Page 23 of Anchored To You

"I mean, he told me he only does hookups. So, maybe? But ugh, no, I'm not a hookup person."

Niko sighs, tapping the counter with his fingers. "I think you should just kiss him and see what happens. Maybe hooking up is what you both need."

"Yeah, maybe."

The door to the bar swings open, King walking into the space. Niko's eyes become heart-shaped as he stares at his man approaching him. God, they're so ridiculously in love. It's gross.

"How are you doing, baby?" King asks Niko as he walks over and places a kiss on the top of his head.

"Better now," Niko sighs, curling into King.

“Are you guys ready to head out?” King says to Niko, rubbing the back of his neck, “I figured you might need a ride when you stopped texting me back.” Niko purrs, loving the feeling of King’s touch on him.

I laugh loudly, pointing my finger between the both of them. "They've been having a great time. And I've fully enjoyed the hard time they gave me."

"Uh oh," King says, helping Niko off the stool before placing his hand out to help Matteo. "Didn't I say don't be too mean to my friend?"

"We weren't mean," Niko hiccups, wrapping his arm around King's waist. "All we did was encourage him to hook up with his roommate. I mean, at first I told him to hook up with Matteo, but Matteo said hell no, so now we're trying to get him to try his shot with his roommate."

King turns to face me, wide-eyed. "Oh yeah, and how did that go?"

"They were just joking around," I tell him. "There's no way I'm going to do that."

"Hell, maybe you should. You never know what could happen. Besides, you talk about the guy a lot."

"I do not," I mumble, looking away, not wanting to give any more attention to this. "Anyway, are you taking off? I'll see you tomorrow."

King, Niko, and Matteo head out, and I spend the remainder of my shift thinking about what Niko and Matteo said. Maybe I should try again. Maybe Talon didn't know what I meant when I tried to get him to go to the river the other night. Okay, maybe I should try again. What could it hurt, right?

My heart? Maybe.

My ego? Definitely.

Oh well. He can reject me, but at least I'll know. After clocking out once my shift ends, I head straight to our dorm room, eagerness flooding my veins. As soon as I open the door, I'll walk over to him and kiss him. Or perhaps I'll say something first. Maybe have a quick conversation about where I'm at and see if he's feeling the same? But then that'll give him more time to shoot me down. So, maybe just kissing him first and seeing what he does is the best approach? Well, shit, he could slap me. But then I would know, right?

Shit, why is this so damn hard?

I take the elevator up to our floor, walking way faster than I usually do. I'm about to swing the door open when a blue piece of fabric catches my eye.

A blue sock on the door.

Which means Talon is not alone.

Fuck. My heart sinks but maybe I had it right before. There’s no time for hookups, or to get involved with anyone. I don't even know why I thought I might in the first place. I give the door one last glance before turning back and heading down to the main floor. It looks like I'll just hang out in the common room and watch the TV there. Again.

Chapter

Eleven

TALON

It's been almost a week since Scareoke, and yes, I'm avoiding Beck. I knew hanging around him was a bad idea, and what did I do? First, I volunteered to study with him and help him with his classes. That's where I first went wrong. But I couldn't say no to him when he was asking for help. And then I had to make the stupid decision to hang out with him at Scareoke. I knew I wasn't going just to hang out with him and his friends. I wanted to be around him. Spending more time with him and seeing his carefree smile was what I wanted.

Walking to the river was a horrible idea, too. Luckily, I had the good sense to tell him no when he asked to swim in the water. I don't know if his head went where mine did, but all I could think about was us swimming in the water and kissing like before. I know if I had stripped down and got in that water I would have attacked him with my lips.

Which is why I have spent more time than usual locked in our room with a sock on the door. I feel bad that I keep kicking him out for no reason, but I don't know what else to do. I worry that if I spend extra time with him, I'll lose control and want to put my lips on him. Of course, I've still been helping him study, but I stay on my bed while he sits at his desk or on his mattress. But even then I'll catch myself staring at him from across the room. I see ‌his face light up when he finally realizes that he understands something he thought he didn't get before. The absolute worst is when I can't take my eyes off him when he walks back into the place after showering. He never brings his clothes with him to the bathroom, so each morning and night he glides into our room, a towel wrapped around his waist, drops of water still running down his thick chest. I don't know if he knows what he does to me, but fuck, I'm dying here.

I'm still pissed at being ghosted last year, but honestly, I'm getting over that. The more time I spend with Beck, and the more I get to know him, the more I want to be friends with him. Well, no. Not friends. I'd like to climb the damn man like a tree, but I don't want to hook up and then we're stuck living together for eight more months.