Chapter 24

Mo

I take one look at Nico's single bed and shake my head.

"Not happening."

He tilts his head, squinting at the mattress as if that might turn it into a double.

"It would be a tight fit but we could make it work."

I cross my arms, "I barely fit on that bed during my freshman year. There's no way I would fit on it now, never mind the two of us."

"I could sleep on top of you?" My brow goes up and Nico sighs, "Fine. I won't make you sleep on a single bed, as fun as that would be."

"Fun is not the word I would use for it."

He sticks out his tongue, "Party pooper."

I roll my eyes and walk towards the collage of pictures stuck to his closet door. Discarded clothes cover the floor in front of the closet, and the sight of the rumpled silk shirts on the floor has me frowning.

"I know my room is a mess." Coming up beside me, Nico kicks the pile of clothes into the corner, "Not all of us are neat freaks, you know."

I shake my head, my gaze stuck on the torn shirt sticking out of the pile, "It's not the mess."

"Is it the smell? It can get musty in here."

My throat tightens unexpectedly as I look from the pile of clothes to the man trying to pry open the dorm's pathetic window.

"I was just thinking about the night I found you." I clear my throat, struggling to contain the sudden surge of emotions, "In the parking lot."

Nico's smile falters, "Oh that."

He turns and starts rummaging through his drawers, being careful to look anywhere but my face.

"Lost my favourite top that night. But hey, at least the bruises are gone now."

I close the distance between us, hesitating only a second before wrapping my arms around him. He crumples against me almost immediately, the shake in his shoulders putting a tightness in my chest that wasn't there before.

"It was such a good colour, you know? Bold and bright." His voices cracks and I pull him tighter against me. My skin grows damp as Nico's tears start to fall, his muffled sobs making me feel weaker than the day I found my sister in the hospital.

Back then, I had a plan of action.

Here, I have nothing.

Swallowing thickly, I let my hands run through his hair the way my mother used to, wishing for the first time I had inherited her knack for providing comfort.

"I should have killed them. The men who did this to you."

He chokes on a watery laugh, "I would have had to drain my savings to bail you out. Then I would be shirtless and homeless."

"You've never had a problem going shirtless before."

Nico lets out another laugh before pulling away, "Got to show off this impressive physique somehow."

Before I can think about what I'm doing, I reach out and wipe the tears off his cheeks. He blinks in surprise but before he can open his mouth, I go ahead and open mine.

"You don't need a shirt to be bold and bright, Nico. You do that all on your own." Forcing the weight of emotion off my chest, I nod towards the sad single bed, "Now, what are we going to do about that mattress?"

His face lights up, chasing away the tightness in my chest, "I've got an idea."

"Ta-da!"

Nico grins, motioning towards makeshift queen size mattress assembled on his bedroom floor. Two-thirds of his creation stand at the same four-inch height thanks to the mattress topper from his bed and the spare one he had stashed away, while the other one-third of the bed sits at least two inches lower, the Styrofoam pad pulled off Nico's dorm bed looking even more depressing lying on the floor.

I cross my arms, leaning against the doorframe, "Not sure this is any better."

"What do you mean? I've made us a fortress!" Nico grins and throws his duvet over the crude bed, the green material not quite big enough to reach all the corners.

"It's on the floor."

He waves his hand, dropping onto the mattress with a wince, "Don't get so caught up on the details, Maurice. I've solved the single bed problem."

I nudge the edge of the bed with my toe, "You realize I have a California King back at my apartment, right?"

"Babe, we're way past that stage." Nico crawls under the duvet, the mattress toppers groaning loud enough to make me think he bought them from the clearance rack.

Patting the space next to him, he gives me a reassuring grin, "It's more uncomfortable than you think. Come join."

"You really sold it."

"It's what I do best. Hurry up and turn off the lights, I'm getting tired over here." He throws me a wink, snuggling down under the green duvet, "I always sleep better with a body pillow."

Rolling my eyes, I hit the lights and carefully navigate my way over to where Nico's shadowed form is waiting. The Styrofoam pad squeaks as my weight sinks down on it and the ridiculousness of the situation makes me shake my head.

"Stop being judgmental and get your sexy ass over here."

A hand slaps the bed a few feet from me and I sigh, "I can't believe you talked me into this."

Crawling under the covers next to Nico, I can see his smug smile even in the darkened room.

"You love it." His arm snakes around my stomach as I lie beside him, the lingering smell of his cologne filling the space between us.

"You have a strange idea of the things I love." Threading my arm underneath his pillow, I roll onto my side so we're face-to-face. My free hand trails down his bare torso, his quick inhale putting a smile on my face.

