Chapter 47
ISAK
I step into the kitchen and freeze. Sophia, the head cheerleader, is standing center stage with her red-painted nails holding Lachlan’s face and her lips against his. My chest burns, and I nearly retch. She’s the one who kissed him at the game that time. The one I thought was his girlfriend.
The one who looks absolutely perfect with him. After all, the quarterback and the cheerleader is classic casting. That’s the way the world works. The drama kid’s supposed to wait in the wings while she stands on her spike mark and they sing their duet.
Has he been dating her this whole time?
No.
He hasn’t. I know he hasn’t. This is all her. He’s not interested.
Should I step in and save him?
Also no.
Ouch. It fucking hurts.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I agreed to keep our relationship under wraps until he’s ready. It’s a big step that we came to this party together. We’ve gone to restaurants together. We spend every waking moment we can together.
But that doesn’t mean I want to watch anyone else on the planet put their hands on him. I’m tempted to do something I’ve never done before, pick a fight or make a scene—and that’s the last thing he needs.
I turn to exit, stage right, but Lachlan sees me. He stiffens, his eyes wide, and he gently disentangles himself from Sophia.
“Isak,” he calls, “wait.” He murmurs something to Sophia, and she pouts but then drunkenly slips over to someone else.
Lachlan moves to my side in a few long strides. “She didn’t ask me before doing that,” he says in a low voice.
“Let’s go outside,” I say.
His face falls, but he follows me out the door. We find a quiet, private spot in the dark by the garage.
“Isak,” he whispers, “I’m so sorry—”
I hold up my hands. “Nothing to apologize for.”
He blinks. “What?”
“I didn’t like seeing that, and I’m angry about it—but I’m angry at her, not you. I trust you. Period. If you wanted to dump me, you’d dump me. You don’t need to”—I wave my hands—“get creative to piss me off.”
Lachlan slumps in relief. “Fuck. Thanks.” He nods, then shakes his head. “I don’t want to dump you. Never. But in some bizarro world where I did, you’re right that I’d be honest with you about it.” He blows out a breath. “Damn, I’m so grateful you aren’t yelling at me.”
I pretend to pick a piece of lint off his shirt and give him a crooked smile. “You’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”
Lach’s eyes are glassy. “I’m so used to everyone screaming at me for every single thing.”
“I’ll never do that to you,” I say fiercely. “I’ll always give you the benefit of the doubt and a chance to explain yourself, because you’ve earned it. You’ve never lied to me—”
He kisses me.
I don’t taste Sophia on his lips, which is a relief. He seems to realize my thought and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before kissing me again.
“You,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around me, “are one in a million.”
“So are you,” I say, snuggling into him. I’m wary, since we might have to spring apart at any moment, but for now, I’ll take his warmth and solid body against mine. “And I don’t have a huge temper. Sure, I get angry sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take it out on you.”
“I’d let you,” he says. “If you needed to.”
I give him a half smile. “If I need to holler, we can deal with it then. Maybe we go shoot paintballs or find a void to scream into. I don’t ever want to yell at you. That might not be realistic, but it can be a goal.”
We kiss again and then move to lean against the wall of the garage, side by side. My pinkie toys with his as we look out at the dark night. “Do you want to leave?” Lachlan asks. “I’d rather spend time with you alone.”
“We can stay. I don’t want to take you away from your friends.”
“I’m not sure many of them actually are my friends,” he says. “They just like being associated with the quarterback, the student body president, whatever.”
My throat aches. Lachlan doesn’t deserve to be used. He deserves to be loved.
And I’m pretty sure he’s never been taught to love himself.
I wonder if I can love him enough for both of us until he figures out how precious he truly is. I think I can.
“Let’s stay a little longer,” I say.
He grins. “I have an idea. Come on. Follow me.”
We return to the crowded party. Pretty much everyone is drunk or high, so I don’t think anyone notices us, especially since I’m doing my best not to seem like I’m following Lach too closely.
Lachlan looks both ways as we go down a hall and up a flight of stairs, and then he starts glancing in rooms with open doors. He finds an empty bathroom, shuts the door behind us, and turns the lock.
Then he’s on me, kissing me wildly, rubbing his hard cock against mine.
Fuck, I love him. I don’t know when it happened.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to tell him.
All I know is that he’s my person, and I’m going to be there for him no matter what.
I’m going to give him whatever he needs to be happy and healthy and whole.
I thought he’d want me to walk through fire for him, which I’d do.
