by M. E. Parker
“Whoa.” Cam chuckled. “Calm down girls. I was just making an observation. I have a new roommate, that’s all. It’s all good,” he said, smiling. “I’ve always wanted to live with a quarterback.”
It was my turn to chuckle. “You have not. You hate football.”
“Again, Maybury, there’s a difference between the game of football and football players. I thought we already covered this.”
Chance laughed. “Whatever you say, I have been over a lot. You want me to kick in on the rent or something? I don’t want to you to feel like I’m freeloading.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “Andy’s the one that’s sharing a room with you. You can work that out with him. I don’t want your money.” He clasped his hands together, rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin up with his fist. He batted his long eyelashes at Chance. “Maybe you could just pitch in for groceries every now in then.”
“He bought everything you’re about eat, including that cup of coffee that you just finished,” I said, defending Chance.
Cam shrugged, “In that case, maybe you could just walk around the apartment in a towel a few times a week.”
Chance burst out laughing. I joined in the laughter until Cam added, “Oh, and throw in the occasional three-way and we’ll call it even.” The smile faded from my lips when I looked at him batting his eyelashes at Chance.
Cam flirted with everyone and about 99.9 percent of the time, it amounted to nothing. But the thought of the two of them together made me sick.
“Back off Camilla, he’s mine,” I said to Cam, giving him another look that said, I’m not playing. Chance was still laughing. He hadn’t realized that I wasn’t joking anymore. Cam’s face was red.
“Bitch, did you really just call me Camilla?” The room got quiet.
I was feeling a little embarrassed. But I couldn’t help myself. “I’m just saying. Hands off,” I said staring at Cam.
Cam’s face was still red. “Jesus, put your claws back in, kitty cat. It. Was. A. Joke. Do you really think I’d do that to you?” As soon as he spoke, I felt completely embarrassed. I’d overreacted. Of course, Cam would never do that to me.
Before I could apologize, Chance looked up at me. “More importantly, do you really think I’d do that to you?” he said in almost a whisper. I looked down at him. My face was burning. I was sure it was crimson.
Chance stood up from the table and Cam followed getting in Chance’s face. “What do you mean by ‘more importantly?’ You’ve been around for like five minutes. I’m his best friend. You’re just … I don’t know … the boyfriend.” He said the word “boyfriend” like it was nothing.
Chance’s jaw was clenched. It was the first time I’d seen him look mad since the entire conversation had started. “I think I’m a little more than that. I’ve known him for fifteen years. I was his best friend for most of them.”
“Well you fucked that up, didn’t you? Now he has me,” Cameron said, not backing down.
I interrupted them. “Stop it. No. Okay? No.” I looked at Cam. “I know you would never do that to me.” I turned to Chance. “And I know that you would never do that to me.” I looked down at the floor, feeling like a fool. “Jeez, can’t a guy have even one moment of insecurity without the two of you starting World War Three?”
“No,” Cam and Chance said in unison, which prompted laughter from everyone.
Cam put his arms around both of us. “Aww … look at us, we’re just like a real family already.”
I took a deep breath and finished cooking breakfast. The tension that had filled the air of the apartment all morning had finally lifted. Cam was showing Chance photographs of some of the design projects he was working on. I glanced back at them as I plated our breakfast. Chance was genuinely interested as he swiped through the photos on Cam’s iPad, stopping occasionally to ask a question. It warmed my heart to see them getting along and finding a common interest. I shook my head, still embarrassed by my momentary flare of jealousy.
After we finally sat down to eat, Cam looked up at us. “Ben and Jordy are on their way back.”
I nodded. “I got the texts.”
“You guys are coming to game night, aren’t you?” Cameron looked back and forth between us.
I’d totally forgotten about game night. “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Chance—I mean we haven’t talked about it …” I said, struggling with my words. I looked over at Chance. I expected him to have that look. The one where his face goes white and he looks like he is about to throw up at any moment.
