I wasn’t sure what strings Chase and Colin’s parents had pulled to get approval for a freshman to be in an upperclassmen residence hall but, so far, he was pretty cool. If I hadn’t known Colin was Chase’s brother, I never would have believed it. Where Chase was on the small side and shy as hell, Colin had these broad shoulders and exuded confidence. Unfortunately, having Colin rooming with us meant we’d been put into one of the quad suites and nothing was where it was supposed to be.
“No worries.” Colin’s hand was warm as he curled his fingers around my wrist and removed it from his chest. He gripped my shoulders and turned me around before giving me a nudge toward the common area. He followed me into the kitchen and pulled a loaf of bread out of the cupboard while I grabbed a beer. I almost offered him one before remembering he was only nineteen. Old for a freshman, but I wasn’t about to ask what that was about. “Everything good?”
“Yeah. Why?” I swiped the bread out of his hand and pulled out a couple of slices to make myself a snack. Drinking on an empty stomach wasn’t a good idea, and I was determined to be smarter this year.
“You seemed out of sorts when you plowed into me.” I choked on my beer at his choice of words. While I certainly wouldn’t be opposed toplowing into him, I was much more interested in what someone like him could do to me. He smirked, lifting an eyebrow as if silently daring me to comment. I might have, but there was a sudden lump in my throat. I opened and closed my mouth a few times while my brain tried to come up with a valid excuse for being so spacy.
“I’m still trying to get used the new suite.” Yes, I’d been distracted, but after two years living in the same layout, itwashard getting used to rooms not being where they belonged.
“Yeah, okay,” Colin scoffed. He spread mayo on the bread with enough force I feared the survival of the cheap shit we used. Maybe I wasn’t the only one in a pissy mood tonight.
“Seriously, it’s nothing.” But if it was nothing, why was I so pissy about him not believing me? I wouldn’t react this way if it was any of the other guys.
But dammit, I was tired of pretending Zach wasn’t a huge fucking block in my mind.
No, it wasn’t that. I just needed to finish my homework and get a decent night of sleep.
“I know I'm the new guy, but I'm not fucking stupid,” Colin scoffed. He pulled a stack of baggies out of the fridge, tossing the meats he didn’t want to the side. I did the same, wondering why in the hell Brandon bought a bit of everything from the deli. The man was seriously obsessed with keeping us all fed.
“I never said you were.” Even if I knew what the hell I wanted to say, I didn't want to suck anyone else into my drama. It was bad enough the rest of the guys knew how I felt about Zach, even if I hadn't meant to tell them. And with two happy couples in the suite already, it felt like they were suddenly trying to play matchmaker. Hell, if anything, maybe I should warn Colin about that. Pretty soon, our suite was going to get a reputation for turning everyone gay, even if that wasn't what was happening.
“I’m just sayin’, you don't know me, and I don't know you, but don't you think that might make me the perfect person for you to talk to about whatever had you so rattled?” Oh, this kid was good. I pursed my lips together to keep anything from slipping out. No, I wouldn’t tell him I was irritated about Zach throwing his sex life in my face.
And, really, I couldn’t even be pissed off at Zach about that because he didn't know what was going on in my head. As far as he knew, the threesomes this spring were two guys trying to sow their wild oats. I hoped he never knew that they were something different to me because he’d kick my ass. As he should, because it had been wrong of me to keep going after I knew what was going on in my head.
I slapped together a couple of sandwiches and retreated to the common area. If I’d been smart, I would have escaped to the safety of my bedroom, but if I was in there, I’d just be annoyed about the Zach situation again.
Colin started opening and slamming cupboard doors, muttering under his breath about something. “What are you looking for? I can’t guarantee I know where shit’s at, but I do have a couple of years trying to get used to Brandon’s organization system.”
I cocked my head to the side at the distinct sound of ice filling two glasses. A responsible adult would tell the underage kid to stay out of the booze, but I didn’t have it in me to be Captain Buzzkill tonight. It was better for him to have a drink in the privacy of the suite rather than going out.
“What’s in it?” I asked when Colin handed me a drink. Despite what some of our roommates assumed, I rarely drank more than a beer or two at a time, and almost never touched anything harder. That shit was expensive and I didn’t need to get derailed by getting fucked up.
“Just drink it,” Colin goaded me. “You wouldn’t make me drink alone, would you?”
I quirked an eyebrow as I pointed to the bottle of beer sitting on the coffee table in front of me.
“You need something stronger than that piss water,” he scoffed. Instead of taking one of the empty chairs across from me, Colin settled on the opposite side of the small couch. He held up his glass as if preparing to make a toast. I mirrored his action before taking a sip of the drink I assumed was something cola based. I was pleasantly surprised when it was nothing like I’d been expecting. “Good? I didn’t have much to work with in there, but it was something I saw online and wanted to try.”
“So I’m your guinea pig?” I took another sip. I couldn’t place what was in it but, yeah, it was tasty as hell. Dangerously good. This was the type of drink I could see sneaking up on me before it knocked me on my ass.
“I mean, sure.” Colin shrugged. “I get that you’re not going to say shit about what’s going on, but you looked like you needed something stronger than cheap beer tonight.”
“I’m not that rough,” I argued. Still, I was grateful for something that would help me chill the fuck out. By the time I finished this drink, I might be calmed down enough to focus on my homework. And it wouldn’t do any harm to spend a bit of time with him.
“Yeah, okay,” Colin scoffed. He and his older brother were polar opposites. Where Chase came across as timid when he’d first moved in, Colin was determined to make his presence known. He didn’t so much as twitch as I watched him, trying to figure out how two men raised in the same house wound up so different. He leaned into the arm of the couch, casually crossing his legs.
It wasn’t intentional, but my gaze drifted down his broad chest…and then lower. If I wasn’t mistaken, Colin was freeballing it, and the guy washung.That thing would split me in two and leave me begging for more.
Fuck. I clawed at my sweatpants, reminding myself he was my roommate’s kid brother.
But he was also my roommate, so sort of an equal?
No. He was only here because of Chase. Otherwise, he’d have been stuck in the dorms with the rest of the freshmen. After things had been dicey last spring, I wasn’t going to do anything to threaten my friendship with the rest of the roommates.
I couldnotuse him to scratch the itch. I turned away as I reached between my legs to rearrange things, so I wasn’t pitching a tent.
Colin chuckled and my cheeks burned when I realized I’d been busted. “I guess that answersthatquestion. For what it’s worth, the feeling’s absolutely mutual. You decide you want to do more than just gawk, you let me know.”
