Chapter 15
Fruit By the Foot
Sebastian
Standing outside the frat house with my friends, I'm already regretting every decision that led to this moment. We're fifteen minutes early because apparently we're all nervous wrecks who overcompensated on timing.
"Maybe we should wait," JP suggests, checking his phone for the hundredth time.
"Or we could just go in," Max counters, though he doesn't move either.
"It's fine," Leo says, not sounding convinced. "Gavin invited us. It's fine."
The door swings open before we can knock, and there's Gavin, wearing jeans and a soft Henley that should be illegal for how it clings to every muscle.
"You came!" His whole face lights up, and fuck, that smile does things to me.
My stomach goes warm and swoopy, like I'm on a roller coaster that just dropped. And lower... yeah, okay, his smile apparently has a direct line to my dick because suddenly my jeans feel tighter.
But it's more than just the horny. It's the way he looks genuinely happy to see me, like I've made his whole night just by showing up. Nobody's ever looked at me like that. Like I'm special instead of just the anxious pre-med kid who forgets how to form sentences around hot guys.
Makes me want to do stupid things. Like kiss him right here in the doorway. Like, admit that I jerked off twice this morning, remembering how his hands felt on my hips.
Fuck. I'm so screwed.
"We're early," I blurt out, because apparently my brain-to-mouth filter is completely broken around him.
"Nah, perfect timing! Come in, come in!" He ushers us inside. "Tyler and Ethan are in the living room setting up the movie stuff."
The house is... cleaner than expected. No beer cans, pyramids, or questionable stains. Just a normal living room with comfortable couches and a massive TV.
"Make yourselves at home," Gavin says, but he's looking at me. "Hey Doc, can I talk to you for a sec? Upstairs?"
My stomach drops. Here it comes. The 'I've been thinking' speech.
"Sure," I manage.
I follow him upstairs, trying not to think about how this is probably where he tells me the club was a mistake. That he's not really gay. That he was just experimenting and—
His room is surprisingly neat. Sports trophies, sure, but also physics textbooks and what looks like complex equations on a whiteboard.
"So." He runs a hand through his hair, suddenly nervous. "I wanted to talk before everyone gets here."
"Look, if this is where you say—"
"I'm worried you won't like that I'm inexperienced," he blurts out, face already turning red. "With guys, I mean. Like, I've been with girls before, but I never really..." He covers his face with his hands. "Fuck, this is embarrassing."
"Gavin—"
"I didn't like it much," he says through his fingers. "Sex with women. My dad always says that real men have sex with women, that's just how it is, so I did it a few times, but it felt... wrong? Like I was just going through the motions?"
Oh. Oh.
"Then Tyler came out to me," he continues, hands dropping to his lap. "And I realized, shit, if Tyler can be gay and still be this amazing person, then being gay can't be bad, right? Tyler's like the best guy I know."
I feel off, like someone's reaching inside and rearranging everything. Heart squeezing tight, then expanding too big for my ribcage. It's hope, mixing with fear, mixing with want, all churning together until I can't breathe right.
Because he's not just talking about Tyler being gay. He's talking about respect. About love. About how his best friend trusted him with something huge, and his first thought wasn't disgust or confusion, but if Tyler's gay and Tyler's amazing, then being gay must be okay.
My throat goes tight, here's this massive football player having revelations about sexuality based on pure fucking love for his friend.
Fuck. I'm feeling feelings. Real ones. The dangerous kind that makes you stupid and vulnerable and hopeful.
I hate it. I want more of it. I want to run. I want to stay.
"And then I met Ethan, and he's gorgeous—" He catches my expression, and his eyes go wide. "Oh fuck, not like that! I mean, yeah, he's gorgeous, but I don't want him. He's Tyler's guy, and they're so in love it's awesome to watch."
The knot in my stomach loosens slightly.
Gavin reaches over and takes my hand. His palm is warm, a little sweaty. "I didn't ask you to tutor me because of some weird experiment. I just didn't want to ask Tyler certain things... like, I don't need to know those details about my best friend, you know?"
A surprised laugh escapes me.
