Chasing Chance: Gilcrest University Guys Book One

by M. E. Parker

  I shook my head again. This can’t be happening. I breathed in his scent. He smelled like the woods and campfire mixed with musk. My own cock was standing at attention and it frustrated me that I couldn’t do anything about it. My mouth was dry, and I was thirsty. There was a bottle of water resting on floor of the tent right next to Chance. But I couldn’t reach it without rolling over on top of him. That wasn’t going to happen. I laid still for a while just watching him sleep. Even though I was angry at him and probably always would be, he was still the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Without meaning to, I let out a deep sigh. I closed my eyes and wished to be magically transported someplace else. I wasn’t sure what would happen when Chance woke up, but I imagined it wouldn’t be pleasant.

  Even though I could only remember bits and pieces of ending up naked in a sleeping bag with my ex-best friend, I remembered enough to know that Chance had saved me. I remembered feeling so cold that I was in pain. I remembered the worried look in his dark eyes. I remembered him being kind to me. None of that matched up with the Chance who ghosted me three years ago.

  My thirst finally got the best of me. That, and I couldn’t just lay there wondering how Chance would react when he woke up. I wanted to get it over with. My right arm was wedged underneath him, so I carefully moved my left arm that was pinned to my side and tapped him on the shoulder. “Chance,” I rasped, not realizing how dry my throat was. He didn’t move, so I pushed on his shoulder a little harder. “Chance.”

  He jerked, and his eyes flew open. He looked around for a second, presumably trying to figure out where he was. “Andy? I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m just really thirsty and I’m kinda stuck. Can you hand me that water?” I asked, motioning for the water beside him. He quickly turned around and grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and handed it to me. I lifted my head and gulped down several swallows.

  He took the bottle from me, replaced the lid, and threw it down beside him. “Better?” I nodded in response. His brow furrowed. “You look better. Man, you scared the shit outta me last night. Your lips were blue, and you wouldn’t stop shivering…” He paused, looking down at me again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I cleared my throat. “I’m fine.”

  He frowned at me. “What were you doing up here by yourself? You didn’t have a proper pack or shoes. Not even a coat. What were you thinking?”

  I rolled my eyes. The last thing I needed was a lecture from him. “I didn’t plan on falling in the river, or even camping out. My plan was to hike up and hike back down before sundown. Look, I’m sorry…” I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing to him. “I mean, I should say thanks, I guess, for pulling me out and all that.” I was thankful. There was a good possibility he’d saved my life. But I didn’t want to feel grateful.

  He was shaking his head. “No. It’s fine. I’m just glad I showed up. I really am glad you’re okay.” His eyes softened, and the corners of his lips curled. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said again and laid his head back down. “How’ve you been? Do you like Gilcrest? How’s your mom? I didn’t get to see her yesterday.”

  Really? Was he really gonna just pretend like we were old friends that hadn’t seen each other for a while? I was frustrated. I wasn’t sure what I wanted from him, but I sure didn’t want him to pretend that nothing had happened between us, like I was just some long-lost friend that he hadn’t seen in a while. “So, is this what we’re doing? We’re just pretending that you haven’t been ignoring me for the last three years?” I turned my head to look at him. I was on my back and he was on his side, still clinging to me. Our faces were inches apart. Our eyes met. His face turned red. He closed his eyes. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something and then closed it again. I moved to sit up. “Where are my clothes?” I didn’t care how tired I felt, I was ready to get out of that tent and away from Chance Wyrick.

  He gently pressed on my shoulder. “Wait. We should wait until first light.” I shook my head and moved to sit up again. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “Please. I—just. Please. I’m sorry, Andy. I’m so fucking sorry. I’ve missed you,” he whispered as he nuzzled against my neck. His warm breath caressed my skin, sending a chill through my body. His voice dripped with desperation. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again. And God help me, I believed him. He sounded so vulnerable.

