Chapter 28
Bailey
“How’s this?”
I looked at Sebastian, bent over the pool table, stiff as a board, and bit my inner cheek to hide my reaction.
“Good, yeah,” I said. “Loosen up a little.”
“I’m loose.”
Iris snickered from her spot at the high-top table where I’d first met Owen and Petie. “You look like you’re bracing for a prostate exam.”
Seb reddened and straightened to shoot her a glare. “Not helpful.”
She shrugged and tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “Just calling it like it is.”
“Just relax a little,” I suggested. “Here, watch me.”
I took his pool cue, bent over the table, and visualized my next move. Once it was clear in my head, I shot the stick forward, sending the cue ball into the green three ball. It glided into the corner pocket as if it wanted to be there.
“Now, that’s a man who knows how to handle a stick,” Iris said with a wink.
Seb snorted. “In more ways than one.”
“Ohhh, look at Sebby going for the gay joke,” she cried. “How far our straight boy has come.”
“I didn’t give him much choice,” I said with a chuckle.
“Oh, are you talking about the night you kicked me out to hook up with your huge-ass boyfriend?” he asked. “Or the daily calls in which I have to pretend not to hear you talking about how much you miss his dick?”
I laughed. “I’m not that bad.”
Iris cleared her throat. “Remind us again, Bailey, why are you leaving for Thanksgiving break tonight, even though everyone else is heading out tomorrow? Oh, wait, I remember. You can’t go another night without your lover boy.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got it bad for him. No denying that. I still don’t talk about his dick with Seb. He’d stroke out.”
She snickered. “Yeah, fair.”
Sebastian attempted a shot, and his cue tip glanced off the cue ball, all the power of the strike subverted.
“Steady your bridge hand,” I said, leaning in to adjust the positioning of his fingers. “Okay, there. Try again.”
Sebastian made another shot, only marginally better.
“Okay, your shoulder shouldn’t be moving. Only your forearm. Imagine your elbow as a hinge.”
“What?”
I inwardly cursed for ever agreeing to do Sebastian a favor if he left the room the night I’d brought Flynn over. Especially when catching up on lab hours had already kept me here later than I wanted.
But after his crush, Mandy, got a steady boyfriend, Seb needed some cheering up. And pool lessons were infinitely better than another frat party.
“You know, most girls don’t come watch pool games,” I told him. “You should put your smarts to use. Tutor someone. That’s how Kady won over Iris.”
“She didn’t win me,” Iris objected. “I’m not a prize.”
Seb shook his head. “If being smart got me somewhere, I’d have a date with Mandy right now. Nah, I need to be cool, man. So, please, just help me?”
Seb gave me puppy dog eyes that looked even larger when magnified by the lenses of his glasses. He wore a snug button-down shirt and jeans that would probably work better for him if he were a gay twink than a straight guy looking to pick up sorority girls.
He had a sort of cute geek vibe, though. It wasn’t my type, but definitely some guys went for it. Surely, some girls must too.
“Okay, let me show you where you’re going wrong. Then I really should get out of here.”
I moved in behind him, taking hold of his forearm to move it like a pendulum swinging on a hinge, rather than a battering ram. “Nice and smooth strokes,” I murmured.
Seb’s breath stuttered. “Uh…”
“Bring your hips back a bit more,” I said, grabbing his waist and tugging.
“Wow!” a familiar voice boomed. “This is your boyfriend?”
I stepped back and turned to glare at Owen’s shit-eating grin. What was he doing here?
“You know he’s not. I’m just giving Seb some pointers at pool.”
Owen smirked. “Are you sure he knows that?”
What? I glanced toward Sebastian, whose face was red and who was tugging at the front of his shirt to cover…
Oh, shit.
“Seb—”
“I’m going to get a drink until this asshole leaves,” he said suddenly, pivoting on his heel and taking off.
Iris hopped off her chair. “I’ll make sure he’s okay. Poor guy is probably confused.”
That made two of us. Seb was straight, as far as I knew.
Although, come to think of it, he had seemed a little hot and bothered after listening to me and Flynn go at it, and he had been very quick to leave the room every time I got on a call.
I thought he was just giving me space to have phone sex, but could there be more to it?
