Read Kraken for Free Online Page A

Parker was buying, which seemed fair to him. They sat and looked at each other uncomfortably until Sina came back and sat between Parker and Cyrus.
     
    “Will, I’m really sorry you’re upset. I thought I made it clear. Did you not understand? We broke up.”
     
    “Well I didn ’t . Or at least, I didn’t say I didn’t want to still be with you, I just said I didn’t want to move to an island!”
     
    “How would that have worked, exactly?” asked Sina.
     
    “Shut up!” snapped Will. “I didn’t even know he liked girls until last night.”
     
    “How long . . . how long have you two been seeing each other?” said Sina.
     
    “A year,” said Will.
     
    “Baby, look– “ said Parker.
     
    Sina sat back in her chair, bringing her hand to her mouth and biting a hangnail. “I think we all need to be honest here. Will, I’m— well, I’m Parker’s girlfriend.”
     
    “Baby, no, I don’t think we need to— “
     
    “Shush. This will all be all right. But no more lies.” Sina faced Will again. “Parker and I have been in a relationship for almost two months. I’ve met his family as his girlfriend. When Parker’s parents died, I went to the funeral with him.”
     
    “You fuck! You told me you didn’t want me to have to miss work!” He definitely felt a thin veneer of fury, but at heart Will knew only resignation. He always knew he was nothing special, and here it was, proof played out in an up-close-and-personal enactment of his every worst fear.
     
    Sina continued relentlessly. “I encouraged him to take this house as his share of the inheritance. I thought it would be a great place to raise kids: an old-fashioned upbringing. Outdoors, in a close community. I had no idea he was seeing you.”
     
    Will put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his heads, examining the slick, plastic-coated tablecloth. He felt plates and cups being placed on the table as their order arrived. He blinked his eyes quickly to get himself under control. He did not want to cry in front of Sina.
     
    “Parker told me last night that he’s been seeing you for longer than me. That you believed you were exclusive. Now, I have to ask, but have you been exclusive? Because Parker and I aren’t using condoms.”
     
    “I am not the person you should be asking that.”
     
    “Agreed. And I’m sorry I have to ask at all. But I haven’t been sleeping with anyone other than Parker, and I’m clean. So far. But we both clearly can’t trust Parker’s word that he’s been exclusive to either one of us. So, there’s that.”
     
    Will thunked his head down on the table. “We never had sex,” he mumbled.
     
    Cyrus leaned down to him. “What did you say?”
     
    Will sat up. “We never had sex, all right?” he snapped.
     
    “Oh.” Sina prised the lid off her cup and toyed with it.
     
    “You wouldn’t even let me hug you from behind!” said Parker. “Did you really think I’d be forever okay with mediocre blow jobs and mutual masturbation?”
     
    “I got takeaway cups because I didn’t know how long we could act like grownups here,” said Sina. “And Parker, you are just proving my point. “
     
    She stirred a sugar into her cup, then replaced the lid, taking a sip and grimacing. “Okay Parker, so why did you ask Will to move in with you here?”
     
    “Because I didn’t think he’d come! And I didn’t mean to, all right? I meant to just break up with him. But he looked like he was expecting it, so I thought I’d let him do the breaking. I knew he’d never last outside the city. He whines when I make him go to the park, for fuck’s sake.”
     
    Will grabbed his own coffee and took a sip. The taste of bitter ashes filled his mouth.
     
    “He was always a hair’s breadth away from leaving me anyway. Will doesn’t keep anything around for long. If he buys a new shirt he throws one out. He only owns enough clothes to fit in one suitcase. I’ve known him three years and he still only