21
Friday, June 20th
Blake
Lexi snores lightly from the other side of my bed as I climb out as gently as I can and sneak off to the bathroom.
I relieve myself, wash my hands, and brush my teeth, and then I scoot into my closet to throw on a clean T-shirt and a pair of shorts. When I pad back out into the bedroom, Lexi is still sleeping peacefully.
I skirt the bed on her side, leaning in to place a gentle kiss to her forehead, tuck my navy comforter up higher under her chin, and slide out of the room without making another sound. I pull the door closed gently behind me and run down the hall to my kitchen to grab my keys, wallet, and phone, and then slip out the door into the hall, locking it shut behind me.
God . The high of this morning feels good.
My mouth on Lexi—Lexi’s mouth on me. I’ll remember that shit for the rest of my life and then some. When I’m a fucking ghost, I’ll be whispering about the time Lexi swirled her tongue around the tip of my cock until I came all over her hand for any stranger who’ll listen. I’ll be haunting the new owner of that apartment until they burn the building down to put up a new one, with illicit pictures in their cereal and distant spirit groans.
My couch—that stupid blue couch that I got at a thrift store before my freshman year—will be a staple in my homes, no matter how big they get, for years to come.
I jog down the final flight of stairs and out the front door of my apartment to the gentle light of morning sun as it beams in between the high-rise buildings on Broadway to the south. It pierces my eyes, but not even the sun itself can dim how brightly my spirit is shining today.
Checking both ways three times before crossing the street to avoid being the Brad Pitt in my own Meet Joe Black -style fairy tale, I make my way into Brower Center dining with my mind on donuts and coffee for the girl of my dreams who’s waiting in my bed.
There’s a pep in my step and a whistle on my lips as I step inside the French doors of the dining hall, and then there’s an Ace Kelly right in my chest as we bump directly into each other.
He’s been nearly manic since his moment of self-discovery nearly two weeks ago, but when he smiles at me as we step back from each other this morning, he almost seems like he’s back to his normal self.
“Hey, Ace.”
“Holy shit, everybody, it’s Blake Boden!” he yells, effectively blowing my cover and making me roll my eyes. “How’s it going, man? You’re up and about pretty early.”
“Me?” I question with a laugh, realizing quickly that Ace isn’t even supposed to be on campus right now. He’s not attending the summer semester at all. “What about you? What are you doing on campus this morning?”
“I have a meeting with my peer counselor in a little bit to go over my schedule for the fall. I’m planning to make some changes to my original plan, so I wanted to get ahead of the game.”
“Changes? You switching majors or something?”
He laughs. “Oh. No. I’m putting myself in a position to be in every single one of Julia’s classes, that’s all.”
Oh my God. Fucking hell, this guy. So much for everything being back to normal.
“Ah. I see we’re still coming to terms with the Julia thing.”
“Oh no. I’ve come to terms. The thing is, she doesn’t even know the terms exist, and all these fuckers all over this campus sure as shit don’t either. No way in hell I’m letting some preppy kid with bad breath scoop her out from under me before I have the chance to convince her to love me back.”
I nod with a laugh. “Well, as long as you’re handling it reasonably.”
“Reasonable is my middle name, bro.”
“Of course.”
“What are you doing? Grabbing breakfast?”
“Yeah,” I agree since it isn’t exactly a lie. “Grabbing something quick so I can chill a little before practice.”
Ace jerks up his chin, holding out a hand for me to shake, which I do. “All right. Well, hit me up later. I think we’re all going to get together and do something. Feels like we’ve barely gotten to see you this summer, you’ve been so busy acting like you’re a fucking football savant or some shit.”
I chuckle. “I’ll see what I get into later and let you know.”
“Fine. But you have to at least come to Fourth of July with us.” He points an index finger in my direction. “We’re all going to Finn’s uncle’s lake house. It’s a big Winslow family tradition that now includes the Hayeses, my crazy-ass parents, and Julia’s mom and dad. Despite the parental units being there, I swear it’ll be a good time.”
Big Winslow family tradition means that Lexi will be there too.
“I’ll see if I can make it, but it sounds as if it has potential,” I reply, a wink rolling off my face right along with the lie. The truth of the matter is, if there’s a chance I can spend the Fourth of July with Lexi and my friends without the world imploding, I’m going to jump right the fuck on it.
