Chapter Eight

~ Tawson ~

T awson spent Wednesday night wondering if he'd fucked everything up. He'd spilled everything to Victor, more than what he planned to share. He shouldn't have put all of that on him, at such a young age. He was worried that getting involved with him would keep Vic from having fun, from being able to experiment and find who he really was. He was grateful that the only thing he had on Thursday was office hours and then the Queer Club. He would see Vic. His goodnight text had been the only thing that relaxed Tawson enough to even get a little bit of sleep last night.

The club was large, something that surprised Tawson the first week. Daniel was at the first two but now it was his to run solo. Not that he ran the club on his own. They had a whole team of students that were elected to run the club, set up activities, booths, raise money, and so on. He just had to sign off on most of the things. Tawson gave the welcoming speech as everyone settled. He spotted Victor sitting at one of the middle tables with a few other students.

Tawson didn't share much about himself personally. But he explained how he met Daniel, coming out in high school, how he loved to see so many faces in a welcoming environment. He also loved all the different flags that were represented. From gay, lesbian, bi. There was also trans, nonbinary, the all inclusive flag. It was two hours of just love and acceptance. He made his way through the crowds, introducing himself to several of the students that he hadn't met before. He eventually got to the table where Vic sat with three others.

"Good speech up there, Professor Lancaster." Vic greeted him when he stood by the table. He smiled and when no one was looking at him, he winked.

"Thank you," Tawson said. He looked at each of the other students. "I'm glad you could make it tonight."

"This is my first time here," one of the girls said. She didn't look to be taller than five feet, maybe an inch or two over. She had short hair that didn't cover her ears, green eyes.

He stayed and talked to the table for a few minutes. They all introduced themselves and explained how they knew each other. They shared a social studies class and had formed a study group. He finished his rounds while the VP of the club went to the stage to talk a bit. She shared her story and went over the major activities for the semester. They would have a guest speaker in a month and would be looking for volunteers to help man the booth for the Halloween celebration in a couple months. He was a bit hesitant about Halloween. It no longer held the best memories for him.

By the time their two hours were up, Tawson was exhausted. He hadn't slept well and he still had a half hours' drive back home. Vic's words from yesterday popped up into his mind. He could just walk the five minutes to the apartment. He was just about to pull out his phone to text him when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hi," the guy said. He only came up to Tawson's chest. He had platinum blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes. He didn't look like he was old enough to be in college. "I'm Ryan. I'm a Freshman here this year."

"It's nice to meet you, Ryan. I'm glad you could join us today." Tawson slipped his phone back into his pocket, putting his hands in his pockets. He didn't like to cross his arms when he was talking to new people; it made him feel stand-offish. "How are you liking classes so far?"

"They're not bad," he said. "I'm going for a fashion degree."

"Oh, that's awesome!" Tawson smiled. "I have very little fashion sense, but I've been known to watch a runway show or two."

Ryan laughed at the joke and Tawson smiled. They chatted for another minute before Ryan said goodbye. He decided to just go back to the house. He needed to clean up if Vic was coming up tomorrow.

He checked his phone when he got in his car and connected the Bluetooth. He had a text from Vic.

I wish you were staying tonight. Also, I don't like you talking to the other students. I should have all your attention all the time. (PS: you claim you're clingy but you haven't seen anything yet).

The text was accompanied with a picture. It was Vic, already in his apartment, standing in front of the full-length mirror in his bedroom. He was wearing nothing but his sweats and socks. He'd cropped his head out of the picture, something that was smart but also slightly infuriating because Tawson wanted to see his face. Instead of texting him back, he decided to call him.

"Miss me already?" Vic asked when he answered the phone. Tawson rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you're the one that sent me a shirtless pic." He pulled out of his parking spot and started out of the parking lot. "Are you heading to bed?"

"I have some work to do," Vic said with a sigh. "I'll probably give myself an hour before I go to bed. I forgot we have Paxton's first soccer game as a coach tomorrow. So we'll most likely be getting home late."

"Oh yeah, first game of the season. I'll probably go myself and watch it." He pulled out onto the main road. It took him around the front of the campus and through the city for a few miles before hitting the road that led to the outskirts and toward the county road.

Vic stayed on the phone with him the entire drive. They talked about his classes, how the club went, and the plans for this weekend. Vic talked about needing to get some more clothes to bring on campus with him. And that he needed to do some laundry. Tawson suggested that maybe they could go to the laundromat together because he needed to wash some stuff too. He wanted to wash the sheets and blanket.

