Chapter 22

Mo

You've got to be kidding me.

"It stands for-

"I know what it stands for."

It's been years since I attended an ABC party and from what I can remember, most of the night was spent getting flashed by my teammates. The only thing that makes a drunk group of lacrosse players worse is throwing in a juvenile game of no clothes.

"So, you'll come?" Stella beams at me, her hands clasped tightly together.

"No."

"But Mo-

"I said no." I lean back in my chair and give her a look that means the subject is closed. She frowns, stabbing her fork in my direction.

"I know for a fact you used to be fun. What changed?"

The question almost has me laughing. I wouldn't know where to even start.

"I grew up."

She sighs, "Grow back down then. You need to let loose and live a little."

My mind flashes to Nico and a smirk tugs my lips, "I live plenty."

"Hookups don't count as living."

I raise a brow, "Most people would say hookups are equivalent to letting loose."

Stella narrows her eyes, "Letting off some steam with whatever lacrosse bunny is nearby is not the same as enjoying life. When was the last time you did something just because you wanted to?"

I take a sip of my whiskey, letting the burn chase away the truth of her words.

"What is this really about? You've never cared about my presence at parties before."

My sister takes a bite of her salad, suddenly avoiding my gaze, "I just want to make sure you're making the most of your time here at Taber."

"Bullshit."

She glares at me, "I hate when you do that."

"Call you out for lying?"

"No. Make everything more difficult." Stella huffs, dropping her fork onto her plate, "Is it wrong to want to party with my older brother?"

"It is when you're planning something. I know you too well, dear sister."

She grins, "What if I'm planning something for your benefit?"

"Stella…"

"Fine." She gives me the stink eye, "Nico wanted you to come to this party and I promised I would make it happen."

I tilt my head, "Was that so difficult?"

"You're the worst."

"Thank you."

Finally satisfied, I feel the tension ebb from my body as my mind wanders to the goalie in question. It's unusual for Nico to not just ask me point blank to come to the party, God knows that man has no filter whatsoever.

"So will you come?" Stella looks at me pleadingly, "Nico will be so disappointed."

"No."

Her face falls and a twinge of guilt hits my gut.

"But I"ll do my best to make an appearance." Her face immediately brightens, and I hurry to continue, "No promises, though."

"A quick appearance is all it will take." I frown at my sister's choice of words but she's already on to the next topic before I can question it.

STELLA: Are you on your way yet??

I roll my eyes at the text message before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. It's decently early for a Saturday night, only 11 PM, but my sister hasn't stopped blowing up my phone since this afternoon.

I have no idea what Stella is planning, but I do know it won't be anything good. The only good thing about this situation is that I don't have to wear some ridiculous costume made from random items lying around my apartment. Anything But Clothes is easily the worst party theme anyone can choose and I will gladly sit this one out as a stranger just passing through.

It takes less than ten minutes for me to arrive at Taber's one and only nightclub, BA$$. I can feel the music pounding through the pavement the second I step outside and despite my earlier resistance, excitement leaks through my veins as the music grows louder.

I pull out my phone, sending my sister a quick I'm here text and open a new conversation with Nico. He's probably three sheets to the wind by now, but I quickly fire off a message to him anyways.

ME: Heard you wanted me to come tonight.

Within seconds, typing bubbles appear.

NICO: The night is still young but I'll do my best ;)

A grin hits my face, my thumbs flying over the keyboard before I have a chance to think.

ME: Promise?

NICO: Don't go stealing my lines, mi amor.

The smile drops from my face just as my sister comes barreling around the corner.

"You made it!" Her small body latches onto mine and I force my thoughts away from Nico's response.

"I told you I would."

I go to wrap my arms around her but the amount of exposed skin has me pulling back with a grimace.

"Where is the rest of your costume?"

"This is my costume!" Stella strikes a pose and I let out a groan. Her chest and ass are barely covered by thinly wrapped caution tape, the edges of her scar almost completely on display.

"You're going to get arrested."

"That's what I told her." Cody wraps an arm around her, casually covering up her scarred side with his hand. She smiles up at him, leaning into the embrace as I try to look anywhere but the yellow tape barely covering my little sister's body.

"And I told Ellsworth he"ll just have to fight off the cops for me." Stella laughs, shamelessly raking her nails down Cody's bare chest. I shake my head, glancing at the towel modestly covering his lower half. Knowing my old teammate, he's probably wearing underwear under the towel as an insurance policy.

Sadly, I can't say the same for my sister.

"Cap! I need you at the pong table."

Wes' voice captures my attention and I turn to see the co-captain wearing nothing but a green swim ring around his lower half. He's waving Cody over to a table set up in the corner, dragging my attention to the other players mingling nearby. The standard uniform of bedsheets and tapped garbage bags meet my eyes as I do a scan of the crowd, but the lean edges of Nico's body is nowhere to be found.

"Want to join us? Cody could use the support." Stella smiles, nodding over to the beer pong table.

I shake my head, the humid air already starting to suffocate me, "I'll make my rounds then head out."

"Loser." Grabbing Cody's hand, she blows me a kiss and follows him into the crowd. I shake my head, doing my best to erase the image of Stella's nonexistent costume from my mind.

The pounding beat of the music thunders through my veins, the desire to get out on the dance floor almost as strong as the desire to leave. Freshmen in various stages of undress stumble and grind against each other on the raised platform, the usual black lights shining down on the gyrating mass.

I make a beeline for the bar in the far corner, sliding easily through the rowdy line-up to place my order. My hands drum the counter impatiently, my eyes still scanning the crowd for the only person who wanted me here tonight.

