Chapter 11
RAFE
I had the worst night’s sleep ever. I tossed and turned and fantasized about the hockey jock snoring down the hall.
Wicked fantasies, too. They all featured Gus pinning me to the wall and having his way with me.
It started with a spine-tingling kiss and graduated to me worshiping his cock on my knees, begging him to fuck my mouth.
I came with a muffled cry, spurting cum on my abs and on the hem of my Snoopy ice-skating tee.
Judge me. I know you want to. God knew I was judging me, too.
I was the world’s biggest hypocrite. Oh, how quickly I’d succumbed to my basest instincts.
This horny episode had to be the result of an extended dry spell.
I’d gone so long without sex that my hulk of a roommate had unwittingly become the object of my desire.
Poor Gus.
Not that I thought we had a real problem on our hands. That had been a rogue kiss. Nothing to get excited about. He’d offered, I’d said yes, and that was it…end of story.
Okay, it was two kisses and I’d felt his erection. I’d been one bad idea away from grabbing his ass and rubbing up on him for all I was worth.
I wanted Gus. Badly. And if I were being honest, this situation had been slowly escalating for weeks. Loathing to a grudging truce to friendship, and now…lust.
Big lust.
I mean…look at him, slouched at the kitchen table, sleep-mussed and casually cool in a pair of gray sweats and a faded Smithton T-shirt. His hair was messy and his eyes had that droopy, precaffeinated sheen. Why was that so sexy?
“Mornin’.” Gus slid a steaming mug toward me. “I heard you coming down the stairs and poured you a cup.”
That was new.
“Thank you.” I picked up the mug and sat across from him, resting my lower lip on the rim as I studied him. “How’d you sleep?”
“Meh. Okay, I ’spose. You?”
“Same.”
I sipped my coffee, aware of the growing uncomfortable silence.
“I was—”
“What are you—”
We chuckled awkwardly.
“You first,” I insisted.
“I was gonna ask what you’re doing today.”
“Oh, um…I have an errand to run.” I fluttered my hand and proceeded to info-dump.
“A costume I had repaired. The beading was coming off and while I can do simple sewing, this was more involved and I may need it this summer. The seamstress lives in Hamilton. It’s a schlep, so I’ve been putting it off and today is the day.
I have weight training later and…that’s it.
” I hid my beet-red face behind my mug like the coward I was, adding a quick, “You?”
“I can drive you to Hamilton. I’ve got practice this afternoon and nothing much going on. I have a paper due Monday, but it’s half done and I can finish the rest tomorrow. What do you think?”
I furrowed my brow so hard my glasses slipped down my nose. “You want to come with me?
“Sure.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Why not? It’s something to do, and that new Costco is in between Hamilton and Smithton. We can hit it on the way home for kicks.”
Okay, I was confused.
“Is this about last night? If you want to talk about it, I’d rather do that here and get it over with. Tear off the Band-Aid, as they say.”
Gus gave a lopsided smile. “There’s nothing to talk about…unless you want to do it again.”
Oh, wow.
Yes, please, I thought, but I said, “Pfft. Yeah…right.”
“Hey, we both agreed it was hot.”
“Stop teasing me. This is embarrassing enough as it is,” I grumbled into my mug.
He kicked my ankle gently. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We said we were cool last night, remember?”
I held up a finger like an old-fashioned schoolteacher. “This might be a minor detail, but I’m not cool. Not even a little.”
“Well, I think you’re cool,” he assured me matter-of-factly. “The truth is…I need a little distraction today. I could go see my friends, but Ty’s with Walker, which leaves Brady and Regan, and they’ll ask why I wasn’t at Cassie’s after the game last night, and I don’t feel like being interrogated.”
“Ahh, and why weren’t you at Cassie’s party?”
“Who else was gonna wait up for you and make sure you got home safely?” Gus jumped to his feet and tousled my hair. “Let’s do this, Rafey.”
And that was how I wound up in the passenger seat of Gus’s truck, cruising the interstate toward Hamilton. The drive was a peaceful, if somewhat monotonous landscape of imposing trees along a black ribbon of highway. It was nice to have company, odd though the circumstances might be.
I was still curious about him avoiding a party with friends last night. And again this morning.
That was so…not Gus.
“I hope you realize this is going to be a very boring errand. I’m literally going to try on the costume, then turn around and come home.”
“Nope. You forgot Costco.” He spared me a sideways glance, his aviators glinting in the midmorning sun. “How do you feel about corn dogs?”
