Chapter 3
THREE
MALIK
Ifluttered my eyes open as sunshine streamed in through my window, hitting my face.
“Oh, shit.” I placed my hand over my eyes.
I’d forgotten to close the damn shades last night.
An ache threaded through my head behind my eyes.
I drank too much last night. I reached for the water bottle I always kept on the nightstand.
Nothing. Hell, I needed water. I licked my dry lips.
Clanking hung in the air behind my closed door.
Tex and maybe Grey were up already. I slipped my legs off the bedside and stood, letting the covers fall behind me.
My morning wood peeked at me from between my thighs.
At least, part of me was awake. The little devil probably wanted a quick tug, even after getting some last night, but I didn’t have time.
I should see what Tex and Grey were up to. And I needed water…
I stumbled to my dresser, pulled out a pair of team athletic shorts and slipped them up my legs. I didn’t need underwear. Tex and maybe Grey would be the only ones out there. If they wanted a show, so be it. As I ambled to my door, my boner subsided mostly, and I shoved it down.
After opening my door, I padded into the main room and spied Tex at the stove, setting up for breakfast. “Hey.” I threaded my fingers through my unruly bangs.
He glanced at me and did a double take. “Dude, free-balling? How about you wait for the morning wood to go away before you accost me with it in the kitchen?” He huffed a laugh and shook his head.
“Oh, stop. It’ll be gone in a minute.” I strolled toward the coffee maker, the pot already filled. “Thank God you made coffee.” After pulling a cup down from an upper cabinet, I filled it and added creamer that was sitting next to the machine.
“How hungover are you? Are you eggs, bacon and toast hungover, or are pancakes okay?” He lifted the pancake mix, examining the directions on the back.
“I need some grease, so how about eggs, bacon and pancakes?” Holding my coffee cup with both hands, I blew across it and then sipped. “Grey’s not out yet?”
“Nope.” He cracked eggs into a frying pan and stirred them with a spatula. “What did you do to the poor guy after I left?”
“Me? The question is, what did Carrie do to him?” I snickered, my brain replaying the noises I’d heard through the wall during our hookup. It had set me on fire, just like when we’d had those threesomes together. Yeah, I think my sexuality was shifting more toward the gay side.
“So, you hooked up with the women from the bar?” He poured pancake mix into a bowl and stirred in eggs and milk.
“We sure did.” I sipped more coffee as I leaned my ass on the kitchen island counter, facing Tex while he cooked. “Riley swallowed, but I don’t think Carrie did.” I frowned. Had I heard that right? Our conversation was a little blurry now.
“You compared?” With a scoff, he laughed. “I’m not surprised.” He poured pancake mix into a fresh frying pan. “Will you be seeing them again?”
“I don’t think so. It was a fun one-nighter, but I’m finding I’m not as interested in women as I used to be.” Setting my coffee on the counter, I grabbed plates and silverware. Might as well set the table.
“It’s great to hear you fully embrace the dark side.” Tex threw me a smug grin and plated the food. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, so why don’t you rouse your boy? I’m sure he’s feeling about the same as you.”
“Good idea.” I strode into the hallway and stopped at Grey’s door. Should I knock or just go in? Pressing my ear to the door, I waited for a sound. Nothing. He was still asleep. I’d go in and wake him.
As a smirk swept across my lips, I flung the door open. “Ho-ly fuck.”
Grey lay sprawled across the bed, over the covers, naked, his morning wood on full display, his balls tucked in tightly.
My mouth watered, and my cock tingled and plumped.
He was only a friend, but I was still a red-blooded young man who enjoyed the sight of naked men.
“Damn it, dude, cover up.” He must have been so tired, he didn’t have the wherewithal to get under the covers.
I walked toward his bed, and he mumbled, turning his head toward me.
As his eyes fluttered open, he smacked his lips. “Malik?” he croaked.
“Too tired to put on pajamas or get between the sheets?” I jumped on the bed beside him, enjoying the curve of his thick cock and the vein running up the shaft. I’d seen it before, plenty of times. “Are you trying to turn me on?”
He lifted his head, his gaze dipping downward. “Oh, fuck.” He covered his dick with his palm and lifted onto an elbow. His face flicked to my boner, attempting to break free of my shorts, and his cheeks flushed. “A little warning next time would be nice.” His tongue darted around his mouth.
“Didn’t know you’d be in here taunting me with that exceptional appendage of yours.” I freed a soft snort. Was I over the top? Maybe. But this was Grey. We did shit like this to each other. It was all good.
“I see your dick is happy to see mine as well.” He sat up and ran his fingers through his mussed hair.
