And somehow, heagreed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NICK
“Dude, you didn’t do the dishes,” Jeremy complains when I walk into our apartment for the first time in a week.
“Fuck you, man,” I fire back. “I wasn’t evenhere, so they’re the ones you left behind.”
My smug, smirking roommate stays silent, letting me know I’ve dug myself into a hole.
Heat creeps up my neck. “I got lonely.”
“Aww, and you cured that by shacking up with someone?” Jeremy wiggles his eyebrows. “For a wholeweek?”
I nod, not seeing any point in trying to get myself out of the ribbing that’s gonna come my way. It was cold, and Dean lent me his old laptop so I could keep up with my assignments, so there wasn't really any reason for me to come back.
That, and I can fit into a lot of Dean's clothes, not like we even used many clothes with how often the two of us stripped each other naked.
Jesus. I guess this is what happens when I can’t have good sex for years—I turn into a goddamn menace. Or an addict. Or maybe I’m the same horny fuck I’ve always been, just that now,finally, I have someone to share that with.
“Oh, man, Ian’s gonna love this news!” Jeremy exclaims, rubbing his hands together like he’s plotting some kind of scheme.
“Why is my sex life any of you guys’s business?” I ask.
“Because you’ve been a monk since I met you. Who is it? Is it scandalous?”
“Yeah, sure. I had a week-long, raunchy orgy with all the guys on the team who stayed back for break.” I scoff when Jeremy’s eyes widen, and I toss my keys at him. “I’mkidding.Everyone else was gone, and besides, I’dneverget involved with a teammate. I havemorals.”
He shuts up.
Wait.
The guynevershuts up. Did I say something wrong? Did I insult him?
Didhehook up with a teammate?
If he did, that’d be messier than Dean’s living room after he sat on the cursed couch and broke the thing into a million pieces, and I don’t want to fucking know. I need to take this conversation somewhere else.
“It’s Dean,” I blurt out. “I spent the week with Dean.”
“Wait, what’s going on?” Ian asks, taking out an earbud as he lets himself in.
I flick my eyes over to Jeremy, andfuck,he’s smirking.
“Nick gotlaid. With histutor,” he says.
“Oh, shit?” The corners of Ian’s mouth turn up momentarily, and a small seed of nervous embarrassment digs into my stomach while a blush shoots up my neck. “That’s…nice? Good for you?”
“Hah. You aren’trelievedfor me or anything?” I ask, trying to inject some levity into what was supposed to be a chill hangout.
“No, I’m just happy for you.” Ian scratches the back of his neck. “I won’t ask you what changed?—”
“The guy’s too hot for Nicky to resist,” Jeremy mumbles, faking a cough for an effect that doesn’t land.
“Not true,” I retort when Ian suppresses a laugh. “You know how I’ve said I need to get comfortable with a guy before doing anything?”
Ian nods. “Yeah, and…most of the guys on campus are dicks who tried to fuck in the first ten minutes?”