"Any chance you could put the code in for me to get inside? I don't want to possibly wake anyone." Tawson asked when he pulled off the road and waited for the gate.

"Oh yeah, hold on. I think it'll work from here." A couple seconds later, the gate shifted and he pulled his car forward slowly.

"Thanks, Vic." He pulled in slowly and waited for the gate to close. It had a sensor or something, but it was a habit Tawson started.

"I'm glad you made it home safe," Vic said. He watched to make sure the gate closed fully before continuing toward the fork in the road. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tawson."

"Goodnight, Vic."

He ended the call and drove to his house. The last rays of light had long disappeared. The motion light came on and he made sure to lock the car after grabbing all of his things. He was exhausted but made himself strip and get in the shower. The water helped relax his muscles and mind. The smell of the soap and heat from the steam further unraveled any tension he held. He let the week so far play out in his mind, about Vic and the way they were both so openly trusting of the other.

Their conversation yesterday was hard, but he knew that as much as Vic trusted him, he also trusted Vic. It didn't make any sense. The first day they met, of course he'd found him attractive. He'd been wearing sweats and a school logo shirt with the sides cut out. Vic jumped in without hesitation to help him that Sunday, distracting him and making him laugh. He didn't know how they would make it work, but Tawson knew he wanted to see where this relationship went.

He ran his hands over his face and groaned. The rational side of his brain told him that it wasn't right. Vic was only nineteen and didn't deserve all the baggage that came with Tawson's life. But the other side, the much louder side, said that he hadn't felt like this in a really long time. He craved the touches and the conversations. The way that Vic opened up for him, emotionally and physically. He'd been so responsive when he made him come that first night. Then all the cuddles and the small touches. It was exactly what Tawson needed.

He had another text on his phone when he finally stepped out of the shower. Again, from Vic. Another picture. He really liked to take pictures of himself. He saw the words first this time .

Wearing these tomorrow. Just know that when we see each other.

Tawson's breath caught in his throat. It was a picture of Vic laying in bed. Just his legs and groin. His cock was barely concealed behind the most beautiful pair of white lace underwear. His skin was milky, not getting a lot of sun. But the white fabric still contrasted nicely. The angle was teasing, cock trapped and laying toward his hip. He had to be hard, from the bulge under the fabric. Tawson's own cock started reacting. He flipped back and forth between the two pics while his hand slipped into his boxers.

He felt a little weird doing it, but he turned on his camera and clicked the video option. He didn't take his dick out, but he made it obvious with a low moan what he was doing. He left it at five seconds and sent it back. He closed his eyes and thought of Vic and his request on Wednesday. He wanted that, so bad. He wanted to let those lips wrap around him, to have his cum shoot down Vic's throat, maybe spill a bit at the corners of his mouth.

After everything that happened, he got tested monthly. He was never with anyone, but he became paranoid. Nightmares lasted for weeks. He never got his memory back from that night and it scared him.

His phone dinged and he opened his eyes again. He didn't realize he'd stopped his own hand with the way his thoughts had gone. His erection had flagged, but the new picture had him hardening back up in no time. The underwear was in the same position, but now there was a clear wet spot, drops of cum on Vic's skin.

"Fuck, baby. You're so hot." He whispered the words like Vic could hear them. Knowing that the short video made him come was doing it for him. He'd never been one to sext before but he wasn't opposed. Not if this is how it went. He let himself go, moaning Vic's name over and over. When his orgasm hit, it was intense. His head was pressed tight against the fabric of his briefs, giving extra friction as his cum soaked through the fabric. He felt some of it leak down his cock and over his hand. It was all messy but he couldn't care.

When he composed himself once more, he snapped a final photo and sent it with the tongue emoji. He set his phone down and cleaned himself off in the bathroom. He'd definitely have to do some laundry soon.

The soccer game was wild. Tawson had been to a few football games in the past and some basketball ones, but he'd apparently been missing out for women's soccer. It was an intense game, from what he could tell. Tracy spotted him in the stands and invited him to sit with their group. Everyone was out for Paxton's debut, even Brett, his husband, and their two kids. He started out sitting awkwardly next to Tracy and Zaya but everyone was so into the game, they didn't notice Vic moving stealthily closer to him.

