Chapter 4 #2
Goosebumps rose along my neck, down my side, and my cock woke. Damn it, his touch was like nothing else. I squirmed.
“Is…this okay? Am I making you uncomfortable?” He placed his hand on the seat back. “Sorry if I am.”
“No, you’re not. It’s uh, it’s nice.” Why did I say that? I drank more beer. Because it was true and I didn’t know how to filter my damn mouth.
“Good.” He rested his warm hand on my shoulder and leaned in close. “How’s your dad? Have you spoken to him since our tutoring session?”
As my voice cracked, I said, “No.” I feigned a cough.
“No, I haven’t. I try not to talk with him much.
” I twisted my beer on the table. Was he treating this like a date?
But how would he know my sexual orientation?
Because you opened your big fat mouth and told him his touch was nice. It had been a test, and I’d failed.
“Tell me about your family. I know about your dad, but what about your mom? Are you close with her?” He brushed his fingers along my shoulder and toward my neck.
I closed my eyes as heat rushed across my skin, and my dick plumped. What had he asked me? “Uh, what?”
“Your mom, are you closer with her? My parents are both cool. They know I’m gay and they’ve always supported me. I’ve been lucky. Not everyone is.” His fingers threaded into the hair at my nape.
My cock lengthened toward my hip. Fuck, could he see it? I looked down and then pulled my shirt over it. Thank God I hadn’t tucked my shirt in. “I was close with my mom…”
“Was?” He shifted nearer to me. “What happened?”
“She…she died. Breast cancer. When I was in high school.” My eyes pricked. Why was I getting emotional about it now? It was funny how grief worked. It snuck up on you when you least expected it.
“I’m sorry.” He pulled me against his broad chest. “That had to be hard.”
I melted against him, his hold comforting in a way I hadn’t felt in so damn long. Or ever. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” I blinked the haziness from my vision. “My dad wasn’t around much. He travels a lot with his work. So, her care fell to me.”
“Jesus.” He squeezed my shoulder. “That’s a tough thing for a teenager.”
“Yeah, but I had no choice.” I drank the rest of my beer. How had he extracted this from me? “And I was happy to be with her during her last days.”
“How old are you?” He freed my shoulder.
“Twenty-five.” I glanced at him, watching him do the math in his head. “I took a gap year after high school. It was…a rough time for me.” I’d been at my lowest, but Evan had been there to drag me out of it.
“Because your mom passed?” He fixated on me, his brows drawing together. “I can’t imagine losing a parent that young.”
“Yeah, well, it happens. And yes, I would have failed if I’d tried to take classes back then.” My chest squeezed with the memories of the drinking and the drugs I’d taken. I’d let the darkness take me. It was something I’d never let happen again.
“That’s saying a lot, with how smart you are.” He sank his teeth into his lower lip. “You met Evan in high school, right? I assume he was there for you back then?”
“Yes, but he played for a junior league hockey team and travelled a lot too. When he was home, he was always around, checking up on me.” I huffed a chuckle and shook my head once. “He’s the one who found me…” Why was this spilling out of me? He made me feel safe. How did he do that?
“He found you how?” His forehead wrinkled as he shifted closer to me. “You can talk to me. I want to know you, all about you.” His tongue swept across his lips. With his gaze softening, he whispered, “Please…”
I clenched my jaw. Why did he care so much?
“I almost overdosed one night. My mother’s passing left me with access to booze and leftover painkillers.
Dad was too stupid to dispose of the pills, and liquor was plentiful in the house.
He drinks a lot.” I breathed through the stitch in my chest. “My dad was out of town. If Evan hadn’t come over, well, I might not be here now.
” And Dad never found out. I’d told him the ER visit was for vomiting.
Since I’d been over eighteen, legally he couldn’t learn the truth.
“Holy shit.” He cupped my cheek, his gaze locking on mine. “I’m so fucking glad Evan found you.” He leaned in, focusing on my mouth.
“Colton? What are you doing here? Why didn’t you answer my text?” Sara planted her hands on her hips, glaring at us.
We both startled, and Travis pulled his hands from me. As I attempted to register what had been about to happen, I gaped. Had he been about to kiss me? I would have let him. Oh, my God.
“We were having an informal study session.” Travis lifted his chin.
“Informal? I’d say. Since when do you drink beer while you tutor, Colton?” She huffed and stepped closer to him, her lips pressing into a thin line. “The only place you’d tutor me was in your apartment.”
“Sara, this is different. We’re…” I swept my gaze to Travis’s. He said he wanted to get to know me better. “We’re becoming friends.”
“So, I’m not a friend?” She clicked her tongue and dropped into the booth seat across from us.
“We’re going on a date on Saturday, so I assumed we weren’t.” Did that come out right? My gut tensed. Hell, I didn’t know what she had to be upset about. I squirmed.
“Oh, okay. I guess.” She picked at her fingernail and then focused on Travis. “Sorry, I was just surprised to find you both here.” With a smirk, she turned her gaze on me. “Colton was supposed to get back to me about hanging out tomorrow, but he ghosted me.”