"And now…This wasn’t planned but… I want to date you," he says simply. "Not have you tutor me. Date you. If you'll let me."
"Even though you're inexperienced?"
"Maybe because of it? Means I get to figure it out with you." He squeezes my hand. "If that's okay?"
I look at this enormous, sweet, brilliant man who's staring at me like I have all the answers, and my walls just... crumble.
"Yeah," I say softly. "That's okay."
His smile could power the entire campus.
"Come on," he says, standing and pulling me up with him. His hand stays in mine as we head for the door, and I let him lead me even though my brain's screaming about how couple-y this is.
"Wait." I tug him to a stop just before we hit the stairs. "Are we... should we tell them we're...?"
"Dating?" He squeezes my hand. "I mean, I want to. But only if you're ready."
Dating. He said dating. Not experimenting, not figuring things out. Dating.
"Yeah," I manage. "Okay."
He practically bounces down the stairs, still holding my hand like it's the most natural thing in the world. The sound of laughter hits us before we even reach the living room.
I stop in my tracks at the bottom of the stairs. My friends have somehow already integrated with the frat guys. Rex is sitting with Leo and Max, all three laughing at something on Rex's phone. Like they've known each other for years, not minutes.
Haru and JP are by the DVD player with Ethan, apparently in a deep discussion about movie options. Leo's in the kitchen with Drew, who's gesturing wildly about obviously into whatever he’s saying.
And there, in the corner armchair, is Elliot. Just... observing. I hadn't even realized he'd come in with us; he's so quiet.
"See?" Gavin murmurs in my ear, his free hand finding the small of my back. "Told you they'd love you guys."
A really tall guy, even taller than Gavin, comes through the door carrying pizza boxes.
"Finally!" Drew calls out. "Jeff, what took so long?"
"Traffic," Jeff says, setting down the boxes. He spots me and Gavin standing close. "This the famous Doc?"
"The one and only," Gavin confirms, his hand finding the small of my back.
We grab a spot on one of the couches, pizza boxes spread out on the coffee table. The frat brothers are surprisingly easy to talk to, asking about our majors, actually listening to the answers.
"So you're tutoring Gavin?" Drew asks, grabbing another slice.
"Sort of," I hedge.
"In gay culture," Tyler supplies helpfully. "Which is hilarious because G's always known more than he lets on."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Drew snorts. “We never believed you were as dumb as you played, man."
I look at Gavin, confused. He knows I know how smart he is.
Gavin shifts uncomfortably. "I maybe... sometimes play dumb when I don't know what to say? Or when I'm uncomfortable?"
Rex leans over and smacks him upside the head.
"Well, maybe you are a dumbass if you were uncomfortable around us.
" He laughs. "Dude, you literally judged a fart competition last year.
You've seen us at our worst and didn't care.
Why would you think we'd care that you're a frickin' genius on top of everything else? "
"What else?" Tyler's eyes narrow playfully. "Would you like to tell us anything… before Gavin gets a boyfriend?"
Rex's face goes red. "Fuck off, he's not my type. He's too... big and pretty and just… fuck off." He grabs a pizza slice and stalks off while the guys try not to laugh.
Max leans forward, eyes wide. "Do you really have fart competitions?"
The room explodes with laughter.
"For charity!” Tyler defends through his wheezing.
Once everyone calms down, Jaren turns to us. "Actually, we have questions. About gay stuff."
"So many questions," another brother agrees.
"We tried googling," Jaren admits, "but..."
"I blocked most of it," James says from behind his laptop, not even bothering to look up. "For your own good. Trust me."
Caleb, sitting next to him, shudders. "I've been gay forever and trust me, there are things you do not want the internet to teach you."
James and Caleb high-five without looking, perfectly in sync.
"What do you want to know?" Leo asks, clearly delighted.
"What's 'gagging' mean?" Rex calls from across the room, where he's apparently been hiding. "In the gay way, not the choking way."
"Being left speechless by something amazing," Max explains. "Like 'her outfit has me gagging.'"
