Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAD
Even after sleeping on it, my head is still spinning. Probably from spending the night resting on a pillow with what-the-fuck-ever thread count. It felt like a cloud. Bailey’s bed is huge. And from where I’m lying with him tucked under my arm, all I can see is water out to the horizon.
He snuffles, then stretches out, long and lean like a cat.
“Morning.”
He smiles sleepily up at me. The early morning light coming through the massive windows makes his freckles stand out more than usual. Little brown splotches over his nose and under his eyes. I want to take the day memorizing every one of them.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Relaxed, actually.”
“No more freaking out?”
Surprisingly, I’m not. “Your family are awesome.”
“But …”
“It still hasn’t sunk in. I feel like I’m in a resort, not someone’s house.”
Bailey leans in and gives me a soft kiss but backs up before I can go after more. “If you marry me one day, we can have a place just like this.”
I crack up laughing. “That’s a strange thought. Chad Doomsen, richer than God.”
“It could happen,” Bailey says, a defensive tinge to his words.
I turn so we’re face-to-face. “Let’s get this clear. If we ever get married, it has nothing to do with any money we might have. I don’t want you to think I’m like that.”
“I know.” His face softens. “It’s actually one of the most attractive things about you. You really don’t care about money.”
“Well, I care. You know, so far as covering bills and making sure I’m not struggling, but anything more than that is …
” I don’t want to say excessive, because I don’t want him to think I’m judging.
I’m not. From what I’ve learned about his dad, he actually does work hard, and he doesn’t hoard all his money for himself.
He’s set up a fair few programs to do with money and shit for people from backgrounds who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
He has scholarships and funds medical research and a bunch of other things Bailey was explaining that go right over my head.
Apparently, they have a team of people who research areas in need and assess what needs to be done for improvements. They’re passionate about that stuff.
I might not understand this house, or a massive apartment in New York, or bank accounts that reach fuck if I know amounts, but I do know they’re good people.
“Wanna have some fun before we go down?” Bailey asks, hand dipping low on my gut.
I roll on top of him. “Do I ever.”
We rut together in a frantic need to get off, like we didn’t come our brains out last night, but getting this time with him is something I’m not going to take for granted.
Being together like this, taking the time to talk and get to know each other, is incredible, and with each conversation, I’m falling more and more for him.
This thing is quickly bypassing crush territory and heading for something serious.
Something that makes boyfriends feel like playing pretend.
Everyone is already awake when we get down there, and if there’s one good thing I can thank this house for, it’s that it’s big enough that no one would have heard us last night. And we were not quiet.
“Morning,” his mom, Victoria, says as we walk in. “Coffee’s on. It’s delicious.” She winks at me, and maybe she’s only saying it to be nice, but hell if I care. Bailey and I help ourselves to a cup as his dad, Alistair, looks up from his phone. “What are you guys planning today?”
“Gonna take a train into the city,” Bailey says. “We might go out tonight and stay at the apartment.”
“Sounds good.”
And what’s better than a huge house where we don’t have to be quiet? Being completely fucking alone. I’d worry if I thought his family would find it rude that we’re taking off, but they don’t seem to mind.
Well, his parents don’t.
“No fair,” Rachel says. “We wanna go.”
“You’re in high school,” Bailey points out to her.
“I can pass for twenty-one. Take us with you.”
“We’re going to a gay club, and you’re not gay.”
“I think Dad would prefer that, right, Dad?”
He snorts into his coffee. “Not on your life. Nice try though.”
Thank you, Papa Prince. I need some solo time with my guy.
We spend most of the day hanging out at the house. Swimming in the heated pool, playing shuttlecock—heh—with his dad, which I fudge my way through. Rachel, Sierra, and I cook lunch, while Bailey makes mocktails for the girls and something red and deadly for us.
It’s a good time, and I try not to get too ahead of myself by picturing this happening regularly in the future, but I like his family.
So much that I’m almost disappointed when we grab enough shit to last us the night, pack it into one bag, and head out.
