Chapter 14
Grey Sweatpants Season
Sebastian
Six freaking days since the club, and my brain won't stop replaying every second. The way Gavin's hands felt on my hips. How he growled "you're mine" in my ear like he had any right to claim me. The heat of him pressed against my back, moving to the music like we'd done it a thousand times before.
And now he wants to meet up for tutoring, and I'm standing in my room having a complete meltdown over what shirt to wear. Pathetic.
"Stop overthinking," Leo says from my doorway. "Just put on the TARDIS shirt and let's go."
"I'm not overthinking." I pull on my Doctor Who tee, the soft one that's been washed a million times. "I'm being realistic. Straight guys experiment in college all the time."
"Babe." Max appears behind Leo, already dressed in his Gremlins shirt. "That man was ready to fuck you on the dance floor. In public. While we watched."
My face goes hot. "That doesn't mean—"
"He literally didn't look at anyone else all night," Max continues. "Trust me, I was watching. Every guy who tried to get his attention? Nothing. But you breathe, and he's staring."
"Maybe he's just—"
"If you say 'experimenting' one more time, I'm gonna scream," JP calls from down the hall. "Now hurry up, we're gonna be late!"
Wait. "We?"
Leo grins. "You think we're missing this? Your first real date with the golden retriever? Please."
"It's not a date! It's tutoring!"
"Sure, Sebby." Max pats my shoulder. "That's why you changed shirts three times."
Fuck. They saw that?
My phone buzzes.
Gavin
Almost there! Can't wait to see you Practice got canceled, so I'm all yours this afternoon
All his. Jesus Christ, this man's going to kill me.
Me
Great. I'll meet you at Beans & Books in 10
Gavin
Perfect! Haven't stopped thinking about the club night, btw
I stare at the screen. What does that mean? Is he freaking out? Having gay panic? Or...
Gavin
You looked so hot. Can't wait to do it again
Oh. Oh.
"He just said I looked hot," I say faintly.
"Told you!” all three of them yell in unison.
I regret having friends. I regret leaving my room. I regret every life choice that led to this moment of being frog-marched across campus by three smug assholes. They don't shut up the entire walk to the coffee shop.
Beans & Books is packed, because of course it is. My anxiety spikes the second I walk in, all these people and noise and—
"Doc!”
And there he is. Six feet four inches of muscle in grey sweats that should be illegal, and a hoodie with the sides cut out showing glimpses of skin that make my mouth go dry.
The grey sweats are... fuck. They're the kind that sit low on his hips, loose enough to be comfortable but just fitted enough to show.
.. everything. The outline of his thighs when he shifts his weight.
The way they cling just slightly when he moves.
"Grey sweatpants," Max whispers beside me, actually choking on air. "Dear God, it’s grey sweatpant season."
Leo makes a sound that might be a whimper. JP just nods solemnly, as if we're witnessing something sacred.
And maybe we are, because those sweats have my brain thinking things that I'm sure are illegal in at least 29 states. The soft fabric highlighting every muscle as he walks toward us, and is that...? Yeah, that's definitely... I can see...
Stop staring at his dick, Sebastian. Stop staring at his—
He's grinning like I'm the best thing he's seen all day, completely oblivious to the fact that he's murdered all four of us with athletic wear.
"Holy Mary Mother of God," Leo mutters under his breath.
"Amen," JP agrees.
"Hey." I aim for casual, probably land somewhere around strangled.
His face falls slightly when he spots the others behind me. Just for a second, barely noticeable, before the grin comes back.
"Hey guys! This is great, like a study group!"
He's disappointed. Fuck. He wanted this to be just us, and I brought my entire support squad because I'm a coward who can't handle feelings like a normal person.
"Hope that's okay," Max says, watching Gavin carefully. "We just thought—"
"No, yeah, totally fine!" Gavin's already bouncing back, pulling out chairs for everyone because apparently he was raised by saints. "More brains the better, right?"
Leo mouths "You're an idiot" at me behind Gavin's back. I scowl at him.
"I'll grab coffee," Gavin offers. "Same as last time, Doc? What about you guys?"
He takes everyone's order, memorizes it without writing anything down, and heads to the counter. I watch him go because I'm weak, and those sweatpants are doing things to me.
"You're being weird," JP states. "Like, weirder than normal."