But he didn’t have that look. He was smiling. He shrugged. “I think it sounds fun. I mean, unless you don’t want me to go. I can work on my project tonight.” His cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink.
I swallowed. “No, I mean, I want you to. But are you sure?”
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, only if you’re sure want me to?” he said, blinking at me.
“Yeah, I think so. I guess—”
Cameron interrupted us. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Andy.” He looked at me. “Chance wants to go, but he’s worried you don’t want him to go.” He turned to Chance. “Andy wants you to go but he’s worried that you don’t really want to go.” He looked back and forth between us. “Let’s just talk about the real issue, shall we? Chance, you’re not out. Andy’s probably worried that you’re nervous about Ben and Jordy finding out about you guys. Or, he might be nervous that you don’t want to come out to them and that he’ll have to pretend that you’re not together all night and he doesn’t want to lie to his friends. Am I right, Maybury?”
He didn’t give me the opportunity to answer as he looked at Chance. “Ben and Jordy would never out you, because they wouldn’t ever hurt Andy, but also and mostly because they’re just decent people. Besides, I have a feeling that it might be nice for you to be able be yourself with people other than Andy and me.”
I furrowed my brow as I looked at Cameron. He promised me he wouldn’t pressure Chance. As if he knew what I was thinking, he added, “No pressure. I’m just trying to facilitate communication here. You two seem to suck at it.”
I looked over to Chance and he was smiling at me. “I’d love to meet your friends tonight.”
“Really?” I grinned back at him.
“Really. And I don’t expect you to lie to them or pretend we’re not together.”
I nodded my head and looked at Cam, who seemed mesmerized by our exchange.
“Was that so hard?” he teased.
I threw my napkin at him.
Chapter Twelve
Chance
I meant it when I told Andy earlier that I wanted to meet his friends. But when I stepped out of the shower later that night, I felt nervous. Not only did I want them to like me, I knew I was taking another step towards coming out and I still wasn’t sure I was ready. I walked into Andy’s bedroom to find him lying on the bed watching me, wearing only a bright blue pair of briefs.
“Are you sure you want to go tonight?” he asked, staring at me.
“Yeah. You don’t want me to?” I asked, feeling insecure again.
He smiled. “Of course, I want you to. I was just thinking of all the things we could do if we stayed in.” His eyes drifted down my chest.
I laughed. “Don’t even think about it. We already told Cam we’d go. I’m just starting to get on his good side.”
He groaned. “You worry too much about Cam. He clearly likes you. If he didn’t, he would have never invited you to game night. He’s never invited anyone I’ve liked before. Not even Mark.”
I looked at him as he ran his finger along the waistband of his briefs. He looked sexy as hell.
I shook my head. “He invited me for you, Andy. Not because he wants me there. And stop teasing me. What should I wear?” I asked as I disappeared into his closet to rummage through my duffel bag.
Andy laughed. “Anything you want.”
“Seriously?” I asked, sliding on my best pair of jeans.
�
��It really doesn’t matter. Wear the buffalo check flannel.”
“What’s that?”
He laughed. “Red and black squares.”
“Okay. I hope it’s clean enough.” I pulled it out of my duffle. It was kind of wadded up in a ball. I shook it out. “I need to do laundry,” I said, making a mental note to myself.
“You can do it here, tomorrow.”
“You don’t think Cam would mind?” I asked, sniffing the shirt. It smelled clean enough.
“As long as you’re shirtless while you do it, I’m pretty sure you can do anything you want.”
“Funny,” I said sarcastically as I tried to shake the wrinkles out. I slid the shirt on without bothering to button it and walked out of the closet just as I heard a knock.
“Yeah?” Andy called out.
Cam opened the door. “Why aren’t you dressed?” he asked Andy, as his eyes drifted over to me. He cocked his head. “That’s a good look for you, quarterback.” He was staring at my chest. I looked down and began to button my shirt. He sighed. “Now, not so much. Again, why aren’t you dressed?” he said, turning his attention back to Andy.
