"Logan." Peter jumped down from the desk and came forward to grab Logan's wrists, prying his hands away from his eyes. "Of course you could have. Don't you remember what I told you thatday?"
"A little too well," Logan said, staring up at him. Peter's face was backlit, more shadow than substance, which was helpful. The perfect set-up for a hushed confession. "You said that I was letting fear ruinthings."
Peter knelt by the bed, still holding Logan's wrists and shook his head. "Before I spouted that bullshit. I told you it was okay to be confused, okay not to want to be outyet!"
"Yeah. But the parts I remember most were the last bits. When you told me that you wouldn't miss me for long, that I'd regret letting a good thinggo."
"Jesus. Past-Peter talked a lot of shit, huh?" He laughed softly. "I had more in common with Coach George than I like tothink."
"Nah. Unlike him, you were right." Logan freed one of his hands with a gentle tug and brought his index finger up beneath Peter's chin. "You were right about all of it. And I knew it. And I'm sorry." He blew out a breath. "I've wanted to say that for a long while. I'msosorry."
"Logan, there's nothingto..."
"There is, though. You were maybe my best friendthen."
Peter scoffed, but Logan pressed a thumb against his mouth, keeping him quiet. It was important for him to believe this, to understand. "No, Peter, really. I mean, we had that age difference, yeah. And I was this football playing idiot while you were witty and aleader, and a hundred times smarter than me. But still. Nobody got me like you did. Nobody in theuniversewould have sat and had an hours-long philosophical discussions about 80s movies with me while we floated on a raft at thelake."
"God." Peter laughed. "You know, I still believe Animal House was a sad commentary on the dangers of fast living when you think about how many of those actors actually suffered from very real drug and alcoholaddictions."
Logan cupped his jaw. "I know. I wrote my senior thesis on that...And Animal House came out in the70s."
"What?"
"It came outin..."
"Not that!" Peter swatted at Logan's thigh with his free hand. "You wrote a thesis onmovies?"
"I graduated with a degree in Film Studies," Logan told him. "Our conversations, that whole summer... became a catalyst for my life, in a way. Now I get paid to review films, if you can believe it. And it wouldn't have happened if not foryou."
"I didn't know," Peter said like he was honestly baffled. "That you thought about me that way. Or in any way atall."
"Well, it's important that you do," Logan whispered, rubbing his thumb over Peter's smooth skin. "You changed my life for the better. I've wanted to saythatfor a long time,too."
Peter was staring up at him like he was magic, his grip tightening around the wrist he still held. The speakers downstairs had begun blaring Taylor Swift'sLove Story,which Logan had always found just the tiniest bit romantic, though he'd deny it to his dying day, and even the sound of twenty incredibly drunk former football players belting out the chorus wasn't killing his buzz. Peter's breathing changed in some indefinable,expectantway, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for Logan to bend his head just slightly, lean forward, and press their mouths together for the first time inforever.
"Oh, wow," Peter breathed against his lips a second later. "Oh,man."
Logan pulled back just slightly, his eyes running over Peter's face in the dim light. "Bad?"
Peter shook his head. "I kinda... I mean, over the years, I've told myself that kissing you wasn't as good as I remembered. That I was young and inexperienced, and I'd made it out to be better than it was, youknow?"
He extracted his wrist from Peter's grip, the better to thread both hands into the hair at the nape of Peter's neck. "And?"
"It was even better than I recalled," Peter whimpered like he wasn't entirely happy about that realization. But before Logan could ponder that further, Peter was surging forward, kissing him again, pushing him back to lay flat on the mattress, and all of Logan's apologies and good intentions got lost in a tidal wave ofwant.
If Peter had deliberately tried to downplay his memories of their time together, Logan had wondered if maybe he'd done the opposite. He'd remembered Peter being absolutely gorgeous; the way they'd fit together, perfect; the taste of him, sweet and addictive as candy. But in a moment of understanding that was as frightening as it was sudden, he realized he'd somehow underestimated also, or else, unbelievably, Peter had only gotten more perfect for him over the years they'd been apart. The Peter he remembered hadn't made those soft, breathy noises that sent fire racing through Logan's blood, hadn't been bold enough to pull up Logan's shirt and run smooth palms over Logan'sstomach.
At the very least, he was fairly certain Peter hadn'talwaysmade him rock hard within seconds, the way he didnow.
He ran his own hands up under Peter's sweater, gliding over the dips of his spine and the curves of his ribcage. Up, and up, and up, until Peter's sweater was off and all that satiny skin and pliable flesh was his toroam.
He dipped his hands into the waistband of Peter's jeans. Peter trembled and pushed himself into Logan more fully, and Logan couldn't help groaning - louder than Jared and a both his women at the same time - as Peter's length rubbed against hisown.
The unfortunate thought of Jared made him pull back just slightly. "I... I forgot to lock the door," he said quickly, before curling up to nip at Peter's chin again.Don't stop, don't stop, he beggedsilently.
For a second, Peter lifted his head, blinking like Logan had been speaking a foreign language, but then he shrugged. "I don't care if you don't," he saidbreathlessly.
Logan couldn't possibly have cared less. Let Jared come looking. Fuck, let the entire gang from downstairs troop up here. Let them see that Peter - the hottest person at this party - was currently kissing the shit out of him. He almostwantedit to happen, to claim Peter publicly, even though tomorrow Peter would be back to his real life and Logan would be sitting by himself on a plane back to his lonely existence inRaleigh.
If he'd somehow gotten a second chance with Peter - even if it was only a second chance to end things on a positive note, to have one night and walk away friends - he was damn sure going to takeit.
