Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Zach
L ater that morning, I struggle to keep the grin from my face on the drive to college. Arkin claimed the front passenger seat before Neriah could leave the house, but she didn’t even blink when she saw him.
I try to act normal to stop her from noticing, but I don’t have to worry. She reads her book and pays no attention to us.
A random pop song plays on the radio, but my focus stays on Arkin. It’s difficult not to glance at him, and my attention wanders occasionally, but I recall my sister in the back and redirect my gaze to the road. This thing—whatever it is—between Arkin and I needs to remain a secret for now.
If my parents were to find out, they’d send him away.
I steal a quick glance at him, and he must sense it because he swings his dark eyes in my direction, and my stomach flutters on cue—fucking flutters, as though some winged creatures are alive in there.
I quickly refocus on the road, checking the mirrors. Neriah turns another page, her head bobbing to the music playing in her earbuds as she sucks on her strawberry lollipop. There’s almost nothing left of it. Other people would have bitten down on it now, but not my sister. She’ll suck until it’s gone.
We finally arrive at college, and I park in my usual spot. The seatbelt unclicks in the backseat, and then Neriah is gone, having grabbed her bag and exited the vehicle without a goodbye.
I look around, drumming my thumb on the steering wheel, expecting my friends to be waiting somewhere, but they aren’t here yet.
I’m torn from my restless state when Arkin unclips his seatbelt and unbuckles his belt. What the hell is he doing?
My eyes bug out, but before I can ask him why he’s undressing, he unzips his pants to free his dick and then puts my hand on his growing erection.
“Arkin? What the hell?” Panicked, I twist in my seat, scanning the immediate area. Anyone could see us.
Doors slam shut, some careless, others soft, and trainers squeak on the asphalt while snippets of conversation drift through the air—bursts of laughter, rushed complaints, and shouts to friends in the distance.
Arkin is fully erect now, his cock silken and warm in my hand, and I swallow nervously, squeezing the hard, veiny length. “We can’t do this here.”
His big hand comes down on mine and he guides it up and down in slow, firm strokes. A car engine revs before fading away, music thumping faintly from a nearby Nissan, and someone yells, “Wait up!”
The sudden shout makes me startle, so Arkin reaches down to grab his backpack from the footwell to shield us from view. He puts it on his lap and then covers my hand with his again.
“My friends could show up any moment,” I say, without much conviction.
Yes, they could, but I don’t want to stop either. Not when it’s this exciting.
The look in Arkin’s heavy eyes says, “Don’t stop.”
We jerk his length together, eyes locked and hearts synced. At some point, the world outside fades away until it’s just us here in our protected little bubble, and all the sounds that seemed loud a moment ago barely register now.
A small whimper escapes me, and Arkin drops his eyes to my mouth, as if he can taste the sound.
“I love the way you look at me,” I croak, then clear my dry throat.
He slips his hand away, still holding on to the backpack, and I almost lean over to kiss him because he looks hauntingly beautiful.
His hand flies up to grip the handle as his hips thrust into my grip, chasing his impending climax. Then he throws his head back against the headrest, and my heart hammers in anticipation.
But just as I wonder if he brought tissues or something, he fists my hair and shifts the bag out of the way as he guides me down on his cock.
I barely have time to catch his cum in my mouth when he lets out a deep, almost pained groan, the first squirt striking me across the nose.
If my friends arrived now, we’d be screwed. This is a compromising position, but I can’t seem to care.
Once I’m done swallowing every drop, I sit back up to wipe the cum off my face, sucking my fingers clean.
Arkin quickly zips himself away, his cheeks slightly flushed in that ‘freshly fucked’ look I’ve come to love. I’m staring at him, admiring the view, when Ryan slams his hand down on the hood.
The sudden noise has me almost jumping out of my skin, and I stumble out of the car, not even remotely inconspicuous. Fuck me. I need to get myself together unless I want to get found out. Luckily, Ryan doesn’t notice because Harrison throws his arm around his neck and rubs his knuckles over his head.
