“I’m sorry,” I whispered. He shook his head and stood to face Chris. The guy had a knack for turning up everywhere at the wrong time.
“You guys heading to the after party?” he asked. It seemed strange for a senior to invite freshman to parties, but maybe that was how this school worked. After all, this wasn’t high school.
“Nah, I’m about done with human interaction for the day,” Gabe announced in the way only he could without coming across as a huge dweeb. “We’re gonna head back to the dorms.”
“Oh, sure.” Chris raised an eyebrow as he looked between us. He traced his tongue across his lower lip when his gaze landed on Gabe, and I felt a possessive urge building inside of me. He was my boyfriend, and I wasn’t a fan of other guys checking him out. Of course, other guys wouldn’t know they were doing anything wrong as long as I was locked in the closet. “Maybe next weekend.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Gabe told him. He snatched up our blanket and shoes. I followed him to the boardwalk, leaning on him for support as I rinsed my feet.
“You could’ve gone to the party,” I told him, not wanting him to feel like he had to go wherever I was. Once school started, there’d be plenty of time when we’d be on our own.
“I could if I wanted to,” he countered. “Turns out, I have a much better proposition on the table for tonight.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” I asked, a teasing lilt in my voice.
Gabe leaned in, nipping my ear where anyone could see, and it took everything in me to keep the anxiety at bay. “Unless I’m mistaken, I’m pretty sure this sexy guy invited me back to his room for some naked time.”
“Mmm, that does sound enticing.” I cautiously reached out to brush the back of my hand over his prick. “You should probably get back to his room before he chickens out.”
Gabe took off at a sprint, taunting me about being too slow. I scooped up the blanket he’d dropped and took off after him at a leisurely pace.
My stomach flipped, knowing this was the first time we’d truly be alone since arriving in Wilmington. Well, our first time ever, really, since we’d always had to worry about parents in the past. He’d said we’d go at whatever pace was comfortable for me, but I knew I could easily be swayed to go further because I wanted him to be happy.
The drive back to campus was quiet, but there was so much sexual tension in the air, I was surprised Gabe didn’t find the first dark parking lot available to strip me. The Jeep lurched to a stop and he got out, rushing to open my door. Gabe reached for my hand as we made the walk across the parking lot. While we waited for the elevator to our floor, he lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Huh?”
“Just because no one else will be in the suite, don’t worry about what we do or don’t do. All I want is to be with you and chill. Total relaxation. That’s the goal for tonight.” The elevator doors opened and I followed him inside. Gabe leaned against the back wall and it felt right to slide in next to him. He slid his hand around my waist and pressed a chaste kiss to the side of my head. “I think I’m going to like living here with you.”
“Back at ya,” I said, cringing because it sounded stupid to my own ears. All too soon, the doors opened and the panic returned. Or maybe it was simply anticipation for what was to come, not only in the next few minutes, but over the course of the next four years. Turning down Duke to go to school with Gabe was a good plan.
5
Trevor
The first week of school was like a dream. We were in the honeymoon phase, not only as far as being college students rather than the children we were a few months earlier in high school, but also as a couple. Like every year since kindergarten, I woke up before the birds, springing out of bed and anxious to get to my first class. I showered, savoring the extra time since the rest of the suite was still asleep, then made Gabe his first cup of coffee.
When it finished brewing, I sat it on the dresser we’d decided to use as a makeshift nightstand and perched myself on the edge of the bed. I ran my fingers along the length of his spine, still amazed I could touch him like this whenever I wanted. He grumbled and buried his head beneath the pillows. I bent over, placing one tender kiss against his shoulder blade, chuckling when he stirred a bit more. Allowed my hands to drift to the small of his back, pressing past the waistband of his sleep pants. “Mmm, come back to bed.”
“No time,” I told him, even though it was still nearly an hour before the dining hall opened for breakfast. If I crawled back into the bed with him, we’d fall back to sleep and miss our first classes. Or even better, he’d wake up and we’d lose track of time making out. “I made you coffee.”
He rolled to his back and sat up, eyes still closed as he reached for the steaming mug. “God, I love you,” he sighed after the first sip.
I tensed, still uncomfortable with how easily he threw the phrase around. I wanted to laugh it off but didn’t want to risk my reaction hurting his feelings if he was serious.
“Seriously, Trev, why are we up so early? My first class isn’t until ten,” he complained.
“Yeah, well mine’s at eight, and you said you wanted to eat together since we don’t have any of the same classes this semester.”
“I’m beginning to think I was overcompensating for the whole having to keep us a secret for so long,” he grumbled. He threw back the blankets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. When he stood, it put his morning wood on full display. We jerked off together enough times I was certain I could sketch his body in perfect detail, but I was ready for the next level of intimacy. While I was trying to work up the courage to pull down his pajama pants and lick the tip of his dick before drawing him into my mouth, Gabe disappeared into the bathroom.
When he returned, he laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You.” He crossed the room and kissed the top of my head. “You’re sitting there concentrating as though you’re trying to work out a complex math equation.”
