The List - 19. Chapter 19: John Doe

Specimen’s Name: John Doe

Height: 6’0

Build: 170 (muscular)

Occupation: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Dimensions: 7.5’’

Class the next day was a drag. Going out wasn’t the best idea when I had three non-consecutive hours of syllabus review and mild lecturing to sit through. If I had known anyone in my classes that day, I would have asked them to pick up the course packs for me so that I could stay in and nurse my hangover.

The other thing I needed to nurse was my fear. I was afraid that Spencer was going to find out I’d hooked up with Chase and that everything would be over. If I was worried that our friendship couldn’t survive me dumping Kyle, it was nothing compared to what I expected from hooking up with the guy he’d been crushing on for a while.

And it wasn’t like I could play the ‘I didn’t know you liked him’ card. We had had this discussion a couple of times before, most recently the night before the party. Literally, the night before the party. If I had just gotten the flirt’s name before I hooked up with him, I could have avoided this entire drama altogether.

“Hey, hey,” Spencer said loudly when he came home from practice that afternoon. I was sitting on my bed, watching a particularly interesting Jersey Shore marathon on our TV. “So get this. I got my workout schedule today. I’m doing afternoons again, which is awesome. You know what’s even better? Guess who’s in my cross training and weightlifting group?”

I could think of only one person.

“Chase,” I replied casually.

“Yes, sir. Step one is complete. Contact has been made. Now I have the rest of the season to get him to notice me.”

“Good luck,” I replied.

“You sound bummed out for a guy who didn’t come home last night. You gonna tell me who dicked it to you last night or am I gonna have to snoop around the locker room to find out?”

I had wracked my brain all day between telling him and not telling him. I decided not telling him was the way to go if only because I knew Chase wouldn’t tell him, so my secret was fairly safe. I thought.

“You know what,” I replied casually. “I never actually caught his name.”

“Slut,” he said plopping on the bed next to me and settling in to watch Snooki and the Situation get thrown out of a club on the Jersey Shore.

I could deal with slut. It was a lot better than disloyal, or traitor. It was the first hookup in a long time that I wished I could take back.

The rest of the week was sort of a blur of walking through the motions. I was trying to establish a brand new routine, and it amazed me how definitively college life reset after every term. The people I saw on my daily walk to campus were completely different. I didn’t recognize a single face in my new classes. Needless to say, my mindset had changed from five months before as well.

One welcome change dropped in my lap during my first P.E. class at SMU. I had decided to try out Intermediate Volleyball for one of my mandatory P.E. credits— I figured I was naturally physical enough not to need beginner. My sister had played setter in high school and she and I used to Pepper when she needed extra practice. On the long list of P.E. choices, it was by far the most interesting sounding.

“The first two weeks will be you all learning every position. Even if you don’t think you can set or hit or play defense, it’s important to know what your teammate’s roles are. It’ll build trust and it’ll turn you into a well-rounded player. From there on out, I’ll divide you all into four teams and tournament match play will begin. At the end of the of the semester, we’ll have a head to head sixteen-team tournament with my other section and Coach Ridley’s two sections.”

It was hard for me to pay attention to the words the T.A. was actually saying. My mind was 100 percent focused on the guy’s gorgeous face. His eyes were greener than green, set beautifully against olive toned skin and dark long hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. I had no clue what exotic place he was from, but his face was perfectly chiseled and gorgeous— accented by red lips that he kept licking every time he looked down at his notes.

His body was a world of wonder as well. He was exactly my height, with a slightly larger build. His arms were ripped and his legs were solid to boot. His ass, from what I’d seen so far, must not have been a stranger to the squatting position. And his shorter-than-short maroon shorts left little to the imagination. But I imagined anyway.

“Carpenter.” I heard. I snapped out of my reverie just in time to mutter “here” and get sorted out to group three. We’d start the next class with setting. I made a mental note to call Courtney and ask her for tips. I wanted nothing more than to impress the T.A. when we got to class on Thursday.

The thing that sucked about taking P.E.— besides being perennially horny in nothing but thin mesh shorts— was having to haul a change of clothes around with me all day. When I got out of gym and changed back into jeans and a sweater, I went by the U to get a smoothie and wait out my next class.

“That’s three spottings in the three days,” I heard behind me in line at Jamba Juice. “You can’t stalk me and do it so terribly. At least hide behind bushes or something.”

