Chapter 19

19

NIKO

"Is anyone here?" I ask once I step into the dorm room.

"Hey." King pops his head out of the bathroom, smiling at me. I have plans for us, so I need you to get ready so we can leave."

"What kind of plans?"

"It's a surprise."

A surprise? Giddiness flows over me at the thought of King planning a surprise for us. He texted me earlier, asking if I was free after classes. I wasn't sure why he was asking, but I never imagined it would be because he was planning something special.

"Okay, what do I need to wear?"

King pops his head back out, giving me a once-over. His eyes devour me hungrily before he licks his lips and winks. "I mean, you look fucking delicious the way you are. You don't have to change if you don't want to."

"Are you sure?" I look down at myself in my usual black jeans and leather jacket. Even if I was to change, my outfit wouldn't be much different. Most of my clothes are the same.

"Niko, you're perfect. I was only giving you the option to get ready, but you can stay the way you are."

I toss my jacket onto the couch, debating whether or not to change. "Let me shower quickly."

I push past him into the bathroom, making my way to the shower and turning on the water. I strip out of my clothes slowly, wanting to get his attention. King is standing at the sink, shaving his face, and I smirk when he eyes my body. I love seeing his reaction to me. It doesn't matter whether I'm fully dressed or completely naked, he can't keep his eyes off me.

Groaning, he tosses his razor into the sink before turning around. "Are you really trying to tease me when I’m trying to be a gentleman?"

"I'm not teasing you. I'm only trying to shower so we can go and do whatever it is you have planned."

He crowds me against the wall, placing his face in the crook of my neck and inhaling deeply. He presses in a soft kiss before pulling back. "Oh, yeah, right. Do you know how hard it is to keep from touching you? I only have so much restraint, Niko. All I ever want is to have my hands on you, and you standing in front of me naked is like being tempted with a present that's already unwrapped. All I want to do is play with you."

"Play with me, then," I whisper, grabbing hold of his face and pulling him toward me. I shove my tongue into his mouth, kissing him roughly, and moaning when he kicks my legs apart and fits himself perfectly against me. He grinds on my body, kissing me deeply. We're all lips and teeth, groaning into each other's mouths. His hand finds my dick and he strokes me a few times before pulling back and breathing heavily. "No, no. I have plans."

"We can do both." I snatch him around the nape, kissing him again. His hands wrap around my waist and he kisses me back.

"Niko," he whines as he pulls back again. "Please, I want to do this."

"Fine." I concede, seeing how important this is to him. "Let me shower and get ready."

"I'll go get dressed so you can't distract me anymore."

King leaves the bathroom, and I hastily wash up and get ready. In no time at all, I'm dressed and waiting in the common area for him. "So, what are these plans?"

"A surprise Niko. You'll see when we get there."

"Fine." I huff. I hate surprises, but I can't lie and say I’m not intrigued at the fact he's planning something for us.

I watch as he walks over to the table in the corner, picking up a brown wicker basket. "Alright, let's go."

We make our way out of the building, my eyes drifting down to the basket multiple times. I wonder what he has in there. The fact he not only planned something, but took the time to prepare it has my heart beating a million miles a minute. King has been the only person who's been able to kick my pulse up and cause butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

We pass by the quad, my head on a swivel, trying to figure out where he's taking us. We end up at the bridge on the outside of the university. We keep walking until we see the "Lin River" sign. When King takes the path toward the river, I get antsy, hoping that we're going where I think we are.

We keep walking down the path for about twenty minutes until the splashing of water catches my attention. Letting go of King's hand, I race ahead, stopping short when I reach the edge of the waterfall.

"You brought me to the waterfall?"

"Is this okay? I wasn't sure if you've ever been here before, but I heard about it. Some students were saying it’s romantic."

Walking up to King, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. "It's so romantic. I love it. I've actually never been here before."

"Really? I'm glad I could break your waterfall virginity then. And it seems like you're breaking mine, because it's my first time here, too. I've been trying all day to figure out where I wanted to take you for our first date. This finally hit me, and I knew I had to bring you."

"A date?" I whisper, a lump forming in my throat. "The surprise is a date?"

"Uh, yeah. Did I get it wrong?" King bites his lip, his eyes darting to the side.

"No, you got it so so right." I peck his lips again before grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the edge of the waterfall. "Okay, where should we sit?"

King sets the wicker basket down on the ground and opens up the flaps. He takes out a thick green blanket, then flicks it open and spreads it out. I settle into a spot on the ground, taking in the scene around me. The waterfall is gorgeous; It's surrounded by rock walls and dense forests. The soundtrack of birds chirping and animals moving around in the distance surrounds us. It's fucking magical here.