  I finally gave in. I wasn’t sure his words were enough to fix things between us but I wanted to forgive him. I needed to forgive him. My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest as I felt his warm whispers against my neck. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” I couldn’t take it anymore. The tenderness in his voice was killing me. He sounded defeated.

  “It’s okay, Chance,” I finally whispered as I reached over and put my hand in his hair. “It’s okay.”

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered again, and then I felt his soft lips on my neck. One soft kiss. “I’m sorry.” I could barely hear his whisper. “I’m sorry.” Another soft kiss. Then another. “I’m sorry.” He kissed my jaw. Then a gentle kiss against my lips. I laid there motionless, trying to make sense of what was happening. I looked into his eyes. He wanted me. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest against mine. “Andy” was the last thing he whispered before his lips descended on mine. Warmth poured over me as he parted my lips with his tongue. My heart pounded as our tongues danced together in perfect harmony. The kiss was desperate. It was sweet. It was hungry.

  I couldn’t think. Butterflies set themselves free in my stomach as I twined my fingers through his dark, thick hair, pulling him closer. My cock was throbbing as he shifted his body on top of mine. An involuntary moan escaped my lips when I felt his hard cock pressing against me. I could feel the slickness from his precum between us. I shifted my body to get the friction I needed and moaned as my cock grazed his. He groaned and moved his hips back and forth as we moved against each other. The feeling of our bodies pressed together was indescribable. I never wanted it to end. I could think of nothing else.

  I was so hard that it hurt. I’d never felt a stronger need. I felt my balls draw up and tighten as we continued to move against one another. I wanted it to last forever, but I knew it wouldn’t. He never stopped kissing me as I ran my hands down his smooth, muscular back to his ass. My hands gripped both cheeks and I pressed him closer to me. I couldn’t get close enough to him. “Oh God!” he moaned. As soon as I felt the warmth of his climax between us, I let go. The orgasm that ripped through my body was like nothing I’d ever felt before. My entire body was shaking.

  Chance’s hands were on either side of my head, his fingers still intertwined and clinging to my hair. His head was resting in the crook of my neck as he tried to catch his breath. “Andy,” he whispered against my neck. My arms were wrapped around his muscular back and I squeezed them tighter around him. The weight of his body lying on mine should have been too much. But it felt right. Everything felt right. His warm breath against my neck. The feel of his chest expanding and contracting against mine. His heart pounding against my chest. It was intense, but it felt perfect. All I could do was lie there, grazing my fingers over the smooth skin covering his hard muscles and wonder, What the hell just happened?

  chapter eleven

  Chance

  As I came down from the best orgasm I’d ever had in my life, the realization that I was lying naked in a sleeping bag with Andy hit me all at once. Jesus, what the hell just happened? I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little freaked out. What have I done? I closed my eyes and whispered again, “I’m sorry, Andy. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I think we’ve covered that already,” he rasped.

  I nodded against his chest. Then I pushed myself off him. I couldn’t begin to process what happened. I could feel the stickiness of our release on my stomach and grabbed the flannel blanket beside us, wiped myself c
lean, and handed it to him. “I’m gonna go check and see if your clothes dried,” I said as I slipped on my jeans.

  I quickly crawled out of the tent and pulled Andy’s clothes off the roof. They were still damp and cold. The sun was rising, but it was still freezing outside. Andy was sitting up when I came back in. I couldn’t look him in the eye. “They’re still wet,” I said, throwing him my compression pants. “Put these on. And this.” I tossed over my t-shirt. “And that,” I said, laying my coat beside him and pulling on my flannel shirt. I put his damp clothes in my pack so he wouldn’t have any extra weight in his.

  “I can wear my own clothes. It’ll be fine. It’s a short hike.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not fine. You need to stay warm. Put them on.” I nodded towards the clothes I’d thrown in his direction.

  I turned my back to him when he finally moved from the sleeping bag and pulled on the compression pants.