“Nope. Just trying to wake up,” I lied. So far, Gabe opted for a snail’s pace with our relationship. I’d hinted a couple of times that I wanted more, but he always reminded me there was no need to rush anything. It was sweet, but also incredibly frustrating. And now was not the time for me to grow a set of balls and tell him what I wanted, because I wasn’t sure I could handle any sort of rejection before having to face a lecture hall of new faces several times today.
“That’s your own damn fault. We could’ve still been sound asleep, but you’re the freakazoid would has to get up before the alarm for the first damn day of school. You’d think that’d wear off eventually.”
“Maybe it will, but this is a huge day.” I was practically bouncing on the bed by this point. Gabe shook his head and grabbed his shower caddy. “Once you’re dressed, we’ll head down for some breakfast. Tell me, are you going to walk me to class like a good boyfriend would do?”
“I might,” he responded playfully. “Is your first class in the same direction as Port Java?”
“Of course,” I scoffed. “I’ve known you your entire life. Do you seriously think I’d suggest you walk in the opposite direction of your beloved coffee with a scoop of ice cream?”
I thought Gabe was going to cream his pants the first day we’d walked into Port Java and he saw that they offered hot and cold drinks with ice cream in place of sweetener. At first, he’d resisted because the ice cream would cool the coffee too much to be any good, but after the barista told him he could order one and she’d make him something else if he didn’t like it, he was hooked. Ever since then, Gabe’s primary source of exercise had been walking to the coffee shop at least twice a day.
“You’re too good to me.” He kissed me once more, then headed off for the shower moments before Seth’s alarm started blaring on the other side of the wall. While he was gone, I pulled clothes out of the dresser for him. It wasn’t weird, I told myself, because I was simply trying to save time, not dictating his wa
rdrobe choices. The fact he wouldn’t walk into his first classes looking like a rumpled mess was simply a side bonus.
Gabe kissed me quickly before getting dressed. It would’ve been so easy for me to tug at his towel, leaving him naked with his long, slender cock at the perfect height, but I didn’t. Damn priorities.
We walked to the dining hall together, loading up with enough food to get us through the day. Seth sat alone at a table in the corner, so I cocked my head for Gabe to follow me over there. The kid seemed like he was struggling to make friends, and I knew the pain of being the weirdo no one wanted to sit next to.
“Hey, you guys ready for today?” Seth asked as we approached. His eyes widened as we sat next to him. “It’s so weird to think we only have to take a couple of classes each day. I thought it’d be more like high school, where we had to juggle a ton of classes and books.”
“I’m totally down for a few hours of learning and the rest of the days free,” Gabe replied. I shook my head, because he still thought it was going to be easy with so few classes. He was woefully unprepared for how much harder classes would be this year.
“Yeah, well I’m going to reserve judgment for now,” I told them. “My classes this semester are killer.”
“I still don’t know what you’re trying to prove. You’re going to make the rest of us look bad, taking as many credits as they’d let you right off the bat,” Gabe teased. He bumped his shoulder into mine, sending the bitter sludge that passed for coffee in this place onto my plate. Nothing looked less appetizing than residence hall scrambled eggs soaked with coffee.
“Sorry.” He switched plates with me and instantly started eating the eggs. Sometimes, I wondered if there was anything the man wouldn’t put in his mouth—other than my dick, because that hadn’t happened yet no matter how much I hoped it would.
Seth watched the two of us but didn’t say anything. I felt like the subject of a research study with his critical analysis. He shook his head quickly, curled an arm around his plate, and started shoveling food into his mouth. It was the move of someone who was used to food disappearing before he finished. The kid had a story, and I was pretty sure it’d make our problems seem like a fairy tale.
The alarm chimed on my phone, alerting me it was time to head to class. Gabe chuckled, grabbed our trays, and told me he’d meet me at the door. Seth wished us luck and we returned the sentiment.
Gabe offered to walk me all the way to the lecture hall, but I dismissed him when we got to Port Java. I wasn’t ready for that level of public attention. He stopped himself from kissing me and turned away with a frown. Before I could second guess myself, I reached for his hand.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I parroted the words he told me so often.
“Yeah, I know.” I stood at the intersection, watching him cross the street and disappear into the coffee shop. It felt like I messed up something huge.
The following Monday morning crashed down around us like a hurricane. My alarm blared at six and Gabe threw a pillow at the wall, demanding I shut that damn thing up before he pitched my phone out the window. I chuckled, realizing he would never be a morning person. As much fun as it’d been to wake up every morning and have breakfast together last week, I let him sleep.
I entered the password on his phone and set six alarms, just in case five weren’t enough. Even then, I knew I’d have to call him between my first and second classes to make sure he hadn’t turned off his phone so he could sleep uninterrupted. After showering, I quickly dressed and sat in what’d officially been dubbed the smelly chair—despite the fact it no longer reeked like stale beer after a thorough cleaning—and surfed the internet on my phone while I watched Gabe sleep. When he rolled over and curled his body around my pillow, I snapped a quick picture for posterity.
Shortly after nine, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out as discreetly as possible and smiled at the message. You were supposed to wake me up.
