Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Zeke
“One of the other ideas was opening up spring formal and doing a kind of silent auction,” Brandon explains.
Robbie lets out a noise of disagreement.
I almost laugh. “That’s a no from you?”
“Spring formal is sacred; we don’t want the geeds invading. I like the silent auction idea though. Maybe at the executive sleepover, we can do a live where each of the execs offer up … something—”
Brandon cuts him off. “If this is some kind of prostitution idea again—”
Charles splutters.
“—then it’s a solid no.”
“What?” Robbie asks, and for someone who has suggested auctioning off dates before, he sounds more offended than he has any right to. “I meant like … mowing lawns or washing cars. Geez, bro, get your head out of the gutter.”
“Before you start arguing again,” Charles says, “that’s actually a good idea. And I agree about keeping spring formal for fraternity and sorority members only. Some traditions should be upheld.”
Robbie blinks at him in surprise, and he’s not the only one. Charles agreeing with one of us, let alone Robbie, is a rare thing.
“How many ideas is that?” Charles asks, leaning toward me slightly but not looking at me.
He hasn’t given me his attention once today, and it’s starting to bug me.
I tilt the paper his way and show the list I’ve jotted down, but I don’t answer.
If he wants to know, he can pay me respect by acknowledging my existence.
But his gaze lands right on the list, and he reads through it all.
“Right.” He nods. “I think that’s a good amount. We can start plans on those and reassess if more are needed, but we need to make sure we’re not overcommitting. Get some of the younger guys on the organizing. I don’t want anyone here cutting coursework for this.”
There’s general agreement, and I know my guys are confused why I’m not the one making the call on that, but it’s clear the only way Charles is comfortable in Sigma house is if he’s the one in control.
“Does that mean we’re done?” Lucas asks, half out of his chair.
“Meeting adjourned.” Charles claps his hands, and I almost point out the gavel works so much better for that.
I don’t make a move to stand, and most people don’t notice, but I can tell by the tension in Charles’s shoulders as he tucks his laptop into his bag that he’s aware of me watching him.
“Coming, Zeke?” Larken asks.
I shake my head. “Need to talk to Chuck about something.”
He leaves, but I hardly notice because the second I say his name, Charles’s back stiffens. And would you look at that, I’ve found another way to fuck with him.
The asshole still doesn’t look at me, but he doesn’t move to leave either, and when the final person walks out, he awkwardly turns my way.
“Did it work?” I ask, filthy fucking smile stretching across my face.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah you do …” My eyes drop to his crotch, but there’s no way to tell if there’s anything going on in there.
When I look up again, he’s finally meeting my stare. And maybe it was a good thing he didn’t give me his focus when we were surrounded by people because those stormy eyes throw me back to last week when he was putty in my hands.
Charles hooks a dark eyebrow up toward his hairline. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
“Why are you being weird?”
“Weird?”
“Yeah.” I wave a hand his way. “All … standoffish.”
Charles looks at me for just too long to be comfortable. “I’m behaving exactly the same way I always have. If anything, you’re the one behaving strangely.”
“How so?” I’m as cool and collected as ever.
“You think I didn’t notice you staring at me through the entire meeting? Normally, you act as though you’re not in the same room as me, and today …” He shakes his head. “Your brothers certainly noticed something is up. Especially Doomsen.”
I shrug. I’m not worried about them—they’ll believe whatever I tell them because nothing is more unbelievable than the fact I touched Charles’s cock and am desperate to do it again. “I wasn’t staring—”
“You moved your chair closer at least five times.”
I frown at where I’m sitting and back to the chair Larken occupied. Huh. I think I’m farther away than where I started. Interesting. My fingers run over the five-o’clock shadow starting to form on my jaw. I wasn’t aware I was doing either of those things.
Charles turns and leans his hip into the table behind him, fighting a small smile. “What happened to covert? I was keeping up my end of the deal, but you were stomping all over those lines we drew.”
“I haven’t seen you for a week. I was trying to work out if you were a hologram or actually real.”
He tears his eyes away again. “Well, with the truce, I didn’t think we needed our usual weekly catch-up. I have no grievances to air.”
