14. Jax
JAX
I’m just stepping into our room when my phone vibrates in my pocket. Distractedly, I check my notifications as I close the door behind me. I’m expecting to see a text from Xave or Jace or maybe even Felix.
It’s from the app that controls the cameras in Myles’s room.
Ignoring the weird, unsteady feeling in my stomach, I open the app and check the camera feeds. The one on his dresser is still blocked, but he turned the statue away from the wall so it’s facing the room.
Not taking my eyes off the screen, I make a beeline for my bed and sink down on the mattress as I watch a shirtless Myles walk from his desk to his dresser.
Heat pools in my stomach as I take in the long, lean lines of his muscles and the full swell of his ass under the baggy, low-slung gray sweatpants he’s wearing. The little dimples in his back are on full display, and I can’t take my eyes off them as he bends over to pick up a sock he dropped.
It’s been two days since our conversation over the camera, and he’s kept the statue facing the wall ever since. He didn’t, however, move the statue back to his desk and instead kept it on his bedside table.
That means that for the past two nights, I’ve had a front row, or rather a bedside, seat while he got himself off before falling asleep, and then again in the morning.
Watching him over the camera was hot. Watching through the window while he jerked off for me was next level, but there’s something especially sexy about only being able to hear him.
The little sighs and bitten-off moans as he started were hot as hell, but listening to his breathing grow heavier and his cries get louder was just as hot as watching him through the window.
I might not have been able to see him, but that didn’t stop me from picturing what he might be doing. Unlike the times I saw him in his room when he was under the sheets, I imagined he was on top of his covers, naked and spread out as he worked his dick and moaned for me.
Hearing him come and the soft, satisfied moans that were exactly like the ones I heard that night in the woods are what tipped me over the edge, and I came only seconds after he did.
Why did he turn the camera around now? I glance at the time on my phone. It’s four-twenty-two, and about eleven minutes until sunset.
My cock throbs as more of that heat gathers low in my stomach. Does he want to play hide and seek again?
Myles doesn’t pay the camera any attention as he walks between his desk and dresser a few times, just puttering around, then disappears out of the frame for about a minute. He reappears with his sneakers in one hand and a lightweight running shirt in the other.
Grinning at my phone like a dumbass, I go to the wardrobe near my bed and pull out a black sweater with an oversized hood, a black t-shirt, and a pair of lightweight black pants as Myles goes to his dresser and gets out a set of running pants.
Keeping my phone in view, I pull off my hoodie and plain white tee, then kick off my shoes and strip off my jeans. Myles is just shoving his feet into his sneakers when I finish getting dressed, and I tie up my boots as he slips his keys and ID card into his running belt.
I’m expecting him to grab his water bottle and leave, but he walks right up to the camera and leans down so he’s eye level with it.
“Catch me if you can,” he taunts and gives the camera a challenging smirk.
A strange, primal energy fills me, and I have to actively stop myself from rushing out of my room and sprinting all the way over to Boone House so I can do exactly what he dared me to.
Anticipation is half the fun, and more of that energy flows through me as I go to my wardrobe and pull out a coil of nylon rope and attach it to my belt with a carabiner. I slip a few other goodies in my pockets, then hurry out of my room with a smile on my lips.
Game on.
The empty paths and streets are a welcome sight as I run across campus. My heart is already pounding, but not from exertion. I wasn’t sure he’d want to play again, especially after my warning. I held back last time, but I won’t be doing that tonight.
Keeping to the shadows so I don’t draw attention to myself just in case someone happens to be out, I race down the many shortcuts I’ve learned over the years and try to calculate how far along the path Myles is.
I’ve watched him run for weeks, and I know his patterns, but something tells me he’s not keeping track of his pace or progress right now.
That makes it harder to predict his behavior, which makes the game so much better.
The run to his dorm should take about fifteen minutes. I get there in less than ten thanks to my eager pace and the lack of people getting in my way.