"I'm not being—"
"Seb." Max's voice goes gentle. "He ground up on you for like an hour at the club. He texted that you looked hot. He literally lights up when he sees you. What more do you need?"
"I need not to be some straight guy's gay experiment before he goes back to dating cheerleaders!"
The words come out louder than intended. A few people look over. Great. Now I'm making a scene.
"Okay, first of all," Leo holds up a finger, "stereotyping much? Second, that boy is about as straight as a circle."
"You don't know that—"
"He wore makeup for you!" Max practically shrieks. "Straight boys don't let you put glitter on their cheekbones!"
"Maybe he was just being nice—"
"One iced coffee with extra shot," Gavin says, setting my drink down exactly how I like it. "Chai latte for Max, americano for JP, and whatever this rainbow monstrosity is for Leo."
"It's called being festive," Leo defends, taking his drink that legitimately has rainbow whipped cream.
Gavin drops into the chair next to mine, our thighs almost touching. I shift slightly away and catch the flicker of hurt in his eyes.
Shit.
"So!" He pulls out a notebook, clearly trying to recover. "Psychology of human interaction, right? Perfect since we've got a whole group for examples."
"Actually," I hear myself say, "we should probably start with the basics."
"Yeah?"
"Gaydar training."
Gavin's whole face lights up. "Holy shit, yes! Teach me the ways!"
This is a terrible idea. "Okay, so it's not really about stereotypes—"
"That guy!" Gavin points across the coffee shop. "Definitely gay."
I follow his finger to... oh no. "Gavin. He's wearing a Bass Pro Shops hat."
"So? Maybe he's outdoorsy gay!"
"And a 'Fish Fear Me' t-shirt."
"Ironic!" Gavin insists. "Plus, look how he's sitting, all spread out but like, considering others' space? That's very mindful. Very demure."
JP chokes on his coffee. "Did you just—"
"And his iced coffee has oat milk," Gavin continues seriously. "Dietary restrictions show self-awareness."
Leo's shaking with silent laughter. Max has his face in his hands.
"Gavin," I try again. "He's literally wearing camo cargo shorts."
"Functional! Pockets for days! That's just smart regardless of sexuality—"
A blonde woman in yoga pants approaches the Bass Pro Shops guy. He immediately pulls her into his lap and—
"Oh God, they're examining each other's tonsils," Max squeaks.
Sure enough, the straightest man in California is now attempting to swallow his girlfriend's face in public.
"Huh." Gavin tilts his head. "Plot twist."
"You almost had me convinced with the oat milk thing," Leo admits, giggling.
Gavin turns to me with those big brown eyes, all earnest. "I'm terrible at this, aren't I?"
My chest goes soft and stupid. "The worst."
"Good thing I've got a hot tutor." He winks, "I mean, smart. Smart tutor. Who happens also to be... I'm gonna stop talking now."
"Please don't," I say before I can stop myself.
We stare at each other. The coffee shop, the geeks, everything else just... fades.
"Get a room," JP mutters.
The spell breaks. Gavin clears his throat, I stare at my coffee, and Max kicks JP under the table.
"Okay, but seriously," Gavin says, "how do you tell? Because clearly I need help."
I launch into an explanation of actual queer coding, trying to ignore how intently he's watching my mouth when I talk. He asks surprisingly thoughtful questions, makes connections I don't expect.
"So it's more about breaking expected gender performance than specific behaviors?"
I blink. "That's... actually an excellent way to put it."
"Told you I wasn't just a pretty face," he grins.
The conversation shifts to JP's coding project, and suddenly Gavin's asking about recursive functions and optimization.
Then Max brings up his dance theory paper, and Gavin knows about Laban movement analysis.
When Leo mentions his sustainable agriculture research, Gavin starts discussing soil composition and crop rotation.
What the fuck?
"Sorry," Gavin says, catching my stare. "I know I'm supposed to be the dumb jock, but—"
"You're not dumb." It comes out sharper than intended. "Don't say that."
"I mean, I am in Mensa," he adds casually. "But that just means I'm good at tests."
"You’re in Mensa?” Max literally bounces in his chair. "Me too! Oh my God, we can go to meetups together! They're usually boring, but sometimes there's good snacks and—"
"Wait, wait, wait." I hold up a hand. "You're in Mensa. The genius society."
