hell out of me over his desk. And then twenty-four hours after that, I got home late from Fuego and saw light coming from underneath his door and figured I’d say hello. Except when I opened the door he was wearing some dorky-adorable clear plastic-framed glasses because he couldn’t find his other pair, and somehow in helping him look for them around his room, I ended up riding his cock.
We’d forgotten the camera that time, too.
“I’ll keep it to myself, sure. I was just curious.” Cam propped his chin on his fist, bright eyes roaming my face. “For the record: if you ever find yourself in need of someone else to blow off steam with, I think you’re pretty great. You’re really hot, and we get along well. I’m not clingy or weird about shit.” He ran a hand over his mouth and shook his head. “I guess I’m probably off-limits for all kinds of reasons—probably really good ones. But I promise my head isn’t as much of a mess as it used to be, and I’m good at keeping things on the down low if that’s what you like.”
I nodded mutely, feeling like I’d walked into the twilight zone. Not in a bad way; I liked Cam just fine. We’d been friendly for months and hung out together more now that he moved in, but I hadn’t necessarily gotten the vibe he was interested. I wondered if this was how Eric had felt around me when I was crushing on him? Then decided probably not, because I’d never told Eric. Nate probably had, though, because I’d gotten all fumey with jealousy at first when I’d found out they were hooking up.
“Thank you,” I said, then laughed self-consciously. “That’s a really weird thing to say thank you to, I guess.”
Cam burst into laughter, too. “You totally just did the verbal equivalent of a left swipe. Ouch.”
“I did.” I buried my face in my hands. “God, now I feel like an asshole. Damn, you’re so direct. It caught me off guard.”
“Sorry, side effect of rehab and NA. I don’t dance around things much anymore. Staying honest with myself and everyone else is the best shot I have at staying sober. Don’t feel bad, though—I just think you’re cool, so I figured I’d tell you. No harm, no foul.” He stood from the table and carried his cereal bowl to the sink. “And I won’t mention anything about you and Sam. Not my business.”
We both glanced at the back door as Sam slammed back through it. “Forgot my phone.” He glanced around and spotted it on the counter near the toaster.
“I’m out. Catch you later,” Cam said and thundered upstairs whistling.
Sam tucked his phone in his back pocket and eyed me. “Everything okay? You’re doing your uncomfortable smile.” His gaze strayed to the door as he frowned. “Did Cam say something?”
“No. Not at all. What’s this uncomfortable smile you’re talking about?”
“The one that looks like you picked it up off a dirty Walmart aisle, dusted it off, and slapped it on your face.”
“Wow, vivid.”
“There’s your real one. Way better.” Sam grinned. “I meant to mention earlier my parents will be here for homecoming, and I’m getting a bunch of really good seats for them and some of the other guys. Would you come? My brothers and sisters will be there, too.” He sucked on his lower lip, brows furrowed like he wasn’t sure what I’d say.
“You want me to meet your family?”
“I mean, in a no-pressure way because I know we’re casual and stuff, and they don’t exactly know what’s been going on, but—”
“Sure.” I pressed up onto my toes and smeared a clumsy kiss along his jaw before Sam caught me by the elbows to keep me steady. I’d never met another guy’s parents before. I mean, on purpose. There’d been a few unfortunate morning-after meetings in my past, which had not been my finest hour. But despite the nervous butterflies that erupted in my stomach over the prospect, Sam’s resulting smile made me decide I’d chosen the correct response.
He let me go. “I’m gonna be late. See you in statistics, yeah?”
28
Jesse
The game was tied at the half, and when the third quarter started, I was on the edge of my seat.
“Watching this live is twenty times more stressful than watching it on TV,” I complained.
Mark chuckled. “What you meant to say was, ‘watching this live is twenty times more awesome than watching it on TV.’ Look at these fucking seats!