Page 19 of Oblivious Roommate

I’m fucked. Totally fucked.

Chapter 8

I’m gonna drop dead, I swear.

I can’t think.

I can’t breathe.

My mind is a swirl of colors already making me nauseous.

But the taste of that kiss, the heat of Cass’s chest against mine, the firm hold of his hands on my ass are now permanent elements of my world, and whatever I do next, they’ll stay with me forever.

I can’t bring myself to face people, so instead of going back into the frat house, I stomp toward a patch of trees on the other side of the labyrinth, and despite the artificial foam costume making me overheat and the platform shoes hurting my feet, I run toward the copse as if my mom had just walked in on me having sex.

How can a person be both so elated and so terrified at the same time?

I can’t even drive home because I came here with Aaron. I didn’t want Cass to spot my car and now I’m paying for it.

“Think, think, think,” I whisper as I walk aimlessly between the trees.

At least here, the darkness can keep me hidden.

The rhythm of whatever music they’re playing at the party now follows me, but as I step on a little branch, making noise, I hear a gasp ahead. My gaze darts toward its source, and I freeze at the sight of a man stretched against a tree trunk. Another figure kneels in front of him, and looks back, seeking me in the dark. The beard makes it clear that it’s another male.

I feel like gay men are following me everywhere since I transferred here, or is it just that I’m paying more attention?

I’m about to mumble an apology when the standing man leans forward while burying his hand in his partner’s hair, and his face gets spotlighted by the moon’s glow coming through the branches above.

My feet freeze to the ground as I recognize him.

“Dude, do you mind?” Logan asks, as if I were a terrible person for intruding on him in a public place.

He can’t see who I am, but I still back out in panic.

Only now I realize the man kneeling is the other Spartan. Guess it wasn’t annoyance Logan was eying him with back at the house. I still find it impossible to comprehend what is going on tonight.

Logan is cheating on Cassian? But… Cassian is cheating too?

How is this real? Did I step into an alternate universe or a soap opera?

I need to find Aaron so he can pinch me or I’ll be rocking in some corner in a minute.

A part of me fears what could happen if I bumped into Cassian now, so I need to be quick. Too bad I haven’t established any spot where Aaron and I could meet. I left my phone in his car along with my clothes, since the troll costume has no pockets, so the only thing I can do is seek him out.

Inside the building, the party is in full swing, as if nothing life-altering happened. People drink, chat, dance, and it’s so loud I can barely hear anything beyond the singer’s voice, but I am a changed man, and the girls in sexy costumes, who would have previously caught my eye are invisible now.

It's madness, but I choose not to engage with my identity crisis until I can find the giant bunch of balloon grapes.

At least Aaron’s costume should make him easy enough to find. I go through several rooms filled with college students, but then loud laughter and cheering draws me to the kitchen, and there he is.

Wallflowering with a red cup, in the farthest spot from the action at the counter, Aaron is a spectator of the mating ritual rather than a participant. Guys and girls are egging each other on to drink more colorful shots, and he watches as if this were a human zoo. A few of the balloons making up his costume have popped and now hang from him like burst condoms.

He looks no less filled with wrath than before.

I’m so upset I don’t know if I can control my voice, but he sees me before I decide to speak and dashes toward me as if I were his savior.

“Oh, my god! Did you do it?”