17. Seventeen
Seventeen
Seth
Robin is skinny, with long blonde hair, full red lips, and flirty eyelashes. She’s gorgeous, wrapped in a short black miniskirt. It’s too bad I can’t appreciate it. It doesn’t matter that Tyler said I could go on the date. I feel guilty and nothing’s even happened.
“Your turn, man,” Owen says as he walks back from the lane. It was Jen’s idea that we go bowling. I have to hand it to her. It’s less awkward than the four of us sitting around a table at a restaurant making small talk. At least the game gives us something to focus on.
I step up to the line and look at the pins. My arm swings back on muscle memory, but my head isn’t in it. Three of the pins fall, and I’ve already made peace with the fact that I won’t be picking up the spare. Robin steps up next as the pins reset. “So, you go to Blue Mountain University too? Jen said you’re on the soccer team?”
“Yup, I’ve been on the team since I was a freshman.” The answer comes out blunter than I mean for it to. It’s not her fault I’m hung up on my fuck buddy. I don’t even know if we’re that anymore. Maybe I need to take the hint and let it go. Looking at Robin as she takes her turn, I try to shake off my mood and take the date seriously. “How long have you been at BMU?”
“I’m a sophomore,” Robin answers. We make idle chitchat in between turns, but I’m just not feeling it. I’m thinking about Ty. He kissed me earlier. Both at the library and in front of the frat house. Sure, neither of those options were very private, but he started it. I know Tyler isn’t out, but if he wants to take that chance and kiss me in public … maybe I shouldn’t have pulled away. Maybe I should’ve taken the hint. Listened to his body language instead of his awkward bumbling when he said I could go on the date. I don’t think he really meant it. He was uncomfortable with the subject.
I take a drink of my soda, but I can’t manage eating the pizza. My stomach is turning. I fucked up.
“You doing okay?” Jen asks. “You’ve barely talked all night.”
“Sorry, just …” I glance over at where Owen and Robin are, but neither of them seems to be paying attention to our conversation. “I shouldn’t have come tonight. There’s this guy I’ve kinda been hooking up with, and I thought maybe it was more than that.”
“You have feelings for this guy?” Jen asks around a mouthful of pizza. Her question is blunt and to the point.
“Yeah, I think maybe I do. It’s not anything to do with Robin. She seems great.” I shrug.
“I get it,” Robin says. I turn around to see she’s not as far away as she was a few moments ago.
“I didn’t mean for you to hear all that.” I just keep sticking my foot in my mouth. First with Ty and now with Robin.
“No, it’s good. I thought you didn’t seem into me. You should tell him. The guy. You never know, maybe he feels the same and just doesn’t know how to tell you.” Robin shrugs. “Either way, at least you’ll know.”
“Thank you. It was nice meeting you, but I think I need to get going.”
My mind races as I make my way back to the frat house. I need to talk to Tyler. Find a way to explain to him that I don’t want to date other people. I don’t want either of us to fuck other people. I pull out my phone when I get back to campus.
Me: Can we talk?
Tyler: Shouldn’t you be on your date?
A bitter laugh escapes me, but I’m not exactly surprised. My thumb types out a new message.
Me: I left early. Can I see you? I could come to your room, or you can come to mine.
A message doesn’t automatically pop up this time. I watch the screen, waiting for a reply. It takes a few minutes before one finally shows up.
Tyler: Fine. Come on over.
My phone is in my pocket, and I’m out the door in record time. It takes me mere minutes to leave my frat house, and next thing I know, I’m knocking on the front door at Omega Theta. Tyler isn’t the one who answers, but I can see him from the doorway as his frat brother eyes me up and down. “Can I help you?”
“I’ve got it.” Tyler takes a step closer and places his hand on the other guy’s shoulder. He glances at Ty before looking me over again, but he doesn’t complain as he turns around and walks off to another part of the house. “Well?” Ty asks, looking at me.
“Can we go to your room? This isn’t very private, and I don’t think you want to have this conversation where someone might overhear us.”
He sighs, but opens the door wider for me to follow him in. I spend the time it takes to get back to his room, thinking of what I’m going to say. This isn’t going as well as I’d hoped.
“We should probably call this whole thing off—” Ty starts, but I’m already interrupting him.
“I want us to be exclusive,” I say at the same time. “You want to stop?” I ask as his words hit me.
“You went on a date. This isn’t supposed to be more than us fooling around.” He crosses his arms at his chest, but this time I take the hint for what it is. He doesn’t feel as confident in his words as he’s trying to act.
“Things change. If you’re still interested, I am too. On one condition. I don’t want us sleeping with other people for as long as we’re doing this.” It’s not asking him to date me, but it’s a step in the right direction. With how Ty is already reacting, I don’t want to take the chance of scaring him off altogether by suggesting we date.
Tyler looks me up and down, almost as wary as his frat brother. Then he holds out his hand, “Deal.”
Instead of going for the obvious handshake, I grab his wrist and pull him closer. A surprised moan leaves his lips as I kiss him. Ty’s tongue presses against mine, kissing me back just as deeply. “This doesn’t mean anything is happening tonight,” he says quickly when our lips part.
As much as I want to kiss him again and convince him otherwise, I hold back. “Sorry, did you have other plans?”
“I need to study. My test is tomorrow and obviously I didn’t get much done earlier.” Ty turns his back to me and takes a step closer to his bed. His laptop and notes are spread out there and it gives me an idea.
“I’ll stay and help if you want. I can quiz you on some of the material,” I offer.
“Just help me study?” Ty lifts an eyebrow in question. “Because I’m serious; I need to get a good grade on this test.”
“I get it. I’m here to help.” I move closer to him and take a seat on the bed. Tyler shrugs, but he must believe me as he scoots closer, handing me his notes. I shuffle through the papers, looking for important information. As I pose test questions to Ty, he takes a minute or two to think about it before answering each one. Honestly, this isn’t exactly how I thought the night was going to go. I figured either we’d call the whole thing off, or we’d be naked right now. Not to say I’m disappointed. This isn’t a bad outcome by any means.
“That’s mitosis,” Ty answers the question, then his hand goes on my thigh. “I don’t know how much more of this I can do. I keep getting distracted like earlier.”
“Something I can help with?” I ask. He never did say exactly what was distracting him, though I can guess it’s something sexual.
Ty’s jaw tightens, and he lets out a small chuckle. “Earlier in the library, I couldn’t focus because I kept thinking about how it felt when you sucked me off. I … I want to do that. I mean, I want to blow you.”
My dick perks up with interest. “How about a compromise? We’ll do a few more questions, and if you get them right, we’ll call it a night for studying and move on to other activities.”
“You’re bribing me to study with sex?” he asks with a smirk.
“I don’t want you to get mad at me later because you didn’t get to study. I wouldn’t be a very good tutor if you failed your test, now would I?”
“I don’t think offering me sex makes you a great tutor either,” Ty jokes. “If I do a good job sucking you off, do I get extra credit?”
I shove his shoulder with a laugh. “I’m not your teacher.”
“Damn, there goes the fantasy of us having sex on a desk.”
I’m half-sure Ty is still joking and messing with me, but this all feels like what’s been missing. I lean in and press my lips to his, and Ty grabs my bicep, holding tightly as he kisses me back. As fun as it’s been fooling around with him, I’ve missed the sense of competition we normally have. The more confident Ty’s been with me lately has also translated to him being more sure of himself when it comes to sex. “Three more questions,” I insist when our lips break apart.
“Deal.” Ty speeds through them. Not hesitating this time, but he gets each question right. “So, how did I do?” he asks after the last question. “Do I get my prize?”