I turned around and came face to smiling face with Sebastian. I was thrown off by this mood, considering how rude he’d been the day before when I tried to return my books.

“You caught me. I was just getting a refreshment and heading to my stakeout spot,” I replied with a smile. Part of me wanted to respond icily, but my natural instinct was to flirt instead.

“Listen. I’m sorry about the book thing yesterday. I just… my boss gets really antsy the first week back. If you bring those books in next Monday, I’ll return them for you, no problems.”

Now I felt good for not bitching him out. “Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate that.” He gave me a no problem smile and I asked if he had some time before he had to go back to work.

“I was supposed to meet my girlfriend here really quick, but she’s probably tied up at the sorority house or something,” he said, looking around. The G-word hit me like a slap in the cheek.

“Well I was just gonna sit down and enjoy this meal in a glass, if you wanted to join me,” I said, trying my hardest not to sound overtly sexual and flirtatious. Seeing that he had a girlfriend, there was no point in coming right out and hitting on him, no matter how much I wanted to.

“Let me grab some lunch, you get a table.”

I staked out a mostly secluded spot in the U that would allow us to talk without the background chatter of a thousand co-eds all rushing for a late afternoon meal or snack. When he came around holding a Subway sandwich and a smoothie, I made room for him.

“You wanna know something weird?” he asked after he’d unrolled his hogie and was double fisting it. You like dick? I wanted him to say. “I always alternate. One day I’ll get the six-inch and still be hungry and the next day I’ll get the footlong and not be able to finish it.”

“If only you could get a nine-incher,” I said, pointing to the sub that was too close to his crotch for a comment like that.

Sebastian blushed a little as he took a big bite. We spent twenty minutes shooting the shit until he had to go to work and I was forced to sit there and analyze everything he’d said. I couldn’t deny that I had a slight crush on him. He was cute and geeky. And straight. But even if I wasn’t allowed to touch, I could look. I could control myself enough to be casual friends with him and not let my lust get in the way.

“So yeah, bring those books by next week and I’ll hook you up,” he said as he got up to leave. “Although I’ll probably see you around before then. You’re a terrible stalker.”

He smiled and I melted. I made a note to spend as much time in the U as possible that term.

That night I called my sister and asked her for some pointers on setting.

“Keep your basket over your forehead until you make contact and extend,” Court said, explaining the fundamentals to me. “You want to communicate clearly with who you’re passing to, so there’s no confusion.”

She ran through the basic types of set: pipe, hut, three, one. I actually took notes in order to impress the T.A. the next day.

When I got to class on Thursday, Tye the T.A. had each group warm up on the three different nets. He walked around to each group and worked with us individually for a few minutes, giving us drills to work on while he went to the other groups.

He left my group doing a setting drill, and when he came back 15 minutes later, I was next on the net.

“A little too tight, Avery,” he said to the guy in front of me. I tried not to think about his incredible body as I approached the net and got the set from the guy on the left. Deciding to show off, I yelled “Hut” as I made contact with the ball and pushed it towards the guy approaching.

“Nice hands, Carpenter,” Tye said as I hustled to the back of the line. I smiled at him, but he’d already turned around to walk over to the hitters. I still got a nice view of his ass as he left.

By the end of the first real class, I’d impressed Tye and the other guys in my group.

“We know who’s going to be setting on the first team,” a random kid whispered to his friend, looking directly at me. I didn’t mind the attention. By the end of the semester, they’d all know who was king of the net.

Tye surprised me by pulling me aside after class and saying he wanted to talk to me. I changed really quickly, and as I was leaving the locker room for the coaching offices, I heard someone say, “Hey, Carpenter, wait up.”

I stopped, turned and saw Avery approaching me.

“Hey,” he held out his hand. “I’m Avery Smalls. I was watching you move today and you’re pretty good. After just one day.”

“Thanks,” I replied. I wasn’t sure where this was going. Did he stop me just so he could compliment my just barely above amateur setting skills?

“Listen,” he continued. “This is gonna sound totally weird, but I really want to do well in this class and stuff, and I understand if you are totally against it. But I’m looking for a new workout partner, like to lift weights and stuff and I saw that your legs are ridiculously toned and so I was thinking…”

“I actually don’t work out that much,” I replied honestly, cutting him off. He had the kind of disposition that indicated he would ramble on forever. I was flattered that my legs looked good in shorts and wondered why this guy was noticing them. There had to be something more to it.

