12. Twelve
Twelve
Tyler
“Can you not look at me like that?” I ask, but Seth just grins, his lips tilting up at the corner into his familiar smirk. The expression used to piss me off, but now, it just makes me want to kiss him.
“Like what?” he teases.
We haven’t done more since the other night in the hotel. After embarrassing myself, Seth took a shower, and I took that as an opportunity to pretend to fall asleep. Sure, it was probably the coward’s way out, but I don’t know what else to say to him. Aside from the fact that I’ve never done something like this before, I made a total mess of myself. Literally. I can’t believe I got so turned on by kissing him I came in my underwear. What am I, thirteen?
“We’re supposed to be studying, not …” My cheeks heat up, and Seth scoots closer, placing a hand on my thigh.
“Not what?” His fingers trail over my leg, but he doesn’t move his hand any higher. I know he’s waiting for me to say something or give some sort of sign of approval. When I don’t say anything, he pulls his hand away.
Without thinking about it, I grab his wrist, keeping it where it is. “I didn’t say I’m not interested.”
Miller answers by kissing me, and I forget why I was arguing in the first place. His lips on mine have me hard in a second. His grip on my thigh tightens, and I’m silently urging his hand to move higher up. Something hits the floor with a thump, and I pull back to see the textbook we’re supposed to be reading fell off the bed.
“Sorry,” Seth says, but it’s clear he doesn’t regret it from the smile on his face. He leans over to grab the textbook and sets it safely on my nightstand. “Where were we?”
“This isn’t going to help my grades,” I tell him, and Seth laughs.
“Okay, let’s finish up this chapter. Then we can have a little fun?” He raises his eyebrows, and I bite my lip. “Or we can hit the cafeteria, get some dinner?”
“Um, yeah, that sounds good. Dinner.” The second choice is easier than the first right now. I grab my notebook, looking over the notes I wrote before I was distracted by Seth’s undressing me with his eyes. He grabs the textbook, setting it on his lap as he takes the spot next to me again, but this time Seth manages to keep his hands to himself. Not that it matters when I’m still distracted by overthinking everything.
Maybe we should try studying in the library again. That might be safer than being alone with Seth in my room.
“That’s it,” Seth says, drawing me out of my thoughts as he flips the page to the next chapter. He closes the textbook and sets it next to him on the bed and turns to face me. “So, dinner?”
“Sure,” I agree. It’s only been a few days since the hotel, and I know we should talk about it. I’m still surprised I worked up the nerve to ask him to do more.
He doesn’t try to touch me or kiss me again as we make our way across campus to the cafeteria. Instead, Seth fills the silence, chattering about soccer and making light conversation that I can occasionally chime in on. This feels off. It’s not like we’re typically friendly with each other. Sure, we hang out along with other guys from the team, but Seth and I tend to have a bit more of a rivalry with each other. We’re usually pushing each other and competitive as fuck. This doesn’t feel bad, but I find myself at a loss. I don’t know how to act around him.
We get in line and pay for our food, but instead of leading me toward a table, Seth heads for the student lounge. He sets his food on the edge of the air hockey table, balancing it so it doesn’t fall over as he unwraps his sandwich. I went with a salad, and even though I’m not sure playing while we eat is the greatest idea, I take my spot at the other end of the table.
“What do you do aside from study and soccer?” Seth asks. He grabs the puck and sets it on the table, starting the game.
“That’s about it,” I answer with a shrug. “You?”
“Apart from parties and hanging with my frat brothers?” he asks with a waggle of his eyebrows.
My cheeks heat up at the mention of parties, and just like that, I’m thinking about him naked.
“Video games,” he says when I don’t bother to talk. “I like RPG games, and stuff with more of a storyline. It’s fun to escape for a bit in another world and just forget about all the stuff I need to do.”
“Yeah, I could get that.” I used to read fantasy books, but I kinda fell out of the habit.
“What made you join a frat?” Seth asks.
I tense up. I know he meant the question as another light getting to know you sort of thing, but it doesn’t make it an easier question. “Uh, my father. He was in the same frat when he was in college. It’s kind of tradition.”
