“I don't know why you thought you had to,” Daniel scoffed. “It's not like anybody in the suite made a secret about being gay.”
“Except for you, apparently,” Jayden quipped.
Matt lobbed a throw pillow at him. “Be nice, Jayden. If he didn't want to say anything, that's his right.”
I squeezed Matt tighter, so damn proud of him for sticking up for Daniel. Making sure everyone knew where I stood, I added, “Everybody has things they don't feel like talking about. And that's okay. Hell, if he hadn’t picked up on it, I never would have told him about us. Is that a bad thing? No, it’s not. Becausewe alldeserve to share in our own time.”
“I know.” Jayden pushed up off the couch. “I'm just saying, it might've put everyone at ease and would've explained a few things.”
“Like what?” Daniel asked.
Jayden shook his head. “I’m too wiped to deal with this shit tonight. We'll talk again after I've had some sleep. I don't want to accidentally be a dick and say something I can't take back.”
We all watched Jayden retreat to his room, each of us sporting an equally confused expression. Jayden was the last person in the suite I would've expected to take the news of something like this badly.
“Well, that was one hell of a way to re-enter the world of the living,” Matt mused. He leaned forward and picked up his plate, shoving an entire sandwich into his mouth. I took the other sandwich away from him and handed him the cup. He was going to regret not taking his time when the peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth. His words were muffled when he spoke. “I don’t get why he’s so bothered.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I scolded him. He swallowed hard, then took the cup I’d been holding. “Everyone’s stressed right now. He’ll be okay once he gets some sleep.”
“I hope so.” Daniel sighed. “I’m getting another. You want one?”
I looked to Matt. Part of me wanted to whisk him away to the shower and the bedroom now that he was feeling better, but Daniel needed a friend. I was torn. Matty placed a hand over my chest and pressed his forehead to mine. “We can stay out here with him. I’m probably going to be up half the night anyway. I slept way too much.”
“You were sick,” I reminded him. “That’s a perfectly acceptable reason to be lazy.”
“I know, but I’m not sure he should be alone right now.” God, I loved this boy. He could be a pushy brat, but when it really mattered, he showed how big of a heart he had. I needed to remember that whenever I struggled with his little side. Everything he threw at me was worth it because I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life.
17
Matt
As if feeling like death warmed over wasn’t bad enough, college professors didn’t give two shits why you’d missed class. Okay, so they were pretty chill about giving me a bit of extra time to catch up on the shit I’d missed while I did my best Sleeping Beauty impersonation, but that didn’t mean they bumped backallmy due dates for the semester.
I was more exhausted now that I was healthy than I had been before. I spent my days in class, and the rest of the time hunched over my desk trying to make sense of shit I hadn’t actually learned because I’d missed the lectures. Brandon didn’t give metoohard of a time when he brought my meals into our room because there was no way I could afford to take time to eat with the rest of the guys. If it wasn’t for the fact that I would have lost my housing, I might have called this semester a loss and tried again in the fall.
And it wasn’t the housing that worried me. It was the threat of not being able to fall asleep in Brandon’s arms every night that kept me focused.
“Get to a stopping point.” I barely registered Brandon’s order when he came into the room. I was just about done with the assignment that would get me back on track in one of my classes. Then, I just had to worry about the others. I kept working, pretending I didn’t hear him. “I know you heard me. Pack it up so we can get some fresh air.”
“I don't have time,” I protested. “Samson has been riding my ass to get this paper turned in. He said if it's not in by Monday, I'm not going to get full credit on it.”
“And itwillbe done,” Brandon assured me. “But you’re at the breaking point. I've been waiting for you to realize you’re overdoing it, but that hasn’t happened so now I’m forcing the issue.”
“Yeah, that's because I missed over week of class,” I reminded him. “I'm not like you, Bran. I can't place a hand on top of my textbooks and learn through osmosis.”
“You also can't keep going at the pace you have been,” he argued. “If you're not careful, you're gonna wind up sick all over again. And then where will you be? You’ll fall even further behind and we’re going to start the cycle again.”
I seriously hated my boyfriend’s ability to be logical. “Maybe I can take a couple of hours. Where are we going?”
“It's a surprise.” Brandon beamed at me as if proud of himself. This must be something good. He wasn’t the type who got excited easily.
“Do I get a hint?” I shut the lid of my laptop. As if I only realized it once Brandon pointed it out, I felt every tense muscle in my body from being hunched over the laptop. It was past time for a break.
Brandon was right; I was doing myself more harm than good if I kept trying to push myself at this pace. What was the worst that could happen if I didn't get full credit on an assignment? One of Mom’s coworkers, a few years back, had made a comment about how C’s get degrees. At the time, I insisted I would never settle for anything less than my best. I might only be able to maintain a B average, but the way I felt, that was a stretch. Hell, at this point I’d settle for a solid D+ if it still got me that piece of paper in the end.
Brandon started rummaging through my closet. “You’re not only making me stop studying but you’re planning on dressing me, too? Do I need to wear something fancy for our date?”
Brandon scoffed. “Not hardly. And if you don't want me to, I suppose I don't have to. I just thought…”