“Oh well,” he said. “Hat’s off to your parents for great genes then.” He looked down and scanned my body briefly. He flushed a little when I smiled at him. He smiled back at me awkwardly, revealing two of the most adorable dimples I’d ever seen. The rest of his face was average at best, aside from perfectly sculpted eyebrows and skin tone that one could, actually write home about. He also had very straight teeth. Straighter than I’d ever seen before. He looked just like Jonathan Taylor Thomas in his heyday.

“Thanks,” I said. “So yeah, I mean, I guess I probably should start maintenance, especially with all of the junk I eat out of the D-hall.”

“You’re a freshman?” he asked. No wonder he’d asked me to help him out. He thought I was older and certainly more adept physically. Mystery solved.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I stay in Virginia Hall.”

“I don’t know why I thought you were an upperclassmen or something,” he said. I didn’t either. I was barely an inch or two taller than him. “I live in Virginia, too. Ground floor.”

“Third. So yeah,” I replied, backing away. I needed to get to my meeting with Tye, the T.A. “Let’s get together and compare schedules and we’ll come up with a workout routine.”

I agreed to do it mostly because I had no real friends of my own. Avery seemed like a nice enough kid and if hanging out with him would give me options outside of Spencer and Kyle, I’d take it. It would be a good distraction from Sebastian with a girlfriend, and the don’t-even-go-there-T.A., Tye. He said he’d Facebook me and I went upstairs to the offices.

The T.A.s and assistant coaches shared one big room, divided into tiny cubicles. It looked like a telemarketing office when I scanned the lines until I saw Tye sitting at his desk and facing his computer.

I cleared my throat and wrapped my hands against the partition. Tye looked up and smiled.

“Carpenter,” he said, smiling and offering me a handshake. “Have a seat.”

I sat down across from him, immediately enthralled by how cute he was. I wanted to ask where the hell he was from, but I only guessed in my mind. I figured Greece was the safest bet, considering his skin tone.

“Ok, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. I’m sure you have class or studying to do.” There was an hour before I needed to be at my next class. Although I had planned on going by the U to bump into Sebastian, I didn’t mind staring at this man candy instead. “Have you ever played volleyball before?”

“No, sir,” I said. He told me this wasn’t the army and I could relax a little bit. I put my bag down and sat back in my chair.

“Wow,” he said. “So today is the start of your formal education?”

“Basically,” I said. “I mean, my sister played in high school and some in college, and I do admit I called her for help last night. I didn’t want to look like a total jackass out there.”

He had said relax, but I wondered if jackass was appropriate. He just flashed me a dazzling smile, so I figured it was.

“Well you’re a natural talent,” he responded, handing me a brochure. “Here, I want you to take this. It’s too late for you to try out this semester, but I’d be interested in having you come out for some practices and see how the club team works. If you’re interested, of course.”

If he was on the club team, I was definitely interested. He handed me a piece of paper with dates covering it. It must have been a practice schedule. A few of the dates and locations were highlighted. Some listed venues in other cities, so I assumed the tournament schedule was on there as well.

“On Monday afternoons, I work with the setters from the boys and girls team. I haven’t seen you do any other position, but from what I noticed today, you’re a natural setter. If you refine your form and work on your calls and variety, you could start with us next year.”

I had no idea what calls and variety were, but I assumed it was something that could be taught. The thought of it sounded good and I told him I’d see him next Monday. Spencer would flip to hear I’d been approached by the men’s club team to practice with them. I was stoked.

As I got up to walk away, he circled the desk and shook my hand, wrapping his other arm around me as he led me out.

“Listen,” he said as we approached the door. He was so close to me, I could smell him. He smelled exotic. Intoxicating. “It’s technically not allowed for me to recruit from any of my classes. Let’s just say it was your idea to find out about the club team, no?”

I enjoyed a good rule breaker. I assured Tye the T.A. that it had been my idea. Instead of going to the U, I hustled downstairs to a bathroom in the very back corner of the gym. Talking to Tye and being so close to him had me sporting wood as I raced down the stairs, smelling pool water the closer I got to the bottom. I found a floor that looked secluded enough and searched around the labyrinth for a bathroom. I finally found one and raced to a stall at the end, dropped trou and bump, set, spiked my hard on until I came on the bathroom floor.

