15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Wes

“Red or black?”

Nico waves two silk shirts in my line of vision. I study the identical material save for colour, answering the question with one of my one: “fiery passion or sultry seduction?”

“Ugh. You make these decisions so much harder.”

I smirk, unable to help myself, “I’m sure that’s not the only thing that’s going to be hard tonight.” Raising my hand for a high five, Nico slaps it with a groan.

No matter how terrible my jokes are, Nico never leaves me hanging. Unrecruited high fives are, after all, the very essence of an unhappy friendship.

Read more about it when you purchase my self-help book available at any Canadian bookstore.

“I think I have to go with passion. No, sultry. Fuck it, I’m feeling bold tonight.” Tossing the black option back on the bed, Nico pulls the red shirt over his head.

“Sure, you don’t want to join tonight?” Dousing himself in cologne that matches the colour of his shirt, Nico shoots me a wink. “The boys will be crushed when they find out you’re not there.” I laugh from my position on the couch, laptop precariously balancing on my stomach.

“I’m sure you and the boys will manage just fine.” When Nico arrived at Taber, one of the first things he did was hunt for a gay bar. Being a small town in Southern Alberta, we ended up having to drive 45 minutes to the nearest city so Nico could keep his playboy reputation going. There are plenty of gay freshmen here at the university, but my best friend likes to have lots of options when he chooses the next notch for his bedpost.

My boy is a picky eater, what can I say.

“What are you doing again tonight?” I pull up the word document that has my entire psych paper written down and delete the last sentence. Trip said I had to finish the paper Sunday night, not start it.

“Trip is coming over to watch HSM for the first time.”

Placing a hand over his heart, Nico shakes his head. “The fact she grew up withoutTroy Bolton hurts me on a different level.” He wanders over to the bathroom, calling out from inside, “Do I need to keep a lookout for sweat socks on door handles?”

A strange sensation fills my chest.

“We’re just friends, man. No sex codes will be needed tonight.” Do I find Trip attractive? Of course. Have we almost kissed a couple times? Sure. But almost kissing is not actually kissing. And it most certainly isn’t sex.

Noticing my tone, Nico peeks his head out from the bathroom. “How long has it been since you’ve been laid?”

“Pfft, like…” I trail off, doing the math in my head. I was supposed to have a one-on-one with Miss Finance last night but then I went to the Rockers event instead. There was that redhead from wing night with the team but… I lost interest before anything happened. Serena from psych invited me over after class that one time but I ended up in the courtyard instead.

“SIMONE!” I shout out the name in relief as I recall the gorgeous dark-skinned girl from the club.

“Hmm, isn’t Simone the girl you ditched to teach Trip how to dance?”

Mother fucker. He’s right. That means I haven’t gotten laid since the cloakroom at Cody’s lacrosse party.

Three weeks ago.

“May I say something?” Nico’s voice echoes from the bathroom. Groaning, I grab a cushion and smash it against my face.

“I am going to take that as a yes. Look, it’s obvious you like the girl, so why don’t you just ask her out?” I mumble unintelligently into the cushion.

“Sorry, I don’t speak polyester.” Blindly flipping off my roommate, I sit up and toss the pillow to the ground. “It’s… complicated.”

Nico struts out of the bathroom, top three buttons undone.

“Uncomplicate it then.” I huff out a laugh, tilting my head back to stare at the stained ceiling.

“Smartass.”

“Nope, just smart with a nice ass.” I chuckle, not taking my eyes off the discoloured patch above my head. Has it really been three weeks? I can’t remember the last time I went three weeks without sex. Grade twelve? Eleven? Ten?

Jesus, my mind doesn’t even go back that far.

I frown at the stain, feeling like I’m missing something. There’s a piece of my celibacy puzzle that’s in sight but just out of reach.

“Hey man, when we were out at wing night last week, what happened to that redhead I was talking to?” Shit, I can’t even remember her name, but she definitely had auburn curls.

“If I remember correctly, you disappeared to use the washroom and then when you came back you didn’t look at her again. It was like a switch was flicked while you were in the can.” I feel a wave of guilt hit me.

“Was she upset?” Just because I enjoy women does not mean I enjoy hurting their feelings. It’s one of the main reasons I encourage flings rather than relationships.

“Hell nah, once you turned the charm off, Hunter swooped in and kept her company for the night. I think they ended up going home together.”

I sigh with relief, still perplexed about my behaviour. It’s not like me to drop the hunt halfway through the chase. And I don’t remember using the washroom that night… oh. Shit.

This time, the pun was not intended.

A rush of memories hit me as I remember leaving the table because Tripstarted texting me. And after that, any interest in anyone else all but disappeared. The same thing happened with Serena, after I ran to the courtyard to comfort Trip. AND I bailed on the bombshell last night to attend an event where Tripwas present. Oh God.

Nico’s right. I have developed my first adult crush.