We’ll see them briefly in the morning before heading back to school, and I have to kick the feeling that this could be the one and only time we get to do this.
It’s a dumb thought, and I’m not going to start stressing about the future now when I never have before, but Greenwich is like a holiday away from real life.
I couldn’t imagine coming back here in the summer, spending all day every day by the pool, overlooking that view.
When we board the train, I pretend to take a long, deep breath of the stale air. “Now this is what I’m used to.”
Bailey rolls his eyes at me and pulls me into a seat. He sits, cuddled into my side, and we’re mostly quiet on the way into the city. It’s nice. Peaceful.
He spends a good part of the trip scrolling through his phone, sending the occasional text.
I press a kiss to his head and murmur, “Who are you talking to?”
“Just our house chat.”
“Oooh …” I pretend to make a grab for his phone. “What Kappa secrets are you hiding from me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He hurries to close his phone as I yank him close and gently nip his neck.
I pout. “Boyfriend privileges.”
“There’s no such thing. What do you always say? Brothers before lovers?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever said that.”
Bailey grins. “It’s killing you not to know, isn’t it?”
“Little bit.”
“I’ll give you a hint. It ranges anywhere from a chore schedule to plans for total world domination. Anything you guess in those parameters will be close.”
“Someone’s feeling clever.”
He hums. “I enjoy teasing you.”
“My guess is you guys are planning some lame prank that will go balls up, and then I’ll have to show you how it’s really done.”
Bailey blinks at me for a moment, and that’s all the confirmation I need.
“Knew it.”
“If you say so …”
“Oh, I do say so.” I pretend to crack my knuckles, even though they don’t actually do that. “I am a top detective. A master of mysteries.”
“Just ask you?”
“Damn right.”
Bailey chuckles and slips his phone away, and damn I’m curious, but I’m not going to push. If we’re going to do this without pissing anyone off, the fraternity stuff needs to stay separate.
It takes over an hour to get into the city and a bit more to get to Bailey’s apartment. It’s a penthouse, which is no surprise, but walking in still gives me that same feeling of being completely overwhelmed. Maybe I’d get used to this eventually, but I doubt it.
We shower together, and I blow Bailey before he returns the favor. The freedom we have here is amping my libido up to insane levels, and if I wasn’t so eager to head out and show off my boyfriend, I’d be insisting we stay in and fuck.
I don’t ask Bailey if he’s been to this club before, because I don’t really wanna know. The important thing is he’s never been there with me.
“This is going to be fun,” I say as we get ready.
“You excited to see how many guys are going to be all over you?”
“Just saying, I’m ready to prove my theory right that you’ll be the dude magnet tonight.”
“Will you be okay if other guys dance with me?”
I shrug. “Sure. I trust you. We both know who we’re there with and that we’re exclusive, so that’s cool, right?”
He licks his lips. “I trust you too. And I actually think it might be hot to see you dancing with a group of sweaty men.”
“Pity,” I say, dancing to a silent bass. “I only wanna dance with you. It’ll be all those other guys who get to watch us together.” I pull him against me, hands on his waist, hips grinding into his as I turn us to face the bathroom mirror. “See how good we look together?”
Bailey shivers against me as I kiss my way along his neck. “Keep going and we won’t make it there.”
“Damn it.” I wrench myself away, and then we have a few shots before heading out.
It’s cold as shit, so we order an Uber to drop us there and then freeze our nuts off waiting in line to get in.
The bar is a thousand percent warmer than outside, which is a relief because I seriously thought Bailey would catch hypothermia in those tiny shorts. He tucks himself under my arm as we walk in, and we both stand off to the side and take in the room.
It’s dark, with flashing strobes and loud music. The dance floor is sunken in the middle of the room and already crowded with people.
Hell yeah.
I don’t bother getting a drink since I already have a nice buzz and instead steer Bailey right for the dance floor. It’s humid, and the bodies around us are radiating warmth, so I whip off my shirt like most of the guys around me and tuck it into my jeans as Bailey does the same.
Then I pull him close.