“You sound so disappointed by that. If you like, I can have the guys work on something. Just for you.”
“Don’t you dare.”
I chuckle, but it dies quickly. “You know we can still meet up. Have coffee. Whatever.”
Charles’s focus moves to the ceiling—anything to avoid looking at me, I swear—and he struggles to find an answer for me. “I … holy shit, you confuse me.”
“Why?”
“Why? Why? You’re so …” He lets out a noise that sounds suspiciously like a snarl. “I just …”
“Well, I’m glad you can answer that with conviction.”
“Me conviction? You’re going back on everything we originally said, and now I don’t know what the rules are.”
My voice hitches with amusement. “Are you saying you need parameters?”
“Parameters …” His eyes flutter closed, embarrassed, and then he takes a deep breath and seems to inflate himself. “Can you tell me if we’re still doing this or not?”
That question is so much more direct from him than I expected that for a second, I’m lost for words. “Doing what?”
He deflates. “Please don’t make me say it.”
“Say what?”
“Now you’re fucking with me.”
“Am not.” I totally am. It’s a mixture of buying myself time and seeing those red spots spring up on his cheeks and just wanting to hear him talk about sex that has me playing dumb.
“Zeke …”
“Charlie …”
He twitches, and I fall into the delusion that he was fighting back a shiver. “Fine. Are we going to keep fucking?”
“Keep fucking? Should I be offended? Are you sure you’re thinking of the right person because we haven’t done that … yet.”
Charles huffs. “You’re insufferable.”
He stands, but before he can turn for the door, I snag his belt loop and tug him between my spread thighs.
If anyone walks in on us, we’re royally screwed, but my good sense is on vacation because all I can think of is how much I like to see him flustered.
I wrap my hands around his hips and look up at him. “You like it when I’m insufferable.”
“It … has its charm.” His whole face is going red, and it’s fucking beautiful.
“Then …” I prompt.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“I think I want that. For you, umm … to … you know. F-fuck me.”
Holy shit. Lust hits my bloodstream hot and fast, and I groan as I lean forward and press my face to his groin.
He’s hard, and it’s surreal and leaves me a little off-balance that I’m feeling him like this in broad daylight, where any of our brothers could walk in and catch us, and I don’t give a shit.
But when I look up into his hooded eyes, lips parted deliciously, and he runs his fingers over my hair, everything else is … unimportant.
“D-do you want to?” he almost whispers.
I take his hand and tug him down to press his palm to the bulge in my pants. “What do you think?”
With him bent over, we’re almost eye to eye, and it’s impossible to miss how turned on he is. “Y-yes. You want to.”
“Hell yeah I do.”
“Does it have to be in Hush Hush? Now that we’re … it’s not … we’re doing this together. On purpose. I … I want you to fuck me in the light.”
The image of him stretched out under me, totally naked, is way too tempting to pass on. My cock fucking throbs. “Deal.”
He swallows, then yanks himself away, hurrying to grab his bag and needlessly straighten out his clothes.
A knock on the door startles us both, and I thank frat for Charles’s self-control.
Chad steps inside. “Lucas is waiting for you,” he tells Charles. “No offense, but can you hurry up? I want that dickhead out of my house.”
Charles rolls his eyes but hurries for the door, not stopping to look back at me.
Once he’s gone, Chad crosses his arms and pins me with a serious look. “I hope you know what you’re doing, man.”
I stand, strategically positioning my laptop in front of my boner, but it only makes Chad smirk. Which … I don’t hate him knowing as much as I thought I would, but the idea of him spreading that I’m fucking around with Charles, like it’s some kind of joke, makes me … angry.
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh. All I’m gonna say is it’s lucky it’s me here and not Robbie.”
“Got it. And all I’m going to say is that anything you did or didn’t see stays between us.”
He mimes locking his lips and holds his hands up, palms out.
“Better. Now, what are the chances of you keeping your lips locked for the rest of semester? Gotta say, it’ll be a whole lot quieter around here.”
He laughs, and the weird tension is broken. Whether he agrees with what I’m doing or not, I also know he won’t say shit. That’s brotherhood. We support each other through our dumb moments and don’t pass judgment.
And Charles is undoubtedly my dumbest moment yet.