27. Caleb

TWENTY-SEVEN

I WOKE UP breathing in Travis's scent. He always smelled so fresh and clean, but there was an undertone in his cologne I couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, it was sexy as hell, and it had to be chock-full of pheromones, because it attracted not only me, but everyone else in New York.

Damn, had I been dreaming about him? It felt like he was right there, wrapped around me. That was something we'd never done before, only ever passing out beside each other in beanbag chairs after a long night playing video games.

This was different. I'd never actively thought of Travis as more than my best friend, but now he was all I could think about. Some kind of switch had been flipped, and I wanted to find out what I'd been missing all these years. I needed to feel his mouth swallowing my cock again. Wondered how it would feel to do the same to him, if I'd even like it.

What was I thinking? Of course I'd fucking like it. Just imagining getting on my knees for him had me so hard I found myself rubbing my dick against the mattress for the friction.

But when I finally opened my eyes, Travis's arm wasn't slung over my waist, and his legs weren't tangled with mine. His erection wasn't nestled against my ass, ready to take me.

The stab of disappointment was short-lived, though, when I realized where I was. Bundled up in a blanket on Travis's bed—without him.

I slowly lifted up onto my elbow and scrubbed a hand over my face. What was I doing in here? How did I get in here? And why was I shirtless, with my pants undone but still on?

One look at the clock told me it was after noon, but I still felt a little groggy as I pulled back the blanket and got to my feet. I headed into his en suite, then splashed some cold water on my face. A quick look in the mirror showed me I'd seen better days, and I seriously needed a shave.

I heard the low sound of the TV and wandered into the living room, where Travis lay awake and spread out on the sofa in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. The staggering picture he made had me itching to grab my camera, but the moment he saw me, he sat up, swinging his feet out in front of him and patting the cushion beside him.

Sitting didn't sound like a bad idea right about now, and getting close to Travis sounded even better.

I fell onto the couch, and he chuckled, angling his body toward mine.

"You know, it's not right you look so goddamn gorgeous after such a wild night."

"Don't bullshit me. I just saw myself in the mirror." I frowned. "Wild night?"

Travis's brows shot up. "You don't remember?"

Oh God. The way he said it didn't sound promising, and when he smirked and said, "Tequila," I groaned.

"No way I did tequila shots last night."

"You're not feeling it?"

"I mean…" I didn't think so. My head was kinda woozy, but I didn't feel like I needed to bend over a toilet and heave the contents of my stomach into it. Thank fuck.

Travis let out a low whistle. "Gotta say, I'm shocked and impressed."

"Why do I feel like you're going to tell me I did something really stupid?"

"Define stupid."

"Oh no." I covered my face with my hands and tried to remember anything from last night. All that came back were pieces of getting ready and heading out to meet them at a club. "Do I even wanna know?"

Travis leaned over and pulled my hands from my face and into his lap. "Well, how should I say this? The jig is up."

"Do what?"

"If you get the urge to hold my hand in front of the others, no one will care. Oh, maybe JT. You might wanna call him later."

All the blood rushed out of my face as I blinked at him. "You're joking."

"I'd never joke about you putting your hands on me. It was a bit of a surprise when you put your hands on the guy I was dancing with. Especially since you were the one who wanted to keep things a secret."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute. I was dancing with some guy?"

"Uh…no. You shoved a guy off me and got all up in his face, ready to rearrange it."

"Over you?"

A burst of laughter left Travis. "Gee, thanks. Stroke my ego a little more, won't you? I'll have you know that in most circles, I'm a catch."

"I didn't mean that." And of course he was a catch—you just had to look at him to know that. "I just… I got violent with someone?"

"Yeah." Travis smiled. "It was super hot."

Or seriously fucking stupid. "Were you the only one who saw me?"

Travis opened his mouth, but the amusement twinkling in his eyes made me curse.

"Who else?"

"Everyone."

"Motherfucker."

"I think they're leaning more toward brotherfucker. But I could be wrong."

I shot to my feet, and the room only swayed a little before I began to pace, scrubbing a hand over my face as though it could erase whatever stupid things my mouth had spewed the night before.

Hell, maybe my head in a toilet bowl would've been the better option.

"I mean, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Travis said. "So they know you and I?—"

"Want to fuck?" I whirled around just in time to see Travis widening his legs, and struggled to keep my eyes on his face.

"There it is."

"There's what?"

"The words I've been waiting all night to hear you say again."

Again? Wait, I'd told him I wanted to fuck him last night? I narrowed my eyes, and he pushed up from the couch, crossing over to me.

"You don't remember that either, huh?"

Uh, definitely not.

"Or telling me you were a virgin?—"

"What? I'm not a?—"

"My bad, that's not right, we settled on partial virgin. You invited me to be your first. Something I take very seriously."

Okay, was he kidding? Because there was no way…

Was there?

"Oh, then you stripped your shirt off. I'm telling you, you were doing everything you could to seduce me." He stopped in front of me and reached out to draw a finger down the middle of my chest."But me, I was a good boy." Travis looked at me from under hooded lids. "Even when you went into my room and started to take off your jeans."

"Fucking tequila."

"I'm thinking of buying stocks in the company." He leaned in and whispered across my lips, "Especially if it gets you naked in my bed."

I sighed. "But you left…"

"Only long enough for you to sober up." Travis unzipped my jeans and nipped at my lower lip. "Why do you think my clothes are off? I've been waiting for you to come find me."

Holy shit. That was so out of character for Travis, or at least, I thought it was. I hardly believed every encounter he'd ever had in the past had been sober. But with me he'd held back, when I'd clearly been throwing myself at him.

Stripping…

Starting fights over him…

Telling him I wanted to fuck him…

I pulled back. "You really slept out here all night?"

"I did. You should be proud. I channeled your inner good vibes and was the epitome of self-restraint. I really do deserve some sort of prize."

My lips twitched. He was such a fucking smartass, and that just added to his appeal.

"A prize, huh?" I reached for the hand still flirting with the zipper of my jeans and laced our fingers together, walking him backward toward my room. "How does a partial virgin sound? One who's fully sober and woke up in your bed wishing you were there with him?"

"I mean, I was a very, very good boy."

"I'm impressed, but could you do me a favor?" Travis cocked his head to the side, and I winked. "Leave the good boy out here."