While they tussle, Arkin calmly exits the vehicle and shuts the door.
His eyes briefly meet mine, a deep, vivid blue that reminds me of endless skies and glassy lakes. He hikes his bag higher onto his shoulder, then sets off walking, blending with the crowds.
A frown etches itself between my brows. Did he walk away?
What did I expect? For him to wait? Yeah, maybe I did.
I’ve treated him like shit in the past, so why would he want to stick around and risk humiliation.
Harrison snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Zach.”
I stare at him for a moment, confused. The groups of students outside the entrance have thinned since we arrived. There’s no sign of Arkin.
“You zoned out there for a bit, mate.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I mumble distractedly.
Ryan claps me hard on the shoulder, and I shuffle forward. “You’re not worried about Jones, are you? That fucker had it coming.”
Slow to process, I glance at him. “Why would I be worried about Jones?”
“You beat the crap out of him, remember?” Ryan answers, then peers past me at Harrison. “Think he’ll show today?”
“I know he will. He’s too concerned about his ego to let Zach get away with what he did.”
An amused grunt, of sorts. “Whatever. I don’t fear him.”
“We’ve got your back,” Ryan says, smacking me on the shoulder again.
I don’t see Arkin again until lunch when he enters the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets.
He rocks back on his heels and scans the space. A few days ago, I would have ignored him.
In fact, he didn’t eat his lunch in here, and I don’t know where he went or what he did, but I never saw him around.
We lock eyes, and I wave him over, ignoring the curious glances I get from Harrison and Ryan. I get it—I’ve gone from cold to hot, ignoring and taunting him one minute to inviting him to sit with us the next.
After pulling out the chair next to me, I stab the pasta on my plate, pretending my body doesn’t light up when he settles beside me. “You want to get some food?” I ask, nudging my chin to the queue, which is significantly shorter now than it was earlier.
Arkin shakes his head and removes a packed lunch from his bag.
I had no idea Mum packed him those.
Harrison leans forward on my other side. “Jones giving you any trouble?”
Arkin unwraps his ham sandwich with a small shake of his head and then takes a large bite, strands of dark hair falling forward.
The other day, he spoke to me at the abbey before we…
Memories of Arkin lying beside me on the grass freshly fucked invade my mind, and a blush creeps up my neck. I quickly stab some more pasta spirals to distract myself.
Will he ever talk to me? Truly talk? I wish he would. I want to listen to him for hours. It doesn’t matter if he discusses broccoli versus cauliflower. I just want to hear his voice.
“Hi, Zach,” a feminine voice sounds in my ear.
A girl bats her wispy lashes, twirling a strand of strawberry blonde hair. I think her name is Gemma, but I could be wrong. If I remember correctly, she’s in my business class. Either that or economics.
Beside me, Arkin takes another large bite before dropping the sandwich back down to wipe his hands on a paper napkin.
“Hi,” I reply, but it sounds more like a question. It’s not that I’m unused to women openly flirting with me—it’s common practice—but this is the first time it’s made me uncomfortable.
She squeezes in between me and Harrison, nibbling her lip in a way that’s supposed to be seductive. “I hear you and Amy broke up.”
Before I can answer, she walks her long nails across my shoulder. “How about you help me study for our exam tomorrow? I’m home alone tonight if you want to come over.”
Across the table, Ryan sticks his tongue into his cheek and jerks his hand in the universal gesture for a blowjob, which makes the other guys snigger, and he high-fives one of our teammates.
I kick his shin, stifling a chuckle, but then freeze when Arkin puts his hand on my thigh beneath the table. I suck in a surprised breath, and he glides those long fingers higher up my leg.
Gemma leans down, her top lowcut enough to offer a glimpse of her black lace bra. “I hear you’re very good at studying.”
