The parking lot at our new residence hall wasn’t much better. There were people everywhere. Every-fucking-where. There was a sea of volunteers decked out in UCNW teal, rushing the cars as soon as they pulled up alongside the curb to help unload vehicles and get them out of the way. Trevor’s Jeep wasn’t even in Park when the doors opened. “Hey, I’m Chris. Welcome to Hewlett Hall.”
“Uh, hey. I’m Gabe and this is Trevor.” Chris had serious personal space issues, and I was tempted to ask if he wanted to climb in the back seat and go for a ride. He was already halfway in the damn Jeep.
“Good to meet you guys. We’ll get some volunteers over here to help get everything to your room,” he informed us. The automated cadence of his voice hinted that he’d been replaying the same spiel all morning. “We do ask that you move your vehicle as soon as it’s unloaded to keep the process moving smoothly.”
“I’ll find the parking lot,” I told Trevor. “That way you can start unpacking, because I know those totes are gonna drive you crazy until they’re stacked up in the closet.”
Trevor blushed but didn’t argue. I was already over today, and if he went to park, I knew damn well he’d find me kicked back on the crappy mattress on my bed.
“The beds are all set up, but if you want them lofted to make more floor space in the room, we can get you on the list for someone to come up and help later,” Chris told us, as though we weren’t having our own conversation. He was annoying, but I refrained from snapping at him, reminding myself he was doing his job, and he had a hell of a lot of students to get moved in today.
“Thanks, Chris.” I motioned for him to move so I could get out of the Jeep and help unpack. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do yet, but I’m sure we can handle it.”
“Those beds are clunky. I highly recommend taking the help today while it’s being offered,” he warned me. I didn’t want Chris or anyone else in our space, but he had a point.
“Cool. Yeah, put us on the list,” I told him. “Not sure what we’ll do yet, but we’ll figure it out before anyone stops by. Do you know what time that’ll be, by the way?”
Chris tapped at his smartphone. “Looks like there are quite a few ahead of you, so it’ll probably be about two. If you want, get your stuff up to the room and then grab some lunch. There’s a food truck that should be setting up down the street in about an hour. Killer street food. Cheap, too.”
“Cheap is good,” Trevor chimed in. “Thanks for the tip. Any suggestions for some coffee? I’m thinking Gabe’s running low and a jolt of caffeine will make him more bearable by afternoon.”
“Port Java, for sure. They’re not the cheapest around, but their coffee won’t give you gut rot like some of the other coffee shops,” he answered quickly. Now he was speaking my language. Good food was great, but finding out where to get the best coffee was everything.
With the help of four volunteers, we managed to get the Jeep unloaded in under five minutes and I waved to Trevor as he disappeared into the residence hall. I should park and get my ass upstairs, but now that he’d mentioned coffee, I entered the shop Chris mentioned into my GPS and couldn’t resist the two-minute detour.
Of course, I wasn’t factoring in the insane traffic, so those two minutes turned into half an hour before I parked in the student lot and began the hike back to our room.
“Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Trevor teased when I kicked open the door to our bedroom. As an apology, I handed him a fresh berry smoothie and shrugged.
My heart sank as I looked around the room. It wasn’t any worse than the other residence halls, but the painted cinderblock walls gave the room as much ambiance as a jail cell. The only upside was we did, in fact, have carpet. That’d be nice, because I couldn’t be bothered to think about shit like area rugs and I wasn’t thrilled about cold linoleum floors first thing in the morning.
Somehow, Trevor had already made a ton of progress unpacking. Both beds were made, our desks were organized, and it looked like he’d started loading our clothes into the dressers. “It feels smaller than the rooms in Galloway.”
“That’s only because there’s a separate study,” Trevor reminded me. “I think we should loft one of the beds so we can maybe find a chair or something to put in the corner. Maybe a small couch?”
“No way in hell that’ll fit. But a chair would be good as long as it’s oversized and sturdy.”
“Sturdy?”
I’d been on my best behavior all morning?—okay, most of the morning?—and Ifinallyhad Trevor alone in the privacy of our own room. I moved around behind him, plastering my chest against his back, my arms wrapped tightly around his waist. I trailed my nose along the side of his neck. Nipped at his ear before sucking the lobe into my mouth.
Trevor groaned, sinking back into my embrace. My hands drifted lower, the tips of my fingers grazing the waistband of his shorts. He let out a whimper as he tried pulling away from me. “Tell me if it’s too much, Trev.”
“We’re good,” he reassured me, his voice raspy and filled with pent up sexual frustration.
“K. We’re going to need a sturdy chair because, if you’re sitting in the chair, I’m sure as hell not going to be on the bed and vice versa,” I warned him as I kissed a trail back down his neck and across his shoulder blade. “We don’t have to jump straight to fucking, but I wanna be able to touch you. I want to curl up in the chair wewillfind and make out while a movie plays in the background.”
“So, you’re saying you wanna be close to me?” Trevor asked uncertainly.
“Yeah, Trev,” I whispered in his ear. “I wanna be so close you won’t be able to figure out where you end and I begin. I wanna get to the point where I’m buried so deep inside of you, our bodies fuse together.”
Trevor turned in my embrace, draping his arms over my shoulders. “I want that too, Gabe, but I need you to be patient with me. This is kind of like driver’s ed. I know all the theories, but until I actually do it, it’s gonna freak me out a little bit.”
“Take all the time you need,” I assured him.
“But what if you get tired of waiting? You know me. I’m a planner. I will sit here and think about every little detail until I know I’m not going to screw up.”
“And I’m impulsive and do shit without thinking about the consequences. We make sense because you make me slow down and I force you to actually get out of your head and do something.”
