of a lot either of us could have done about it. But standing here on the guest house balcony with my hands on the railing as I looked out over the water in the distance, a shiver ran up my spine at Alex’s whispered words. Not a warning shiver or a cold shiver, but an oddly pleasant shiver.
He stepped up close behind me and placed his hands either side of mine, his body heat warming me even though we were barely touching.
“Do you want my regular answer or my honest answer?”
“Always the honest answer.”
“I’m not okay, and I never have been. Not once in my entire life. So for me, it’s SNAFU.”
Status Nominal: All f****d Up.
At least tonight, I was