As I sat there, choking the chicken, I suddenly heard the door to the bathroom open and tennis shoe clad footsteps walk towards the last stall. I paused my stroking, annoyed by the interruption and wondering what I should do next. I could have waited for my cock to go down, flushed for good measure and then left like I’d just taken a stink-less dump. I could have sat there and waited it out and then continued with the task at hand. I decided to wait it out.

Instead of just taking a leak, I heard the person next to me drop their pants and sit down. A second later, I heard their foot tap against the tile floor. At first I didn’t really get what was going on. Then it made perfect sense to me. This was a hookup bathroom.

I had never been in one of these situations before and I didn’t know the proper protocol. The foot tapped a little louder and more aggressively and so I cleared my throat, just a little. The rush of knowing the person on the other side wanted to mess around was really thrilling. I didn’t know what my next move was supposed to be, so I tapped my foot, making sure it sounded deliberate. I made a loud to-do about spitting on my hand and then stroked my cock again. I heard the person on the other side of the stall moan.

That’s when I noticed the finger-sized hole in the wall. It was too small to see if you weren’t looking for it, but large enough for an eye to see what was happening right on the seat on the other side. I was equal parts intrigued and sketched out, but I was too horny to listen to the sketchy side.

The guy on the other side cleared his throat, and I stroked myself again, moaning again. He coughed and stuck one finger under the stall and gave me a ‘come here’ motion. The whole thing felt so risqué and yet so fucking sexy. I’d never done anything like it before.

I stood up, raised my pants and shuffled out of my stall. I looked around for no reason; if anyone else had come in, I would have heard them. I slid to the stall door at the end and tapped on it. It immediately opened and I stepped inside. A good looking older guy, probably a senior or a T.A., or maybe even a coach, was sitting there smiling up at me. He had a goatee, short dirty blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. He reminded me of a young Keifer Sunderland.

And he didn’t waste any time. As soon as I was in the stall, he kicked it closed and dove onto my dick. I rolled my head back and let him suck it with intense vigor. His sucks were vacuum-esque, using his hands to create a counter point to his tongue.

“Oh fuck,” I whispered, aware that moaning and talking loudly was probably against protocol. I pushed my hands against the walls to steady myself as this guy sucked me out like a Hoover 2000.

Already pretty far along from my own jack off, I knew I wasn’t going to last long with this stranger. As I felt my load boiling, I used one hand to pull my balls gently, and the other to caress the back of McStranger’s head. The encouragement redoubled his effort and with one last powerful suck, he had my load square in the back of the throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him let his own load spray between his legs and to the floor. I let out an involuntary moan as I ripped my load right into him. My knees almost buckled and I had to lean against the stall wall to steady myself.

The mystery encounter ended as quickly as it started. The stranger stood up, adjusted himself and fled the scene, leaving me there panting and almost sweating. I expected to see a Z for Zorro etched somewhere, but alas.

I used a tissue to clean myself off, washed my hands and walked out, trying to navigate the labyrinth of the gym. I looked at my cell phone and saw that I had a solid half hour to kill before my next lecture.

Thinking about that encounter made me realize just how far I’d come. Half a year ago, if someone had told me I’d be getting blowjobs from strange guys in bathrooms, I would have laughed in their face. And now here I was, a boyfriend and several tawdry hookups later, still sweating from the memory of anonymous gay sex.

“Hey, Cooper,” I heard from behind me. I stopped suddenly, turned around and came face to face with Chase. He was wearing nothing but his speedo and goggles and I was reminded of how perfect his body was.

“Hi,” I said casually.

“What brings you to these parts?”

“P.E. class,” I replied. “I guess I got lost finding my way out.”

“Yeah, that can happen. Good to see you again,” he said, approaching me, indicating that this wasn’t going to be a quick meeting.

“Same,” I said, scanning his body. He smiled at me in approval. There was no way I was going down this path again, not now that I knew Spencer wanted him desperately. It was one thing to betray Spencer accidently. If I rinsed and repeated with Chase now, it would be an actual knife in my best friend’s back.