Sorry, you were too cute to disturb, I texted back before tucking the phone away so I could pay attention to the professor droning on the historical development of Western culture. This course was going to be mind-numbingly boring, but I was trying to not fall into a false sense of security that the semester would be a breeze. The professor came across as one who would be a total hardass, despite the first-day pep talk he’d given us about how passions were meant to be embraced and he was there to guide us through our journeys.
I told myself I wouldn’t keep checking my phone, but when it buzzed for the fourth time, I decided to look. Gabe had text-bombed me.
9:32 - I’m not cute.
9:33 - Okay, so I totally am, but that’s beside the point. Wake me up from now on.
9:35 - On second thought, don’t. Sleep good. But I need to get up earlier. Didn’t have time for my Port Java run today.
9:47 - Heading in now. Wish me luck. Pizza night?
Dad had given me a lecture about utilizing the meal plan he’d paid for, but the food in the dining hall seriously lacked flavor and texture. There were other options available, but by the end of the day, I had zero energy to go back out into the real world. I could only hope it got easier once I got into the swing of the semester.
By the end of the first month of school, I knew I was in over my head. I hadn’t listened when everyone told me I didn’t have to take the maximum allowed credits. Unlike most students, I loved a challenge, so I figured packing my schedule would be a good plan. The reality was there was exponentially more homework in college.
I missed Gabe. Sure, I saw him every day and slept next to him every night, but it wasn’t enough. When his eyes grew heavy and he couldn’t concentrate anymore, we’d pack up our books and he’d head to bed. I, on the other hand, would fall into the chair under the loft and keep working until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Lesson learned. If I survived this semester, I’d rethink how many credits I took on for the spring. I wanted to regain the balance between my academic and personal lives.
6
Gabe
“Ugh, I’m beat.” Trevor dropped his backpack as soon as he walked through the door.
Where I’d taken an easy course load, Trevor was still the overachiever. He’d returned from classes every day since the second week of school, complaining about how tired he was. I wished I could say that was because we were fooling around all night, but the truth was both of us were having a hard time acclimating to our new schedules. Neither of us wanted to sleep on our own, but a twin bed wasn’t exactly designed for two grown men to share. There were a lot of misplaced elbows and knees causing unpleasant sleep interruptions.
Seth and his roommate, Gibson, were both headed home for the weekend. Trevor asked if I wanted to head out, too, but I was selfish. We’d driven home almost every weekend for the past month, but this weekend I wanted him to myself.
He’d always been so closed off in high school, but now, he was a beautifully frustrating social butterfly. The upside of him dragging me from place to place was I got to see his transformation first-hand. His mom had even demanded to speak to me during one of their nightly calls because she was certain he’d been exaggerating how much time we were spending with classmates and new friends.
“You want to head down to the dining hall or call for pizza?” He really did look ready to fall over, which was why I suggested the option that’d allow us to stay here. He could grab a shower to rinse off the funk of the day, a necessity when it was two-thousand degrees with five-hundred percent humidity. “Air you could wear” is what Gran would’ve called it. So far, it seemed everything we’d heard about the weather being more pleasant along the coast was complete and utter bullshit. Hell, it’d been too hot this week to go down and enjoy the beach, and I didn’t think that was even possible. This late in the season, it should’ve been cool enough for a sweatshirt, but I was cursing the fact the university frowned on attending classes naked. I was beginning to think it’d still be close to ninety degrees for Halloween in a
couple of weeks.
“Pizza. Definitely a pizza night,” he told me, already rummaging through his drawer for clothes. I preened a bit, happy that we’d fallen into this totally natural routine where we knew what the other was going to do before they did it. “Get the veggie tonight. It’s too hot for meat.”
I sniggered because, even though we’d celebrated our nineteenth birthdays last month, I was still a teenage boy at heart. Unable to resist the temptation to be totally immature, I moved behind him and ground the semi-hard dick I always had when he was around against his ass. “Does that mean you’re on a completely meat-free diet for the night?”
“No, just meat that’s been ground to a pulp and cooked at four-hundred degrees,” he responded without missing a beat. He paid my current predicament no attention and disappeared into the bathroom.
Knowing we were alone, I was tempted to follow him to see what he’d do if I offered to scrub his back. I stayed in the room because I still didn’t trust that Seth had left for the weekend. He’s a good enough kid, but he had this uncanny ability to show up at the worst possible times, like last Saturday night when I was about two seconds away from wrapping my lips around Trevor’s dick for the first time. I’d been dreaming about tasting him longer than I’d ever admit to anyone, including him, and then Seth had shown up when my face was close enough I could smell Trevor’s arousal. We really needed to come up with a warning system so he’d know when to back away quickly because it seemed to embarrass him even more than it annoyed me.
“Hey, Gabe, I forgot my shower caddy. Could you bring it in here?” That wasn’t like Trevor at all. He was the planner, the one who was prepared for any situation despite the fact his parents were totally against him joining Boy Scouts when we were little.
Inseparable (Port Java Book 1) Page 4
