35. Rhys

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Rhys

I elbow my way through the door, carefully balancing the tray full of food in my hands.

My lips quirk up in a smile at Everest, who’s lying on his bed, stomach first, with what feels like an entire library surrounding him. He’s been locked up here in his room for hours, cramming like crazy for his last final tomorrow. The poor thing needs a break.

He doesn’t notice me as I set the tray down on his nightstand, and he still doesn’t notice me when I sit on the edge of his bed. He has this look of concentration—brow furrowed, lips pursed, shoulders tight—and I give him a second before rubbing his back.

He spooks, rearing his head back with wide green eyes until he realizes it’s me. “Shit, Rhys, when did you get here?”

“Not too long,” I say with a chuckle, gesturing at the tray I brought in. “You should eat something. Maybe take a break.”

He’s shaking his head before I’ve finished. “I can’t take a break. I barely passed all my other finals and this one’s going to be the hardest.”

“You’ve got this,” I tell him, and I mean it. With the way he’s been studying and the dedication he’s shown, there’s no way he won’t pass. “Come on, baby. Eat something.” When he stares back at his textbook, I try again. “For me? Please?”

That gets to him. He shuts his textbook and pushes away his laptop, sitting up, and making grabby hands for the food. I chuckle and hand him the sandwich I made with a side of fruit salad. He inhales the BLT and picks at the fruit, and even though Everest has never been the healthiest eater, I see he’s making the effort to finish it.

“What are you up to today?” he asks through a mouthful of strawberries.

“I’ll be going in early for another training day.”

“How’s that been going?”

“It’s good.”

Honestly, it’s been more than just good. Getting to see all the ins and outs of the business has been really eye opening. I never thought I’d enjoy any administrative crap like making schedules and tracking shipments, but it’s sort of fun. It makes me feel like I’m serving a bigger purpose at the bar by helping it run smoothly so everyone else can make decent money.

“That’s great,” Everest says, leaning over to kiss my cheek like the fucking perfect guy he is, all optimistic and cheerful.

I can’t resist. Before he has the chance to fully pull back, I catch his lips. He groans into my mouth and his hands latch onto my hair, knocking my hat off. He drags me on top of him, his textbooks probably digging painfully into his back, but he doesn’t care.

“I thought you had to study?” I tease as he wraps his legs around my waist so he can grind his hardening cock against mine.

He groans, but not out of pleasure this time. “Fucking ruined it.” Pushing me off, he sits up, grabbing the last blueberry. “Back at it, I guess. Are you staying?”

I hold up the book I had on the tray. “Thought I’d at least keep you company.”

His eyes get all wide and glossy, filled with so much affection it could knock me on my ass. “You’re making it really hard not to sit on your dick right now.”

“Maybe if you finish up,” I say, jutting my chin to his computer. He rolls his eyes but does what I say. I don’t mean to snoop, but the first tab on his browser catches my eye. “What are you doing on the admissions page for UM?”

Suddenly, the laptop is slammed shut. I glance up at Everest to see his cheeks pink and eyes twitchy. He shrugs, but it’s a jerky movement that looks awkward and robotic. I raise an eyebrow as he tries to play off whatever the fuck he’s doing by grabbing a textbook, but it’s too late for that. “Everest?”

“Nothing,” he rushes out, tapping his pen incessantly against the textbook.

“It’s not nothing.” I reach for his laptop, but he slaps my hands away, and I growl under my breath. “What the fuck? Why are you being all weird?” Then it hits me, and my blood runs cold. “Are you thinking of transferring somewhere else?”

No, my blood doesn’t just run cold. It freezes. It’s like everything in my mind grows jumbled and loud and frenzied as the word transferring repeats like a loop in my head. The fear that strikes me is surprisingly painful, like a knife in my gut. Could Everest really be leaving? Why hasn’t he said anything? I thought we had something. I thought?—

“Rhys, it’s not what you think.” He’s next to me and grabbing my hands before I know it. “Shit, are you okay?”

“You’re not leaving?” I stammer out, my hands sweaty in his as I try to calm my racing heart.

He shakes his head and smiles softly. “No. I’m not going anywhere.”

Everything settles and, all at once, I realize something. Something I think I’ve known for a while, but the terror of thinking Everest could be taken away has brought to light. Something that was always going to happen, but that was locked away for some unknown reason. Something that changes everything.

Fuck. I’m in love with Everest.

Not just in love with him. Completely, unabashedly, clinically obsessed with him. I take a look at his face—all sweet and innocent—and know that without a doubt I’m going to love him for the rest of my life. Every moment I’ve had with him has changed me. From the way he unlocked the beast within me with his hatred to the manner in which his joy and optimism has opened me up to trust again.

I open my mouth to tell him, because I don’t think I can keep it locked away another second, not when my heart is so incredibly full it feels like it might burst.

But what he says next is enough to make my incredibly full heart falter.

“I was thinking that maybe you could apply to college.”

My jaw drops, and I let out a humorless chuckle, thinking he must be joking. But when he doesn’t laugh alongside me, only continues to stare at me with seriousness, I shake my head. “What? No.”

“Why not?” he asks, opening his laptop and bringing it between us. “I was looking through, and even though you can’t apply for the fall, there’s always spring or summer. UM has a great engineering program and?—”

“Why are you pushing this?” I scoot away from him. “Do you not think what I’m doing with my life is good enough?”

The words escape me before I can even think them through. Is that what Everest thinks of me? He said it before and he apologized for it, but does he think I’m wasting my life away working at a club? What if he really meant that?

His eyes widen as he shakes his head frantically. “No, Rhys, not at all. I just thought…”

“That I need a college education to be successful?”

“Hey, stop that!” he snaps, throwing his hands in the air. “Don’t be an asshole about this. You can be absolutely successful without a college degree, but you love learning. You love education. That beautiful big brain of yours is dying for knowledge, and I see it every time you help me study or ask how my classes are going. If you don’t want to go to school because you really don’t want to, I’ll respect that. Any other reason besides that, and I think you should go for it.”

His words make sense, but the very idea of going back to school is a little more than nerve-racking. He’s not wrong that I love every aspect of learning. For fuck’s sake, I read philosophy books and research papers for fun. It’s not like I haven’t thought about going to school, but I’ve held myself back every time. Now that I let myself think about it, I know it’s out of fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of my dreams being ripped away from me once again.

But then I look at Everest and the fear fades. I let my paranoia get the best of me before, but I see how earnest he is. Once again, the love intensifies. I don’t know if I’ll be going to school or not, but I do know that I want Everest there every step of the way.

“Thank you, baby,” I whisper, cupping his face as I brush my nose against his. “I promise I’ll think about it.”

The three little words I want to shout for him to hear stay locked up. Not because I doubt them, but because Everest is special. What we have is special. When I tell him, I want it to be just as incredible as he is.

And as he kisses me back, completely abandoning his studying, I know I won’t be able to wait for long.