Merry Cherry Christmas - Keira Andrews Page 0,9
bathroom door behind him, ordering himself to stop thinking about it. Hey, maybe he’d bomb the LSATs and the decision would be made for him.
He didn’t know what the hell to hope for these days.
Yawning widely as he pissed, he remembered his plans for the day and found himself smiling again, changing gears back to the Jeremy train of thought. It wasn’t that he enjoyed that Jeremy was so lost. But he’d liked hanging with him. He’d liked getting him home safely.
Maybe Honey was right, and he had a thing for helping out clueless newbies. It made him feel good. So did donating to charity or dropping a loonie in a hat when someone asked for change. Nothing wrong with that.
Cute baby gay definitely needed a nudge in the right direction. It would be fun to take him shopping and help him find his way around the Village.
Brushing his teeth with his hip against the counter, Max wondered if he’d ever been so clueless. Maybe he had, but he’d definitely never been as anxious as Jeremy seemed to be about meeting people and getting laid. Shit, that was the best part of university.
But Max would get him sorted out. In no time, Jeremy would be strutting confidently across campus, his virginity a distant memory. The kid clearly had no clue that he was sexy as hell. In other circumstances, Max would have been tempted to pop that cherry himself.
Cherry was a fitting nickname, he thought, remembering the postcard. He smiled around his electric toothbrush. Mmm, the ginger hair and adorable freckles. The way Jeremy bit his lower lip and blushed. That earnestness—like a puppy with zero chill. A sad puppy in need of a bone.
Laughing at his own dumb joke, he spit toothpaste into the sink. A white film of soap scum had built up, and it was probably his turn to clean the bathroom, but he’d deal with that later. He popped his toothbrush back on its charger, ignoring the gross ring on the bottom that also needed scrubbing.
His mind easily bounced away from any more thoughts of chores, and he went to pull on his workout clothes, thinking of Jeremy again with a smile. Jeremy needed a friend, which was why Max had left before he’d been tempted any further to see how deep he could make him blush.
He would fairy godfather the shit out of this. Build up Jeremy’s confidence and get him to relax and have fun. He’d be catnip to so many guys. Hell, they’d definitely be lining up to be Jeremy’s first.
Max frowned as he dug in his knapsack for his earbuds. There were plenty of creeps out there. He’d have to keep an eye on Jeremy and make sure his first time wasn’t with some asshole who would use him and throw him away.
In the kitchen, he grabbed a too-ripe banana, grimacing as he ate it. Bleary-eyed and groaning, Honey dragged ass past him to the coffee machine, fumbling a pod into it. He rubbed his hand over his tightly braided hair. His Raptors shirt was ripped at the collar, revealing a fresh hickey on his dark skin.
“Morning!” Max practically shouted because he was a dick.
Honey grunted.
“Good party?”
He grunted again. “You should have showed. The strippers were epic.” He whistled softly in appreciation. “There was one chick with the biggest tits I’ve ever seen. And you would have loved the Santa guy.” Honey flexed his muscular arms in demonstration. “Where’d you get to anyway? You hook up?”
“Nah. I hung out with that frosh. Jeremy. The weather was shit and I didn’t feel like going back out across campus.”
Honey jabbed the coffee machine as if that would make it dispense faster. “I forgot about that.” He frowned. “The kid’s okay, right?”
“Yeah. No thanks to you assholes.”
“Eh, who needs us when Saint Maxwell’s on the case?”
Max flipped him the finger before filling his water bottle from the ancient Brita in the fridge. “He needed a hand. Actually still does. I’m gonna help him pick out new glasses.”
“Huh. Okay.”
“And I’m taking him to the Village later, so count me out for poker.”
“Dude, it’s the last session before the holidays. Ty will be pissed if you don’t give him a chance to even the score before we pay out.”
“He’ll live. I told Jeremy we’d hang.”
After taking a noisy, grateful sip of his coffee, hands cupping the mug reverently, Honey said, “Can’t you take him to the Village tomorrow?”
“Maybe. I can ask.” Jeremy likely didn’t have any plans,