Turning back to King, I notice the assortment of items he's laid out on the blanket. Oh, my Medusa–he's planned a picnic for us. "Holy shit, you are, like, really romantic."

King guffaws, then sits down next to me on the blanket. "Not really. At least, I didn't think I was. But when it comes to you, all I want to do is spoil you."

"Well, I, for one, love being spoiled. But you have to let me spoil you as well."

"Of course. Spoil me whenever your heart desires."

We start picking at the different foods that he brought. There is cheese, crackers, strawberries, and grapes. He even got a thermos full of my Mummified Iced Mocha from Mummy Mocha. Fuck, he thought of everything.

"I love this," I remark, popping another grape in my mouth.

"I'm so glad." He takes a drink of his water before grabbing my hand. "I might have told Mateo about us today. Well, not so much as he informed me that he knew, but I wasn't sure how you’d feel about it."

"Why? Did you think I would be mad?"

"No, not mad. But you did say we should probably keep it a secret."

"Ah." Chewing on another grape, I debate whether or not I should tell him the truth about why I want us to be discreet. My dad has so much riding on this season, and I don't want him to have to worry about King and I dating. Or worse, if something was to go wrong and we end up breaking up.

"Hey, you can talk to me,” he says softly.

"I know I can." While looking in his eyes, all I can see is a trustworthy soul. "There was a reason I was saying we should be a secret, and it's not because I want to keep you a secret. Or because I’m ashamed or embarrassed or anything like that."

"Then why did you say it?"

"Because of my dad." When I don’t continue, he grips my hand and interlocks our fingers. I squeeze it tightly smiling. "He has a lot riding on this season. He's worried if the team doesn't do well, he'll lose his job and they'll replace him with a new coach. It was one of the reasons he went recruiting at different universities last season. He was hoping to find new talent that could help improve the team, including you."

"And you think he won't like the idea of us dating?"

"No, I think he would stress out about the 'what ifs.' He would be worried about us breaking up and the tension between you and him. Or that you'd slack because you’re dating the coach's son."

King cuts me off before I can continue. "How would you know he would think that way? What if he was only happy for us?"

"I mean, he could be."

"Do you think it might be more that you want to keep us a secret from him because you don't want to stress him out?"

I sigh deeply, knowing he’s right. "What if it stresses him out even more? What if it makes him more worried?"

"I don't think you're giving Coach enough credit."

"Maybe. I'm a more glass half empty type of person. I always look for the bad in everything. There's never a time when I can look at the positive. Hell, you were on the other end of my wrath when I couldn't see how amazing it would be to have Creelin U open to humans. I always think the worst."

"And that's okay. Here's what we'll do. We won't be a secret, but we're not going to tell him right now. Why stress either of you out when we don't need to?"

"Are you sure?"

"Niko, I would do anything for you. And if you need to not tell your dad, then I'll back your plan. Okay?"

"Okay." I don't know what I did to deserve the amazing man sitting next to me, but I vow to cherish him as much as I can. The fact he's always so willing to do what I need? It means the world to me. I snatch a strawberry off the plate, taking a bite then holding it out for King. As expected, he sucks the rest of the strawberry into his mouth. Next, he gently takes my hand. He pokes his tongue out, licking at my fingers. He sets his eyes on mine, neither of us looking away as he licks and sucks all the strawberry juice off my hand.

"Fuck, that's so hot." I moan, shoving my fingers back into his mouth once they're clean. Chuckling, he licks them again, even though there's no more juice on them.

"How did I do for our first date?"

"Perfect. I can't imagine anything more perfect."

"Good."

We pack up the basket, then King lies down on the blanket, and I cuddle in next to him. The overcast night covers most of the stars, but a few shine through.

"This place is really beautiful," I tell him, staring up at the night sky. Creelin always seems so big, but gazing at the galaxies, it puts into perspective that we’re actually so small. Creelin U opening up their doors to the outside world has definitely changed my life. For the better.

“Do you see the patch of stars right there?” King asks, pointing to a group of stars off in the distance.

“I think so.”

“That one right there is Orion. It’s called the Hunter.”

“Wow,” I murmur. “How do you know about constellations?”

“Back home, we lived out in a rural area where there aren’t a ton of city lights. It’s easy to see the different stars. It’s something my mom used to teach me growing up.”

“I love that. Your mom sounds pretty amazing.”

“She really is. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

“Me either,” I whisper, a lump in my throat. I would love to meet his family; I can only hope they are as welcoming as King.

"This is going to be our place. We're going to make it a point to come up here all the time. Deal?"

"Deal," I agree with him. Resting my head on his chest, I listen to the beat of his heart, knowing without a doubt I'm falling in love with him. And I don't plan to stop.