“I, um, would like to see you again,” he whispered. There was no one around, but in the event someone did happen by, I wondered how he’d explain standing so close to me. I swallowed hard, and even though I’d just cum minutes earlier, the idea of relay tag excited me. Chase must have been feeling the same thing, because I noticed him adjust his speedo just then. “I’ve been thinking about you since the other night.”

“Look,” I said strongly. I clutched my backpack a little bit tighter. “I’m really flattered, but I’m Spencer’s roommate and you obviously know he likes you, so I don’t think it’s such a grand idea.”

“Spencer is a good guy,” Chase said. “But I don’t want my business getting around the team, you know? I have a strict policy. You, on the other hand, I don’t have to worry about.” He ran his hand up my shirt and I melted.

‘No,’ I told myself. Instead of stopping him, I closed my eyes. This wasn’t happening.

“In here,” he said, leading me to a dark room with chairs in a circle and TV on a rolling wrack. It must have been a team viewing room. He didn’t bother clicking on the light. The whole thing was dirty and tawdry and fucking hot. No lights were necessary.

As soon as we were inside, he had my shirt over my head and was sucking on my nipple. He didn’t even bother kissing me. This wasn’t one of those hookups.

His hands roved my entire body as I stood there, letting his lips work their way down, until he was pulling my pants down around my ankle and smiling up at me. Every part of me knew that what I was doing was completely wrong. I knew I should have bolted as fast as possible, but I’d reached the point of no return. When Chase slipped my dick into his mouth, I let out an involuntary sigh and rolled my head back.

“You like that, babe?” he asked. I wanted to tell him not to call me babe. I wasn’t his babe. I just nodded down at him, smiled and pushed his head to the hilt of my dick. He seemed surprised my assertiveness, but as soon as he recovered, he went to work.

Head from him was unbelievable, and I was able to appreciate it sober. He had the uncanny ability of taking all 7.5 inches of my dick into his mouth as if I was a Jolly Rancher. He swirled his tongue around in a way that most guys didn’t for too long. What surprised me the most, was that he didn’t use his hands on my dick, but instead used them to massage my entire body. There was no way I was writing him in the list, but if I had, his entry would be quite a long one.

I could feel my blood boiling over, my hands instinctively finding their place at the back of Chase’s head. He lifted off my dick for a second, took in a deep breath and I realized it was his first break since he’d started. This guy was damn good. Goddamn good, I thought.

“I want you to fuck my face,” he said naughtily, looking up at me. I’d never done something like that before, but he asked for it. He swallowed my cock again and I started thrusting back and forth into his face. I was surprised at how few times I hit teeth.

The faster I fucked, the more into it Chase got. I noticed he’d pulled himself out of his speedo and was doing a backstroke on his Olympic sized dick. He moaned something incomprehensible as I fucked his mouth. It was probably ‘faster, faster,’ but there was no way to verify that.

After a few minutes of hair raising head, I felt Chase spasm under me. I looked down to see him shoot a continuous stream of cum out of his dick, right onto the gym floor. The sight turned me on something so awesome, I shot immediately into his mouth. He closed his eyes and turned his head, not once letting a drop of cum escape. He sat back on his heels and sighed, smiling up at me.

“Coach is always getting on to me to eat more protein,” he said. Did he actually just say that? He stood up and kissed me softly. I could taste myself on his breath and I was immediately wracked with guilt.

“This can’t happen again,” I said.

“Okay,” he said with little to no conviction. He thought I was weak, that I’d fall again. Nope, I thought. I have to do what’s right by Spencer. As long as he was crushing on Chase, I would stay away. I would stay far, far away. I would avoid him like he had the plague.

As I walked back to main campus in the freezing cold, I made that decision. Chase was bad news and if Spencer caught wind of me hooking up with him, he’d never ever be able to forgive me. I needed a distraction. Someone I could call on regularly to take my mind off of Chase’s body. I needed a new cock piece that my roommate didn’t have feelings for.

The idea for a new cock piece came to me when I was leaving class and stopped by one of the kiosks in the U before heading back to my room for a pre-dinner nap. I checked my email and then my Facebook. I had friend requests from two people: Sebastian and Avery.

Avery could totally be the new cock piece. I’d be working out with him, getting to know him in close quarters. Plus, he clearly had checked me out and thought I was hot. If I couldn’t pull off that seduction and turn it into a regular distraction, I was the worst flirt ever. I messaged him, saying I could meet him at the gym on Monday morning.