  “Chance, are we gonna talk about what just happened, or are we just ignoring it?”

  I turned and looked at him. He was staring up at me with big green eyes and my football t-shirt hung loosely on him. He looked perfect. Fuck! I couldn’t go there. I had no idea how to talk about what happened between us. “Can we not right now? I just—Andy, I don’t know,” I stuttered. “I have practice in a few hours and I need to get back to campus,” I said, pulling my socks out of my hiking boots and tossing them to him.

  “Jesus, I’m not taking your socks, Chance,” he growled. His face was red.

  “Take them, Andy. Your shoes are still wet.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t hike an hour in those boots without socks. You have a game Saturday.”

  I couldn’t help but grin. It made me feel good to know that he knew about the game. “I’ll wear yours,” I said, pulling them from my pack. “Let’s just get packed so we can get off the mountain.”

  We didn’t speak to each other while he rolled up my sleeping bag or while we broke down the tent. The silence was frustrating and gratifying at the same time. When I finished loading my pack, Andy finally spoke. “Don’t forget your coat.”

  “You wear it.”

  “I don’t need it, I’m not cold.” I looked at him and could see the goosebumps on his arms.

  “Suit yourself,” I said as I put the pack on. It was cold as hell. There was no way I was going to let him hike down the mountain in a short-sleeved t-shirt. “I guess I’ll just leave it here,” I said, walking away and then glancing back at the North Face down jacket I’d left lying on the ground.

  His arms were crossed and he was shivering. “You always were a stubborn asshole,” he mumbled as he picked up the coat and put it on.

  I turned away from him, grinning, as I walked towards the trail down the mountain. I looked back every so often to make sure he was following. He was. But he didn’t seem happy about it. I was still worried about him. I couldn’t get over what happened. As incredible as it was to be with him like that, I was still freaked out. I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t know how to act around him, and I didn’t know what to say to him. All that mattered in that moment, though, was that he got safely down the mountain.

  As soon as I saw the parking area. I sighed in relief. I took a second to catch my breath and Andy moved passed me. I jogged after him. “Hold up, Andy.” He stopped for a second, looked back at me, and then jogged down to the bottom of the trail.

  I met him at the end, and he was digging through his backpack. “Hey,” I said, out of breath. “Let me drive you back to your mom’s so you can get checked out.”

  He shook his head and looked up at me, squinting. “I’m good. I need to get back to campus. I’m fine.”

  I knelt next to him. “Andy, you should get checked out. You weren’t fine last night,” I said.

  “Well, I’m fine now.” He looked back down at his pack and stood up. “Thanks for umm… I guess helping me last night.” He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking towards his car in the parking lot.

  “Andy…” I said, not knowing what else to say as I watched him jog towards his car. I shook my head and rubbed my face. Fuck! “Wait up.” I ran over to him and stopped beside his car and waited as he put his backpack in his back seat. He turned around and looked at me. “I, I, umm…”

  He glanced down. “Oh, God, your coat, sorry,” he said as he unzipped it, took it off, and handed it to me.

  I grabbed it from him. He glanced down again. “Your clothes. I can change.” He reached for his duffle in the back seat of his car.

  “Wait. No. I don’t care about the clothes, Andy. Keep them. It’s just… um… I wanted to say…” I paused. I had no fucking idea what I wanted to say, but I didn’t want to leave things how they were. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” I finally managed to say.

  He looked down at the ground and then looked back up at me. “Yeah. I’m good. See ya, Chance,” he said as he got into his car.

  “Bye, Andy,” I rasped as I turned around.

  “Chance,” he called, after I was halfway across the parking lot. My heart skipped a beat and I turned around. “For whatever it’s worth, I’ve missed…” He paused. “I’ve missed us being friends.”

