Royal Scoundrel (Frat Wars #4)

Chapter 11

11

Dash

Being with Archie is hot enough in itself, but the sneaking around aspect is thrilling. I’m like double dick seven, agent of sexpionage, swooping in to make sure his every need is met.

And fuck me, I’ve never had this much sex in my life. Archie is a horny guy, and he’s constantly blowing up my phone, asking me to meet, and whisking me away to secluded spots on campus for a quickie.

Then at night, if Larry is out, he’ll come by my place, or I’ll sneak into the Kappa house.

Our arrangement is my new favorite thing. Who needs schoolwork and friendships and part-time jobs? Not me.

Unfortunately, those things get in the way of us constantly being together, along with Archie’s frat duties, but we’re making it work.

“Excuse me.”

I jump at the voice, cutting through the stillness of the library, and find Archie leaning against the nearest stacks.

“Hey,” Jonah from my study group says. “Need something?”

“Do you care if I steal Dash away for a few minutes?”

Jonah shakes his head, and I have to force myself to get up calmly instead of jumping on Archie and fusing our faces together.

“What’s up?”

Archie nods toward the next row, and I follow him there. The second we’re hidden from view, his warm hand slips into mine, and he picks up the pace, dragging me along behind him. We go from row to row, moving into the quieter, more secluded areas of the stacks until we reach the back corner where the paleontology books are. He presses me into the shelves, and before I can think to ask what the hell he’s doing, he kisses me.

Archie’s lips aren’t like anyone’s I’ve ever kissed before. The man is skilled, and I hate how quickly I lose all common sense when he’s around. Like now, when I should be worried about us being busted, but all I do is wind my fingers through his hair and kiss him harder.

Archie pulls back, laughing against my lips. “You’re almost as eager as I am.”

“No almost about it. Do you cover your lips with crack before you see me? Fucking hell.”

“I don’t, but that’s an idea.” He presses one more soft kiss to my lips, then steps back until he’s leaning against the books opposite me. “Hey.”

“I think the option for greetings ended around the time you were tonguing my tonsils.”

He snickers. “Even my tongue isn’t that good.”

“Probably doesn’t help that I don’t have tonsils.”

Archie’s bluey-green eyes crease at the corners as he smiles at me. The look is soft and sends my gut awash. “Did you have them out when you were little?”

“Yeah, I used to get tonsilitis a lot. So …” I make a slashing motion over my throat.

“Me too.”

“Really?”

“Look at that. Something we have in common.”

“There was bound to be something.” I kick the toe of his shoe. “What did you hunt me down for? I need to study, but if you’re after a hookup, Larry works tonight, so you can meet me later.”

Archie’s gaze drops to his feet. “I … Actually, I don’t really know.”

“You hunted me down in the library with no clue why?”

He scowls. “I was already in here and spotted you. I don’t even remember deciding to come over, actually. One minute, I was by the doors; the next, I was fetching you. So, uh, sorry.”

“Don’t be. I love being so wanted it’s not even a conscious decision anymore.”

“Well, it would be nice to know what that feels like,” he teases.

“Please. I’ve always been so frustratingly into you with no reason to be other than your pretty face.”

“And now?”

I tilt my head from side to side. “There’s kinda a personality under there.”

“Hey, fuck you.”

“You do. Frequently.”

His cheeks flush, and he glances both ways down the stacks. “Come on a date with me.”

“What?”

“It’ll be fun.”

“What part of ‘not boyfriends’ did you miss?”

“The part where apparently that somehow means we can’t hang out together.”

Do I want to hang out with him? Of course, but I also know it’s probably not the smartest thing to be seen around campus together. “There’s literally no reason for us to be seen together. We’re not friends.”

“Well, maybe we are now.”

“Oh yeah?” I taunt. “Are you going to go around introducing me as your new bestie?”

A muscle in Archie’s jaw pulses.

“Exactly. If we’re seen together too much, people might start thinking there’s something going on. We both know you can’t afford for that to happen.”

His face pulls so tight I swear he’s ready to kick something. “There’s no reason why we can’t be friends. I want to be friends.”

“Dude, relax. We are friends. No one else has to know that though. Don’t worry about me—I’m not the kind of guy who needs romance and attention because I’m where you park your cock at night.”

“Stop talking like that.”

“Like what ?”

“You … you …” His face is going redder. “Sometimes you make it sound so cheap. Stop fucking doing that.”