"What do you love, Maurice?" The whites of his eyes glow as they rake over my face, "Besides hating me."

I fall silent, thinking over the question. For once, Nico stays quiet, not pushing for an answer but giving me room to think.

"I love dancing." My mother's smile flashes behind my eyes, "It was the one thing my sister and I always had in common."

Nico grins, "Now that I can concur. Give me a Spanish bass and a little rhythm and I'm done for the evening. Died and gone to heaven."

A chuckle escapes me, "You would be a fan of Spanish music."

"Babe, you're talking to a Latino. Salsa is in my blood." He shimmies next to me and I let out a laugh.

"You would love Lifestyle. They always have a Spanish section during the night."

"Oh my God. You've been to Lifestyle?!" The excitement in his voice buries its way under my skin and I can"t fight the grin taking over my face.

"It is the only gay nightclub within driving distance."

"We have to go! Together, I mean." Snapping his mouth shut, Nico's eyes widen as his words sink in, "What I meant to say was-

"Are you asking me on a date, Montez?" I smirk, letting my fingers trickle down his smooth skin, "I thought you were just using me for my body."

He shivers against my touch, "I was. I am. This is a strictly physical transaction, right?"

"So many questions." My fingers continue their path downwards, enjoying the way his body reacts to my touch, "So little answers."

He falls silent, an internal battle raging out right in front of me.

"Would you want to go to Lifestyle with me?" Minty breath hits my face as Nico blurts out the words, the sudden rush giving away his nerves, "Like on a date."

I contemplate dragging out the response time just to torture him, but one look at Nico's eager face has me shooting down the idea immediately.

"Sure."

"That's it? All I get is sure?"

His head flops back against the pillow as he blows out a breath, "I shouldn't have given Wes such a hard time last year. That was fucking terrifying."

"I'll make a note to be more enthusiastic next time."

He snorts, "Screw that. Next time you're gonna be the one asking."

Nico

Mistakes were made.

Struggling to sit up, my back screams at me for last night"s stupid sleeping arrangements. The two mattresses I'm balanced on start to separate and my ass falls through the crack with a loud thud. I glance over at the man sleeping next to me and find a pair of blue eyes laughing at me.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

I shoot him a glare, my morning attitude mildly improving when Maurice stretches his arms above his head and I catch a glimpse of the abs running down his stomach.

If I'm ever in need of a cheese grater, I know who to turn to.

"Babe, your face says it all." I wave a hand in his general direction which only serves to make his smirk grow bigger.

"I'm not the one who insisted on sleeping on the floor."

"Watch it, Maurice. I'm not above kicking your ass out."

A perfectly thick eyebrow raises, "I'd like to see you try."

Letting out a growl, I jump on top of him, the soft material of my duvet the only thing separating our naked bodies as I try to pin him to the floor. We wrestle for less than thirty seconds before Maurice flips me on my back and knocks the breath out of my lungs with a full-blown grin.

"We need to work on your technique, Montez."

I squirm under his bodyweight, the sharp point of his erection capturing my full attention. I let my body go slack and the second Maurice loosens his grip, I slip out from his grasp and use the element of surprise to hook my leg around his waist and reverse our positions.

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Coach. I've got a few more moves to show you." I wiggle my eyebrows and he rolls his eyes.

"You need to work on your-

"NICO!"

Wes' voice fills the dorm and I look at Maurice in panic.

"What should we do?" I half whisper, half-yell the question as my best friend's loud entry gets closer to my bedroom door.

He taps my thigh currently locking him in place, "For starters, you could let me up before I have to throw you across the room."

My jaw drops, "You could do that?"

He smirks, "You aren't what I consider to be heavy."

"NICO!"

A bang hits my door and I jump off Maurice, lunging for the pair of black briefs lying on my floor. Hauling them over my legs, I stumble over the corner of our makeshift bed, and nearly fly headfirst into the door. Maurice snorts and I blindly flip him the bird before opening my door.

"Hey man! How was your night?" A bright-eyed Wes grins at me, his sparkling eyes and chipper mood unmatched for this early in the morning.

"Great! How was your night?"

Something in my face must give me away because Wes narrows his eyes suspiciously.

"Your acting weird. What's going on?" His eyes flick from me to the doorway I'm trying to block and suddenly he gives me a dimpled grin, "Code red?"

God bless my childhood friend but he makes the worst assumptions.

I let out an awkward laugh, hoping like hell Maurice has suddenly gone deaf in the last five minutes.

"Nope. Not a code red. I'm just feeling off this morning."