“Oh, you’re a legacy. That’s cool. You close with your dad?”
“I used to be.” The words come out half muttered under my breath. We were close before all the expectations and pressure he heaped on me with graduating high school. It’s all been downhill since that, but I know it could be worse. He’s harsher on Maddy after the couple of times her grades slipped. That’s why I went for tutoring before my scores could get too low. There’s no way I could hide it from him with him working at the college.
Seth takes the hint and changes the subject. “When is your next test? Are we still meeting up again on Thursday?”
“In a week, so yeah, that’s a good idea.” I cut myself off as I notice a few guys walking in.
“Miller, Avery, didn’t expect to run into you two here.” Bennett says, greeting us as he and Koch walk up to the air hockey table.
“Hey,” Seth answers with a quick wave. I take the opportunity to send the puck flying toward his goal. “That was a cheap shot,” Seth tells me as the scoreboard changes. He sets the puck on the table again and makes eye contact with me as he hits it. “It’s on now.”
It feels almost like old times now as we compete. Koch laughs, but I keep my attention on the game, at least until he says something. “You two take it so seriously, it’s just a game. Unless all that arguing is just foreplay?”
My cheeks heat up and the puck sails across the table, going into my goal. Seth grins at me but doesn’t respond to Koch’s joke.
“You two wanna play something after this?” Seth asks, ignoring Koch’s innuendo. “We could do foosball.”
“Only if I get to play on the same team as Hayden,” Koch answers.
The puck hits the goal again, and the game chimes, announcing the game is over. Seth beat me.
“Sure, come on.” Seth places a hand on my shoulder, nudging me toward the other game.
Seth stands next to me, shoulder to shoulder, with him taking the side closer to our goal. I’m opposite from Koch, and I can’t keep myself from analyzing the pair of them. Koch isn’t taking the game seriously at all. He’s using it as an excuse to bump into his boyfriend and place his hand on top of Bennett’s as they go for the same bar.
Seth focuses on the pieces, spinning the bar to protect our goal, and I try my best to do the same. It’s not easy when our hands accidentally go for the same middle bar, and I freeze up. Seth keeps his hand on top of mine, tightening his grip instead of pulling away and turning the grip to move the players. Then his hand moves away as the ball moves down the field. “Relax,” he whispers in my ear.
It doesn’t do a damn thing to help. But luckily Bennett and Koch don’t seem to notice. They’re having fun, laughing as they trip over each other and hit the ball. Bennett takes a step closer to Koch, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend to grab the stick closest to the goal and block a shot I sent in that direction. Koch laughs, turning in Bennett’s arms to shake his head at him. I hit the ball again, and it goes right past their players, hitting the goal.
“Are you two playing, or you got other plans?” Seth asks.
Koch laughs as they separate, taking their places again. “Sorry, just got distracted.”
We finish out the game and no surprise, Seth and I win. “I think I’m gonna call it a night,” I announce as the game finishes.
“Yeah, uh, me too,” Seth says. He falls into line next to me as we walk out of the lounge. We don’t talk as we walk toward Greek Row, but he stops me with a hand on my wrist before I can get to my frat house. “Thanks, for hanging out with me. I’m gonna head back to my frat, but can I kiss you?”
It’s dark out, but I still quickly look around to see if anyone is nearby or watching us. I don’t want word to get back to my father about me kissing a guy, at least not until I figure out how and if I want him to know. Seth is still standing there, watching me, as he waits for my answer. I press my lips to his, and my heart picks up speed. It was already faster than normal with the possibility of getting caught, but kissing Seth makes me forget about that worry. In the moment, I couldn’t care less if Father walked out of his office from working late and caught us making out.
My feet move forward, and I’m pressing Seth into the wall of the building we’re standing next to. He kisses me deeper, his hand going to my hip and pulling me into him so I can feel how turned on he is. My lips are puffy, and I’m breathing hard when I pull back. “I should go,” I tell him. “I’ll see you Thursday?”
“Sure,” Seth agrees. His hand goes to his pants, adjusting the bulge there, and I’m tempted to invite him back to my room again. “I’m looking forward to the next study session,” he tells me with a wink.
How does he make that sound so dirty?