Andy looked at his watch. “We have almost thirty minutes.”
“I’m going now. Ben and I are making a run to the store to pick up snacks and drinks. Any requests?”
We both shook our heads. “Okay, don’t be late people.” He disappeared from Andy’s room.
“Are you sure we have to go?” Andy asked, grinning at me.
I crawled onto the bed and kissed him. “Get dressed, monkey. We’re going.”
Thirty minutes later we were crossing the hall to Ben and Jordy’s apartment and I was trying to catch my breath. I was more nervous than I thought I’d be.
I stood a few steps behind as Andy knocked on the door. Seconds later, a tall guy with light brown hair appeared in the doorway. I immediately recognized him—it was Ben. His blue-grey eyes sparked with laughter as a wide smile spread across his face revealing impossibly cute dimples. He placed his hands on either side of Andy’s cheeks.
“Andy!” he said, before he leaned down and kissed him on the lips.
Andy pushed him away. There was a look of shock on his face. “What the hell, Ben?”
Ben had reached over his shoulder and covertly collected a twenty-dollar bill from Cam, who was standing behind Ben, wearing a conspiratorial smile.
“I’m just happy to see you, that’s all, mate.” I had expected Ben to be good-looking. I’d seen him in pictures. But I sure didn’t expect to hear his perfect British accent, or see him kissing Andy on the lips. If it weren’t for the fact that I’d seen Andy wipe the kiss away with back of his hand, or that I’d seen Cameron slip him a twenty, I might have punched him in the face. Cam was fucking with me. I knew it. I wasn’t sure why, but I suspected that he still didn’t trust me with his friend. That was okay. I just wanted to prove him wrong.
I tried to keep the jealousy that was swirling in my gut at bay when Andy grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the apartment.
“Ben, this is Chance Wyrick. Chance, Ben Talbot,” Andy said, nervously. I shook the guy’s hand, gripping it tighter than needed. I couldn’t help myself.
“I’m Andy’s boyfriend,” I blurted out.
Ben’s face lost its color. “And I’m thinking about all the ways I could possibly murder Cameron. Very nice to meet you, Chance. I really am such a big fan. Such a big fan, really. I follow all of your games. The match against UNC. Well done. It was—”
Cameron interrupted, “Dear god, Ben, would you let the guy in and stop fangirling?”
Ben stepped aside. “Apologies mate, please come in.”
Andy looked over towards the kitchen and I followed his gaze. “And this is Jordy.”
When I saw where his eyes settled, I was shocked.
“Jordan,” I said, not managing to conceal my surprise. He offered a small wave. I wondered if I was blushing. “Hey, I didn’t connect it. Andy always calls you Jordy.”
“Yeah,” he replied, looking down at the floor.
“You two know each other?” Andy asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not really. I mean we’re both in the Architecture Program. Everyone knows everyone.”
“Right,” Jordan agreed, looking down again. It was weird seeing him up close. I’d always thought he reminded me of Andy. But he was nothing like him really.
Ben and Cam were busy arguing in the living room. Andy went to the fridge and came back, handing me a bottle of beer.
He looked at Jordan. “So, are you as worried about your final project as Chance is?” he asked.
Jordan laughed. “Probably more. I’ve already started sketching.”
“Me too,” I said, laughing. “I’ve heard too many horror stories of people failing after the third year.”
I looked up at Andy, who smiled at me as he headed towards the living room. He knew I’d be comfortable talking to Jordan. That’s why he left me there with him.
Jordan chuckled. “Me too. My mind’s going all over the place. I can’t figure out which direction to take.” I nodded. “So, you and Andy, huh?” he said, looking down at the floor.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, it’s kind of new. But we’ve known each other a long time.” I looked down at the floor, feeling self-conscious. “I’m not out yet,” I said in almost a whisper, wishing I’d spoken louder.
Jordan shrugged. “That’s cool. Something you have to figure out on your own.” He finally looked up at me. “You don’t have to worry about Ben or me saying anything.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I know. This is all sort of weird for me though.”
