23. Caleb

TWENTY-THREE

JT

GONNA GRAB lunch with West. Wanna join?

I dropped my bag on the table in the back corner of the library that it looked like I'd be having all to myself today.

Nope. Have fun

Third-wheeling it with the lovebirds wasn't my favorite thing, though I appreciated that JT always made sure I didn't feel left out. I had enough work to catch up on, though, so I took a seat at our usual spot and opened up my laptop.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I felt someone move in behind me, and then a warm pair of lips kissed the back of my neck. Surprise had me stiffening, but I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Only one person would be that bold.

Travis took the seat beside me, mischief twinkling in his light blue gaze. "Found you."

"I'm impressed. I wouldn't have thought you'd know where the library even is."

Travis looked around, feigning surprise. "That's what this place is? I figured it was a breeding ground for academic types allergic to socializing."

"Well, that too."

"You don't come here to…read, do you?"

I cracked a smile. "It wouldn't be a totally foreign concept."

"Hmm. Sexy and smart. That's hot." He scooted his chair in closer to me and laid one arm along the back of mine. His knees rubbed up along my thigh, and when he dropped his chin on my shoulder, I shifted away. The move felt so familiar, even though it'd been years since we'd been this close. He used to come in my room when I was studying or editing videos and plop down on the bed to distract me.

It usually worked, too.

I tried to focus on the paper on my screen. "Go away, trouble."

"I'd get into more trouble without you, remember? You're my good influence."

"Does that mean you're here to study?"

"Yes." His hand found its way onto my thigh and began inching its way up. "I'm here to study your reactions when I touch you."

I reached down to stop his wandering fingers. "What are you really doing here?"

"You told me to come find you." He smiled unrepentantly. "Here I am."

Everything about him made my stomach flip. His words. The way he'd tracked me down. The fact that he didn't give a shit about touching me in public.

I pushed his hand away, not wanting to attract attention. My body was already responding to his being so close, remembering the way it'd felt to have his lips wrapped around my cock. One sexual encounter and suddenly he was all I could think about. Or maybe it was just that I'd stopped pushing him to the back of my mind like he didn't exist.

"You know," he said, undeterred as he dropped the hand he had on the back of my chair to finger the waist of my jeans, "if you want to research anything, my body is available for your eyes only."

I glanced around the room again, making sure my fellow academic types were keeping their focus on their own business. "Oh yeah? Just my eyes? I can't explore with anything else?"

He licked his lips while looking at my mouth. "What did you have in mind?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "You haven't changed one bit, you know that?"

Travis cocked his head to the side. "Changed? Since when? It's not like it's been years since you've seen me."

"No, but…" When I trailed off, a curious expression lit his eyes. "It's been a while since we were like this." I gestured between the two of us and the easy way we were sitting with one another, but Travis, being Travis, couldn't let the innocent observation stay that way.

"I don't think we were ever like this." His fingers found the waistband of my jeans again, but this time stroked over the skin just above it. "Trust me, I would've remembered. I fantasized about it every fucking day."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That I had a hard-on for you?"

"Jesus." I did another quick look around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Yeah. Back then we told each other everything. At least, I thought we did, but you never once hinted at how you felt."

Travis chewed on the inside of his cheek, an almost-sheepish expression on his face. "Didn't I? I thought I was pretty obvious—always showing off my new clothes for you and making myself the center of attention whenever you were in a room. I wanted your eyes on me." He shrugged and rested an elbow on the table. "I still do."

I tossed my pen down and leaned back in my seat, running my eyes over him. From his jet-back hair to his angular face and full lips, Travis was undeniably sexy. But add in the smoky kohl he'd added to his piercing blue eyes and it was difficult to tear your gaze away from him.

And that'd been half the problem—everyone looked at Travis. Guys, girls, parents, teachers; he walked in a room and he was the center of attention. So I'd never imagined he was busy vying for my attention.

The fact that he had been did serious things to my insides. Crazy, stupid things I was still coming to grips with.

When I still hadn't said anything, Travis straightened in his seat."Say something, would you? You're making me nervous."

"Seriously?"

"Well, no, but I just confessed my teenage sex fantasies about you and you're all, like, silent."

Funny, but if I didn't know better, I might think I really was making him nervous. But no, this was Travis. If there was one thing he was confident about, it was his sexuality. It'd been that way since he'd lost his virginity, age fourteen.

I gave my most casual shrug then decided to play with him a bit. After all, that was what he'd asked me to do with him in class, right?

"I was just wondering what some of those fantasies were. That's all."

Travis's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "That's all?"He scooted in close again."Where do you want me to start?"

I chuckled. "You know, if you got this excited about studying, you could really do something with your life."

He rolled his eyes. "If I got this excited about studying it would be a sure sign I had no life. And don't even try changing the subject."

"Which was?" I teased, my lips twitching.

"My sex fantasies." He reached out and drew a finger up the side of my neck, twirling it in the end of my hair. "I had a pretty good one about this place when I found out you were in here."

"The library?"

"I wondered what it would be like to make out with a scholastic type." He got to his feet and moved between me and the table, looking down at me with a smirk. "Know anyone here who might want to volunteer?"

My heart hammered as I stared up at him, and I wondered how I'd been so blind to what was in front of me back then. How oblivious I'd been not only to his feelings but my own.