My phone buzzes just as I throw cash on the counter, and a quick glance at my screen has the beginnings of a smile taking over my face.

NICO: You were supposed to wear anything BUT clothes.

ME: Must have missed the memo.

NICO: Rule breaker except when he's the one making the rules. Should have known.

ME: ABC is just a suggestion, not a rule.

I lift my head, ignoring the girls looking in my direction, and do another scan of the crowd. If Nico can see my attire he must be somewhere nearby.

ME: Where are you?

I'm impatiently waiting his response when one of the girls sidles up next to me. Tossing her long, auburn hair over her shoulder, I get a direct shot of her cleavage popping from a Captain Crunch cereal box.

Classy.

"The problem with these establishments is the boys who come here are just that. Boys." She smiles, twirling a strand of red hair as she leans in closer, "But I've just found my solution."

"And what's that?" I let my gaze drift over her shoulder, the semi-impressive rack not enough to stop me from searching for Nico.

"A man. You're the first one to walk through that door tonight." Her eyes glint, and I fight the urge to smirk.

"Appreciate the compliment but I'm afraid my interest is already taken."

Her smile doesn't so much as falter, "By who?"

"By me."

Nico

Cue the mic drop.

The look on the redhead's face when we make eye contact is one I will cherish for the rest of my life. Part shock, part disgust, it perfectly sums up how my evening had been going thus far.

That is to say, subpar until my man rolled in.

She gives me a quick assessment, flicking that luscious hair over a pale shoulder, "Didn't have the famous Mighty Mo pegged for a fag, but the more you know."

That. Bitch.

My gasp is loud enough to be heard over the music but before I can launch into an offensive attack, Maurice steps in.

"I prefer the term bisexual, but I'm sure that word is above your reading level."

He smiles, those perfect teeth making me want to melt to the floor, "Use that derogatory term on me or anyone else again, and I will personally see to it that the nudes you love to send are leaked onto the web. Any hopes of future employment will disintegrate and I will be sure not to tip you the next time I see you at the gas station. Do I make myself clear?"

The girl bares her teeth, "Prick."

Maurice nods, "Better but your language needs some work. Now, if you'll excuse us."

He takes my arm and leads me away from the seething woman. We don't stop walking until we hit a booth in the far corner and laughter explodes from my body.

"Babe, the look on her face!" Wiping my eyes, I lean against the edge of the table, "That was fucking brilliant."

He raises a brow, a smirk tugging at his lips, "Entertained, Montez?"

"Quality entertainment. I would pay top dollar to replay that scene one more time." My laughter dies down as a terrifying thought occurs to me.

"Shit, Maurice. I totally outed you." Mind racing, I push off the table and start to pace, "We can still undo this. I can say it was a misunderstanding with a jealous ex-

"Montez."

I stop my rambling and turn to see him watching me with amusement, "I don't care what people think. I spoke the truth and there's no changing that."

"But-

"But nothing. You didn't force my hand, so take a deep breath and calm down." Stepping forward, he drops his hands to my shoulders, "I never do anything I don't want to do. If I didn't want to say something, I wouldn't have. Got it?"

I nod, sucking in a breath and letting it out. Maurice watches me closely, rubbing soothing circles on my shoulders that has my heart melting and my dick stirring.

"How did you know she sends nudes?"

He shrugs, "Her tits were out and she knew my name. Didn't take much to make an educated guess."

I burst out laughing, "The fact you delivered that with a straight face makes you my new favourite person."

Something flashes across his face before he smirks, trailing his fingers down my shoulders to the foil-wrapped edges of my costume.

"You wore this for me."

It's not a question but a statement.

One I plead guilty to.

I shake my head, "I wore this for my other assistant coach who hates my guts but can't keep his hands off me."

"Is that right."

Maurice takes a step closer, flicking the blue wrapper of one of the many condoms taped to my body. I am a walking, talking, condom vending machine and it's got to be the best investment I"ve ever made in my life.

I nod, feeling my blood thicken as the distance closes between us, "You've probably heard of him, once upon a time he was sort of a big deal at Taber University. Went by the name Tiny But Mighty."

His smirk breaks into a full-blown grin and it takes every ounce of self-control not to rip off a condom and put it to good use in the closest bathroom stall. I've only had two drinks over the last six hours but if a cop registered me a sobriety test right now there's no way in hell I would pass.

Because looking at Maurice O'Brien, I've never felt more intoxicated in my life.

"Tiny is a first for me." He squints at the closest condom, the one I painfully taped to my left nipple, "But at least you got the condom size right."

I choke out a laugh, "The cashier gave me the most disbelieving look when I checked those out this afternoon."

"You didn't want to use self-checkout?"

"Hell no, I wanted to show off these extra-large condoms."

He laughs and the rumbling sound goes straight to my dick. Every fibre of my being is screaming at me to close the gap between us and kiss him but the raucous cheer of my teammates has me hesitating.

It's one thing for Maurice to label himself as bisexual to a total stranger, it's another thing for us to kiss in front of my teammates. Although rumours will spread about the newfound label, there will be no evidence tying us together.

But if we kiss… suddenly everything becomes real.

And I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Taking a step back, I drop my gaze to the black t-shirt stretched tight across Maurice's broad chest. My body immediately mourns the newfound distance between us, the confusion and desire swirling through my mind making me sway uneasily on my feet.

Maurice frowns, "How much have you had to drink?"

"Can't remember." I lie, choosing the safe route as Maurice glances around the club, tension seeping back into his features.

"We should get you home. Do you want me to find Wes?"

I shake my head, "I'll send him a text."

Pulling out my phone, I type an inappropriate number of eggplant emojis and hit send.

"Lead the way, Tiny."