12. Lucas

LUCAS

Why the hell do my sources have to come from the university database? And why did it cost me fifty fucking points? All the articles on that thing are at least twenty pages, full of tiny words, and have absolutely zero pictures. Not everyone has the time or energy to read all that shit, especially not a student athlete.

The websites I chose should have been perfectly acceptable, especially The New York Times.Everybody uses The New York Times!

My grade on this dumb paper has me half a point away from failing this class. Apparently, all the 80% grades I got on minor quizzes didn't provide the buffer I thought they would.

Hunter is going to have my ass. Literally. I don't know if the thought of that scares me or turns me on. Either way, I don't think it's something I want. Other than the fact that it's a punishment, Hunter spanking me might change things.

More than they've already changed.

And it's not just the little things. It's all the things.

Hunter touches me more. He strokes my cheek, runs his fingers through my hair, wraps his arms around me from behind whenever I'm just standing there. And fuck does it feel good. He never says anything about it, and I'm scared that if I do, it'll stop.

I don't want it to stop. I also don't want it to ruin the friendship we have. So if not talking about it is what keeps us where we are, then he won't be hearing shit about it from me.

And if I can help it, he won't be hearing shit about my grade in this class either.

Hunter said I only get to drink from him after the game if I get my grade up. And if he finds out there's no way it'll be up by Friday, I don't know how long these nursing restrictions will go on for.

And I don't really want to find out.

His milk has become like a fucking drug, and I'm starting to go through withdrawals. Sure, I still get a tiny bit in the morning when he's uncomfortably full, but it's hardly enough.

I can tell Hunter hates it too. It's a lose/lose situation for us both.

Maybe I can convince him that despite my grade, it would be in both of our best interests to just go back to letting me relieve him in the morning. And maybe a little bit at night too.

Fully prepared to present my idea, I walk into our apartment, and my confidence escapes me when I see Hunter sitting on the couch. He's looking at the door like he actually knew I was going to walk in when I did.

Well, fuck, here goes nothing then. "So, uh, Hunt?—"

"What'd you get on your paper?"

I freeze in my spot, not expecting the ambush.

Looks like my original plan isn't going to work. That"s fine. I'll move on to Plan B. I'm not sure what Plan B is yet, but anything seems like it'll work out better than Plan A.

"I did great! Got that 80 you wanted!"

Okay, so maybe Plan B wasn't much better than Plan A. In fact, I think Plan B might end up being worse. Maybe I can go back to Plan A…

"Lucas, that"s awesome! I knew you could do it." Hunter smiles wide as he stands up off the couch to congratulate me. He looks so…proud.

And now, I feel bad.

Especially as his arms wrap around me, and I sink into the embrace.

"Y'know, I'm actually feeling a little full right now," Hunter says, moving one of his arms so he can cup the back of my head with his hand. He pulls my head down to his chest that's still covered by his shirt. It doesn't matter, though. I can smell it. Even through the fabric, I can smell the milk in there. My milk. The milk that's just for me. "You want some, baby?"

I nod my head, immediately getting on my knees, so I can be a little bit more comfortable. It's somewhat awkward, but it's better than me standing in a squatted position.

Hunter laughs and shakes his head, cupping my cheeks with both of his hands. He's got that stupidly proud look in his eyes, silently telling me I did a good job.

I think I whimper from the guilt, but I still revel in his praise.

"Not here, baby. Let's check your grade in the class, then we'll head to the room."

Right. Grade. Room. Wait…grade? My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and my head tilts to the side. "W-what do you mean?"

Hunter raises an eyebrow at me, that proud look in his eyes starting to fade.

No, no, no. Please don't be mad at me.

"You did well on your paper, so I want to see how much it brought your grade in the class up."

He says it like it's obvious. And it is. Or at least, it would've been if I was even half as smart as he is. He wants to see it. Of course, he wants to see it. Why wouldn't he want to see it?

"You can't," I say quickly, getting up off the ground and pulling his hands away from my face. Fuck, I need to get out of this. It's not like I can forge the grade online. Maybe he'll believe the system crashed. "Yeah, sorry. No looking at grades today. Maybe we can check in, like, forty-eight hours."

"What?" Hunter is clearly confused. His arms are folded across his chest, and that pride that was in his eyes a few seconds ago is completely gone now. Like it was never there to begin with.

I shrug. "The system is supposed to be down until tomorrow, so I can't see my grades until then."

Hunter looks skeptical for a second, and then his face falls. He doesn't believe me.

I can tell because his face goes from confused to hurt.

"You didn't get an 80, did you?"

Not wanting to lie anymore, and also being completely out of plans, I shake my head and blow out a slow exhale. I want to apologize, tell him that I didn't mean to lie, that I panicked and said the first thing that came to my mind. But the look on his face keeps my mouth shut.

He's not confused anymore, maybe not even hurt, but he's definitely pissed. The anger in his eyes is something I don't expect and have no idea how to react to.

When I finally attempt to speak, Hunter holds up his hand. I assume that means he doesn't want me to talk.

"You lied to me. And not only that, but you were going to just jump right on me to drink and hope I didn't find out that you were lying? Do I have that right?"

"Hunt, I?—"

"I didn't ask you to explain, Lucas. It's a yes or no question."

I definitely hear myself whimper this time. My stomach feels like it's swallowing itself whole, and I swear someone is standing on my chest.

And that someone is my best friend.

He looks at me expectantly, and all I can do is nod. I can't plead my case at all. Hunter didn't say I could. Even if he did, there's nothing I could say, anyway.

I planned on doing exactly what he accused me of.

Hunter nods back at me, his gaze heavy as I lower mine. I can't look into his eyes anymore, not when they look like that. Like he's never been angrier with me. Never been more disappointed.

"Room. Now."

My head shoots up at the command, and by the time I look at him again, he's already walking away from me. Not wanting to get myself into any more trouble, I quickly follow behind him.

"Do you remember what I told you would happen if you couldn't focus on your work?" Hunter stares at me like he's expecting an answer. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to speak yet, so I just nod in response.

"And then, on top of that, you chose to lie to me." He steps closer to me, both of us standing at the side of his bed. "I thought about taking it easy on you for your first time, but that isn't what you need, is it?"

Now I'm sure he doesn't want me to actually answer that.

"No, it isn't. You need a Daddy to keep you in line."

The word "Daddy" makes my cheeks feel like they're melting off my face. I think I'm hard too, but I don't want to look. If I don't draw attention to it, maybe he won't notice either. What does he even mean? Is he saying he… I mean, on that brotherhood website, they had a section for that kind of stuff, but…

Fuck. I really don't know what's happening right now.

"Hey." Hunter's voice pulls me out of my head enough to focus on him. On my… "You don't need to worry about everything else right now, okay? I just need you to bend over the bed so Daddy can give you the spanking you need."