Chapter 10
Austin
“Damn, Cade, you are on fire tonight,” Millton, one of my teammates, claps me on the back as we wrap up practice.
“Thanks,” I pant, a big grin splitting my face as I chug a bottle of water.
“Right? He’s been killing it at practice and games the past few weeks. Wonder what’s gotten into him?” Charlie laughs.
“Or who?” Cole wiggles his brows.
“Fuck you.” I laugh, squirting the bottle of water at Cole. He laughs as he dodges the spray.
“Okay, gross. Don’t wanna hear about my baby brother and his sex life, thanks.”
“Aww, poor baby.” Cole chuckles, wrapping his arm around Charlie’s shoulder. “You’re just pissy because you're not getting any.”
Charlie’s body stiffens, and he shoots Cole a glare.
“Fuck you,” Charlie mutters, shrugging him off.
“Why does everyone want to fuck me?” Cole chuckles. “I know I’m irresistible, but I’m a taken man, boys. Sorry.”
“So are we.” Charlie flips him off.
Things between Levi and me have progressed a lot since the night he came to my game.
We still grab coffee together in the morning, but now we meet up at lunch during the week in between classes too.
We’ve only gotten to hang out outside of school once since then because unfortunately, our schedules don't line up at the moment.
Last Wednesday, he didn’t have to work until later, so he came and sat with me and some of the guys while we had a few drinks.
The guys on my team love Levi. They think he’s cute, nice, and good for me. I just so happen to agree. Although the cute part, they could have left out. I think they say that shit to piss me off. It works. No one is allowed to call him cute but me.
But either way, I call this a win. Slow and steady wins the race. And the more I spend time with Levi, the more I get to know him.
He really is a workaholic, that's for sure. But when he told me he turned down an extra shift, he seemed so proud of himself. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always hated to let people down, often putting himself in situations that would make him feel uncomfortable so he didn’t upset people.
That hasn’t seemed to change at all, really, since coming to college. If anything, it's gotten worse.
What Levi doesn’t know is that when we were in high school, Charlie and I made sure no one messed with him, afraid they would take advantage of his soft-hearted nature and kind soul.
The more I see him now, the more I hate myself for allowing us to drift apart.
Another thing Levi doesn’t know is that right when we left for college, Brogan approached me and told me to back off. He said that he knew I had feelings for Levi, but he was in a relationship, and I had to respect that.
At the time, no one knew about my sexuality, and part of me feared that if I didn’t agree to what Brogan wanted, he would have outed me.
I was a fool for letting that piece of shit have any hold over me. As soon as I came out to the world, I should have gone up to the asshole and told him to go fuck himself.
When Charlie told me how in love Levi was with Brogan and how they planned to spend the rest of their lives together, it killed me. It made me wish I had been ready to accept who I was sooner, and that maybe if I told Levi how I felt about him, I could have had my chance.
What none of us seemed to know was just how toxic their relationship really was on the inside, even though everyone on the outside thought it was perfect.
When everything came out about Brogan and Levi, Charlie felt like shit for not being there for his brother, for not protecting him. He didn’t know. None of us did. None of it was his fault. It was Brogan’s. He’s the only one to blame.
I know Levi thinks we’re only fake dating. And I know I need to wait and see if Levi will end up feeling more for me, like I do for him. But it’s not going to stop me from treating him like he deserves to be treated.
He hasn’t called me out on calling him baby, so I have no plans on stopping that. He doesn’t seem to think it’s weird when I cuddle him, or hold his hand, or kiss him goodbye, even when people aren’t around.
I’m glad, because I love it. To me, none of this feels fake or forced. It feels so fucking right. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with this man. I just have to hope that he will end up feeling the same way someday.
For now, I’ll take what I can get.
“So, how did everything go?” Charlie asks. “Did you get everything moved into Gabe’s place?”
“Wait, what?” My brows furrow as I stare at Cole. “You moved in with your boyfriend?”
“Only temporarily. I needed some place to stay while they redo the plumbing in our apartment building.”
“Hold the fuck up. What’s going on? Since when did your apartment need to have the plumbing redone?”
Cole looks at me like I’m stupid. “Ahh, since a few days ago. When the pipes exploded in, like, three different apartments. Thankfully, it wasn’t ours, but in order to replace everything, they have to keep the water shut off and have access to everyone's apartment. Our rental insurance covers it, and we’re getting compensation for rent to stay somewhere else for now, but I thought I’d save myself the money and just room with Gabe. ”
I blink at him, so damn confused.
“You mean Levi didn’t tell you?” Charlie frowns.
“No.” I grind my teeth together. And it really fucking stings that he didn’t.
“Makes sense why you weren’t over on Sunday to help bring his stuff back to Mom and Dad’s place.”
“And why the fuck didn’t you tell me? I’d have been over to help,” I growl.
Charlie holds up his hands. “Don’t bite my head off. I assumed you were busy or something.”
Why didn’t Levi tell me? This is something you get your boyfriend to help you out with.
But, I guess to him, we’re not actually together. Fuck. Did he not tell me because he didn’t want to bother me or something?
“So where is Levi staying now?” I frown.
“He moved back in with Mom and Dad. He was not happy about it,” Charlie laughs. “He’s currently looking for a room to rent for a bit and leaving his stuff at Mom and Dad’s.”
“Why does he hate it?” His parents are some of the nicest people. I guess being in college and living at home isn’t for everyone. I sure as fuck would never move back home.
“Because my mom is allergic to cats. And Snicklefritz is like Levi’s baby. He won’t leave him at a boarding place or give him up. He would rather die,” Charlie explains, his face serious.