"Oh, thank God," Rex mutters. "I thought it was something way different." Everyone cracks up knowing exactly what Rex thought, 'gagging, in the gay way' meant.
"What about 'snatched'?" someone asks.
"Looking flawless," JP supplies.
"And 'serving looks'?"
"Presenting yourself in a visually striking way," I add.
"Reading someone?"
"Calling them out on their shit," Leo grins. "Sometimes it's 'reading for filth' which means absolutely destroying them."
The guys are actually taking notes on their phones, which is both hilarious and oddly touching.
The questions continue: what's a twunk, what's trade, why are so many of the types animals? The frat brothers are genuinely trying to understand, and it's... nice?
Jaren, who's been quietly sitting on the floor by the coffee table, suddenly speaks up. "Why are there so many types of gays?"
Everyone stops talking for a second, and his face immediately goes red.
"Oh shit, is that— I didn't mean— Like, I'm not saying it's bad, I just—" He looks mortified.
"Fuck, that came out wrong. I meant like, the categories?
Not like why do gay people exist, obviously people are just gay, I just meant—"
"Breathe," Max says gently, saving him from digging deeper. "It's not a rude question. Honestly? We ask ourselves the same thing." He grins. "Us gays just really love a good classification system. It's like Pokémon but for dating."
"Gotta catch 'em all?" Tyler jokes, and the tension breaks.
"Exactly," Leo laughs. "Collect the whole set!"
"So… Some of us are still trying to figure out which type we are," Jaren admits, looking relieved.
Jeff, who's been quiet through most of this, suddenly looks up with a completely deadpan expression. "I go by 'Fruit by the Foot' when I'm on Grindr."
The room goes silent for exactly one second before everyone loses their minds. Tyler spits beer across the table. Max falls off the couch. I'm crying actual tears.
Jeff calmly passes around paper towels while we all die.
"Oh please," I gasp, clutching my sides, "please say I can quote you on that?"
Jeff winks. "Cutie, you can quote me anytime you want."
I feel Gavin stiffen beside me, his arm sliding around my shoulders.
"Though I'm equal opportunity," Jeff continues with a grin and a wink for Gavin. "Anyone tall enough to be literally climbed like a tree is free to use it." He looks directly at Gavin. "I'd say 6'4" qualifies."
Now I'm the one scowling while Gavin pulls me closer.
"Learn something new every day about the people you live with," Drew says, still wiping tears from his eyes.
When the laughter finally dies down, Gavin asks with complete seriousness, "Is that actually a type? Really tall guys?"
I lose it again. "It is now!"
I'm already pulling out my phone, typing quickly: Just learned the correct term for extremely tall gays is "Fruit by the Foot." I cannot make this up. Thank you, random frat boy, for your service to the community. #FruitByTheFoot #GayEducation
"And posted," I announce.
My phone immediately starts blowing up with notifications. Within minutes, it's got hundreds of likes and comments.
"Holy shit," Max says, checking his own phone. "People are already using the hashtag!"
"Jeff, you're gonna be famous," Tyler laughs.
Jeff shrugs. "I said what I said."
As we settle in to actually watch the movie, I'm tucked against Gavin's side, still occasionally giggling about Jeff's declaration. My phone keeps buzzing with notifications; the tweet is apparently taking on a life of its own.
"Thank you," Gavin whispers against my hair.
"For what?"
"Being patient with me."
I turn to look at him in the flickering light from the TV. "You're worth being patient for."
His smile is gentle and just for me.
My phone buzzes again. The tweet just hit a thousand likes. And somehow, surrounded by frat boys who held a fart competition for charity and just learned what "gagging" means, tucked against a sweet giant who's figuring himself out, I realize...
Fuck. I actually like it here.
These idiots are growing on me. Gavin's basically a human space heater, and I'm not mad about it. My friends are having actual fun instead of huddling together like scared rabbits.
This is good. This is really fucking good.
My phone buzzes again. The tweet just hit two thousand likes. Jeff's contribution to gay culture has been immortalized, and I'm probably never going to stop laughing about it.
"You good?" Gavin whispers.
"Yeah," I say, surprising myself by meaning it. "I'm good."