Ugh, I hoped not. I was in love with Flynn, and the last thing I needed was for my roommate to develop a weird crush on me.
No. There was just no way. Sebastian had never once set off my gaydar or given me so much as a flirty smile. He was friendly, yes, and goofy, and so fucking weird sometimes. But he was not into me.
Iris trailed Sebastian to one of the food kiosks.
“Well, that was awkward,” Owen said brightly.
“What the fuck do you want?” I sliced my hand in a cutting motion before he could answer. “Actually, never mind. I don’t want to know what you want. I’m not your helper bee anymore.”
“What’s your problem?”
Jesus, this asshole. “What’s my problem?” I took a step toward him so I could lower my voice. “My problem is you got me arrested, you dick.”
“That wasn’t my fault. And look, I’m sorry you got scooped up. I was down the road. I couldn’t do shit about it.”
“No, but you insisted on dragging me there,” I said. “And your buddy Petie flat out ditched me.”
Owen grimaced. “Yeah, that was bad form.”
“Bad fucking form,” I muttered. “Yeah. You could say that.”
“He’s never liked you, man. Not since you hustled us over that pool game. Sorry.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Fine. You can fuck off. Both of you.”
“Ahh, come on. Don’t be that way. The car is running rough ever since I used that nitrous oxide. I need you to tune her up.”
I crossed my arms and braced a hip against the pool table. “Not happening.”
“You know you miss working on cars too much to stay away.”
“I’m fucking off after the semester ends,” I said. “I’ll be working in the auto shop again. I don’t need to be your free labor anymore.”
His eyes narrowed. “You fucking owe me.”
“I owe you? How do you figure that one?”
“The car is running rough because you fucked up this nitrous oxide job. That’s on you.”
“I fucking told you it puts strain on the engine,” I growled. “You should have used it more carefully.”
“The fucking cops showed up. What was I supposed to do?”
“Jesus Christ, you used it twice in quick succession? I told you not to do that.”
“I didn’t have a lot of choice! They arrested you, but you weren’t racing. You got a slap on the wrist. I’d be in real trouble.”
“Maybe you should quit, then.”
“Fuck you. Not happening.”
“Well, find yourself another mechanic. I’m out. I’m done.”
Owen looked almost as pissed as the night he tried to jump me in the parking lot after I’d wiped the floor with him at pool.
“You’ll come back,” he said. “You’re addicted, just like me. You’ll crave that hit, and when you do, maybe I’ll be nice enough to let you touch my car.”
“I wouldn’t touch his car with a ten-foot pole if it was me,” Iris said as she returned, a sheepish Sebastian behind her.
“Yeah, well, you don’t like touching any poles, do you?” Owen shot back. “Bailey loves them.” He grabbed his crotch. “Neither of you can have this bad boy.”
“Poor us,” Iris said. “We’ll try not to cry over your tiny dick.”
Owen took a threatening step forward, and to my surprise, Seb stepped in front of Iris and shoved a hand into Owen’s chest.
“Back the fuck off,” he said.
Owen raised an eyebrow. “You want to fuck with me? Really? I could kick your ass without even trying.”
Sebastian snatched up the pool cue and brandished it at him. “I don’t think so.”
Owen backed off quickly, hands up. “All right, damn, take it easy.” He cast a look in my direction. “Think about what I said, Bailey. You wait too long, and you’re out. I’ll be waiting for your text.”
He turned and strolled out. Sebastian slumped and dropped the pool cue on the table.
“Holy hell, Sebby,” Iris said, sounding impressed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
He gave a shaky laugh. “Me either. I just hate that guy.”
“Well, I guess your lesson here is done,” I said. “You just looked like a badass at the pool table.”
Sebastian grinned. “Oh, so I should just threaten dudes with my stick?”
“That’s what he said,” Iris muttered.
“It impressed Iris,” I said. “Closest she’s ever come to being straight.”
She smacked my arm with a laugh. “Shut up, asshole.”
The doors to the rec center opened, and there was a commotion as chatter and laughter flitted across the room.
Everyone turned to look, and a few people got up and wandered closer.
At the center of the group was a tall, broad, perfectly carved man with blond curls and dimples to kill for.
“Damn,” I murmured. “Who is that?”
Iris elbowed me. “You have a boyfriend, remember?”