I do know how much that cat means to Levi. He's always talking about him and showing me photos. Who knew cat dads were so hot? Something about the way he lights up when he talks about him is adorable.
“Anyways, if you know of anyone who’s renting out a room that allows cats, let him know.”
“Where’s Snicklefritz right now?”
Charlie snorts. “The garage. And because Levi won’t leave him in there alone, he’s currently sleeping on a camping cot.”
My brows jump. “What the fuck?”
“Hey, he can go in the house, he just won’t.” Charlie laughs. “It’s the cat that's not allowed in there. Hence why he’s looking for a cat-friendly place to live.”
“I feel like shit,” Cole sighs. “I wish I could help him. I asked if he wanted us to get a place together in the meantime, but he said no. And I know it’s because he doesn’t want to inconvenience me. Sometimes, I wanna shake the fuck out of him.” Cole shakes his head.
The conversation shifts from Levi to something else, but my mind is still on what Charlie was talking about. There’s no way I’m letting Levi or his fur baby stay in a damn garage.
The guys ask if I wanna go out for drinks, but I decline and head for the library. Finding their computers, I bring up an editing website and make a flyer.
Reading it over, I grin.
Male. 22. Fully furnished room for rent. Shared living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
Washer and dryer included. Walking distance to the university and other amenities.
Looking to rent to another male student.
$800 a month for rent. Pet friendly.
If interested, please call 709-555-5555.
––––––––
I also include some photos I took of my place when I first moved in. It doesn’t show the spare room, but it does show all the common shared spaces.
Sending the file over to the printer, I wait for it to print and grin as I look at the only copy.
I only need one.
I’m looking for a roommate. But not just any roommate. So I only need to put the flyer up in one place.
With a satisfied grin on my face, I leave the library and hop in my car. Ten minutes later, I show up at O'Connell's.
My guard is up, careful not to be seen by Levi or anyone who will let him know I’m here. There’s a reason why I didn’t put my name down on the flyer. I don’t want him to know it’s me.
The number I used is the one I used to give out on the dating site I joined for a few months after I came out and thought diving into the dating pool was a good idea.
If you’re wondering, it wasn’t.
Thankfully, the place seems to be pretty busy tonight, so I manage to slip in and head towards the bulletin board over by the jukebox. Taking one last look around to make sure no eyes are on me, I pull out the flyer and quickly pin it to the board.
I’m on my way out when I hear Levi’s laugh and pause.
Like a sailor hearing a siren, my gaze goes right to him, and my back stiffens.
He’s standing by a table of mostly guys and looks to be taking their order.
One of the guys says something, a big smile on his face.
It makes Levi laugh again, and my blood fucking boils.
Who is this fucker, and how dare he look at my man like that?
Yeah, change of plans. I’m not fucking going anywhere tonight.
The familiar loud shouts have me looking over to see my team. Looks like I’m hanging out with the guys after all.
When I turn my attention back to the table Levi’s at, I see him walking away. The asshole who was flirting with my boyfriend has his beady little eyes glued to Levi’s ass.
Fucker better be careful or he’s gonna have a couple of black eyes instead.
“Hey, boys. What are we talking about?” I ask, pulling up a seat at the table my teammates are at.
They all shout their greeting, but I get an amused look from Cole. “Thought you weren’t coming out tonight?”
I shrug, leaning back in my chair. “Changed my mind. I’m allowed to do that, you know.” I wink.
“You are.” He nods, taking a sip of his beer. “What were you doing over there?”
I freeze. “Over where?” I try to act like I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“The bulletin board. I didn’t know you were looking for a roommate.”
“Shut up,” I hiss, leaning in. “Shut. Up.”
He grins wide, looking around to make sure no one is listening before leaning in to whisper. “Fake dating my ass.”
I narrow my eyes. “Leave it,” I warn.
“Why don’t you just tell the guy how you feel?” he whispers.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I look away.
“You’re not fooling anyone, you know. I might be the only one to know this started off as a deal you two made, but I can tell it’s not fake.”
My eyes dart over to his. I want to ask him what he means. If Levi said anything to him. But there are too many people around. I don’t want to out myself about the deal Levi and I made and cause a scene.
“I’m just saying, man. Communication is key in any good relationship,” Cole says, leaning back.
“Communication?” Charlie chooses now to butt in. “Wanna tell that to Claire?” he grumbles.
“Trouble in paradise?" Cole asks. Charlie flips him off. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Like you’re not having relationship issues every other week.”
Cole doesn’t deny it, looking away when our server comes back with whatever the guys ordered.
For the rest of the night, my eyes stay on Levi. The table of guys keep ordering things, making Levi go over every few minutes.
At one point, the guy gives Levi a piece of paper, and it takes everything in my control not to storm over there and stake my claim by shoving the guy's number down his own throat.
The moment things are for real between us, I’m going to be that possessive caveman. I’m holding back as it is.
I just need Levi to fall deeply in love with me so I don’t scare him off when my inner thoughts become a reality.
Part of me is pissy we didn’t sit in his section, but this is our regular table, and Levi doesn’t serve often, only when he’s filling in for people.
He wasn’t even supposed to be working tonight, but I guess turning down extra shifts is gonna take baby steps. Still, I’m proud of him.
As I walk into my empty apartment, I look around and hope Levi sees the flyer and calls to take the room.
I know I could just offer it to him. But I don’t want to come on too strong. It’s one thing for me to offer fake dating and friends with benefits, but moving in might be too much.
I need him to make the choice himself.
Although if he chooses somewhere else to live, I might have to kidnap his ass and force him to take the room. Or better yet, share my bed.