“I smell bacon.” He sighed and dropped the hand covering his junk behind him to lean on, his boner still raging between his thighs.
“I have to piss and…” He tagged my shoulder.
“Quit looking at my morning wood. Fuck.” He choked out a laugh.
“Can’t help it. I like dudes, remember?” My balls ached.
I had to leave now before blue balls set in.
I hopped off his bed and shoved my dick down my leg.
It popped back up, tenting my shorts. “Get dressed and meet us in the kitchen. Tex is making a hearty breakfast for us.” I strolled out of his room, willing my dick to stand down. Jesus, the thing had a mind of its own.
As I paced to the kitchen, Tex set plates of food on the table. His gaze swung to me. “Malik, did you get hard waking up your friend?”
“I did. He was naked.” With a shrug, I lifted a palm. “I can’t help it.”
“How the hell will you share a locker room with him?” He arched a brow and then peered at me. “You like him.”
“Of course I like him. He’s my best friend of all time.” I dragged a chair from the table and dropped into it. “It’s not like that, Tex. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Tex pursed his lips as he sank into a chair. “You two have an interesting dynamic. I’ll give you that.” He piled pancakes onto his plate.
I added bacon, eggs and pancakes to my plate and poured syrup on the pancakes. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“I’m heading to the gym after breakfast. Do you want to join me?” Tex scrolled on his phone while biting into a slice of bacon.
“Maybe. Let me see if Grey’s up for it.” After cutting into my pancakes, I stuffed a bite into my mouth. There was almost a week before we had to report at the facility for training. I should gain a few more pounds before then.
Grey ambled from the bedroom hallway, a pair of athletic shorts hanging low on his hips and his hair wetted down. “Who cooked? Smells delicious.”
“Thanks, I did.” Tex ate some eggs. “Coffee is in the pot.”
“Okay.” After making a coffee, Grey strolled to the table and took the chair across from mine. “Did I hear you say something about the gym?” He piled food onto his plate.
“Yeah, Tex is going after breakfast. You game?” I poured orange juice into my glass and sipped it. We could sweat off this hangover.
“Yeah, I’ll go.” Grey scooped eggs into his mouth, chewed and then said, “What are we working on today?”
“Chest and triceps.” Tex glanced toward me. “At least, that’s what I’ll be working on.”
“Sounds good to me.” Buzzing sounded and Grey fished his phone out of his short’s pocket. As he glanced at the screen, his brows lowered. “Shit.”
“Who is it?” I bit into a slice of bacon. Where had I left my phone? In my room?
“It’s Carrie. She says there’s a party on Friday night and she wants us to go with her and Riley.” With a scoff, he shook his head. “I don’t want to see them again.”
“Then don’t.” Tex ate a forkful of pancakes. “Nothing says you even have to respond to the text. People ghost each other all the time.”
“But that’s sort of shitty, isn’t it?” He ate his food and then washed it down with coffee. “They’re both in my same degree program. I might have one in class, and then it would be awkward.”
“ASU’s a damn big school. It’s also likely you won’t have them in a class.” Tutting, I cut a piece of pancake. “But a party could be fun. We could get the information from them, meet them there and then do whatever we want.” I shrugged a shoulder.
“Yeah, suppose so. And who knows, maybe I’ll like her better the second time around.” Grey tapped on his phone screen.
“There’s no requirement to hook up with them again if you don’t want to.” Tex drank some juice.
“That’s true.” Grey set his phone down, and it vibrated on the table. “Guess we’re going to a party on Friday.” His gaze swung to mine.
After we cleaned the breakfast dishes, we dressed for the ASU gym and drove there in my Honda SUV, a hand-me-down from my mom. I parked, and we strolled into the facility. “Other football players might be here as well. Everyone’s trying to get in top shape before camp starts.”
As I followed Grey to the glass doors, I watched the sway of his rounded ass. Damn, he had a nice ass. While he pulled a door open, I slapped the globe of muscle.
“Ow, shit. Not so hard.” He rubbed his ass cheek. “After you.”
Tex freed a soft snort as he walked in first. “You two are something else.”
“Just a word of warning? Tex is a monster in here, so don’t let him stack your weights.” I tapped Grey’s chest with my knuckles. Tex always pushed me to go heavier. But I wasn’t as big as him, and I wasn’t supposed to be.
“Yeah, it’s good for you,” Tex said, making his way to a treadmill.
As we walked across the floor of the gym, I scanned the area. Several guys were working out, but none of them were from the football team. “Looks like we’re the only guys here from our team.”