“I get that,” he said.
I had a feeling he did. We spoke about our classes. We critiqued professors. The pizza came. We stood in the kitchen and ate as Ben tried to impress me by recalling all of my stats for the season. Even I hadn’t memorized all of my stats. By the time we finished, I believed that Ben was as big of a fan as he had said he was, but that didn’t stop me from remembering that he’d kissed Andy.
Andy had moved beside me and was lying his head against my shoulder as I finished my last slice of pizza.
“You two are disgustingly sweet,” Cam declared.
“Here. Here,” Ben toasted, raising his beer. “To Andy and Chance.”
“To Andy and Chance,” Cam and Jordy joined in.
I looked at Andy and his impossibly cute rosy cheeks and raised my beer.
“To us,” I said, clinking my bottle to the others.
“We need to decide on the first game before these two decide to go home and fuck,” Cam joked. Andy’s cheeks turned even redder. I reached down and grabbed his hand, threading my fingers through his.
“Jenga,” Jordan called out.
Cam shook his head. “Not Jenga.”
“I like Jenga,” I said, squaring off with Cam.
“Of course, you would like Jenga,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Architects … they always want to play Jenga.”
Andy let out a sigh. “I really don’t want to start with Cards Against Humanity. It’s getting old.”
Cam reached into a cabinet and started to pull down shot glasses. “Gay I Never,” he said.
Andy and Ben groaned.
“Oh, come on. We haven’t played that since summer before sophomore year,” Andy whined.
“Come on. It’ll be fun. We have a new player,” Cam said as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and carried it into the living room.
Andy, Jordan, and I settled on the couch as Cam filled five shot glasses. Ben and Cam took the two chairs on the other side of the coffee table.
Jordan cleared his throat. “Ugh … I don’t want to be hungover tomorrow. I thought you decided we were too old for drinking games.” He was clearly talking to Cam, who was ignoring him for the moment.
After he had passed out the shots, he leaned back in his chair. “You’ll be fine Jordy, you’ve never done anything, so it’s unlikely you’ll have to drink anyway.�
� He clapped his hands. “Prepare for the oath.”
Andy groaned. “Please tell me we’re not doing that.” I leaned back against the couch and put my arm around Andy. I was having fun. Cam was right; it was nice to not have to pretend. I felt like I could breathe. I was even starting to like Ben.
Cam sat up straight. “Raise your left hand.”
I watched the guys roll their eyes and raise their left hands. I had no idea what was going on, but I did what I was told and raised my left hand.
“Repeat after me.” Cam closed his eyes and raised his left hand. “I solemnly swear,” he opened one eye as we all repeated after him, “as a Gilcrest University Gay …”
As I repeated his words, I chuckled.
“… upon the lives of all of Dorothy’s friends who came before me …”
I repeated his words and leaned over to Andy. “Who’s Dorothy?” I whispered.
He smiled at me and kissed my cheek. “I’ll explain later.”
Cam opened one eye again and looked at me. “You really need to learn some gay history.” I shrugged and Cam continued. “That I will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me Diana Ross.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I repeated his words. “So, is anyone going to explain the rules?” I asked, looking around the room.
Ben sat up in his chair. “There’s nothing to it. If you’ve done it, you take a shot.”
I frowned. “I know how to play ‘I Never’, but what’s the ‘Gay’ part?”
Andy let out a breath. “Whatever you say has to be gay related. It’s completely stupid.”
Cam rolled his eyes and held his hand out towards me. “We have a baby gay here. You guys are sucking all the fun out of it for him.”
“Whatever. Just go, Cam,” Jordan complained.
“Okay. I’ve never hooked up with a football player.”
Andy rolled his eyes and picked up his shot glass. “I’m coming for you, Cam,” he said before he downed the shot. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Your turn, Ben,” Andy said, looking at Ben.
“Wait,” Cam said. “Ben has a glass in his hand.”