Beside me, Harrison chokes on his fizzy drink, and then one of the other guys smacks him on the back when he starts to cough.
Arkin palms the outline of my dick, and I jump in my seat, earning a few curious glances. I’m not fully erect yet, but I’m well on my way to a painful hard-on in the middle of the canteen.
“I’m busy tonight,” I choke out.
Ryan gives me a look that says, “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you tapping that?”
I ignore him, grabbing Arkin’s wrist beneath the table. He’s surprisingly strong, or maybe I don’t want him to stop what he’s doing.
Gemma chews her gum, about to say something else, when Amy clears her throat behind Ryan.
If the cafeteria were a U-boat, alarms would blare right about now to warn of an incoming missile attack.
With her hip cocked and her arms crossed, Amy oozes hostility. “Look what the cat dragged in. Are you lost? The skanks’ table is in the corner.”
Gemma pops a pink bubble. “How original. Still struggling with your IQ, I see. Tell me, is that the best insult you can come up with?” She looks her up and down condescendingly, then finally—fucking finally—walks away, but not before she winks at me. “Let me know when you’re free to help me study.”
I sink lower in my seat with a groan. What a fucking mess. Amy glares at me accusingly and arches a brow. “Really, Zach. That slag?” Then she smiles at Arkin. “Hi, handsome.”
She walks up to him and plops down on his lap with a glance in my direction.
Ryan mouths “awkward,” but I ignore his attempts at humor. It’s almost impossible not to roll my eyes at how Amy pushes her tits against Arkin’s chest like a cat in heat.
It couldn’t be more obvious that my ex-girlfriend is trying to crawl under my skin. She wants me to explode in a fit of rage and create a scene like the time I walked in on them.
The smug look on her face sets my teeth on edge. She thinks she has gained the upper hand, and I hate how, for a moment, I feel like maybe it’s true.
As the others fall into conversation, she whispers something in Arkin’s ear, though her attention remains on me, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that she’s offering to suck his dick.
It’s her favorite fucking pastime at lunch, after all. I should know—she’s been on her knees for me more times than I can count.
My knee jiggles restlessly beneath the table, and now I almost wish I could grab Arkin’s hand and place it on my cock.
Jealousy is a vile thing, yet here I am, suffocating in it.
Why doesn’t Arkin turn her down? Shove her off his lap like the snake she is.
I shoot up. “You know what? Fuck it. I think I’m free for a study session tonight, after all.”
Ryan stands up too, pretending to hump his chair. “That’s my boy! Spread your beautiful seed, Zach. Make us proud.”
“Gross,” I hear Amy scoff, but I don’t stick around to watch her flirt with Arkin.
The doors slam open, and I escape into the hallway, then down a quieter one, away from prying eyes, where I rest one of my hands against the wall as I dig my fingers into my eyeballs.
Can my ex not go after Harrison or Ryan? Anyone except Arkin? Of course, she won’t because she wants me to get jealous, so I’ll take her back.
I’m jealous, okay—so fucking jealous it takes a herculean effort not to release a frustrated roar and ram my fist into the wall.
If she was a guy, I’d drag her outside and beat the shit out of her, but I can’t resolve this with violence.
“Fuck,” I mutter, but then I’m grabbed by the arm and pushed inside the nearest empty lecture hall.
Arkin traps me against the door and then his lips are on mine, hungry and demanding. Our tongues war for dominance, while he pulls on my hair and crushes his body against mine.
I try to speak, so he silences me with an even deeper kiss as he grips me by the ass and pulls me into him.
It’s all I can do not to melt into a puddle on the floor.
He came after me.
He’s here. Touching me.
He breaks the kiss and holds my chin tenderly, though it only lasts for a brief second before he tightens his grip.
Blue as the endless sky on a clear summer day, his eyes flare, and I wet my still-tingling lips. “Only you,” he whispers, stroking his thumb through my stubble before he leaves.
My heart pounds in the ensuing silence.
Only you.