“I didn’t ghost you.” I lowered my brows. Now she was over the top. Did she expect an instant text back from me every time she messaged me? “It’s only been a few hours. I was busy.”
Travis blew a long exhale. “Okay, look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ll excuse myself to the restroom so you can work it out in private.” He stood and lumbered toward a hallway next to the bar.
She leaned over the table. “Colton, he was really in your personal space and he’s gay. Do you think he’s making a move on you?”
“Uh…” Maybe? “No, of course not.” With a scoff, I drank my beer. “Are you meeting friends here or something?” How could I get rid of her?
“Yes, we’re seated there, near the entrance.
” Twisting around, she pointed at a table of young women, throwing quick glances at us.
Facing me, she said, “I saw you both sitting here about five minutes ago.” She tapped the table with her long fingernail.
“He had his arm around you, like you two were a couple. All my friends saw it and thought the same thing.”
Because I was telling him about my dead mother, something I’d never tell her. “Sara, it’s not like that, and you know it.” Except I’d enjoyed the closeness with him.
“Wait, you aren’t…you aren’t bisexual or gay, are you?” Her lips tensed as she straightened her shoulders.
I forced a scoff. “No.” What an enormous lie.
But it was none of her business. I stared at my beer.
I couldn’t look at her. I wasn’t a good liar.
“How about you go back to your friends and let us finish?” I’d have to shift the conversation toward his classwork when he got back and maybe not sit so close.
“Are you sure?” She narrowed her eyes. “I could join you guys for a little while.” She snickered. “Then maybe he’d keep his distance from you.”
“No.” I tossed a glare at her. She was overstepping. If this were her dating style, I wouldn’t date her again.
She pouted and slumped her shoulders. “But we’ll see each other tomorrow, right?”
“I-I don’t know.” I really didn’t want to now. How could I get out of it? “Another student asked for tutoring tomorrow, and I need to help them.” Now I was full of lies. I hated this. She brought out the worst in me.
My gaze caught Travis striding toward our table.
“Oh.” With a slow nod, she wrung her hands on the table. “I see.” Tutting, she slid off the bench seat. “What time do you want to pick me up for dinner on Saturday?”
As Travis glided onto the seat beside me, I said, “How about five?” With the game starting at seven, we’d have just enough time for dinner before traveling to the stadium.
Travis’s brows lifted. “You’re going to dinner before the game?”
With her gaze laser-focused on Travis’s, she said, “Yes, he’s taking me on a date.” She curled the edge of her lips. “Let’s go to The Thirsty Lion at Tempe Marketplace.”
“Sure.” Planting my elbow on the table, I rubbed my temple. Did she have to do this now? But I’d gotten out of seeing her tomorrow.
“Okay, well, have fun with your new student tomorrow night, and I’ll text you later.” With a knowing look at Travis, she turned on her heels and stomped off.
“I’m sorry.” I hung my head. This was embarrassing. “She’s gotten a little pushy since I agreed to the date on Saturday.”
“Yeah, she seems very, I don’t know, protective of you?” He chuckled. “She must really like you.”
“Yeah…” I gulped my beer as my head buzzed. We should eat before I drank any more.
“Do you like her? You don’t look like it.” With a glance toward her table, he set his arm on the seat back behind me.
Here we go. If I let him get too close to me again, Sara might return to our table. I couldn’t let her figure out I was queer. Shifting away from him, I said, “I don’t like her that way. The game on Saturday will probably be our only date.”
He inched closer to me. “Good. She doesn’t seem like a good fit for you.” He drank some beer. “So, you have a new student to tutor tomorrow?”
My gaze cut to his. I couldn’t lie to him.
“No, I just told her that so she’d stop hassling me about hanging out with her tomorrow night.
” I sighed. “I rarely lie to people. In fact, I’m pretty bad at it.
” My gaze searched his face. What was he thinking about this?
Had he been making moves on me like Sara thought? But I thought he’d almost kissed me.
“Being a good liar is nothing to be proud of.” He smirked. “Why not just tell her you don’t want to see her tomorrow?”
“I…” As my jaw fell, my gut knotted. If he’d liked me before, he was probably second-guessing himself now. “Maybe I’m a coward too and took the easy way out.”
“Yeah, I guess we all do that sometimes.” He twisted his lips. “Don’t do that with me, okay? Just be honest with me if you prefer not to hang out.”
“Yeah, okay.” I didn’t want to lie to him, anyway. He was different. He didn’t push me into things the way she had. I hadn’t told him I was bisexual, but then he hadn’t asked. What would I say if he asked?
“Do you want to order pizza?” He tapped my shoulder. “Or would you prefer a different spot to get away from Sara?” With a snicker, he said, “She’s looking over here a lot.”
I glanced her way, and her gaze caught mine.
As her eyes widened, she looked away.
“No, let’s order pizza here.” With her around, I’d keep from letting him get too close. I’d almost given in earlier. But then, maybe I’d seen things that weren’t there.