I stop when I’m outside the boundary of Boone House and tilt my head to the side as I listen for any signs that he’s around. Based on how fast he can run, I’m guessing he’s long past my position, but I need to be smart about this and track him instead of just trying to intercept him.
Catching him is only part of the fun. The real excitement comes from the seeking and chasing aspect of the game.
The woods are silent, but that only adds to my anticipation. It’s no fun when it’s easy.
Slipping between the trees, I pause when I reach the path he usually runs on and crouch so I can survey the area for signs that he was here.
It rained earlier today, so the ground is soft, and a set of fresh footprints catches my eye.
The treads are deep in the front, while the heel is barely an indent.
Those are the footprints of someone who was running fast, possibly even sprinting.
I don’t need three guesses to know who made them.
Rather than following the path, I cut deeper through the woods to bypass a large bend in it and instead go from point to point, cutting the distance so I can catch up to him.
I don’t run because I don’t want to miss something or make any more noise than is absolutely necessary, but my steps are steady and quick enough that I’m not worried about losing him.
He has to run out of steam eventually, and the path only goes so far before he’ll have to either turn around and retrace his steps or run deeper into the woods.
He could switch things up and run through campus, but I can’t see him choosing that route, even with no one around.
Either way, it doesn’t matter what he does; I’ll catch him regardless.
I pause when I reach the path again and look around for tracks. There aren’t any.
A smile tilts my lips as more adrenaline pours into my system, and a low buzz of electricity simmers just under the surface of my skin. Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
Being careful not to miss anything, I backtrack down the path. It doesn’t take long to find where his footprints veer off, and I follow them until they disappear in front of a large fallen tree.
A quick sweep of the area behind the tree shows nothing, even with the soft ground, so he didn’t go that way. Crouching down again, I examine the log.
It obviously fell a while ago, and the bark is covered in lichen and patches of moss. There’s a void in some of the lichen directly in front of where his footsteps end, like something heavy scraped over the surface and displaced it.
A smile tilts my lips as more adrenaline flows through me, ramping up my excitement. Clever bastard tried to cover his tracks by running on the log.
Standing back up, I step over the log and follow it until I see a muddy footprint on one of the rocks in front of me. I track his footprints and follow them. It looks like he jumped from rock to rock in order to avoid detection.
It’s a smart strategy, but the soft ground and low lighting are working against him, and I’m able to follow his footprints through the maze of rocks until I see a deep print in the dirt that looks like he dug his foot in and did a hard pivot to change direction.
Just to be sure, I kneel so I can check the depth of the print and see exactly which way he went.
Unlike the last time we played hide and seek, it’s not a bright, sunny day, so the cloudy sky and dimming light are already affecting my ability to see the ground clearly. I have a small penlight in my pocket that would help, but I don’t pull it out.
I’m not about to give him any indication of where I am.
Based on the tread pattern in the print, he made a sharp turn to the right, and with how far away it is from the next visible print, I’d bet he jumped so he could try and throw me off again.
I follow his tracks for about twenty feet, then lose them again. I’m just looking around for something to show me which way he went when a soft sound catches my attention.
Breathing. It’s faint and muffled, but definitely him. And he’s close.
I sink to one knee and pretend to examine the ground in front of me as I track where the breathing is coming from. There’s a large outcropping of small boulders to my immediate left, but my instincts are telling me he’s not there. It’s too obvious.
I wasn’t sure how much of a challenge it would be to find Myles the first time we played this game, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Most people at this school couldn’t find their way through the woods with written instructions and a clearly marked path, but Myles is different.
He grew up next to the forest, and he obviously spent a lot of time there based on how comfortable he was as he tried to evade me and how easily he found campus again when the only hint I gave him was showing him true north.
Now that I know his strengths, I can figure out his weaknesses and use both against him.
I pretend to finish examining the print and stand, my attention on a fallen tree to my right. The log itself isn’t big enough to give him proper cover, not even if he were laying down, but the base of the snapped-off trunk is big enough for a fully grown man to crouch behind.