Lorna didn’t answer right away. She smiled a knowing smile at Ethan, driving him crazy. “I think he may like you.”
“Honestly? Really? But he told me he’s straight.”
“He held your hand.”
“Don’t friends do that?” Even Ethan didn’t believe that.
“Unfortunately, it’s hard for some guys to come out, especially for frat guys. Yeah, there are openly gay frat guys, but there’s still a stigma depending on the house. It could take a while or maybe never.”
Ethan had all the confirmation he needed, but his happy mood was no longer. If Greg was gay but not admitting it to Ethan, that meant he did like guys, just not him. They were just having fun, whether Ethan liked it or not. Perhaps the handholding was letting Ethan know he wasn’t straight, but that’s all it was. A wink, but no more.
“I’m probably just another notch on his bedpost.”
“He held your hand.”
“He’s probably a fraternislut who hooks up with tons of sorostitutes.” Ethan cringed at Lorna’s reaction. “No offense. I didn’t mean you.”
“Way to stereotype.”
Ethan hung his head.
She let the comment roll off her back, unlike her roommate who would’ve held onto it for weeks. “It’s okay. I’m sure that’s true for some people in the Greek system, but there’s a lot of good people up on North Campus. Like your Frat Guy who held your hand.”
Ethan fell back on her bed, and she sat next to him. Her red hair fell on his shoulder. “Just have fun. Enjoy what I’m sure is an amazing body.”
Ethan gave an exaggerated nod. “It’s quite spectacular.”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. It sounds like you were having fun, too.”
He glanced to make sure the door was still shut and nodded. It was a new kind of fun for him. Outings with his friends were fun in a delightful way, but what he did with Greg was the type of fun that dug in deep and whirled him around like those zero-gravity simulators.
“Don’t get attached, and you’ll stay golden.”
He stood up, feeling strangely fine. Greg just wanted to have fun, and that’s what they were doing. Ethan was having fun. He loved acting like someone else for those moments. Some things were best left unanalyzed.
He turned to Lorna before leaving. “Please don’t tell Jessica. About any of this.”
“Duh.”
CHAPTER Seventeen
He’s just a guy you fool around with, Ethan. Nothing more.
Those were the words Ethan repeated to himself during class on Tuesday. It became his personal mantra and gave him surprising strength against the cuteness assault that was Greg. It wasn’t as if Greg was doing anything charming or flirty in particular. Rather, all of his usual trademarks—the funny comments, the way his eyebrows teepeed waiting for a response from Ethan, the smirk (that fucking smirk)—had new meaning for Ethan now, post handholding. They made his stomach do flip-flops. Greg was just being himself, and Ethan liked it a little too much.
Professor Sharpe went on some tangent about the case he’d argued in front of the Supreme Court. Greg turned to Ethan and rolled his eyes, then half-smiled. It was a smile Ethan wanted to spend a good two weeks in, but he forced himself to listen to Sharpe as a distraction.
Ethan had been less interested in this class lately. Sharpe already had his go-to sycophants, the same handful of students he would call on by name, the only names he knew in class. There had been a window of opportunity to be one of the lucky few; Ethan had missed it. Once he came to that realization, he stopped trying to focus on every word the professor uttered. Greg had been right; everything necessary was in the handouts and PowerPoints. Ethan had aced the first exam. As long as he got an A in the class, he could still move on with his plan to intern at a law firm. He just needed a new connection.
“What are you up to after class?” Greg asked. They’d gotten good at whispering to each other.
Ethan’s insides did a jump for joy.He’s just a guy you fool around with, Ethan. Nothing more.
“I was just going to do some studying,” he said, a total lie. This was the game they played. Why couldn’t he admit that he was readily available?
“Maybe we could hang out first.”
He grabbed the edge of his desk as kids stood up around them. Class was done. And now they would be “hanging out.”
