Chapter 4
MATTEO
It’s fun having my own secret plan when Alexei’s keeping so much from me about this mission we’re on.
But I’m proud of my impromptu idea, and I want to see the look on his face after I pull it off.
When we arrive at Alpha Alpha Mu, some of the guys we recognize from school let us in, and when we reach the third story, he shows me to Spencer’s room.
“And where’s Malcom’s?” I whisper.
“Second floor, end of the hall.”
“Head down to that bathroom we passed. Wait for me and then go in and do what you gotta do.”
“You have to get him away from the room so I can get in.”
I grin. “You doubt I can pull this off?”
He raises his hands in surrender, then asks, “And how are you gonna check to make sure I don’t take anything else?”
I don’t feel like that’s a question he’d ask if he was up to something shady.
Alexei’s such a mindfuck. I caught him stealing from Gage, but then he was pleading for me to rat on him.
I can’t make heads or tails of this, but one thing I know: this notebook must have something he desperately wants.
But how could some frat’s notebook bring a guy to tears?
As if that wasn’t bewildering enough, our walk over here was such a messed-up mix of confusion and playfulness. One minute we were talking about his hot ass, and then he brought up my face. My goddamn face. The bane of my existence.
“Maybe I’ll do a strip search when you get down to Malcom’s,” I tease.
Alexei’s eyebrows pop up. “Back to needing to see this hot ass again.”
And suddenly, in the middle of this fucked-up shit, I’m fucking grinning.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.” I rest my hand on his shoulder. “Now get on down the hall and let me work my magic.”
He heads to the bathroom, and I go to Spencer’s room, taking a moment, considering once again why I’ve agreed to this. It’s not too late to back out. Instead, I knock.
There’s some shuffling inside before the door opens. Spencer’s just in sweatpants, his eyes bulging when he sees me before a smile sweeps across his face. “Teo?”
“Sorry. I must have misunderstood.” I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket. “I was looking for Malcom’s room.”
“It’s on the second floor.”
“Where, exactly? Is it the room below yours?”
He laughs as he sizes me up, the eagerness in his expression and the smile on his face assuring me I’ve got this in the bag. As much as I may hate this face, it certainly has its advantages.
“I can show you.” He grabs his wallet, then guides me down the hall. I keep behind him, and as he heads down the stairs, I turn toward the bathroom to see Alexei peering out. He smirks, and I know I impressed him, but I don’t know why that’s got my chest swirling with excitement.
Spencer escorts me to Malcom’s room, and I tell them Alexei’s on his way, and while Malcom talks to me about some games he’s considering, Spencer grabs drinks from the fridge before making himself comfortable beside me on the sofa.
Spencer’s not a subtle guy, full of laughs, batting those pretty lashes.
He knows I’m straight, but it doesn’t keep him from trying.
It’s not ten minutes before Alexei joins us, acting slick and offering a wink, which I take to mean he got what he needed. Spencer joins us for a game of Nightfire, and we order pizza. That we’re all having such a blast almost makes me forget why Alexei and I were really there, but only almost.
On our way back to the dorms, the frat house now a good distance behind us, I finally press. “So…?”
“Got it. Thanks for that.”
“Were you impressed with my plan?”
“It’d be much cooler if you didn’t make such a big fuss about it.”
“I shouldn’t have to. You should be making the fuss for me.”
Alexei laughs. “What can I say? You do a good job playing oblivious. Oh, can you help me find this room? I’m so lost. While we’re on our way, can you find my dick for me, I can’t remember where it is.”
“I did not say that.”
“That’s all Spencer heard. Gave that poor guy hope he has a chance.”
“Technically, I only asked for directions.”
He glares at me. “I think you know you engaged with him a little more than that.”
“I did what I had to do to distract him. You’re welcome.”
“I said thank you. Just not gonna play like we don’t both know you were laying it on thick. And then the way you were flirting with him through Nightfire.” He doesn’t sound amused.
“Alexei, I compliment your ass, and now you’re already acting like a jealous boyfriend?”
He nudges me with his elbow. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Okay, well, now you gotta keep up your end of the bargain. Show me what you got.”
His playful expression shifts to something far more serious.
“Am I gonna need to perform the strip search?” I press.
“No, no.” He retrieves his phone and pulls up images before passing it to me. I scan the photos he took of the pages of the notebook. Looks like there’s about five in here, tightly written. Too much for me to go through on this walk, so I select them all and send them to my phone.
