Chapter 3

Seated on a tiny leather sofa in the corner of the coffee shop, I stared into my mug, aware of the warm press of Niccolò's thigh against mine. I still wasn't entirely sure how I'd managed to get here—my head was spinning, in fact, but I hadn't wanted to turn him down.

Looking at Niccolò objectively… He was gorgeous. A confident man who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, or stalk people he was interested in, for that matter, all wrapped up in one small—compared to me—gorgeous package.

I watched as he dipped the tip of his index finger into the towering swirl of cream on top of his hot chocolate, his glittery blue nail disappearing under a layer of white. He lifted his finger to his lips, his tongue darting out to swipe the cream from his finger, before he inserted the digit into his mouth.

Tempting me.

I swallowed hard, shifting in my seat as my dick jerked in response to his provocative demonstration. Because it was a demonstration. As he hollowed his cheeks, fellating his finger, he made a soft noise that was almost a moan, his lashes lowering as his gaze slid to mine.

With an all too smug smile, he removed his finger from his mouth and delicately wiped it on a napkin, ending the tease and leaving me with a stiffening cock and a pounding heart.

"See something you like?" he purred.

"You should be illegal." My voice was hoarse. What the fuck was happening here? I tore my gaze away from his mouth, fixing it on my mug once again. The question of whether I was simply mildly curious about guys seemed to have been answered—I highly doubted there were any straight men who'd get even a hint of an erection at the sight of another man sucking his own finger.

Or would they?

Another question without an answer.

He settled back in his seat, cupping his mug in his hands. A small smile played over his lips, but he dropped the teasing act. "What are you studying at uni?"

Exhaling shakily, I seized on the change of subject. "Mechanical engineering. My aim is to specialise in sustainable engineering, eventually. What about you? I know you said you were studying performing arts, but what about afterwards?"

"I've always been interested in everything to do with performing arts, so it was always my first choice for a degree. I love the spotlight, but I think I might want to do something backstage, though. Like being a show producer or something. I'm only in my first year, so I have time to decide."

"Yeah. Plenty of time." What else could I ask him? "How do you know JJ, anyway?"

He shrugged. "We went to the same school. He was in the year above me, and there weren't many out gay people in our school, so I guess we kind of gravitated towards each other. He's one of my best friends."

The question was on the tip of my tongue. Fuck it. I'd just ask him. "Have you two ever, uh?—"

"Hooked up?" When I nodded, he flashed me a quick grin. "Yeah. Only a couple of times. Once when we were bored—oh, that was with our friend Shay, too. And another time before that, when I practiced my cock sucking technique on him."

"You practiced your cock sucking technique on him," I repeated slowly. The images going through my mind… Not of him with JJ, but of him with me.

My heart rate sped up, and I realised my palms were clammy. Fuck. I was heading straight into uncharted bi territory.

"No better way to learn. JJ's very knowledgeable about these things, you know."

"Uh-huh." I was still stuck on the image of Niccolò on his knees, that tempting mouth wide open and ready for— Fuck. I picked up my mug, taking a huge gulp of my caffè mocha in the hope that it would make me focus on anything else. Anything but that.

"Ben? Are you okay?"

"Great. Brilliant. Uh. So, what did you think of the match?"

"It was good. Do you want me to come and watch you again? Are you going to come back to Revolve? Can we go somewhere so I can kiss you?" The questions came tumbling out of his mouth in a breathless rush, and it took me a minute to parse through them.

When I realised what he'd said, my breath caught in my throat. Staring at him, wide-eyed, I took several deep breaths, attempting to slow my racing heart. "Okay. Wow. You really are forward, aren't you? To answer your questions—if you want to, maybe, and uh…I—I don't know."

Resignation filled his gaze, but he nodded, accepting my words. "That's okay. I—I shouldn't have asked. I know I can be a bit much. I guess I just…I just thought I'd try my luck. Sorry if I came across as pushy." His voice came out small, and he wouldn't look at me.

"Hey." Reaching out, I placed my hand on his arm. "You haven't got anything to be sorry for." I paused for a minute before shaking my head. I was seriously tempted, and I might never get another chance like this. "Fuck it. You only live once. Yes, to your third question."

He stared at me with huge, disbelieving eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. As sure as I can be."

A wide, beaming smile spread across his face. Immediately placing his hot chocolate down, he jumped to his feet. "Let's go. I know a place."

Draining the rest of my mocha, I followed suit, grinning at his enthusiasm. As we exited the coffee shop, I took a moment to admire the sight of him in my hoodie. I liked seeing him wrapped up in my clothes. Which was ridiculous, really, because we hadn't even… We didn't even know each other.

Although it appeared that we were about to become a little more intimately acquainted.

Niccolò led me into the campus library and over to the lifts. When we were inside, he hit the button for the basement, which held the study carrels.

I approved of the idea.

Stopping next to one of the empty private carrels in the far corner of the basement area, he slid something out of his pocket and began fiddling with the door. The lock suddenly popped open, and he laughed breathlessly. "It worked."

"Breaking and entering?"

"Yep. JJ told me about this one. Carrel twenty-two. The lock doesn't work properly, and you can open it with a credit card. I haven't tried it before now, but I did good, right?" He gave me a bright smile as he slid the door open.

He was so fucking cute. And sexy. I allowed myself to appreciate him all over again. "You did good. What's going to happen now?"

