Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
EVEREST
The entire drive home passes in a daze. Not the kind where you black out and have no clue how you got from Point A to Point B. I was clearly aware of the path I took to get home. I didn’t forget the road or turns I needed to take.
No, this daze was one where the world feels soft, almost as if I’m floating on a cloud. My lips still tingle with the memory of Cove—her lips, warm and sweet, still clinging to me like something I’m terrified to disturb.
I press my palm to my mouth, like I can somehow hold on to the moment a little longer. Keep her taste from being washed away.
God, I’m pathetic.
One kiss and I’m unraveling, turning into a lovesick puppy.
When I finally pull into the parking lot, I half-wish the drive was longer. At least in the car I can replay everything without witnesses. No fear of anyone seeing the tent in my pants from my hardened cock.
I take a deep breath and pick my phone up from the console.
Then I hesitate.
Would it be okay? Could I? We did hit it off.
I don’t overthink it a second longer. I pull up the site and send her a message. It’s simple but I hope she sees that my thoughts are on her.
Me: I made it home. Hope you did too.
Only when it shows sent do I get out of my car, making sure to lock the door and head inside the building. I can almost guarantee that Tanner is sitting there waiting for me to tell him how my date went. He doesn’t know what I was going to the carnival to do. Just that it was a date.
I take the stairs instead of the elevator, wanting to stretch out the time before I get to our room. Plus, it gave me time to formulate a story that’s true, but not specific on the details.
The dorm room door swings open before I even reach for the handle. Tanner’s standing there, arms crossed, eyebrows lifted like I’ve committed a crime that I’m not even aware of.
“Dude, an all day date? You missed dinner. What the hell took you so long to get inside? I saw you park.” Tanner pauses, squints. “Why do you look like you just got hit by a truck? A…happy truck?”
I step past him, too wrung out and wired for conversation, my stomach growling when I see the box of pizza sitting on his bed. I pick up a paper plate and place three slices on it, then sit down on the edge of my bed and take off my jacket.
“Well?” Tanner asks again, dropping down on his bed, picking up another slice of the cold pizza and taking a huge bite.
“I’m fine.”
“Liar,” he says, muffled by the food in his mouth.
I laugh, “Seriously, dude. Can you not wait until you’ve chewed and swallowed your food to talk.”
Tanner just shrugs his shoulders.
“I’m fine. The date was great. She was amazing and I’m hoping that we’re able to have another one.”
He just tilts his head to the side rolling his eyes as he waves his hands at me to continue.
“And how did you know I took so long to get up here? Were you stalking me from the window?”
“Maybe,”he manages to say before taking another bite.
I smirk, then take my own bite of food.
Cold pizza.
There’s nothing better.
Well, maybe Cove. Nope, there’s no maybe, she is better.
Tanner continues to ask questions and I answer them the best I can without saying, “I won a chance to fuck the girl of my dreams for her porn website.”
He’d think I was crazy if I told him, but then in the same second pat me on the back like I’m his hero.
But I don’t want a pat on the back. To me it was more than just sex. With Cove I feel a connection. She’s someone I could see spending the rest of my life with. One day even having kids with. Two of them. A boy and a girl. Twins would be great. A built in best friend for the rest of their lives.
I finish eating and take off my shoes, scooting back on my bed as Tanner turns on an old season of Traitors.
My mind drifts. To her. To the kiss I didn’t expect. The way she leaned into me. I didn’t expect the spark that hit me right behind the ribs, sharp, warm and terrifying.
And I definitely didn’t expect the way it wouldn’t leave.
I’m screwed.
The next day is pure torture.
I wake up, take a shower and head back to my room.
And he’s waiting, pouncing on me like a predator on his prey. Tanner bombards me with more questions.
“I told you everything. Now, I need to get ready for class,” I tell him, dressing quickly then begin packing my bag.
“Come on man, hook a brother up. I just want to see if she has a friend for me.”
“Aren’t you already seeing someone?” I remind him.
“Ahh, she won’t care. It's purely a friends with benefits situation.”
I shake my head at him, put on my coat and slide the strap of my bag over my shoulder.
“Sure, I’ll ask. She has a ton of guys who’d love to go out with you.”
I hear his protests immediately, but I laugh them off as I shut the door behind me and head to class. I’m already running late. So I start jogging.
