Ten Mark

"Was that the captain of the football team?" Todd asked, staring out the door the same as I was. "Your roommate?"

I was too stunned to speak. My world was still spinning, my brain buzzing inside my skull. I could still feel the tingle of his lips against mine, the feel of his hand on the back of my neck, and the heat of his body pressed against me. That musky scent of his was thick in the room and seeping into my pores.

"Hello?" Todd laughed, waving a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Mark."

"W-What?" I replied, shaking myself out of it. "What did you say?"

"Fuck. That must have been some kiss." He narrowed his eyes at me. "How come you didn't tell me you and him were involved? Last I remember, you said you hated his guts."

"I… I did."

"You mean you two have never done that before?"

I shook my head. "That was the first time."

"Oh." Todd smiled wide, trying not to laugh. "Well, good for you. That's a damn fine piece of meat you've caught yourself. You'll have to tell me how you do it so I can catch one just like him."

"What? I didn't catch anything."

"Oh, please. Don't even try to deny it. You must have done something to get a kiss like that. I mean… even I felt the sparks coming off that one."

"I doubt it'll happen again," I sighed, the truth settling into my chest like a cold stone. "He's straight."

"The fuck he is!"

"No, really. That's what he said."

"Honey," Todd said softly, taking my hand. "Babe. I need you to listen to me."

He was being condescending again. I hated that.

"What?' I huffed in reply.

"No man, straight or otherwise, has kissed another man like that and not had intentions," he said. "If I hadn't been here, I have no doubt in my mind you would be bent over that desk right now."

"How do you know I'm not the top?"

"Babe. Sweetie." He patted my hand. "No."

"You're annoying."

"And you're dodging. You know I'm right."

I sighed again. "But you can't be. I know him. He's not going to follow through with this. Whatever just happened… it was… nothing." Fuck, those words hurt to say out loud. "He'll deny the whole thing come tomorrow morning, I guarantee it." I glanced up at the door standing open into an empty hallway. "Or he'll just never talk to me again."

"I guess we'll see," Todd smiled, letting go of my hand at last. "But my bet is on him not being able to resist you."

"Resist me?" I scoffed. "Guys have been resisting me for my whole fucking life. Believe me, he's capable."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself so you can continue sounding sappy and sad." He nudged me in the shoulder. "So, tell me. What did you do to get him all worked up like that?"

"I… I just got him back on the football team."

"Wait," he said, putting his hands on his hips and giving me a nasty bit of side-eye. "Are you telling me you went to the Dean and argued for this guy and not yourself?"

"Yeah." I felt the blush rising to my cheeks once more. "Football is important to him, and he wants to go pro. So I figured he needs to be on the field if he wants to get drafted, right?"

"First off, I'm horrified you understand what half of those football terms mean."

I rolled my eyes.

"And secondly, are you telling me that you just helped that boy facilitate his dreams after he and his friends treated you like shit?"

"Dustin didn't do anything. In fact, he tried to make it better."

"Ah. So you were just paying him back."

"Yeah."

"Out of the goodness of your heart?"

I shrugged. "I suppose."

"Huh." Todd gave me a good once-over again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked him."

"What?!" I scoffed. "I… I would never. I don't… That's dumb. Why would I do… something like… that."

Todd just stood there, shaking his head. "Christ, you are transparent."

"Ugh… fine. He's hot, alright? Is that what you want to hear?" I threw up my arms in frustration. "When he looks at me, I feel like he actually sees me. Most people around here just date witches for the peripherals. But Dustin doesn't seem like that. He talks to me like I'm a fucking human being–"

"Which you aren't."

"And I don't feel like he's trying to get something from me." I stomped over to his side of the room, picking up the tattered copy of Treasure Island from his bedside table. "The guy likes pirates, for fuck's sake! It's adorable!"

Todd lifted an eyebrow. "Butt pirates, you mean."

"I will banish you back to the Fae realm if you don't get out of my room right now, Todd."

"Jeez Louise Mark, take a chill pill. I'm just kidding." He glanced down at the book, then back up at me. "You really like him, don't you?"