Feeling better now that I had a plan to keep my mind off Chase, I went home and crashed. Cumming twice in a row makes a body tired.

The next night, Friday, Spencer asked me to go to another party with him.

“I thought you’re dry till the season is up,” I said after he’d given me the details.

“I am,” he said. “And there will be a bunch of guys from the team there, so I won’t be drinking. But still. I feel like I’m making headway with Chase, so to speak. You have to come be my wingman.”

I almost choked on my Keystone. I felt sort of bad that I was drinking up a storm and Spencer couldn’t. I also felt bad because I knew Spencer didn’t have a chance, but could never tell him how I knew that.

“You know, what if this Chase guy isn’t really into you?” I asked, sipping my beer. Maybe if I could get Spencer to lower the reins on his feelings, I wouldn’t feel so guilty about what I’d done. And hopefully get him to stop barking up what was clearly the wrong tree.

“I think that too,” he replied. “But he’s always giving me signs of hope, you know? Like yesterday, he was definitely totally touchy during our swim. At first it was weird, but he’ll get like that sometimes. I dunno. He confuses me. Sometimes it’s like he wants it, sometimes he doesn’t. I think I should just make a solid move and see where the chips fall.”

“No,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I didn’t know where that emotion had come from. To save face, I added: “I mean, I wouldn’t do anything to a teammate unless I was absolutely sure it would end well.”

“You’re probably right,” he said. “And in the meantime, I have Ian, so it’s not like I’m starved for sex. Listen, do me a favor tonight.” I nodded. “I’m going to introduce you to Chase and I want you to, you know, just talk me up a little. Get a read on him. See if he drops any hints or anything.”

“Spencer, come on,” I began.

“Nothing serious. Just tell him you’re my roommate and see what he says.” There was no way out of this conundrum. I felt like Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding. Fucked if I do. Fucked… well… if I don’t.

Six beers and two hours later, Spencer was dragging me across someone’s apartment to meet Chase. The party was held in a one bedroom loft that was too small to accommodate everyone. The close quarters made the whole thing look much bigger than it was. I wasn’t sure who was hosting the event or why, but it was Spencer’s idea and I just followed along.

“This is my roommate, Cooper!” Spencer shouted over the music. I smiled at Chase and pretended not to know him.

“Nice to meet you!” I slurred. He smiled at me.

“I’m gonna go track down Ian. You two chat while I’m gone,” Spencer said. Subtle, I thought.

“We’re supposed to chat,” I said.

“I heard. What about?”

“Spence wants to know if you’re interested in him.” I’m fairly certain I wasn’t supposed to come right out and say that.

“I think you know the answer to that,” he replied.

“I can’t see you anymore. Spence is practically my best friend.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Chase said.

“I do.”

“Really?” he asked. He leaned into me so that his chest was just an inch away from mine. I could feel the heat he was radiating and it reminded me of how muscular and toned his body was. It reminded me how great his mouth had felt. It basically reminded me of how hot he was. Spencer or no Spencer, Chase was a total stud. “Mean to say if I told you to meet me at the roof of the building, you wouldn’t do it? Give you another chance to feel my abs, taste my cock, fuck my ass...”

I just looked at him. I involuntarily licked my lips. A better person would have been able to say no. I had to be a better person.

“Fifteen minutes,” he said. “If you show, you show. If not, I leave you alone.”

As he walked away, I watched him glide head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd in the room. I stood in the corner for a minute, contemplating what I wanted. I didn’t want to hurt Spencer, but it wasn’t my fault Chase wasn’t into him. There was nothing I could do to force him to.

But still. Loyalty meant something. Spencer wouldn’t go after a guy he knew I liked. And if he did, how would that make me feel? I definitely wouldn’t be thrilled by it, but if he got the man fair and square, I’d probably want him to be happy. But Chase didn’t make me happy. He just made me ridiculously horny.

Still wracked with indecision, I decided not to do it. I’d leave Chase hanging and go home instead. I’d jack off and bide my time until I found some other way to relieve my sexual frustration. I’d count sheep until I fell asleep.

Just as I was making the decision to call a cab instead of run up to the apartment’s roof, I saw him waltz in. He looked gorgeous, but what was new. He was all smiles. He looked genuinely happy.

