Page 91 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

“Yes, it’s very sweet,” Sebastian said in an oddly motherly tone. It filled me with laughter I didn’t want to release.

“Jordan would kick your ass if he saw you now,” I muttered instead.

Asher snorted. “Jordan. Big, scary Jordan.” He sighed again, but with satisfaction. “What a night.”

“Where were you, guys?” Sebastian asked.

“About…and…about,” Phoenix singsonged. “No. Hold on. About and…”

Asher interrupted his friend’s torturous attempt at getting it right by giggling like a kid. He was more hanging on our shoulders than hugging us. “Scary,” he murmured. “Doesn’t scare me, though.” As he chewed his words, Sebastian and I dragged him to the sofa without exchanging a single look to coordinate. Our heads were simply aligned. “Not afraid of Jordan…he’s a…” Asher hiccupped. “Smartass.”

“What the hell did you two drink?” I demanded of neither of them in particular. “Absinthe?”

“You sound like him,” Asher said, wrinkling his nose. “Don’t know fun. To have fun. How.”

Phoenix rolled with laughter.

I lifted Asher’s legs on the sofa and tucked a pillow under his head.

“He’s hot,” Asher said. “Saw him…on the lake…oopsie…” He grabbed the edge of the sofa like it was a rodeo bull trying to send him flying.

Sebastian and I exchanged a look, frowns creeping in. “If he pukes all over the place…” I said and drifted.

Sebastian shook his head with concern. “We can’t leave them here.”

“Can we drag them up two flights of stairs?” I asked.

“The living room would work,” Sebastian said.

“…swimming…watched him…” Asher rambled on about something while I crossed the basement and looked at the stairs.

“Can I ha-have some fridge?” Phoenix asked. “No. Mini…beer.” He kicked his feet in the air as he laughed. “Some fridge, please,” he added pointedly.

I caught Sebastian’s eye roll and shrugged. “At least Jordan and Beckett aren’t here to see this.”

“Hot!” Asher declared. He was red-faced and limp on the sofa, one hand still clutching the cushion like he would fall off the face of Earth if he let go.

“I’m not undressing him no matter how hot he feels,” Sebastian said.

“So hot,” Asher said in an overly sad tone.

“Let’s get them upstairs,” I suggested.

Sebastian crossed the room to Phoenix and examined the freshman briefly, then decided Phoenix could stand and didn’t need to be carried upstairs. He lifted him out of the armchair and wrapped one arm under the guy’s armpits, then pulled him across the basement to the stairs. Which left me with the rambling mess on the sofa.

I sighed to myself and shook my head slowly as I dragged Asher to stand up.

“…don’t see me…” Asher’s words faded sadly. “…can’t see me…years.”

I wasn’t listening to him very carefully until now. Something about his tone made me frown harder. “Dude, are you…?” I snapped my mouth shut. It was none of my business, especially since the guy was wasted. “You need to shut up,” I said gently. “You shouldn’t be telling me this.”

“Can’t say,” Asher murmured. As we crossed the basement, he leaned his head on my shoulder and hummed. He was basically falling asleep on his feet. “Can’t tell anyone.”

“Hush,” I whispered. “It’s gonna be alright. You need to sleep.” He was going to have a terrible day tomorrow. Then again, that was what college was for.

Sebastian and I put our drunk teammates on the two sofas in the living room, then walked into their room freely to get pillows and blankets and emergency buckets for them. We tucked the fools in and headed to our room, pausing at the foot of the stairs to look at them one more time. “They grow up so fast,” I said in a fatherly tone.

Sebastian laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist. He kissed my cheek and we moved on.