“Potential?” He scoffs. “It’s going to be a good fucking time, Golden Boy. My dad and Gunnar apparently went out and bought a shit-ton of fireworks. Your ass needs to be there, bro… Anyway, I gotta run. I’ll catch you later,” Ace says with a smile, slapping me on the back and running straight out the door. I turn to watch as he goes and then scope out the area to make sure no one else is watching me too closely before approaching the buffet line.
I snag a to-go box, six donuts, and two cups of coffee, then bolt out of there like my life depends on it, determined not to get sidetracked by anyone else.
In my haste, I didn’t think to leave a note—a realization that hits me like a truck now that I’ve been gone way longer than I intended. Big mistake. Huge. The last thing I want is for Lexi to wake up, find me missing, and assume I bailed. Or worse, for her to freak out and sneak out, never to be heard from again.
With my arms full and my nerves on edge, I check for traffic and dart back across Broadway, my pace quickening as I near my apartment building. The goal? Get back inside before anyone else spots me and tries to stop me.
As the lobby door closes behind me, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Now, all I can do is hope Lexi’s still there.
I take the stairs two at a time, working overtime to keep the coffees from sloshing all over the place with the unexpected pace.
I have to set down the box of donuts to open the door on my floor, prop it open with my foot, and then pick them back up, and I run the rest of the way down the hall to my apartment and unlock my door by doing the same thing.
I set the treats down on the kitchen counter and then hustle back down the hall to the bedroom, opening the door so quickly in my panic that I accidentally wake up a still-sleeping Lexi.
Immediately, I start apologizing. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just… Yeah, I’m sorry.”
She rubs at her eyes and looks me up and down, pushing up to sitting in the bed and taking the sheet with her to cover her still-bare chest. “Did you go somewhere?”
I smile. “Just to get coffee and donuts. You want some?”
She nods, her cheeks lifting noticeably. “I could do coffee and donuts.”
“Great. I’ll go get them.” I move to the door before lunging back inside, settling on the bed beside her so quickly that she laughs.
“Yes?”
“I just remembered. I ran into Ace at Brower earlier, and he had an interesting suggestion that I join everyone at Finn’s uncle’s lake house for the Fourth of July.” I pause for effect. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Her brows knit together as she sits up a little straighter, her hair still mussed from sleep. “You saw Ace?”
That’s when it hits me. I’ve just unloaded this at lightning speed on someone who literally just woke up. Maybe I should dial it back a notch before she thinks I’ve lost my mind.
“Yeah, sorry,” I say, softening my tone. “I saw him at Brower. You know, where I went to grab coffee and donuts.”
Her lips press into a thoughtful line. “What’s he doing on campus?”
I laugh lightly. “It’s a long story—one I promise to explain at some point. But yeah, he mentioned he’s heading to Finn’s uncle’s lake house for the Fourth. Said it’s some kind of big Winslow family tradition. He also suggested I should tag along. I figured…maybe you were planning to go too? Thought it’d be a way for us to spend some time together…you know, without anyone noticing anything.”
Her sleepy eyes blink a few times, processing, before she finally replies, “Right.”
“I didn’t mention any of these details to Ace, by the way, in case you were wondering,” I expand. “I heard you when you said you want to keep it secret for now. Especially last night, when we had our mouths on each other.” I waggle my brows and smile at her. “I really heard it then.”
“Oh my God.” She shakes her head, giggling as she shoves my shoulder—lightly, but enough to let me know she thinks I’m ridiculous. “Blake, you’re already scheming ways to secretly be with me on the Fourth of July, and that’s two weeks away.” Her eyebrow quirks, her lips pulling into a sly smile. “What exactly are we supposed to do until then?”
I let my smirk grow, leaning closer like I’m about to share a well-kept secret. “Oh, don’t worry, Lex. We’ll find plenty of ways to keep ourselves entertained.”
She rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her smile softens, like she’s secretly looking forward to whatever chaos I bring next.
We feel officially together. Maybe not in the conventional sense, but even in secret, it feels like we’re building something real. And whatever this is between us, it’s not a gift I’m willing to squander.