“Corn dogs are nasty and I hate to break this to you, but I have zero budget left for extracurricular grocery shopping. Not even a dollar.”
Gus shrugged. “It’s on me.”
“That’s not how this works. We’re supposed to equally share expenses.”
“And we do.”
“No, we don’t,” I argued, twisting to face him. “You’ve gone from one extreme to the other. You used to eat my food, now you’re buying extras of everything, and I feel bad. I mean…you’re a student too.”
“I have resources,” he replied cryptically.
“That sounds mysterious.”
Gus snickered. “Do you always jump to the worst conclusion first? I promise you I’m not selling drugs. I just have money.”
“Like I said…mysterious.”
“It’s…” He sighed and blew a raspberry before continuing. “I inherited money from my grandfather on my mom’s side. I have a generous stipend for college and when I turn twenty-five, I’ll get another very large infusion.”
I whistled. “That must be nice.”
“Hmm. My grandpa attached practical provisions to his will, so it’s not a free-for-all.
We each have to go to an approved university and seek gainful employment postgraduation.
No being bums. My brother Mikey is a med student.
He’s doing his residency at Georgetown. And Patrick works for a hedge fund firm.
Mom has a sister, but Aunt Lillian never married or had kids, so my brothers and I are the main benefits guys. ”
“Beneficiaries.”
“Yeah, I don’t have to worry about groceries, gas money, or paying for books, and I’m grateful for that.”
“I bet. I think about how to stretch my budget every day,” I groused.
“It’s a struggle for a lot of my friends too, and it sucks. Look, I know I’m lucky, but the flip side is that my mom likes to control…everything. It comes from a good place. She wants us to succeed and honor the family legacy or some shit, but sometimes…a lot of the time, she’s fucking relentless.”
“How so?”
“Mikey wanted to teach biology while he researched dementia for some bigwig professor. Not good enough, so like it or not, he’s going to be a doctor now.
Same for Paddy. He used to play guitar in a retro punk band who had a decent following, but that was never gonna fly.
Mom pulled strings with some old friend of the family.
Paddy got rid of his piercings and covers his tattoos with a fancy suit now, but… he’s making bank and Mom loves it.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” I said carefully.
“Really? ’Cause they both hate their jobs. They gave up their dreams for money, and it’s my turn next. I’ve made a mini career out of staying in college for as long as humanly possible. I switched my major twice and have minors in psychology and criminal justice.”
I sat up a little straighter, intrigued and honestly…shocked. “You do?”
“Yeah. I have the credits for my undergraduate degree, but I started grad school and—”
“Really? You do?”
Gus inclined his chin. “Yep. I’m working on a master’s in English.”
“Wow. I’m…surprised.”
He chuckled. “You thought I was a dumb jock, huh?”
“No, of course not.”
“Liar,” he huffed without heat. “Hey, you’re not wrong. I’m no brainiac. My only goal was to stay in Smithton, play hockey for as long as possible, and have a lot of fuckin’ fun. Mission accomplished.”
“What happens after graduation?”
“That I don’t know. I might stay and finish my MFA and…teach, coach hockey. I’ve been talking to the head coach at Smithton High and…I think I’d make a good assistant.”
“Yes, definitely. I could see that,” I replied earnestly. “And you’d teach English?”
Gus grinned. “You sound surprised again.”
“I…I—okay, I am. I just didn’t get the impression that was something you were interested in doing.”
“Fair. The only thing I’ve ever been passionate about is hockey and unfortunately, I’m not good enough to go pro. As for English…I like stories. I’m not a great writer, but I think I’m good at encouraging other people.”
“You are,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
He fiddled with the air vent and tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel before glancing my way. “Thanks. We’ll see how it shakes down, but I do know this…I’m not going to law school.”
“Oh. Is that your mom’s idea?”
“Yep. She has my future figured out. She’s got this idea that while I’m studying for the LSAT, I could intern at a family friend’s firm…
in Charleston. Great city, but I’m not moving there and someday, I’m gonna have to break the news to her.
It’s not going to be pretty. On the bright side, I’m already the family fuckup, so it’s not like it’ll be a total surprise.
More of a ‘That’s Gus for you. Always clowning around and acting like G-damn Peter Pan,’ ” he grumbled in a woman’s falsetto.
My lips twisted in amusement. “G-damn?”
“Mom hates to use the Lord’s name in vain. Very gauche.”
“Does your dad feel the same way? I mean…about your career, not swearing,” I clarified, pointing at the sign for the next exit. “We get off here.”