  I stood there frozen as he closed his car door and turned the ignition. “I’ve missed that too,” I said as I watched him drive away.

  chapter twelve

  Andy

  My entire body was shaking as I drove down the mountain. I stopped at the first gas station I came to. Holy mother of shit, did that just happen? I shook my head as I took off my wet shoes and peeled off the damp socks that Chance had given me. I knew it was real. I blasted the heat in my car to warm my freezing feet as I searched through my duffle bag for a dry pair of socks.

  I scrambled through my backpack until I found my phone. It was miraculously working. It must not have gotten wet. There were a bunch of missed calls and texts from my mother wanting to know if I’d made it back to college okay. I quickly texted her. Sorry, my phone died. Just saw your texts, I’m fine, I lied.

  I ignored more missed calls from Mark. Then I saw a text from Cam. Happy hour tonight? I thought about it for a moment. I had no idea what just happened between Chance and I, but I knew that the last thing I needed was to waste my time obsessing over it. I texted him back. It’s Friday, isn’t it? He sent back the eggplant emoji. I ignored him and concentrated on driving back to school.

  As I drove, I tried to work out what the hell that was between Chance and me. I shook my head as I tried to figure it out. Was he gay? Bi? What the hell? He’d definitely made the first move. It just seemed impossible. He was straight. He’d made it perfectly clear before. Maybe it was pity sex. Or maybe he felt guilty about rejecting me in high school or for treating me like shit, so he thought he’d get me off to make up for it. And, oh my god, why’d it have to feel so perfect? I laughed.

  Jesus, I thought, it doesn’t matter. Maybe he was nicer this time than he was the last time, but the look on his face was the same. He was freaked out. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Hell, he didn’t even want to talk to me period. We hiked an hour down the mountain and he hadn’t said one word to me. When he chased me to my car, I hoped he would really talk to me. But he didn’t.

  As much as I wanted to believe that something had changed, I knew it hadn’t. I believed him when he said he was sorry. But I couldn’t let myself hope. And I sure as hell couldn’t let myself go back to where I was in high school—heart broken, depressed, and fucking obsessed. No, I wasn’t going back there. I’d made up my mind; I was going to talk to Cam about it. I trusted him. He would help me sort it out.

  I felt like I was in a fog the entire drive back to Gilcrest. I was relieved when I pulled into my apartment complex parking lot. It was a wonder I’d made it there safely. When I walked into the apartment, I realized for the first time that my body ached all over. My arms felt like I’d lifted weights for hours in the gym and my legs felt like I’d run a marathon. I took a couple of pain relievers and
a hot shower and nestled down in my bed.

  Cameron woke me up. I slept all day; I must’ve been exhausted. Apparently, almost falling to your death in a freezing river, being saved by your ex-best friend, subsequently spending the night naked with him in a cold tent, making out with him, having the best orgasm of your life, and later taking an hour-long hike down a freezing cold mountain while he ignores you makes a person really sleepy. Who knew? I looked up from my chicken fried rice and across the table to Cam, who was squinting at me as if he was trying to solve a riddle.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I told you, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night. I guess the week and everything that happened just caught up with me. I feel a lot better now, though.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?” he asked as he took a bite of his lo mein.

  I shrugged. “I ran into an old friend while I was home and it was… weird.” As soon as I said the words, I regretted them. I’d promised myself I’d talk to Cam about Chance. But I wasn’t ready yet. I needed time to process and, honestly, I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to go out with Cam, Jordy, and Ben and have some fun. If I told Cameron the whole story, it would consume the entire evening.

  “Weird in what way? Elaborate,” he said, taking another bite of his food.

  I shook my head. “It was just weird. A long story. Anyway, are you gonna tell me what you did over Thanksgiving? Where’d you fly off to?”

  He grinned. “Nice subject change there, Maybury.” He shrugged. “I was helping out a friend.”

  “Which friend?” I asked.

  He smirked at me. “Which friend did you run into at home?”

  I laughed. “So, I guess we’re not sharing tonight.” That was totally fine with me.