CHAPTER NINETEEN
DOM
My morning was off to a late start. At some point I’d turned off my alarm while sleeping. When I finally rolled out of bed, I was already fifteen minutes late for my first class. It would’ve been nice if Stray would have woken me up before he left the house. Jerkass.
I rushed through brushing my teeth, tugging on fresh jeans and a T-shirt before slipping my hoodie over my head and booking it out the door. My hair was a mess of bedhead. Not that it mattered.
The campus parking lot was a solid ten minute walk from the wing where my classroom was located. Not up for running, I settled for a solid speed walk. I wasn’t expecting to see Noah as I passed by the first entrance to the building. He stood outside with Damon and a few other guys smoking.
Our eyes locked. A subtle smirk curved his lips. I felt it all the way to my groin. Annoyed with myself and my dick for responding, I dragged my gaze away.
I hated how much I wanted to go back there and pin him against the building while I devoured his mouth. The memory of his cum on my tongue lingered fresh in my mind. I should never have touched him. In the moment it was all I wanted.
Angry now, I quickened my pace. Reaching the classroom, I gently turned the door knob, entering quietly so as not to disturb the class. The professor glanced over at me with a dismissive frown before continuing his lecture.
At least Stray had saved me a seat next to him. I climbed the stairs to the back row where he sat, sliding into my seat.
“Nice of you to join us,” Stray whispered.
“You could’ve woken me up,” I whispered back, keeping my voice low.
“I tried. You told me to go get fucked.” He shrugged. Staring at the rope burns on my neck, he arched a brow. “What happened to you? Where have you been lately?”
This wasn’t the time or the place for this discussion. Waving off his questions, I turned my attention to the professor. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t focus on the subject matter. I should’ve grabbed a coffee or something on my way in.
Stray continued to shoot curious glances in my direction. I ignored them all. Someone like Stray didn’t handle being ignored all that well. As soon as we got out of class, he was all over me.
“Now tell me what the hell happened. That’s looking kind of sus, dude.” He nodded to my rope burned neck.
We walked down the hall in the flow of students heading from one class to the next. Some branched off to intersecting halls while others continued forward. We had a few minutes before our next class so I steered us toward the cafeteria to grab a coffee.
“Do you really want to know?” I asked, already knowing his answer.
“How could I not want to know? Spill it already. I’m not a fan of the suspense.” Stray gave me a nudge with his elbow.
I made sure nobody was paying attention to our conversation before saying, “Noah jumped me last night. After I dropped Casper off. There was a rope involved. It’s not a big deal. Let’s not make it one.”
Both of Stray’s eyebrows shot up, his mouth dropping open in a dramatic O of surprise. “Sounds kinky. Your mysterious lack of details makes me think that it was.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong, although I didn’t feel inclined to say as much. “It’s complicated. I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”
Stray nodded, holding up a hand. “That’s cool. It’s your business. If you want to fuck Noah Cunningham, there’s no judgment here. Be careful though. I don’t trust that asshole.”
Thankfully, he spotted Codie then and took off in her direction. I continued on to the coffee bar to fetch myself a strong one. I wasn’t sure why I was so tired today. Maybe it was because I’d struggled to fall asleep last night. My thoughts wouldn’t stop racing.
I really wasn’t feeling up to attending my next class. After grabbing a coffee, I went over to where Stray sat at a table with Codie and Rebel’s wife Storm.
“I’m going to bail on the next class,” I said. “Let me know if I miss anything important.”
Before Stray could question me, I walked away. I should have stayed home today. On my way outside I pulled a joint from the small container in my pocket and lit up. I was halfway to the parking lot when I heard someone call my name.
I wasn’t expecting to find Damon Price behind me when I turned around. I paused, smoking my joint, waiting for him to get closer. When he reached me, I merely raised a brow. Silently asking him what the hell he wanted.
“Can we talk for a minute?” he asked.
“Sure. Go ahead and talk.” I motioned for him to speak.
I had a feeling that I knew where this was going. Still, I stood there and smoked my joint, waiting for him to get to the point.
“Can I ask you what’s going on between you and Noah?” Damon kept a few feet between us, like he didn’t completely trust me not to take a swing at him.
I didn’t blame him for being wary. We’d given him more than enough reason to fear us. It wasn’t all that long ago that we’d cornered him and broken his arm in three places. He seemed to be all healed up now, no longer wearing a sling or a cast. Nobody forgot about shit like that.
“What do you mean?” I gave him a curious stare. As far as I knew, Damon and Noah were best friends. They shared a house. Did he really have no idea?
“You know exactly what I mean. I know there’s something going on between you two. He’s my friend. I don’t want him to get hurt.” Damon made no effort to hide the distaste on his face as he looked at me.
I took a few puffs of my joint, blowing the smoke out into the frigid air. “Yeah, well, the two of us can’t be in the same space without someone getting hurt. Why don’t you ask him these questions?”
“I see the way he looks at you,” Damon continued. “And I’ve seen the way you look at him. The two of you aren’t fooling anyone. I need to know that you’re not going to hurt him. Physically or otherwise.”
Evidently, Noah and I were incredibly transparent. Everyone around us saw what was going on. Probably better than we did. I wasn’t even really sure what was going on anymore.
I met Damon’s stare with a grin. “Sounds to me like someone’s jealous. Are you worried that I’m moving in on your turf, Damon? Have you already claimed that ass?”
He scoffed, his expression morphing into one of irritation. “Give me a break. I like pussy and only pussy. Noah is like my brother. I’m always going to have his back. Seeing as you fucks have trimmed our numbers down to two, all we have now is each other.”
I wasn’t about to argue with him. We both knew why River and Colt were dead now. There wasn’t a bone in my body that felt sorry for the loss of those two assholes.
“Look, man, I understand your concern. You’re trying to be a good friend.
Noah and I obviously have a complicated situation going on.
I wish I had a real answer for you, but I don’t.
This shit between us has been brewing for a long time now.
I’m pretty sure there’s only one way this ends.
” Sucking back the last of my joint, I dropped the remains into the snow.
I was ready to be finished with this conversation. Damon evidently had more to say.
“And how is that?” he asked, a fierce intensity in his golden brown eyes.
I shrugged, knowing he wasn’t going to like my response but giving it anyway. “When one of us is dead.”
He surprised me by saying, “Is that what you really want?”
Having a little heart-to-heart in the parking lot with Damon Price today had not been on my to do list. I didn’t know what I wanted when it came to Noah.
I’d been in a state of confusion for quite some time now.
I went from wanting to choke the life out of him to wanting to swallow his cock in a matter of moments.
“What I want is for everyone to mind their own damn business.” Having nothing else to say, I turned around and continued on toward my car.
I felt Damon watching me go. Thankfully, he didn’t push it, letting me walk away. Too many people were interested in Noah and me. Maybe it was time to make it clear that there was no Noah and me.