I collapsed onto him, gasping for breath as my chest pounded like an earthquake.
“Holy fucking shit,” I panted out. His own harsh breaths were hot and ragged in my ear as his weak, limp hands slid off my ass cheeks and plopped lazily down onto the mattress.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t think he was that cute anyway.”
A laugh, pure giddy joy, bubbled up from my chest as I rolled off him onto my side. He was laughing with me, his eyes lit up like pure sunshine. It was like a punch to my chest, seeing him so carefree and happy after we’d just finished fucking. I couldn’t lose this. I’d waited so long and worked so hard to get him to trust me, to give me a chance. And by some fucking miracle, I was actually nailing it. And he was as amazing as I’d always thought he would be. Even better. He was so fucking sweet, and it felt like this heavily guarded secret that only I knew about. It felt mystical, like a magical power only I possessed. I needed it. I needed him.
Propping myself up on my elbow, I dragged a finger down his abs, smearing through all the cum I’d unloaded onto him.
“Now you’re a frosted cupcake,” I said, and he groaned, still laughing as he covered his eyes with the back of his hand while we caught our breath.
“Mm, you were right,” he commented lightly, after we’d let ourselves settle in the comfortable silence. He wasn’t cuddling me, but he hadn’t pushed away to get dressed either. I’d take it as a compromise. For now. “My brain is totally empty right now.”
“At your service, Cupcake.”
And I would make sure I would be the only guyservicinghim, the only one he would turn to for whatever he needed. He was mine, whether he realized it yet or not.
I just had to play my cards right until he stumbled into the realization on his own terms, in his own time. I could be patient.
I’d waited this long already.
ASPEN
AT THE ENDof queer studies, I packed my stuff into my bag, ready to throw it up on my shoulder and head to my next class, when a shadow crossed over my desk.
“Oh. Hey,” I greeted Isaak once I’d looked up, surprised to see him standing there.
“Hi,” he said back. As always, he looked shy and just a little sheepish, like he was always on the verge of apologizing for the inconvenience of his existence.
“… How’s it going?” I finally asked, after a few too many seconds of him looking hesitant to say anything else.
“Good!” He answered, before clearing his throat. “I, um, I had a lot of fun on Saturday.”
“The party?” I guessed and he nodded. “I didn’t see you there.”
“I saw you, but uh, you looked busy. I didn’t want to bug you,” he said quickly. “But I talked to Maddox and Cyprian! And I met Ren.”
“Nice,” I commented. “Ren’s actually my roommate.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that!” Isaak confirmed. He was weirdly cute with his big doe eyes and slender frame but also seemed delicate, like he’d crumble at the first sign of hostility or tension. “You’re lucky. When I was in my undergraduate program, my roommate barely spoke to me,” he recalled, sighing. “I think he wasn’t too fond of, um…” He hesitated for a moment. “Well, I think maybe we had different political beliefs,” he finished, looking slightly miserable at the memory.
“Ah, yeah. That sucks,” I said.
I was definitely sympathetic. BBU was generally pretty liberal, as well as the city we were in, but we didn’t live in an enlightened utopia. Bigots could always slip through the cracks. I’d seen plenty of it directed at Maddox the year before, and Arie was always getting weird looks and snickers from a lot of the frat boy types. Iwaslucky to have gotten someone like Ren as my roommate. Even before he’d realized he was bi, he’d been friendly and respectful.
“It’s fine now,” he continued. “I’m in off-campus housing.”
“That’s great. I’m sure it’s a lot less stressful.”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a sigh. “I mean, I’m sure you know all about this, but… It’s so hard when you feel like you have to watch everything you say or how you act.” I knew what he meant, about not acting too effeminate or saying something that would immediately allow everyone to clock you as a queer person. “That party was the first time in a long time I could just relax and talk to people and not worry.”
“You know, my friends and I do, like, movie and board games night just about every week. It’s a great group. I mean, you already know most of them and you probably already know Arie Becker. You could come hang out with us on Friday night.”
He blinked, looking surprised at my offer. No shock there. This guy seemed like the poster boy for Kicked Puppy Syndrome. But this was kind of on brand for me. I was the one who’d invited Ren into our tiny group last year, and he’d brought along Maddox, which had dragged Caelyx and Cyprian in too, since we’d started having the hangouts at their house. A very pleasant domino effect I had no regrets about.
“Ah, I…” He trailed off, looking torn. “Well, it’s just that I’m a TA and you guys are undergrad students, and…”
“What are you, like 22?” I guessed, suppressing the urge to snort. I didn’t want him to think I was making fun of him or anything but he didn’t really look any older than any of us.