Gavin shifts uncomfortably. "It's not that big a deal—"
"Your GPA?" I demand.
"Um. 3.9?"
"What!” Whoops, now people are staring at me.
"It would be higher, but organic chemistry was rough while I had two-a-days and—"
"I'm sorry, what the fuck?" The words just fall out. "You're telling me you maintain an almost perfect GPA, play Division I football, and you're in Mensa?"
"I mean..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah?"
My brain breaks. Completely short-circuits. Because not only is he gorgeous and sweet and apparently very into me, he's also brilliant.
"I need more coffee," I announce. "Or alcohol. Probably alcohol."
"It's 2 PM," Leo points out.
"I don't care."
Gavin looks genuinely worried now. "Did I say something wrong? I know some people get weird about the Mensa thing—" He seems a bit broken and then says out the side of his mouth, "Dammit, Tyler, you said he'd be impressed."
"No!" I practically shout. Then quieter, "No, it's... I am impressed. You're just full of surprises."
He grins, that golden retriever brightness back in full force. "Good surprises?"
"Yeah," I say. "Good surprises."
"Speaking of surprises," he says, leaning closer. His cologne hits me, and my brain goes foggy. "There's a movie night at the frat tomorrow. Wanna come? I'd like you to come."
"All of us?" Max asks eagerly.
"Hell yeah! The more the merrier. Fair warning, though, my brothers are..." He pauses, searching for words. "Ummm. Well, there are a lot of us and together at home… things can get, well, not out of hand, Drew stops most of the really stupid stuff… What was I saying?"
"That a house full of frat guys is a lot. It's okay, we've met you," JP deadpans. "We're prepared."
Gavin laughs, and hell, I want to make him laugh forever.
"That a yes, Doc?"
He's looking at me with those stupid earnest eyes, and I'm gone. Completely fucked.
"Yeah," I manage. "Yes."
"Awesome!" He bounces slightly in his seat. Actually bounces. This enormous man is bouncing because I agreed to movie night.
How is he real?
"I should probably head out," he says eventually. "Got a team meeting. But this was fun! Way better than just staring at my psych textbook."
He starts packing up, then pauses. "Hey, Doc? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure?"
"Am I like... doing this right? The whole..." He gestures vaguely between us. "Thing?"
My heart does a complicated flip in my chest. "What thing?"
"You know. The... gay thing? Dating thing? Gay dating thing?" He's turning red. "I just, I don't wanna fuck it up."
"You're not fucking anything up," I say softly.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. But maybe work on the gaydar."
He laughs. "If dudes hit on me, they're not straight? That's about all I got."
"That's... actually not a bad start."
"Cool. Cool, cool, cool." He stands, hovers awkwardly. "Can I... is hugging okay?"
Instead of answering, I stand and step into his space. He immediately wraps me in his arms, and Jesus, he gives amazing hugs. All that muscle but gentle with it, like he's aware of his strength.
"See you tomorrow," he mumbles into my hair.
"Tomorrow," I agree.
He pulls back, grins at everyone, and practically bounces out of the coffee shop.
We sit in silence for exactly three seconds before all three of them turn on me.
"That man is so into you!" Leo practically yells.
"Even with how weird you were today!" Max adds.
"Seriously, the chemistry is insane," JP agrees. "Also, Mensa? Did not see that coming."
"He wants to date you," Leo continues. "He literally asked if he was doing the 'gay dating thing' right!"
"Maybe he—"
"If you say experimenting, I'm throwing my rainbow coffee at you," Leo threatens.
Max reaches over and takes my hand. "Babe. He likes you. You like him. Please stop making it complicated."
"But what if—"
"No what-ifs," JP cuts me off. "Just enjoy the fact that a sweet, hot, secretly genius football player wants to date you."
They're right. I know they're right. But the part of my brain that's protected me from getting hurt is screaming that this is too good to be true.
"I need to go home and have a crisis," I announce.
"Valid," Max nods. "But a productive crisis where you realize you deserve good things."
"Including that man's dick," Leo adds helpfully.
"Leo!”
"What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking!"
We head back to the house, their chatter washing over me. But all I can think about is tomorrow. Movie night. At a frat. With Gavin.
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?