SKYE.3

The next day, the same thing happened. I spent the whole day with Soren during lectures and labs. We didn't talk much, just the basic conversations students have. Afterward, we returned to his room. Soren showered and then lay on his back on the bed, just like yesterday.

A silence fell over the room. I stared at him, sitting at his desk with my laptop in front of me.

Was this a silent invitation? How was I supposed to interpret this?

Slowly, I got up and approached the bed. Soren stared at the ceiling for a moment, but then turned his head toward me. We looked at each other.

"Soren?" I whispered.

"Don't make me say it out loud," he said in a tone that sounded a bit angry and a bit like he was embarrassed with himself.

Without a word, I sat down next to him. This time, I lifted his shirt over his head and pulled off his pants, letting them drop to the floor. Finally, I tossed his underwear aside, leaving Soren completely naked, stretched out on his back, his body graceful and slender. Long lines of tattoos ran from his face down his neck, over his shoulders, across his ribs, down to his hips, and further along the side of his thighs, calves, and ankles—a spiraling line of black barbed wire full of spikes. Two thinner threads branched out to his arms, swirling around his wrists.

I allowed myself to stare at him for a while, to indulge in this view.

Soren truly looked like a beautiful work of art with his flawless skin and sexy, lithe figure. The only thing that broke the symmetry of his body was his… erect dick.

I leaned over and began a slow journey with my mouth along his jawline, then down his neck to his collarbones, avoiding his nipples, which caused him to puff impatiently. I continued lower, kissing his flat stomach, his hip bones, and that sexy hollow place between them.

Then I continued this way, but again bypassing his dick, taking my time with his testicles, sucking them into my mouth, which elicited his ticklish gasps. I then shuffled between his legs, taking him under my knees and pushing them up.

Soren suddenly lifted his head and looked at me.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanted to kiss every part of your body, including this one."

"No, I still have residual bleeding. It's better if you don't touch me there with your mouth for now."

I looked between his pleasantly round buttocks. "I don't see any blood. I think it's safe for me to peck you there."

Soren's cheeks flushed, but he didn't protest. So I slowly slid down and, still keeping both hands under his knees so that I could more easily get between his legs, I leaned in and ran a series of soft kisses along his perineum toward his opening.

He let out a soft moan as I kissed it, and then with one push, I flipped him onto his stomach. I had never seen him in a breeding position before, and I must admit it was a very tempting, attractive sight to see. His beautiful back arched down, narrow waist, and the pleasing fullness of his buttocks—it looked very tempting.

"You're perfect all over," I murmured.

I placed my palms on either side of his head and leaned down onto his body. He let out a soft, deep breath, and I had the strange feeling that he liked to feel my weight on him. I just knew it gave him pleasure.

Gradually, I began to move myself down his body as well, my kisses covering the surface of his back, shoulder blades, traveling along his spine, then descending to his buttocks, which I even allowed myself to bite lightly. Soren moaned all the time, trembling slightly—I knew he was enjoying it very much.

My journey through his body ended at his slender feet, his toenails painted black.

Soren shivered as I gently massaged his feet and instep; I could see it was giving him great pleasure.

Then, I slowly turned him onto his back again. His cock was reddened and hard as steel, wet with pre-cum, the full 7 inches on display.

He was breathing fast and looking at me almost pleadingly. I knew he desperately wanted to come.

I smiled slyly and brought my lips closer to his shaft, going from the bottom up, planting a long line of kisses and then gently caressing his slit with my tongue.

"Please…" Soren moaned.

"Please… what?"

He let out a gasp of desperation.

"Don't tease me!"

I moved slowly up his body, and my lips closed on his nipple. He almost screamed and straightened up, his fingers tangling in my hair.

"Yes!" he moaned.

I sucked his nipple and played with the other for a minute before I felt his body tighten. A moment later, his jizz landed on my shoulder!

Soren obviously loved to come this way, with his dick untouched. He really had no trouble with his climaxes.

This time, however, he surprised me. His fingers tightened on my head and slowly began to press lower and lower, pushing me toward his crotch.

"Please, I want more," he said.

"You just came, you might be hypersensitive."

"No, I'm not."

Well, since he asked!

I lowered myself and took his still stiff cock in my mouth, tasting his jizz, and began to work slowly and gently, giving him time, just in case he was a bit hypersensitive—but it didn't look like it. Soren's hands soon began to guide my head, encouraging me to increase the pace.

I must admit that my own arousal was getting out of hand, so while I was blowing him, I unzipped my pants and began to jerk off. I timed it perfectly—just as he came in my mouth, I spurted on his sheet, some of it falling around his calf.

Wiping my mouth, I sat up and looked at his face.

His cheeks were very red, and he was breathing fast.

I watched him for a moment, not knowing what to do or say, but he saved me the trouble by suddenly muttering as he exhaled, "I love the way you take care of my body…" and he turned even redder, as if embarrassed by his own unexpected confession.