I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts that I miss the knock on our door. My peripheral vision catches a flash of red as Nico saunters by to swing it open. Tearing my gaze away from the stain, I straighten my head to find the missing puzzle piece staring back at me with misty grey eyes.

Shit.

Lou

There are two things I did not expect to see when I knocked on Wes’ dorm door. The first was the four inches of unnaturally smooth, tanned skin Nico is currently displaying in a shirt bright enough to be mistaken for a stop sign. The second and more concerning one is the look of panic that crossed Wes’ face when he saw me standing in his doorway.

I sneak a quick glance down to make sure I didn’t spill any fries or gravy on my shirt. Stain-free faces of the All-American Rejects stare back at me. So the look isn’t because of my sloppy eating habits.

“Trip! Just the girl I wanted to see. What do you think of the red?” The doubt swirling through my mind gets put on hold as Nico does a little shimmy in my direction. I blink as the silky material assaults my vision.

“It’s very… bold.” Nico flashes me an equally bright smile. “That is exactly what I’m going for. Wes, you better keep this one around.” Heat burns my cheeks as I quickly avert my gaze.

An awkward silence descends on the room as Wes and I make eye contact. Nico looks back and forth between us.

“Well, this has been a droll but I think I’m going to go find myself a tasty treat. Adios mi amor.” Blowing a goodbye kiss to Wes and giving me a quick side hug, Nico struts out of the dorm, leaving a cloud of cologne and confidence in his wake.

“So…” I trail off and look at the remaining roommate. He hasn’t said a word to me but his eyes have not left my face once. It’s unnerving.

“How far along are you on the psych paper?” We were supposed to watch a movie tonight, but given the way Wes is acting, I’m thinking it might be safer to dip after the challenge is complete.

A slow grin spreads across his face and to keep his earlier weirdness at bay, I playfully pull my eyebrows together. “You better not have finished the whole thing before I arrived.” The scowl on my face only brightens his more.

“Finish my paper? I wouldn’t dream of it.” His immediate response helps ease some of the tension from the room and a sense of normalcy re-establishes itself as I narrow my eyes in his direction.

“Prove it.” The words feel dangerous leaving my mouth and the feeling only increases when Wes pops his dimples and beckons me closer.

There’s an unspoken challenge in the air and as I step closer to the couch it feels as though I’m entering a competition ring.

“Take a look, darlin’.” His attempt at a country drawl is beyond terrible, and I can’t help but to laugh as Wes swirls his laptop around. I lean down to peer at the screen.

“You’ve completely finished it!” I gasp loudly, pointing an accusatory finger to the man responsible, “Liar.”

Wes holds his hands up in surrender, “Whoa, easy there, partner. Take a closer look before you make accusations. I’m a sensitive man you know.” I roll my eyes at the comment.

“I thought you were an independent man?”

Wes wags a finger in my direction. “A man is allowed to be both sensitive andindependent; if women can do it, why not men?” Shaking my head hopelessly, I bite back a laugh and bring the conversation back to the issue at hand.

“Whatever. Do you even have anything left to write?” He whirls the laptop around and pats the seat cushion next to him. I plop myself down, refusing to acknowledge our close proximity. If Wes can be nonchalant about our legs touching, then so can I.

Deliberately typing as slow as possible, I watch Wes write one sentence and close the word document. My mouth falls open, “You cheated.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Hey, you said I had to finish my essay Sunday, so I started it this morning and you just witnessed me finishing it.” I stubbornly shake my head.

“Doesn’t count. You watched me write my paper from start to finish. I watched you write maybe ten words.” He shifts to face me and I hold my breath as the distance between us shrinks a little bit more.

“I followed the rules fair and square. And considering I didn’tspend hours watching Netflix in the library, I think it’s fair to say I won.” He grins triumphantly and leans back, finally allowing breath to flow back in my lungs.

“You can’t use my love of TV shows against me.” I scowl at the green-eyed fool beside me, crossing my arms in defence.

“You’re right, I can’t.”

“How can you say it’s fair when – wait, what?” My argument comes to a halt as I register Wes’ words. I blink a few times, trying to process the 180 that just occurred.

“You… agree?” I say it slowly, waiting for the barb headed my way. It’s got to be coming, Wes never gives up an opportunity to sprout nonsense – especially when that nonsense makes me argumentative.

Wes shrugs, shoulders almost touching mine. “You’re right. It’s more impressive that you not only binged Netflix in the library but also finished the paper the same day. Doesn’t mean you won the bargain by any means, but I was impressed.” Shock and a thread of pleasure flows through my system.

Wes was impressed? By… me?

A doubtful frown starts to pull at my eyebrows, “But I was just being myself. I didn’t do anything special.” That much is true. Goodness knows how many times I’ve had to cram ten pages in one sitting because a new anime show gets released.

“That’s exactly my point.” Not breaking eye contact for a single second, Wes leans forward and drops his voice to a whisper, “You impress me, Trip. With everything you do.”

For the first time in my life, I don’t overthink.

I just lean forward and kiss him.