“What did you just do?”
“Sent them to myself. Gonna see what this shit is.”
“Wait. What?” He tries to snatch his phone from me, but I hold it out of reach.
“The hell, dude?”
“Come on. Give it to me. I told you I’d show you; I didn’t say you could read it.”
“Why can’t I read it? What the hell is in this notebook that’s so fucking important?”
I’m succeeding in our little game of keep away—guess being two inches taller helps—so he finally surrenders.
“Just give it to me,” he pleads.
After confirming the photos have been delivered, I hand him his phone, and he studies it, surely realizing it’s too late.
“Fucking douche,” he mutters.
“That was you holding up your end of the bargain.”
“I figured if you saw the pages, that would be enough.”
“Then I guess you don’t know what a nosy motherfucker I can be.”
He huffs.
Alexei and I are so fucking weird when we’re together—one minute we’re laughing and being silly, and the next I’ve pissed him off. Although, if he thinks he’s made me less curious about all this, he’s out of his goddamn mind.
“Maybe thank me for not ratting you out to Gage or Spencer, which was the alternative.”
His expression softens, and he shakes his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just… This stuff is… I don’t even know why I’m stressing. You’ll see it and think it’s batshit, so have at.”
Another strange comment from the ever-mysterious Alexei Veritov.
Given how worked up he got over these pages, I know it must mean something to him, but I decide it might be safest to offer a subject change. “So you think we should try your room or mine? Where do you think Brad and Luke will be fucking?”
“It’s late on Sunday. They’re not gonna be at either of our rooms.”
He says it so confidently, as though he’s memorized their schedules.
“What do they do Sunday nights?”
He glances at me, then looks away just as quickly. “Probably just out.”
He’s so weird about the strangest things.
I get back to chatting about the gameplay we shared with Spencer and Malcom. But even as he engages, it’s clear his mind’s elsewhere. He likely wants to get back to his room and go through the pages he captured on his phone. And really, I want to do the same.
After we get back to our dorm, I say, “It was a fun day. Maybe we can do something like that again, but without the whole…you know.”
His expression twists up. “Yeah, it was fun,” he says, as though it surprises him.
“Maybe we can see what Spencer and Malcom are up to next weekend.”
He leans back, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I’m being serious,” I assure him.
He searches around. “Do you need me to go with you into your room to make sure I didn’t take anything I shouldn’t have?”
“Now you’re practically begging to be strip-searched,” I joke. “And I thought Spencer was the one who wanted to fuck me. But I mean, I do need to get off, so…”
I’ve earned another laugh. One that reminds me that, fucked up as today’s been, I enjoy hanging with the guy.
“But seriously,” Alexei says. “I don’t mind you checking to see. I want you to know that really was all I was after.”
He starts emptying pockets for me, and it’s a sweet gesture.
Of course, he could have easily hidden things in other places.
But judging by his reaction when I sent myself those images from his phone, that seemed to be all he was really after.
Maybe I’m falling for his con, but maybe because I want to believe him, I find myself trusting him more than I did when I first confronted him.
“I’m good, Alexei. I’m glad I helped you get what you needed.”
“Thank you. Again.”
“Night, Lex.”
“See you later, Teo.” He offers an awkward wave before starting down the hall.
My gaze drops, watching that hot, bitable ass shift in his jeans. Straight as I know I am, I don’t know why it intrigues me, but it most definitely does.
He glances over his shoulder like he could fucking feel me ogling him. “Drink it in,” he says with a wink, which has me laughing again.
I head into my room, pulling out my phone and falling onto my bed. Time to see what Alexei was after.
I scroll through the notebook pages, noticing some strange drawings. When I was a kid, I remember being with my parents and discovering a tantric sex book with loads of diagrams, and there are several images that remind me of that, vague illustrations of people in sexual positions.
As I return to the first page, a heading catches my eye: Conjuring and Summoning. And underneath: Summoning requires intense concentration and entering a state of mind where one can open up to the forces from the Rift.
This must be some kind of fucking spell. Like magic-spell bullshit.
I read on: Being a receiving partner during intercourse, submitting entirely to the insertive partner, is the surest way to gain access to this power.
My thoughts drift to Alexei with those tears in his eyes. He said he needed this. This is what he was being paid with? Some fucking sex spell?
My heart sinks. My chest tightens.
What the ever-loving fuck has Alexei gotten himself into?