Or maybe I hadn't been.Travis had confessed to wanting my attention and eyes on him, but hadn't it been the same for me? We'd been inseparable, and that went both ways. But I'd just chalked it up to friendship and brotherly bonds. What if it had been that, but more?

Because there was nothing brotherly about the way I was feeling right now, with him standing between my legs, looking down at me like he wanted to crawl in my lap.

"Caleb?"

"Hmm?"

"You want to make out with me in the library stacks?"

My dick lurched at the question, the idea of his mouth back on mine making it seriously happy.

Then, as if he'd read my mind, Travis moved in between my legs and leaned down to say by my ear, "Or I can climb on your lap and look over your shoulder to tell you if someone's coming."

He flicked his tongue over my ear, and I sucked in a breath.

"Including you."

Oh my God, he was trying to kill me—and give anyone who happened to look up from their computer a show, which wasn't a smart idea.

"Follow me," I whispered, pushing my chair back to get to my feet. The back of my hand brushed his as I sidestepped him and walked quietly in the direction of the subjects I never noticed anyone browsing. The shelving units reached up toward the ceiling, all covered in a fine dust from neglect. Even though the threat of being caught was low, a thrill ran through me at doing something we shouldn't.

Who was I?

Travis moved in beside me, tucking his hand into my back pocket and giving my ass a squeeze. I glanced behind us, making sure no one followed, and when the coast was clear, I grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him into one of the narrow aisles.

His tongue eagerly met mine when I crashed my mouth down onto his, diving inside like he hadn't gotten enough of me last night. He moaned, and I jerked back, covering his lips with my hand.

"We have to be quiet. Think you can do that?"

"No," he said, a grin full of devilry curling his lips. He gripped the back of my neck, shutting me up with a kiss so intense it was like an electric shock.

We were so getting caught. But that didn't stop me from taking what I wanted.

As I snaked a hand down between his thighs, he sucked on my tongue and thrust his hips forward, encouraging me to do it. Take him in my hand. Do whatever the hell I wanted to him. He was practically begging for it, and the high it gave me to know his cock was already so hard and ready for me was unreal.

"Fuck yes," he said, his voice low.

I was so curious. What would he feel like? Hell, what that piercing would feel like? I'd never gotten another guy off before, and the urgency to find out all of those things before we got busted had me unbuttoning his pants and shoving my hand down inside his briefs.

The moment I wrapped my fingers around his dick, Travis cursed and sucked in a breath. He dove back into my mouth, devouring me so thoroughly there wasn't anywhere I didn't feel him. His hands slid into my hair, and my slouchy beanie fell to the ground when I began to explore the velvet softness of his steely length.

It was so different, touching Travis, but it also somehow felt natural—my fingers knew exactly where and how to move to have his hips arching and swallowing down the little noises he couldn't stop making.

I loved this, relished it. But wished we weren't between the library stacks so I could fully explore him the way I suddenly needed to.

"God, yes, keep doing that?—"

I cut off his words with a kiss and swirled my thumb along the head of his dick. I didn't know why I thought his piercing would be cool to the touch, but it was warm and slick with pre-cum, and I had the urge to flick it with my tongue.

Shit, where had that come from? I couldn't exactly get down on my knees right here—not that Travis would object if I did.

I tore my lips from his, my breathing heavy as I stroked him. "One of these days… I want to lick this."

"Yesss— Oh shit." That was the only warning I got before his cock jerked in my palm, and a heartbeat later, a hot jet of cum coated my fingers.

Holy fuck, had I just made him come by giving him one of my fantasies?

He rode my hand through it, his moans muffled by my shoulder where he'd buried his face, and goddamn, I felt pretty fuckin' proud of myself. I'd made Travis come with barely a touch, and the high I felt from that was potent as hell.

"Just so you know," Travis said, kissing his way up to my ear, "that was all your fault. I was going to be polite and warn you, but then you had to go and run that sexy fucking mouth of yours."

He flicked his tongue over my lobe, and I turned to take his lips with mine, needing another taste before I let him go.

"You mean that's not normal for you?"

"To come like some horny virgin?" He thought about that for a moment then nipped at my lower lip. "Maybe with you."

I grinned, liking that answer a little too much. But just as I opened my mouth to respond, I heard the sound of footsteps heading in our direction.

Shit.

Travis's wide eyes met mine, and I quickly wiped my hand on the outside of his briefs and moved in front of him so he could zip up.

I grabbed a book off the shelf and flipped it open just as a security guard came around the corner.

"Here it is," I said, pointing to the open page. "I told you I'd find it."

"Thanks. I was having a hard time locating it." I could hear the smirk in Travis's voice.

My heart was beating a mile a minute as I looked up at the guard with what I hoped wasn't the expression of someone who'd just gotten someone off a few seconds ago.

The guard looked between the two of us, suspicion clear on his face. He kicked his chin toward a spot behind us. "You dropped something."

Travis snatched my beanie off the ground and gave the guard a charming smile no one could resist. "Appreciate it, officer."

He watched us for another beat then grunted and moved on.

Apparently I'd been holding my breath the whole time, because it came out in a whoosh, and I turned toward Travis, whose shoulders were shaking as he struggled to hold back a laugh.

He placed the beanie back on my head, tugging it down just where I liked it. "So. Who's the bad influence now?"