Chapter 2 Hummers under the Hemingway #2
“Shit,” Xander muttered, running his hands through his hair. “This is exactly what I was worried about.”
“No one saw anything,” I assured him. “But you might want to go a bit beyond the first row of shelves next time.”
“There isn't going to be a next time.” Xander's voice came out flat.
Something in his tone made my stomach drop. I glanced at Gryff, who was looking at Xander with an expression I recognized, the carefully neutral face he made when he was trying not to let his emotions show.
“Xan,” Gryff said quietly.
“I can't do this, man.” Xander's voice was strained, but there was something almost cold about it, like he was delivering a business decision. “This was a mistake.”
“Because someone almost caught us?”
“Because someone did.” Xander looked at me, and I could see the panic at his disco.
“No one else will know until you're ready,” Gryff said. “We can avoid—“
“Can we? Really?” Xander's laugh had an edge to it. “You're Gryffen goddamn Kingman. People pay attention to everything you do. Your family's practically royalty around here. And I can't afford to be part of your... ball bunny club.”
Gryff flinched at that. “What the hell, Rosemount?”
Xander was straightening his shirt now, his whole demeanor shifting to something more distant. “Look, this was fun. But let's not pretend it was ever going anywhere.”
The casual cruelty in his voice made my hands clench into fists. I could see exactly what he was doing. Trying to hurt Gryff enough that he wouldn't fight the breakup, wouldn't try to change his mind.
“So this was what?” Gryff waved a finger between the two of them, his voice carefully controlled. “Just a way to scratch an itch?”
“Pretty much.” Xander shrugged like they were discussing the weather. “I need to think about my career, my image. I can't be associated with... complications.”
“Right,” Gryff said, and I could see him rebuilding his walls in real time, his expression going carefully blank.
“Glad you understand.”
Xander was already moving toward the exit, like this conversation was just an inconvenience he needed to get through. He paused at the end of the stacks, not quite looking back.
“Oh, and Fraser?” He glanced over his shoulder but didn't actually meet my eyes. “Keep this between us, huh? Gryff's reputation can probably handle some... rumors, but I've got a lot more to lose.”
The dismissive way he said it, like Gryff's feelings were completely irrelevant, made my blood boil. But before I could say anything, Xan was gone, his footsteps echoing down the stairs.
We stood there in silence for a long moment, listening to the sound fade. When it was completely quiet, Gryff slumped against the bookshelf and closed his eyes, rubbing his fingers between his eyes.
“Well.” He sighed. “That was.... fun.”
Yeah, if fun was a bloody true crime documentary and this was the crime scene. “Want to get out of here?”
Gryff opened his eyes and looked at me, really looked at me, then grabbed me into a tight one-armed hug.
“Yeah,” he said. “Let's go.”
We didn't talk until we were outside, walking across campus in the general direction of the quad. The late afternoon sun was still warm on our faces, but the earlier magic of baby goat yoga felt like it had happened in another lifetime.
“So,” Gryff said eventually. “That happened.”
“Yep.”
“You're not going to ask me about it?”
I considered this. “Do you want me to ask about it?”
“Not really.”
“Then I won't.”
We walked toward the Dragon’s Brew campus coffee shop in comfortable silence. We'd been friends long enough that we knew both when to push and when to just be present.
When we got inside and up to the counter, I automatically ordered our usual. “I’ll have the medium iced strawberry matcha, and he’ll have a medium hot honeycomb latte with extra vanilla sweet foam.”
I grabbed our drinks when they called my name and handed Gryff his. “Here’s your gross sweetened hot bean water.”
“At least my bean water tastes good. You had to add strawberries to your chewed up grass drink to make it taste less like pure unadulterated chlorophyll.”
We grabbed a table outside. “But I lurrrve strawberries.”
Gryff chuckled which was a good sign. “You’re a strawberry.”
“Your face is a strawberry.”
He settled down next to me with a long sigh. “Can I ask you something?”
“About whether I knew about you and Captain Closeted?” I nodded and took a long sip of my drink.
“Was I that obvious?”
“To me? Yeah. But I know you better than most people.”
He was quiet for a moment, running his fingers through his beard in that way he did when he was thinking deep thoughts. “When did I give it away?”
I nudged his shoulder. “The hockey house party before spring break. The two of you conveniently disappeared. And Xan's not great at hiding beard burn.”
“Shit.” He leaned back and looked up at the sky. “That was right after we hooked up. He pulled me into a dark corner and kissed the shit out of me. But then freaked the fuck out and said to forget it ever happened.”
“That's what had you in a funk over spring break?”
“Yeah, this isn't the first time we've broken up.” Gryff sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I wish he didn't feel like he had to hide it at all.”
Uh-oh. Had Gryff caught feelings for that asshat? “It's not stupid to want a real relationship.”
“It is when the other person has made it crystal clear they think you're just an experiment.” The bitterness in his voice made my chest ache. “Listening to him talk about my 'reputation being able to handle rumors' like I'm some kind of fuck boy who doesn't take anything seriously.”
I studied his profile, noting the tension in his jaw, the way he was gripping the edge of the step. “For what it's worth, Xander can go eat a bag of dicks as far as I'm concerned.”
This was probably the first time either of us had been single at the same time in... well, ever. Since I'd known Gryff, one of us had always been dating someone, even if it was just casual.
“Well, your misery can enjoy mine as company. Olivia just dumped me too.”
Gryff twisted in his seat and scowled like I'd made him eat stinky cheese. “What? When?”
“About an hour ago. Phone call.” I kicked at a loose piece of concrete on the pavement. “She got accepted to the development program in Australia. Leaves right after graduation.”
“Fuck. I'm sorry.”
“It's fine. I mean, it's not fine, but it's not unexpected either.” I shrugged because what else was I supposed to do? “It's okay. Long-term relationships probably aren't for me. I’m used to it.”
“You shouldn't have to be.”
“Yeah, well. Story of my life. People leave. Opportunities come up. Life moves on.” Being friends with Gryff was the longest relationship I'd ever had.
He grabbed my braid and gave it a tug, pulling my head down to his shoulder, then wrapped his arm around me.
“I'm not going anywhere, my strawberry girl.
I mean... I am going to LA, but you'll be there too.
And even if you weren't, you can't shake me.
You're stuck with me for life. Like a bad toenail fungus.”
“Great. Just what I need. Athlete's foot with benefits.”
“I am a fun guy.” He snort-laughed. I refused to acknowledge his really bad dad joke. “Get it. Fun guy, like fungi, you know mushrooms are fung—“
“You're the worst.” But also he was the best.
“Wanna get drunk and play some FortFite?”
This was the next step in the usual distraction when either of us went through a breakup. Pints of ice cream instead of tequila when either of us were in training, but tequila when we weren't. This was definitely a tequila and violent video games night.
“Strawberry margaritas?”
“You know it.”
Step two was to swear off dating. I was starting that part early. “Okay. But I'm getting the new Too Fox Too Furious movie skin. Because I'm officially swearing off dating and Fox Daws is forever my only man.”
“Deal. Then I'm officially swearing off dating, at least until graduation anyway. You can help me pick out a new sexy skin.” He stood and pulled me up with him.
I already missed that comforting arm around me and his solid chest under my head. If ever I was going to trust a promise that someone wouldn't let me go, it would be from this man. And for once in my life I was going to try my best never to fuck up this friendship.
“Like you're ever going to change out of the Kelsey Best Lady Bananaconda snake outfit and forever make me do the Real Reputation emote with you every twenty seconds.”
“Why would I? She's a badass and I'm undefeated.”
Who needed a love life when you had a best friend like mine?