Page 25 of Oblivious Roommate

Cass chuckles as we approach a whispering creek cutting through the quiet woods. “Among other things. But yeah... I don’t know, maybe it was the costume, but the guy I kissed last night felt different. Or maybe it’s just hot that I didn’t even get to see his face?”

“Oooh! Kinky!” I tease him, even though I should come clean about last night. Then again, he seems to enjoy the mystery of the troll, so why spoil it for him?

Cass shrugs but seems more at ease now. “I mean, I suppose that was a part of it, but he was a really good kisser, and smelled just… ugh, incredible. Though he seemed a bit shy and ran off on me in the end. Bummer, right?”

“And you would like… do more with him? Is that allowed between you and Logan?”

I feel butterflies swarm in my stomach. He thinks I’m a good kisser.

“Well… technically yes, but the point of an open relationship is to have a partner and have some sex outside of that. But… I don’t know… seeking out that guy feels like crossing boundaries. Because then he’s not just a hot body but someone I’m pursuing. Does that make sense?” Cass asks, and his eyes seek my approval.

“I think it does. You know… there’s something I need to tell you. I was struggling, because I thought it would be a bigger deal, so I hope you don’t feel hurt when you hear it, but…”

He’s all ears, and I take a deep breath.

“Aaron saw Logan getting head from someone last night. We were freaking out, because I thought he was cheating on you, and then I didn’t know how to tell you, because you know I don’t like him, and I was afraid you’ll see it as me making shit up to make him look bad.”

I exhale.

Cassian licks his lips and speeds up a bit. “Yeah, I know. Was it the guy in a gladiator-like costume? He told me he was skipping the party with him.”

I’m glad he’s not hurt by it, but I’m also kinda deflated, because I hoped this would be the moment Cass gets angry at Logan and drops him like a hot potato.

For a moment we walk in silence, but something is off. “You’re not happy about it.”

“No,” Cass said curtly. “He has most of the week to hook up with whoever he wants to, right? But we went there together, and he decided to leave me for half an hour to fuck some dude.”

I pat his back, hoping it feels normal for him. I touch him like this on the regular, but everything changed last night, so it’s hard for me to tell anymore if I’m being weird or not. “That’s tough, man. He’s not, like… your first guy, right?”

Cass’s shoulder bumps against mine in a familiar way as we approach the rocky banks of the creek. “Nah. I literally lost my virginity during Welcome Week.”

I whistle and laugh, returning the nudge. “Bet you were excited to explore everything in a whole new place. Is it okay if I ask… how you knew?” Nerves coil in my stomach again, because this is getting personal. I’m in the middle of my own identity crisis and it would really help to know another man’s experience.

“That I’m gay?” he asks, and when I nod, he scoots next to the rushing water and touches it with two fingers. “I had a crush on Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings movies.”

I frown. I also really liked Aragorn back then. But I always thought it was because I wanted to be like him. What if I actually liked him that way? The gay way.

I sit on a nearby rock with a sigh. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He’s silent, splashing the water around, as if he didn’t hear me. I’m about to repeat my question when he speaks. “I worried it would freak you out, and that I’d lose you.”

Same, man. Same.

I don’t want to make it weird, and I don’t want to make him feel like I’m trying to sabotage his relationship with Logan. But I can see that Aaron was right. I am jealous of Logan because I want to be the one kissing Cass.

“You can tell me anything, okay?”

I, on the other hand, might need some time to adjust my thoughts.

Cass looks back and flashes me a smile so bright it feels as if he were holding my heart in his hand. “Thanks. You’re the best person I know, hands down.”

“I’m glad I moved,” I say, even though it’s causing me so much turmoil. If I’d stayed at my old college, I might have not scratched the surface of my feelings for years. Better late than never, though.

“Me too. It’s like the old days, but better, because we don’t have to steal your dad’s booze.” Cass smirks and gives my thigh a gentle shove.

I laugh at the memory. “You better plan something good for my birthday next month! Remember my seventeenth? Now that was a mess.”

The car broke down on our way to the bowling alley and we ended up going to a Walmart on foot, buying a selection of cereal and having a taste-testing competition in the parking lot. We had to use a plastic ball cut in half as bowls.