My arms wrap around his back as I hold his lithe frame against me, bare skin against mine, somehow so fucking intimate even in a room full of people.
We’re jostled from all sides, and both of us are grinded on at one point or another, but I’ve only got eyes for him, and the way he’s looking at me is the same.
We’re glued together, hands exploring, stares locked, and I bet my smile matches the one he’s wearing. We dance so long, we’re both sweaty, and when Bailey turns in my arms to link his hands behind my neck, another guy immediately closes in.
He keeps his distance enough that I don’t feel like decking him as he dances with us, looking like he’s completely lost in the music.
Bailey arches his mouth back to my ear and yells, “I need water. Want one?”
I nod, and he slides out from between us and disappears into the crowd. The guy barely notices as he moves closer, still dancing with me, and what the fuck, might as well.
It’s fun. I dip him and spin him around, almost knocked out by the fairy wings he’s wearing. He reminds me a bit of Robbie with his height and that gut, but he’s laughing and seems like a fun time.
Eventually he kisses my cheek and moves off, to be replaced by another guy, and another. I’m loving the attention until someone closes in behind me. The muscular arms are definitely not Bailey’s, and the aggressive way he thrusts his hard-on against my ass takes my mindset from fun to fuck off.
I try to shove him back when his arms close around my waist, and all I can think is that if I turn around and hit this guy, it’s night over.
Starting a brawl on the dance floor isn’t a romantic end to the night.
I’ve almost reached the point where the risk of being thrown out outweighs the need to get him off me when Bailey appears.
The look on his face is almost evil as he reaches for the guy’s hand and does something that immediately makes him jolt away.
“What the hell?” the voice roars in my ear.
I turn in time to see him step up to Bailey and manage to catch his chest before he gets too close. “Touch him, I dare you.”
“Yeah, touch me, I dare you,” Bailey taunts.
I go to throw him an amused look when I’m shoved from the side and almost knock Bailey over.
Not. Fucking. Cool.
But before I can react, Bailey sidesteps me and does some kind of karate chop thing to the guy’s throat and kicks out the back of his knees. He drops, gasping for breath, and the people around us barely notice.
But hot damn.
I notice.
Seeing Bailey bring down that roid rager is making my pants uncomfortably tight.
He brushes back the damp curls on his forehead, takes my hand, and leads me farther onto the dance floor.
“Umm … is he gonna be okay?”
“Other than a bruised ego, he’ll be fine.”
“Second and more important question, where did you learn to kick ass like that?”
“Every good little gay boy should know how to defend himself.”
“Damn, Princess …” I reach for his waist and pull him against me, rocking my hardness against his thigh. “That was so fucking hot.”
His hands wind around my neck. “Turns out, seeing you dance with other guys isn’t as hot as I thought it would be.”
“It was fun until that last asshole.”
“I know, I was watching.”
“Oh, really?”
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself, and then I saw your expression when that guy closed you in …” Bailey clenches his jaw. “Made me stabby.”
“We might have to role-play that later.”
He starts to laugh, leaning down to rest his forehead on my shoulder. When he sighs, I feel it through his whole body. “I laugh a lot with you.”
“Good. I like seeing it.”
“I smile a lot with you too.”
That prompts me to smile even wider than I was before, and I cup his head, fingers running through his sweaty hair. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“You’re fun.”
“Well, you’re fun and stabby. That might be my favorite combo that I didn’t even know I liked.”
He snuggles into me, and I let my hands trail up and down his back. Whenever someone tries to join us this time, I shake my head, and we’re left alone.
We dance for what feels like hours, lost in each other. I’m surrounded by his warmth, the delicious smell of his sweat, the soft glide of his skin against mine. I like being surprised, and Bailey’s been my biggest surprise so far.
I’m falling for him, and it doesn’t scare me.
I’m falling for him, and I want to be. Not only that, I want to fall faster, harder. No safety net.
And when Bailey pulls back and his gorgeous blue eyes meet mine, I get my wish.
I’m in free fall.