Kyle. And behind him, leading him forward by the small of his back was Rusty.

The sight of the two of them almost sent all six beers careening up my esophagus and projectiling across the room. They made me sick together, so open and brazen, and fucking happy. The leader of the Sigmas and his natural pure-bred successor. I wondered if anyone else watching their entrance knew they were dicking each other like I did.

I think what upset me the most was seeing Kyle happy with him. He could have been with anyone else besides Rusty and I would have been elated for him. I would have congratulated him for moving on. But something about his relationship with Rusty irked me. It drove me crazy. It made me stop thinking straight.

I beelined for the door, passing them as they made their way to the keg. I wasn’t going to say anything, but the room was too small for the three of us to ignore the giant triangular elephant sitting in the middle. Kyle tried to deny eye contact when I passed by, and I was okay with that. Rusty, however, didn’t bother.

“Cooper,” he said boisterously. He’d been drinking. “Good to see you, buddy.”

“Likewise,” I said curtly and stepped to get out of their path.

“Join us for a drink,” he said.

“I’m good, thanks,” I replied, my eyes narrowing. “You two have fun. Glad to see you’re back in your comfort zone, Kyle.”

He shot me a look. I waited for him to say something, but he instead just frowned and turned his head.

“Look, we all know that ya’ll fucked and that we fucked and that, yes babe, me and him fucked too,” the last part was directed to Kyle. Babe? “But let’s all be adults about this whole thing, okay? We can all get past this and meet in the middle. What do you say?”

“Don’t hold your breath, Rusty,” I said taking another step. Rusty grabbed my arm.

“Don’t be an asshole,” he said, suddenly turning aggressive.

“Rust, let’s go,” Kyle said weakly.

“We wanted you too, you know that?” he slurred. I tried to shake my arm off, but he had a pretty solid grip. “Me and Mikey. The whole line. We wanted you too.”

What was he talking about? They wanted me to what? Be a Sigma?

“Rust, just let him go, okay? Please babe,” Kyle cooed. This was all just way too sickening. This wasn’t the Kyle I’d fallen in love with. This guy was a total chump; a fucking houseboy for the Sigmas. And they weren’t as all-powerful as I’d expected, welcoming their prodigal son back in with open arms. I’m sure the relationship they were parading around the party had something to do with it, but still. If they could have anyone, why Kyle after what he did? And why me?

I shook my arm free and started stalking away.

“No one says no to the Sigmas, you son-of-a-bitch!” Rusty shouted. I kept walking, trying not to let my obvious anger show. “He’ll see,” he said, probably to Kyle. “He’ll see what’s coming for him!”

When I stepped outside into the hallway and was finally able to breathe, I sighed and closed my eyes. Seeing him had been hard enough. Seeing him with Rusty had been worse. And hearing Rusty say all of those things had topped it off. What could they honestly do to me? And would Kyle be a part of it? Would he let them exact their revenge?

“I waited for you,” I heard someone say walking down the hall. Chase. “But it’s damn cold outside. A boy needs a little body heat.”

His flirting sucked, but I was in a fragile state. I was in no position to think clearly and Chase was offering me a few hours to forget about my feelings. If all I had to pay was a little slice of guilt, I’d totally do it. Besides, there was no way that Spencer was going to find out. I wasn’t going to tell him. And Chase had a team persona to upkeep, so I doubted he’d be walking around saying anything.

“Did I miss the boat, then?” I asked, swallowing and forcing a smile. I wasn’t on my A-game, but that didn’t mean I’d forgotten how to flirt.

“The boat’s standing right here, captain, so come take it for a ride,” he said, winking at me. “We’d better dock at my place. Don’t want to risk your roommate catching us, do we?”

He was right. Going to my apartment would have been roommate suicide. But we never made it to his place, at least without hooking up first.

Drunk and in close quarters with the very sexy Chase, I decided pulling his Chevy Chase out in the car and playing with it would be a good idea. As he raced south towards the swimming house, I gave him a slow and firm handjob.

“Oh fuck yeah, man,” he said in that trademark Californian accent. “You know just how to work a guy over.”

“Well let’s go inside, and I’ll show you all of my moves,” I said grinning. With nothing but sex on the brain, I followed Chase up to his room in the swimming house and, propelled by my intense anger at Kyle, fucked Chase like there was no tomorrow.