By the time they had half an hour left, they were sitting next to each other, pressed together from hip to toe. They shared a couple of glances, standing with the rest and cheering when needed. It was a close game, but Tawson couldn't care about the details.

They won by one point and their side of the stands went wild.

It was about ten minutes of chaos when he could finally hear Tracy and Patrick talking. "We're going to head out to the restaurant," Patrick was telling the others.

Tracy got his attention. "Do you want to join us?"

"Oh no, it's okay." He glanced over at Vic, around at the rest of the group, and back to Tracy. "I appreciate it but it's been a long week. I think I'm going to lay low tonight."

"Well, be safe driving home," she said. Her eyes darted to Vic. "Both of you. Let me know when you made it."

Tawson froze for a second. He looked at Vic, who didn't appear to be worried that his mom seemed to assume they were both heading home? Vic must have sensed his panic.

"I'm on horse duty," he explained. "Everyone is here, so someone has to go be the responsible one."

Tawson nodded. "Well, how about I follow you home then? I'll need you to let me through the gate anyway."

"Sounds good to me." He turned and hugged his mom and said bye to the rest of the group. Tawson waved bye as well and they headed toward the exit. The soccer field was indoors, which meant it took nearly fifteen minutes of moving through the crowds to get back outside. At one point, Vic had taken Tawson's hand- presumably so they didn't get separated.

"I'm glad I left my car parked on the other side of campus," Vic said once they were finally out of the hub of the crowd.

"You don't have to rub it in. I should have thought about that this morning."

"We could just ride together," Vic offered. "It isn't like I won't be at your place tonight anyway. And we can drive back together Monday morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure I want you stuck in the car with me for at least an hour while we navigate this traffic and getting home?" Vic rolled his eyes as he said it. Tawson laughed at the sarcasm, but let Vic lead the way. "I do need to stop at my apartment and grab some stuff."

By ‘stuff', Vic apparently meant his entire apartment. He mentioned that he would need to go grocery shopping too before Monday. Tawson was hopeful that maybe they could just spend the weekend together under the disguise of running errands. Laundry and grocery shopping sounded so domestic, but he'd take anything to spend more time with Vic. He was helpless. The thought of spending most of the weekend with him was exciting; he hadn't felt like this in a long time.

Happy.

He helped him get his stuff in the trunk of his car and then got in the passenger seat. "I hope you can drive," he said half-jokingly. "I can always drive if you want."

"I'm very good," Vic said with a smirk. His eyes darted down to Tawson's lips and back to his eyes. "At driving, that is."

"You're good at a lot of things, baby." The name came easily to him. He'd let it slip a couple times, but Vic didn't seem to react one way or another. Another thing they should probably talk about.

"Do you want to grab some food on the way home?" Vic asked. "Or do you have food at the house? I'm going to have to feed the horses but I'm already hungry."

"I can make us something to eat," Tawson said. They were off campus now and the traffic was thinning out. He reached over and rested his hand on Vic's inner thigh. Vic was wearing jeans, but that didn't matter to him. The fact that Tawson could openly touch him without the fear of prying eyes was enough. "If you want to drop me off and do what you need to. You can also shower at my house."

"This is going to be the best weekend," Vic said. He took one hand off the steering wheel and dropped it to his lap, lacing their fingers together. Vic lifted Tawson's hand and kissed his knuckles. He'd done that a few times before and Tawson wouldn't lie- he loved the gesture. Vic looked over at him briefly and smiled. "I'm really happy. I just want you to know that. You make me happy."

Tawson returned the smile easily. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Vic's shoulder. He didn't want to distract him too much. "I'm really happy too, Vic."

They spent the rest of the drive to the ranch in mostly silence. Tawson thought that he should feel nervous. But it was nowhere. Vic was amazing. He comforted Tawson when he told him about his past. He hadn't run, hadn't judged or accused him. Vic believed him and promised that they would take it at his pace. When Vic pulled through the gate and stopped to make sure it closed, Tawson decided to act. He held Vic's face in his hands and kissed him.

Hard.

Passionate.

Tawson gave him everything he wanted to say, every emotion he felt when they were together in that kiss. One of them groaned, but he couldn't be sure who. He explored Vic's mouth with his tongue, tasting all of him that he could.

"I really need to go take care of the horses," Vic whined. "But fuck, Tawson. Just wait until I come back."