I let out a long, deep sigh. Every instinct told me to say no, that I didn't like Dustin. But the truth was, after spending only a couple of days around him and actually getting to know him, I was hooked. I knew I shouldn't be and that I was being terribly irresponsible with my feelings, but there it was. There was no denying how I felt about him. Besides, it was obvious already. Nobody sticks their neck out for another person they don't care about.

I should've realized that the night everything happened, Dustin tried to protect me from punishment. Even though he didn't say he liked me, his actions spoke far louder. Now that he kissed me, I supposed I had proof of that hypothesis.

"Oh wow," Todd sighed along with me. "You've got it bad, don't you?"

Walking over to my bed, I sank down on the mattress with my face buried in my hands. "I'm a fucking idiot," I mumbled through my palms. "So stupid…"

"You're not an idiot," Todd replied, walking over and patting me on the back. "If a guy that looked like that showed interest in me, I'd be head over heels too."

"He lives in rural Ohio, Todd!" I barked. "Do you know what living in such a god-awful place does to a person?! He's probably got more internalized homophobia than sense."

"Possible."

"And what would his family say? He's a werewolf, for fuck's sake! They're probably expecting him to come home, sweep up some she-wolf in a flurry, and kick out a litter of pups by the end of next year."

"That sounds deeply uncomfortable." Todd glanced down at me. "Do you think werewolves give birth in human or wolf form?"

I just glared up at him. "How the fuck would I know that, Todd?!"

"I don't know"! He held up his hands in mock defeat. "Maybe y'all talked about it."

"Right. The first fucking thing I asked him was how female werewolves give birth. Right between him telling me he liked pirates and kissing me!"

"Jeez, okay. Don't bite my head off. I was just trying to diffuse the tension."

"I'm crushing on a straight werewolf that just kissed me for some unknown fucking reason," I muttered back, grinding my face into my palms. "I don't know if that gets any better."

"It sounds like a wonderful opportunity to me."

I looked up at Todd, surprised by his words.

"Hear me out," he said, holding up his hands again. "Dusty here made the first move, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, then, let him keep the ball in his court for now. If he comes back and gets all huffy, then you know he thinks he made a mistake." He paused, pointing a finger at me. "But if he comes back and acts all shy and shit… then you know you've got him."

"Then what do I do? Get naked? Give him a blowjob and watch as he slowly never talks to me again?"

"Definitely blow him," he smirked."

"Todd…" I said in a warning tone.

"Just let this play out. That's all I'm saying. He made a move, obviously it overwhelmed him a bit. So, just give him some time to figure it out. If he wants to be with you, he'll say something. But for now, just let him figure it out. Don't treat him any differently, and by all means, do not stop being friendly. Act aloof, like it's no big deal. Make him pursue you."

There were at least a hundred different sassy retorts waiting on my lips, but I kept them sealed. Instead, I thought about what Todd was saying and tried to sift through it to find the nuggets of wisdom. With Todd, that wasn't always an easy chore. But this time, I didn't find it too difficult.

I should let Dustin make the next move. Or at least evaluate how his behavior changed around me and take it from there. At the very least, Todd was right about that. Dustin would have to come back to the dorm eventually, and then I'd have my answer. Still, I was worried. I'd been on the internet, and I knew how bad some rural communities could be. Then you add on the built-in homophobia inherent to his species, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Even if Dustin felt something for me, would he allow himself to pursue it? Just the thought of him kissing me again made my heart sing. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like this man, this stranger, was the perfect guy for me. It was probably just my imagination getting the better of me, but I couldn't help it. The spark of hope was there whether I liked it or not.

"Alright," I sighed at last. "I'll wait for him to come back and see how things go."

"Good," Todd nodded. "Now, get dressed."

"For what?"

"There's a football game tonight."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Why the fuck would I want to go to a football game?"

Todd smiled. "To support your boyfriend. Duh. He's the star of the football team."

My face fell, the irritation clear in my expression. "That's not funny, Todd."

"I'm not laughing," he replied simply. "Now get your shit together. Let's go."