"No worries, man. I got you." Wes throws me a wink and my heart starts to sink. Clearing his throat, my roommate gives me a shit-eating grin before pulling out the worst French accent known to man.

"What do you mean there's another monsieur in your room? I thought we agreed to be exclusive?" He wails the last part, putting a hand over his heart like it might burst from his chest. Covering my face, I let out a groan.

"Please, l'amour, don't do this! I need you."

Pretending to weep, Wes gives me a thumbs up before taking my hands and falling to his knees. Normally, this would be when my one night stand makes a hasty retreat from my dorm, and after a ten-minute window, we would head down to get breakfast like nothing ever happened.

Naturally, that's not the case here.

I tug at Wes hands, trying to get him off the ground, "Not a code red. You can stop now."

"Don't stop on my behalf. That was just getting entertaining." The door swings open and we both turn to see Maurice standing in my doorway wearing nothing but a smirk.

"Nice accent there, Williams."

Wes scrambles to his feet, his shell-shocked gaze swinging from me to our very naked assistant coach.

"You didn't."

I raise my hands, "I can explain."

Maurice clears his throat, "If you'll excuse me, I left my clothes in the bathroom."

Wes shakes his head, "Right. Of course."

Awkwardly shuffling to the side, I give Maurice's firm ass an appreciative glance as he walks by, ignoring the hole my friend is burning into the side of my head.

"You're unbelievable."

"Can you just let me explain?"

A toilet flushes from our bathroom and I wince. Wes crosses his arms and glares at me while we wait for the hunky lacrosse legend to finish up his morning routine. After what feels like forever, Maurice finally emerges in his clothes from the night before, looking every bit the sexpot he did the first time around. He gives us both a nod before slipping out the front door, leaving me to deal with my less than happy roommate.

Wes opens his mouth but I beat him to the chase, "Can we get breakfast first?"

He sighs, "Yeah but you're buying."

"Just to make sure I've got this straight: Mighty Mo, the assistant coach who hates your guts, has been your bedmate for the last few weeks?" Wes takes a bite of his pancakes, chewing thoughtfully, "And now you're going on a date with him?"

"I mean, it hasn't been a consistent few weeks… but yeah, that's pretty much it."

I dig into my breakfast sandwich without a trace of fear. Unlike the ape with the D-name, Maurice is a man who understands the importance of manscaping.

Something I will never take for granted again.

Wes grabs the maple syrup and adds a healthy amount to the pool his pancakes are already sitting in.

"Do you like him?"

He glances up at me, concern written across his face. I squirm in my seat, not because I don't have an answer but because the answer came to me instantly.

"You know me, Wes. I don't do more than one night."

He sighs, looking down to ensure his next bite is completely drenched in syrup. Wes is a lot of things, but a sugar freak is at the top of the list.

"Guess that's all I need to know."

I take another bite of my sandwich, letting the silence grow between us until I work up the courage to break it.

"Are you upset that he's your lacrosse idol or because he's our assistant coach?"

Wes drops his fork and leans back in his seat, "I'm upset because you didn't tell me. When I was struggling with all that stuff with Trip first semester, do you know who I turned to?"

Guilt hits my stomach as he gives me a pointed look, "You. The guy who is supposed to be my brother."

"Awe, mi amor."

He turns away, "Don't mi amor me right now, Nico. I'm still mad at you."

"Can I at least thank you for executing the best code red that dorm has ever seen?" His lips start to twitch and I know I've got him.

"We might have to make a trip to Quebec just to break out that accent again."

Wes turns back to me with a grin, the usual sparkle back in his gaze, "It was one of my best performances, wasn't it?"

"Babe, if I had an Oscar, I would be handing it over right now."

Both dimples pop out as Wes throws his head back and laughs, causing the other café patrons to look our way. I grin, reaching across the table to take his hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Wes. I was scared you would brush it off as another one of my inconvenient hookups."

"Your hookups aren't inconvenient."

"No, but this one is. It puts you in a tough position as the team's captain." I release his hand with a squeeze, bringing my attention back to the half-eaten sandwich on my plate.

"But you like him?"

I sigh, "Too much."

He shrugs, picking up his fork, "Then it's not inconvenient in the slightest. Do what makes you happy, Nico, and we'll make it work."

"Don't you mean, do who makes me happy?"

Wes groans and tosses his napkin at my face. I dodge at the last second, successfully ranking us as the most disruptive customers of the day.

I toss the napkin back at him, laughing, "You have to admit, I was quick with that one."

He grins, "Not as quick as I was predicting Mo was your type."

Damn it. He's got me there.