"And I love taking care of it."

The silence returned.

His dick was still almost fully erect; Soren's libido was something else. But I left that subject aside for now. I didn't know what to say—because what I truly wanted from him was way beyond just ‘taking care' of his body.

Just to fill the uneasy silence, I chose an almost random topic. "I wonder if Alvin will get anywhere with Don. He seems into him," I muttered.

Soren huffed loudly, swung his legs off the bed, and sat up abruptly.

"I don't give a fuck!"

Biting my lip, I lowered my head. Yeah, that wasn't the best subject to discuss. But before long, Soren made a face and went off on a little rant.

"But if Alvin wants Don, he must choose. Don doesn't like sharing his… sex buddies. He won't tolerate that Alvin is hooking up with Mark and Sean. Alvin's verse; he always jokes around, saying, ‘Mark fucks like a charm, and it's charming to fuck Sean'. Can Don really match up to both? Hell no. They're doomed anyway."

I blinked in shock. "Wait, are you saying Alvin hooks up with Mark too?"

Soren laughed loudly. "It's no secret. Alvin swings every which way. He likes betas, omegas, alphas—he just likes fucking and getting fucked. He doesn't care, he claims he's got chemistry with all the subgenders."

"I know he's open. But I had no idea he's also involved with Mark too. But I shouldn't be surprised. He also joked about sleeping with Archer and me a few times."

"He made a pass at you?" Soren's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Yeah, probably just messing around, but he did it a few times. Always saying it's my loss if I don't take him up on it."

Soren frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, "He's an alpha, but weren't you tempted?"

"In my freshman year, I exchanged handies with a few alpha buddies. I'm generally open, but I lean toward tall betas and tall omegas. Personality-wise, though, I prefer something different. Alvin's… annoyingly jovial, and it's mixed with this crudeness of his. Not really my thing."

"What type of personality are you into?" he asked, averting his eyes.

"Yours."

He didn't respond for a while, still looking away with a strange expression. Finally, he muttered, "Have you ever thought about having sex with an alpha?"

Sighing, I stretched out beside him. "I rarely find them attractive or arousing. At the end of freshman year, I met an alpha who was a bottom, by his own admission. He was fairly attractive, with long black hair, and we made out a bit, but… it just went nowhere. We didn't connect. Alphas are only on the fringes of my interest. My brother, Sun, is exclusively into alphas, but for me… they're not my first or even second choice."

"Good to know Alvin's chances are low," he said with a wince. It was strange—this inexplicable possessiveness of his, his jealousy of everyone. He didn't want to be my boyfriend, but he hated the thought of other people hitting on me.

"No chance. He's just not my type, neither in looks nor personality."

"Not mine either. When all that with the Kingdom of Promises started earlier this year, unfortunately, he insisted on personally testing all of us." Soren grimaced slightly.

Silence fell. I didn't want to pry, but…

"I know what you want to ask," Soren muttered. "Honestly, Alvin was one of the reasons I decided to only work with omegas and betas."

"Because of him? I don't get it."

"Yeah. Sean told me about this whole thing and convinced me to try it out because of my debt problems. Then Alvin said he had to test me first."

I turned away, feeling really uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. Soren watched my reaction for a moment.

"When he came over, I was so stressed I felt sick, like I was gonna throw up. He was super jovial with this… but like you said, crudeness hiding under it. So, I got defensive—rude and tense. When he moved closer, I stepped back and said I wasn't ready. He got pissed, hissed impatiently, and said maybe I wasn't cut out for this, that I was wasting his time. When I didn't respond, he just turned and left."

"Wow. I never thought Alvin would act like that. I've known him since high school; he's always been laid-back, with these broad jokes of his."

"Yeah, well, the next day I told Sean, and he suggested I try to separate what I was doing from my emotions, just see it as a job. Sean talked to Alvin for me, and Alvin came back to give me another shot. This time he was even louder, obnoxious, and a bit vulgar. He said I had nice lips, and he'd like to see his cock between them. But I told him I wasn't down for that, and I could only do a handjob. He wasn't thrilled, but he agreed. I managed to get through it, barely keeping it together, but he was satisfied. He said I was good enough and that I could join the Kingdom if I wanted to. And that's how it started."

"So, how'd you end up with May and Ed? From what I know, there are also two other non-alpha patrons, one beta, and one omega."

"I kept it on the minimal plan, didn't need anyone else. Last semester, May and Ed each used my services twice a week, which gave me a solid income. Plus," Soren cleared his throat, "Don gave me money throughout the last semester. $3,500 in total. I took it, and I regret it now. It just made him feel entitled." Soren's wince looked almost painful.

"Do you have much debt left?"

"Fortunately, no. I have to pay installments for about a year. But I'll have a full-time job soon, so I'll pay it off quickly."

I bit my lip. Well, since Soren didn't have any of those extra gigs now, he was only working part-time for DevApp… I needed to ask.