In reply, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me inside the carrel, sliding the "occupied" sign across to show the carrel was in use, before closing the door. Hopping up onto the table, he crooked his finger at me.

"Now, we kiss."

Dropping my bag to the floor, I stepped in between his legs, staring down at him. He stared right back, his lips slightly parted, his eyes huge with his pupils rapidly expanding. Lifting my hand, I cupped his chin. My fingers trembled, but I wasn't backing out now. "You're gorgeous."

A smile curved over his mouth, and I lowered my head to kiss it.

At first, it was just a soft brush of lips. Then, he made a noise in the back of his throat, almost like a whimper, and the kiss deepened, our mouths opening against each other's. I stroked my fingers over his jaw, taking my time, and he let me control the kiss, his fingers coming up to curl around my biceps.

When I pulled back to catch my breath, his eyes were wide and so dark.

"What did you think, my bi-curious footballer?"

"I think." I brushed my lips over his again. "I need." And again. "More research."

This time, when the kiss deepened, our tongues slid together. Fuck. This kiss was blowing my mind. My cock was hard in my jeans, and I couldn't help wondering if Niccolò was as affected by this kiss as I was. I moved one of my hands to the nape of his neck, and slid the other around his back, pulling him forwards into me. He gasped into my mouth as our bodies connected, his legs widening and wrapping around me, and even through two pairs of jeans, I could feel the press of a hard bulge against mine.

"Fuck," I groaned into his mouth. Definitely very bi-curious. My heart was hammering and my palms were definitely sweaty. This was…exciting as fuck, but it was scary at the same time. It shouldn't have been, but it hit me all at once, and panic made the breath catch in my throat and my heart jump. I was kissing a man. A man with a dick, which was currently grinding against mine.

Pulling away from Niccolò, breathing hard, I lifted a trembling hand to my face, pressing tentative fingers against my kiss-swollen lips. "Fucking hell," I rasped, staring down at my hand.

"Ben."

My gaze swung back to Niccolò. His eyes were still wide and dark, but now they were full of concern.

"Sorry. I— Fuck." I scrubbed at my face. "I'm not— It's not?—"

"Take a breath. And a seat. You should probably sit down."

Yeah. Sit down. I should do that. My legs were feeling shaky, now I thought about it. Collapsing onto the bench seat next to the table, I folded my arms across the surface and lowered my head.

Fingers gently brushed across the back of my neck. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

I wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but when Niccolò returned, I'd gathered myself enough to lift my head, although I couldn't quite meet his gaze. What the fuck must he be thinking, after I'd reacted that way?

"Drink this." A bottle of Powerade appeared in front of me. "The sugar and electrolytes help. Or so I've heard. JJ won't let me drink them."

At his light tone, the knot in my stomach loosened a little. A smile tugged at my lips as my brows rose. "JJ won't let you?"

"Not exactly. It's not like he controls what I eat or drink or anything. He just says I'd be uncontrollable with any extra energy. It's true." With a small laugh, he uncapped the bottle, and then tapped the side. "But you, my maybe-maybe-not-bi-curious boy, need it right now."

"Maybe," I said, lifting the bottle to my lips. The cool liquid slid down my throat, soothing me. When I'd placed the bottle back down, I sighed, finally meeting his gaze. "Definitely. Sorry for, y'know, the way I reacted."

"Don't be sorry." Tugging his lip between his teeth, he twisted his hands together in front of him, and I realised he was nervous. "Does that mean you regret kissing me?"

Fuck. He'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, not that I could blame him. "Come here. Please."

When he was standing in front of me, I rose to my feet, placing my hands on his shoulders. I made sure his eyes met mine again before I spoke. There was no way this could go any further. Niccolò was a fun, flirty guy, secure in his sexuality, who had people that actually paid to see him naked or whatever on his FanBoyzOnly account. I was a random guy who was questioning his own sexuality and freaking out over a simple kiss. For fuck's sake, he'd even gone and got me a specific drink, he was that worried about me.

But I didn't want to upset him. I needed to ensure he understood where I was coming from.

"First of all, I didn't do anything I didn't want to. I want to make that clear. And no, I don't regret kissing you. I… You're a great kisser. But I?—"

"You don't have to explain. I get it." He flashed me a quick smile that I think was supposed to be reassuring, but it made something in my stomach sink.

I opened my mouth to reply, but my phone began vibrating.Fuck. "Sorry. Give me a second. It might be important." I yanked my phone from my pocket and hit Answer without checking the screen to see who was calling me. "Hello?"

"Where did you disappear to? We thought you were coming to the pub with us."

Pete. And he was still in the pub, if the background noise was any indication.

"Sorry. I, uh, had something to do." Niccolò raised a brow, and I placed a finger to his lips. He licked it, and then laughed quietly when I pulled a face while trying my hardest not to smile, yanking my finger away from his mouth.

"You have to come, man. I'm on my own here. I mean, I'm the only new one."

Oh. Yeah. We were the two new players on the first team, and although I didn't actually know Pete all that well, we'd played together since the beginning of the semester.

Niccolò tapped my bicep, clearly hearing Pete's words, thanks to the fact that we were so close, and Pete was almost shouting to be heard over the background noise. I should go, he mouthed. I shook my head, but he began backing away from me.

Holding up my hand in a gesture to tell him to wait, I told Pete I was on my way. But he slipped out of the study carrell, leaving me alone. Disappointment curled low in my stomach.

I guess I was just another blip on his radar.

It was probably for the best.

That was what I told myself, anyway.