(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171: An interrogation fueled by friendship

He knew it was going to come to this, so why was his heart racing so much?

Glancing at the two who had eyes that glinted in the sunlight coming in through the window, he sighed, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling before he relented.

"Well, a lot, actually." Kellen hesitated before he just started from the beginning. "I don’t know if you were aware of it, but the Captain and I...we hadn’t hung out or even touched each other outside of guiding for two weeks because we were both too busy." Hill gasped, legitimately horrified. She covered her mouth and everything.

"Oh my god. No! You’re joking!" She glanced between the two Guides and Brent shrugged.

"I didn’t see anything, so I trust him. Especially since Kellen was working like a bat outta hell. He was too focused, but I didn’t know what was wrong. Granted, this is Kellen’s first time being in a pair or anything similar, so I don’t have anything to gauge. Not like him, and if I haven’t had skin contact with another for a long period of time." Kellen nodded, and Brent smiled. "But now I know the signs." Hill seemed to be going white as she thought back, before she fumbled with her phone and began typing rapidly.

"Fuck fuck fuck. This is a huge error on our part. We haven’t had a pair in our upper levels, and didn’t even consider it. We just packed his schedule without leaving him any room since that was what we were used to. No fucking wonder he has been difficult. He wasn’t getting any Kellen time in." Kellen, the man they were speaking about, tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Difficult?" He asked, and Hill froze. She chuckled, before glancing up at him and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Uh, do you remember what he was like in the conference room yesterday?" Kellen nodded, remembering how the room itself had felt chilled. "That’s what we consider ’very difficult’." She told him and Kellen felt his eyes widen. That had probably not been good for the others, since Kellen hadn’t gotten the full force of it.

In fact, Kellen remembered when Rhys had said he had been ’difficult’ to work with on the front lines after Kellen had teased him. He’d even said that he had gained a reputation for having a mean streak from being hard all time, and Kellen wondered if this ranking had come from then.

Hesitant, Kellen opened his mouth, closed it, before opening it again.

"Um, when did you develop this ranking for him?" He asked Hill softly and she paused in her typing, no doubt messaging the group chat that Kellen wasn’t involved with. He was a little bitter about that.

Hill made a face, her eyes looking off into the distance before she responded.

"Uh, about year two after we formed the Guild, I’d guess? He was fine in the first year." Kellen felt his whole face go red, and the two stared at him in surprise. Kellen bent forward, covering his face with his hands as he exhaled slowly.

Shit.

The Captain really hadn’t been lying. Kellen was the reason he became known for having a mean streak.

Brent, sensing a juicy story, leaned forward as well.

"What do you know that we don’t, Kellen?" He asked, a glint in his eyes. Hill gasped.

"Wait a second, when did you get to the front lines, Kellen?" Brent’s eyes went wide as Hill connected the dots on her own. Kellen groaned.

"It’s not because of me." Kellen protested, and Hill laughed.

"Oh, how come I don’t believe you?" She asked, and Kellen could tell his face was bright red.

"It can’t be because of me. I was just a single Field Guide on the front lines." Kellen protested, knowing damn well that the Captain himself had told him that he had an impact on him out there. Hill’s smirk grew knowing as Kellen continued to change colours. Brent burst into laughter.

"So, you two really were dancing around each other out there, huh? I mean, I noticed it, but were you bolder when you were younger Kellen? When I wasn’t there?" He wouldn’t call it bolder. More like an idiot.