“I guess you're right, but that doesn't excuse how I treated Chase. Or the crap I gave you and Matt when you guys hooked up. Or how much of a dick I’ve been any time you guys are all sappy and cuddling when I come in at night.” I could probably keep listing all the ways I’d been an asshole until my car ran out of gas but, even then, I would have only listed a fraction of my offenses.
“Then I guess it's lucky for you there's time to make things right.” He shrugged, tapping his fingers on his knee. “We’ve probably all known someone like you, or at least known of someone who lashed out the longer he felt trapped. Talk to the guys. Apologize and speak your truth. They’ll probably surprise you.”
“That's sort of what I was hoping to do,” I admitted. “That's why I want to hang out with everyone tonight. It’s killing me to keep this a secret now that I’ve admitted it to myself. I don’t want to feel like I’m still hiding, even though I’m scared of how everyone will react.”
“And you figured it would make things easier if the fridge was fully stocked?” His guess was right on the money.
“Pretty much,” I confirmed. “I figured that either we could all hang out after I tell the rest of the guys, or y'all can enjoy a few beers on me after Jayden beats me to a pulp.”
“He's not going to hit you,” Brandon scoffed.
“I wouldn't be so sure about that,” I countered. “You weren't there the night I said some pretty disgusting shit to him about Chase.”
“That's true, but I know he's not holding so much of a grudge that he’ll resort to physical violence,” he reassured me. “If he had that much of a problem with you, he would have said something about it by now.”
I took the next exit and turned around, heading back toward Annandale. Now that my secret was out to one more person, it was time to stock up and tell the rest of the guys.
* * *
The suite smelled fuckingawesome by the time Brandon and I got back from the liquor store. I started loading beer into the fridge while he checked on dinner.
“I'm curious about something,” he mused as he layered the meat sauce with noodles and cheese into a baking dish. Most college kids lived on ramen and take out, but not us. Whenever Brandon was home, we were treated to the best damn food I'd had in my life. Hell, the guy even made his sauce from scratch.
“Not sure if I'll have an answer, but I'll try. Remember, this is all still new to me.”
“That's what I'm wondering about. Is there a reason you're telling everyone now? Are we going to have to invest in earplugs because you're going to be bringing dudes home every night of the week?” He smiled to make sure I knew he wasn’t serious, but I knew ithadbugged them when I was trying to fuck the gay away last spring. Unfortunately, there’d been a few girls who were a bit too vocal. And the night I wasn’t so drunk I couldn’t get it up, but tipsy enough to focus on Daniel’s voice while the girl between us sucked me off. That had been a mind fuck and a half, but it was also one of the few times it hadn’t been a struggle to stay hard until we were done.
“I was never that bad,” I argued. “You make it sound like I had a revolving door on my bedroom. I thought if I found the right person, I’d be able to act straight until the urges went away.”
“No, but you were close. So, is that it? You have a boyfriend you want to bring home to meet the family.” I threw an empty cardboard box at Brandon's head and he caught it without missing a beat on his food prep.
“You're not going to have to put up with strange men in and out of the suite every weekend,” I reassured him. At least that much was the truth. The earplugs were still a very definite possibility, but as long as Colin’s roommate stayed MIA, we could always escape to his room and put a bit of distance between us and the rest of the guys. “Besides, it's not like you and Matt are exactly quiet.”
“That’s all Matt,” Brandon insisted, then cringed, like he really had been oblivious to how much noise they were making. I was polite enough I didn’t point out there were two very distinct voices coming from the other side of the wall. “I didn't realize he was loud enough to disturb you guys.”
“Are you kidding me?” I threw my head back and laughed, happy I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable now. If he needed to believe I’d only heard Matt begging Brandon to fuck him hard and fast, I could still work with that. “He's such a screamer I'm pretty sure he disrupts people trying to study at the library across campus.”
“Come on, man, he's not that bad,” Brandon scoffed.
“No, I guess he's not really. And he's never woken me from a dead sleep, so I guess I still win the prize on that one.”
“Good thing we aren’t keeping score.” The front door of the suite opened and closed. I paused, waiting to see where the footsteps would stop. Noticing my discomfort, Brandon stepped up beside me.
“It's going to be fine,” he reassured me. “If anyone tries to give you shit, know that I'm on your side.” He finished putting dinner together and set it in the oven. He paused on his way out of the kitchen and worried his bottom lip. “If you haven't mentioned this to Daniel yet, maybe give him a head’s up first. I… He should know what’s going on.”
That wasnotwhat Brandon had been about to say. It almost seemed like he knew something he wasn’t telling me.
“Oh, he knows.” I stifled my laughter as I thought about just how well he knew I enjoyed making another man come. A few times, I’d begged him to let me suck him off before we went to sleep but he always refused, promising the day we’d spent together hadn’t been a fluke and telling me to go to sleep. If he hadn't sounded so damn sincere, I might have worried he was no longer interested. When I snapped out of my memories, Brandon's jaw was nearly on the floor.
“Holy shit.” He grabbed onto the doorway as if it was the only thing keeping him from falling over. “Somebody needs to warn Colin and Justice.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I didn't even believe myself with that non-denial. But all I could think of was Colin telling us he’d step back if we decided we were better off as a couple than a threesome. Jealousy boiled in my gut. I didn't even want to think about him and Justice together.
“Seriously, think about it. First, Jayden starts hooking up with his roommate. Then, Matt and I pulled our heads out of our asses, and now, you and Daniel? It's too damn perfect. The way things are going around here, it's only going to be a matter of months before Colin’s hooking up with Justice.” I let out a low growl. That wasn't fucking happening. Brandon's eyes grew even wider. “Oh hell. Don't tell me you're doing Chase's little brother. Is that why you're so worried about how Jayden and Chase are going to react? If so, I may need to amend my previous answer. Jayden won't kick the shit out of you for what you said to Chase months ago, but he might take issue with you fucking Colin.”
“Nobody's fucking anyone,” I informed him.That was half the damn problem,I added in my head.
“Then why would you have a problem if Colin and Justice got together? They're both good-looking guys. I’m head over heels for Matt, and even I can admit the two of them together would be hot as hell.” He reached down and adjusted his dick. I wasn’t sure if that was for effect, or if he was getting hard thinking about our newest roommates.