“Of course I remember. I’m just curious.”
“Uh-huh,” she said. “Well, that’s the man everyone on campus wants. The top Thirsty Titan of them all.”
“Who?”
“Oak Morris.”
“Ohhh,” I said, nodding as recognition hit me. “The dude that makes those thirst trap videos. He’s totally ripped.”
Iris snorted. “He also plays hockey. He’s kind of more famous for that.”
“Oh.”
“Dude, hockey is famous in Maple Grove,” Seb added.
I shrugged. Those kinds of sports weren’t my thing.
“He is ripped though,” he said. “That guy is impressive. I’m just a geek holding a pool cue.”
“A cute geek, though,” Iris said, nudging his shoulder.
“A smart one too,” I said. “There’s more to life than great genetics.”
Sebastian watched everyone flock to Oak. A pretty brunette hung off one arm, while another kept flicking her hair to get his attention.
Oak was objectively very good-looking with pretty muscles, yet there was an emptiness to his expression that told me he didn’t really want to be the center of all the attention that Seb was so envious of.
Funny how life worked. You always wanted what you didn’t have.
Good looks. Charm. Popularity.
Love.
Except everything I wanted was waiting back home, and I was pretty sure Sebastian wasn’t going to get any better at pool.
“I should get going. I’ve got a long drive ahead.”
Sebastian tore his gaze from Oak. “Uh, about earlier…”
“We don’t have to talk about it.”
“No, we do,” Seb said, “because we live together, and I don’t want things to get weird.”
Iris motioned toward the popcorn machine. “I’ll get a refill.”
When she was gone, Sebastian shifted, looked over at Oak, and cleared his throat.
“Nothing happened worth talking about,” I told Seb. The less we discussed his awkward boner, the better, as far as I was concerned. “We’re cool.”
He nodded, still avoiding my gaze. “Cool. But just so we’re clear, I’m not into you.”
“I know.”
“Like at all.”
“Damn, okay,” I said with a laugh. “Should I be offended?”
“I’m not gay.”
“I know, Seb. Relax. I’ve got a boyfriend already.”
He finally met my eyes. “Yeah, and he’s a big motherfucker, and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea and kill me before I’ve gotten my dick wet in an actual woman.”
My eyebrows shot up. I didn’t know Sebastian was a virgin, but I supposed it shouldn’t be too surprising.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I said.
“Which secret is that?” he asked, sounding wary.
“All of them, man. You know that.”
He relaxed a fraction. “Okay, thanks.”
Protest as he did, Sebastian had reacted to a male body in a way that wasn’t straight. I didn’t believe he was into me, specifically, but he had some shit to work out.
It wasn’t my job to tell him that, though. He was smart enough that he’d figure it out.
“I kind of hate that guy,” Sebastian said, gaze going back to Oak.
“No, you don’t,” I said.
He sighed. “Yeah, no. I just kind of want to be him.”
“Be yourself,” I said. “You’ll be a lot happier if you accept who you are. Trust me, I had to learn that this year.”
He nodded, eyes distant. “Yeah. Right. Good advice.”
His words were hollow. Sebastian was nowhere near ready to listen to me. But I hoped he would soon, because he really was a good guy. Yes, he was dorky. He flirted badly, and he made a fool of himself often, but he was also funny and loyal and a really damn good friend.
I knew, even once I left Thurston University, that I’d never really leave Sebastian or Iris behind. We’d stay in touch. We’d visit.
Friendship like this was worth holding on to, no matter where our lives took us.
But for now, I was past ready to go home. I clapped him on the arm, told Iris goodbye, and headed for my car.
On the way, I tugged out my phone, anxious to hear Flynn’s voice. I hit Call and waited until his deep voice rumbled, “Hey, babe.”
“Flynn, hi. What are you up to?”
“Just working on finishing up this transmission job so I can keep you in bed all day tomorrow before your family steals you for Thanksgiving. I arranged to get the day off.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. “But I don’t want you to work too hard. I can always help you while I’m in town.”
“Nah, I’m almost done.”
“Okay,” I said. “In that case, I look forward to spending more time in your bed.”
He gave a deep chuckle that made goose bumps rise over my skin.
“Looking forward to it.”