I barely make it to class on time and head straight for the empty chair in the back. When the instructor comes in I pretend to take notes. But really I’m just checking to see if she responded to my message.
She didn’t.
My heart deflates a little. I really thought she would.
I set my phone on my desk. Face up. Every few minutes I hit the screen, lighting it up, hoping for something.
But there’s nothing.
Just before the end of class, it happens.
She messages.
Cove: I did. Sorry I didn’t respond yesterday. I was busy editing the video. It goes live in a couple weeks. I’ll make sure to message you before it happens.
The nerves hit, just as my body reacts and my mind even catches up.
It starts as a flutter—light, shaky, almost delicate—just beneath the ribs.
Then it spreads. My heartbeat picks up like someone’s pressing fast-forward, thudding hard enough I’m sure everyone can hear.
I can almost see them all turn in their seats to stare at me.
My breathing changes too, slipping into shallow breaths not deep enough to give me the oxygen I need.
My hands tremble, not wildly, but in a way that makes every movement feel suddenly clumsy. The palms of my hands are warm with a thin sheen of sweat even though my fingers feel cold as ice. My knees begin to bounce, all ability to control them completely stripped from me.
A knot develops in my stomach, twisting on itself, pulling tighter with every anxious thought. It almost feels like it’s clawing its way up my throat, making swallowing difficult with each second that passes.
The worst is all the thoughts spiraling through my mind. I’m about to be live for everyone to see.
It’s taking everything I have to hold myself together. To come to terms with the fact the video will be uploaded soon. It’s not like it’s a surprise. I knew this was going to happen. It’s just reality is different than knowing.
I go through the motions of the day.
Another class. One I actually have to pay attention to since I have a test next week. One that I can’t afford to fail.
Then there's lunch.
As normal, I meet Tanner. But, today, I have to answer a million more questions about the date, until I finally make an excuse to leave.
Thank goodness my phone was actually ringing and I could tell a little white lie that it was Mom. In actuality it was a fucking telemarketer.
I managed to make it through my shift at the gym. Thankfully, today was a short day. I only needed to be there from one to five.
When I walk in the door with dinner, seeing Tanner sitting on his bed, smiling widely isn't something I was expecting.
“Now, back to this friend. And by friend I mean female. She needs to have a pussy, breasts and an ass I want to take a bite out of.”
“Tanner, I asked, she said no.” Lie but he doesn’t need to know.
“I get it. You’re afraid if she meets me on this double date that she’ll dump you.”
I’ve had it.
“You know I think I’m moving out. Heard Alex is looking for a roommate and he’s nowhere as annoying as you.”
Tanner gasps, and I hold back my laughter.
“Fine, you win. I got a date anyway.” With that he gets up and leaves.
Finally, there’s peace.
I check my phone. Nothing.
Then I pull my notes out of my bag, and eat while I study.
My phone lights up and I realize I’ve somehow turned the volume off.
It’s then I notice that Cove messaged me like an hour and a half ago.
Then the notification hits. The little banner slides across my screen with her username and a thumbnail that makes my stomach drop—I almost don't move. Like if I stay perfectly still, I can delay the fallout of whatever I’m about to feel. There’s a message with the thumbnail.
This is it. I have to send it to my boss for final approval for the calendar event but I think she’ll approve. Thanks again, Everest
But my body acts before my brain. I jump up from the bed, locking my dorm room door. Then I put my earbuds in, take a deep breath and hit play.
There on the screen is Cove—but not the version I met in person. This is the camera version.
Confident. Playful. Sharp.
But now, knowing what her laugh sounds like when the cameras are off, knowing how close she leaned into me, knowing how her eyes softened when she looked at me… it hits differently.
She looks incredible, yes. She always does.
But tonight—something else glows beneath it.
Because my attention is on the way she’s looking at me.
Not the lens. Not the audience. Me.
It’s like she sees me. It wasn’t just a video, she felt something too.
The kiss flashes across my memory again—so quick, so accidental, so intentional—and my chest aches with it.
I finish watching the video, but instead of the usual high, the usual rush I get with watching her…I feel hollow.
Because it isn’t just lust anymore.
It’s something worse. Something that scares me. Something I don't know how to name.
I sink back onto my bed, eyes closed, earbuds still in, her voice fading but not really gone.
And for the first time, I wonder what happens next— and what happens if she feels it too.