But if sex is what he needs, I’m not complaining.
“I gotta see you come,” he whispers, his deep voice husky.
I give him a lopsided grin. “Promises, promises. What do you have in mind, incubus puppy?”
“I want you inside me.”
I gape at him. “Are you serious?”
He nods, biting his lip.
“Okay, awesome, but I’m not fucking you for the first time in a bathroom at a party. I want to be able to spread you out on a bed and take good care of you. I want to make sure you love it.”
Lachlan pouts, and it almost makes me laugh. “But I’m dyyyying.”
“Why don’t we go to my house?”
“Is your mom there?” he asks.
“Likely so.”
“Then no. What about the car? We could fuck around in there?”
I laugh for real. “Lach, you know there’s no room in that Porsche.”
“How likely is it that we’re going to get caught? We aren’t.”
“You say that now,” I warn.
“Isak,” Lach says in a tone that makes me give in.
“Okay, if you want to make me come like a rocket, here in this ridiculously upscale bathroom, then suck my cock and play with my ass,” I whisper.
He groans. “Deal.”
My gorgeous boyfriend falls to his knees as the party pulses a floor below us, and we rush to get my dick out of my clothes and into his mouth. The moment his lips close around my hard length, we both sigh with relief.
This is what I want. Connection with him.
Gabe’s house is huge, so no one’s going to be waiting in line for this particular bathroom. Which means, unlike our furtive times in the janitor’s closet, we don’t need to rush. Nor do we need to be quiet, given the volume level downstairs.
So I relax into Lach blowing me.
“If I’d known this was part of the entertainment at your friends’ parties, I’d’ve come to one sooner,” I gasp, holding his head gently.
He can’t say anything, because my dick is down his throat, but his shoulders shake with silent laughter.
Since that first time in the irrigation ditch, Lach has gotten much better at sucking cock.
His enthusiasm that first time made up for any lack of technique, but practice makes perfect. And now he’s off book. No notes.
His hand snakes under my shirt to fondle my pecs, then down to grip my ass. “Yummm,” I moan. “I fucking love”—you—“this.”
Lachlan pops off my dick long enough to say, “Same, baby.”
Yeah, that word makes me melt, too.
He goes back to work, and soon I’m coming.
The music from downstairs is still loud, but I bite the heel of my hand just in case someone’s passing by.
Before I can do anything for Lachlan, he jerks himself off, kissing me roughly as he does.
Once we catch our breath, we splash water on our faces and put ourselves back together as best we can.
We are both most definitely disheveled: hair mussed, lips puffy, faces splotchy, bodies content.
“What if someone catches us coming out of the bathroom?” I ask.
“I’m beyond caring,” he says.
“Really?”
He shrugs and wraps both hands around my waist, tugging me to him. “In two weeks they’re all going to see me kiss you onstage,” he says against my lips. “They’re going to believe our characters are completely in love. If they see us tonight, well, they can draw whatever conclusions they want.”
I’m skeptical about how well his nonchalance would hold up if it were tested by reality, but the idea is tempting.
One more kiss to my lips, and then my nose, and then my forehead, and he says, “Let’s go.”
We step out into a vacant hallway. He grips my hand briefly and then releases it. “We can take off soon.”
“Whatever you want.” I’m delightfully relaxed.
When we get back downstairs, no one seems to have missed us, although we do get a few curious looks from people who didn’t see us together earlier.
I join Lach on a couch, and we both drink sodas, even though everyone around us is pretty wasted. I don’t even bother with my vape. I don’t feel like I need it.
We get into a long conversation with a bunch of football players about the show—though we’re coy about the script—and they all say they’re coming to see us. I talk up Lachlan’s singing, which makes him blush. Then I look up, and Becky Hansen is standing in front of us.
Fuck.
Becky graduated last year but is, apparently, still friends with the current cheerleaders. She’s got long, medium-brown hair and green eyes, and she’s wearing skinny white jeans and a tan V-neck cashmere sweater.
She smirks at me. “Hey, Isak.”
“Hey.” I’m proud to say my voice is steady.
“Becky,” Lach says, a warning note in his voice. “How’s college?”
She ignores him. “Isak, I heard you decided to give acting another try.”
I feel sick, but I do my best to conceal it. “Yeah, I like acting. The script is really good, and everyone’s been working super hard to make sure we’re ready.”
“Hmm,” she says noncommittally. “Well, we’ll see. I bought tickets.”
Which makes my stomach drop.
Fuck.