I laugh, caught off guard by that twisted view. “What do you think this is? Sure, it’s not cheap and nasty, but it’s just sex. Incredible sex. We’re friendly, I like talking to you, but damn, boy, we don’t need to pretend this is anything more than it is.”

“Maybe I want to pretend.” He closes the distance between us, stopping before we touch. “Maybe I want to get swept up in having a crush and wrap myself in the illusion of a real relationship. I know it will never be anything, but maybe I don’t want to deal with reality when I’m with you. Maybe I want to pretend like you’re my boyfriend and we have a future, and I know how stupid that sounds, but why the fuck can’t I be stupid for once?”

My jaw is somewhere around my ankles. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying.”

My lips twitch as I hold back an inappropriate laugh. “You want to pretend to be boyfriends, knowing we’re not actually boyfriends, so, that, what? When you have to fall in line and go back to being the straight boy, you think it’ll be easier?”

Archie shakes his head, reddish curls swaying. “Oh no. Definitely not. It’ll make it a thousand times harder.”

My laugh breaks free. “Then what the heck are you talking about?”

He sets his hands on my hips. “If this is my one chance to experience the life I’m supposed to be living, I want to experience it. All of it. Obviously, there’s a lot we can’t do, but …” His voice breaks, and all my amusement shrivels up.

“It’s not fair,” I say.

“Don’t I know it?”

There are no other words I can put it into, though, because he’s probably already told himself it all. This is scummy. Fucked-up. His daddy doesn’t want a gay son, so he gets what he wants? What about what Archie wants?

The problem with that question is that I don’t know what he wants. Not really.

I’m safe for him. Convenient.

If he had the option to be out and free, I’ve gotta face the facts that I’d never be his guy. Can’t say that doesn’t hurt to acknowledge, but maybe this is the chance for both of us. He gets to fool himself into thinking he has a boyfriend, and I get to fool myself into thinking I could own a guy like Archie Levine.

“Deal.”

He blinks at me. “What is?”

“We’ll do it. Play your little game. Pretend boyfriends or whatever—not like it changes a whole lot. We’re together whenever we can be anyway.”

“Except now you’ll let me take you on dates.” His eyes search mine, and I sigh.

“Sure. That.” Playing it off means I don’t have to face how much I like that idea. “Just make sure it’s somewhere expensive. Preferably with a five-week wait list.”

“I don’t think anything like that exists in this town.”

“Fine …” I hook my finger through a gap between his buttons. “Guess burger and fries it is.”

“Why don’t you let me do the thinking?”

His amused tone lights me up inside. “Oh yeah? You gonna make me feel special? Wine and dine me before you sixty-nine me.”

Archie’s lips tighten briefly. “There you go making it sound cheap again.”

“Cheap?” I can’t believe this is the guy I’m into. “That sounds like the perfect romantic night to me.”

“In that case, I’m taking notes.”

“And now I’m legitimately excited about the idea of a date.” I frown, wanting to be real for a moment but lost as to how to start. “You sure about this? I get all the reasons why you think it’s a good idea, but I want to make sure you don’t think it’s something I need. It’s not. I’m cool with our arrangement. You’re ridiculously hot and eager for me—what’s not to love?”

His answer shocks me. “No. I’m not sure at all. It’s terrifying to think about my dad finding out or someone seeing us together or you telling people?—”

“I wouldn’t?—”

“I know that, but they’re all the thoughts constantly in my head. We wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t trust you. But it’s because I’m scared that I know it’s right. I’m so used to things being easy. I’m so used to money opening doors or my last name having people fall over themselves for me. This is the first locked door I’ve ever had in my life. And I opened it. Me. On my own. It’s my choice to be here, and honestly, Dash, the more time I spend with you … I’m so glad you took that chance on me. That’s all. So no, I’m not sure. But that isn’t going to stop me anyway.”

“Well, that logic is good enough for me.” I kiss him again, little sparks going off in my chest as his eyes go all crinkly and happy. “I’ve gotta get back to the others.”

“Ah. Yeah. We’ve been a while.”

“I’ll just tell them I was helping a dumb jock with the Dewey decimal system.”

“The sad part is that I can’t even be offended by that. Some of my brothers don’t even know where the library is.”

We slowly part from each other, hands lingering like we don’t want to let go.

“Text me when you want to meet up,” I tell him.

Archie watches me leave, and I’ve barely turned the corner to the study carrels when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I already know it’s him before I’ve ever pulled it and I find one message there waiting for me.

2nyt. Wear sumthing pretty 4 me.