"So what about this month and next? Does DevApp money cover it?"

Soren was silent for a while.

"Not the whole thing."

I took a deep breath, unsure how he'd react, but I had to at least try.

"Let me cover those two payments for you."

Soren frowned slightly. "No. I don't want your money! It's not what this is all about."

"So what is it about then?"

Soren cleared his throat. "I don't do it with you for money. It's just… for pleasure."

"Which makes us…?" I needed to dig deeper.

"We're fuckbuddies. Period."

"Fuckbuddies…" I whispered. The term was somewhat scary, I just knew it could become a permanent trap with no way out.

He glanced at me again, something flickering in his eyes. "That's all I can offer you, Skye."

Was that all he could offer me… for now or forever? But what could I say without making him mad? I decided to let it go for now.

"Still, please let me pay those last two payments, just to help out. I've got the money. I've been working for Nathaniel since the start of MonsterApp, doing various projects, and I've saved up a lot. Plus, I'll be working for him after graduation. So, it won't even make a dent in my savings."

Soren looked at me for a moment.

"You don't understand, I don't want your money, Skye. I won't take it, not from you… I—" he interrupted, his face suddenly reddening. "It needs to be untainted by money."

His words made me gasp.

It sounded almost… romantic? So not like Soren! But did I know him well enough to judge what he was like inside? Maybe he was exactly what I had never thought—a romantic—just shielding himself with the ‘I don't give a fuck' attitude? A strangely pleasant shiver ran down my spine because… I was the same.

Soren continued, probably not wanting me to cut in, "I'm good. You pay me for Python tutoring double anyway. I'll survive these two months. I already contacted the debt collector and told him I'd be a little late."

It was all… so much. My emotions were somehow stirred, yet I was silent, staring almost transfixed at my hands.

Soren's voice grew firmer, as if he realized how his words might be interpreted and was now trying to sound more businesslike. "Money corrupts everything. I hated owing Don, and it didn't end well. I felt obligated to keep my mouth shut. I prefer a clean slate—no strings attached, no new debts."

Making a loud huff, I muttered, "I get it, I get it." The conversation was going nowhere, I didn't need to hear any more of it, it was all just too depressing. "But the Python payment stays. It's not double. I checked, and some guys charge that much."

"Yeah, they have PhDs."

"You're as smart as they are."

Soren quickly looked away.

"Thanks," he croaked out. "Speaking of Python, did you do the homework I gave you?"

"I did."

I showed him my work, and he approved.

"You're catching on quick. You won't need much more tutoring soon."

"I still want to perfect a few things. Python's a challenge."

"Well… let me think. We could… work on using tools like garbage collector and memory_profiler to analyze and optimize memory usage. That'll come in handy later."

"Sure, sounds great."

A silence fell.

Soren lay flat on his bed, and I decided to, almost shyly, put my arm around his waist. My face ended up close to his head, and I could smell his hair and skin. It was pleasant, sweet, soothing…

Then I closed my eyes and…

Woke up!

It was already morning!

I jerked awake, feeling silly, and sat up. Outside the window, a wall of rain was pouring down from the sky. Soren opened his eyes—the same color as the weather outside—and our gazes met.

"Sorry, I overslept. I'm gonna go now. See you in class…" I muttered, pulling on my jeans in a hurry.

"Wait."

Soren stood up and walked to the window, frowning as he looked outside. It was hard not to notice his perfect ass in those tight speedos. Not a jockstrap this time, but the next best thing.

"It's pouring. You'll be soaked in two seconds."

"I'll run."

Soren turned around and walked to his closet. I did my best not to stare at his slender figure, thin waist, and round butt. He pulled out a black jacket made of thick fabric.

"Take it. It'll be a bit tight, obviously, but it's oversized on me, so it should fit you well enough. You won't catch a cold."

The fuck? I almost gaped. Soren was worried about me? He clearly didn't want me to get drenched, but why… did he even care?

"You don't have to do that, Soren. We're just… fuckbuddies," I muttered, feeling weird.

Soren snorted. "It's just a jacket, dummy! Not a wedding ring! Take it and go."

Shrugging, I smirked and put the jacket on. I felt strangely giddy inside because it clearly wasn't just a fuckbuddy thing; it felt more like a boyfriend thing. But judging by the frown on his face, I figured I shouldn't press the matter further.

Being in a good mood, I headed toward the door, and as I reached the doorstep, I turned back.

"Thank you, Soren, that was sweet of you," I said quickly before he had the chance to snap at me, then closed the door behind me.

As I walked outside his dorm, I looked up and saw him watching me from the window.

Well, that was—again—almost romantic. That word, yes.

But should I really allow myself to believe it meant something more to him? Was I living in a delulu-land with my stupid infatuation, too blind to see the obvious clues?

Part of me, though, knew. We were like the Titanic, having fun and shooting fireworks before the collision with the iceberg. But I was too scared to stare too closely into the dark waters ahead.