Chapter 22

Arsen

“An aquarium?”Matthew asked, staring through the windshield spattered with rain.

I picked him up for our date right at five and drove us forty-five minutes outside of Westbrook. He asked me where we were going once, and when I told him it was a surprise, he pouted in the passenger seat like the princess he was. Frankly, I found it adorable.

Following his gaze, I stared at the building nearby. “The giant fish on the door gave it away, huh?” I teased.

The windshield wipers swiped the rain off the glass as he turned his eyes to me. “I didn’t know there was an aquarium around here.”

“It’s far enough off campus that most people probably don’t.”

“But you do.”

I shrugged. “I grew up in Virginia. I have the inside scoop.” I also had the internet and a boyfriend I really wanted to impress.

“This is where you’re bringing me for a date?” he asked, glancing back at the place once more.

“You like water. You’re kinda like a fish,” I told him, making his lips twitch. “It’s quiet too.”

As he sank his teeth into his lower lip, his smile vanished. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

He made a sound. “This doesn’t really seem like your kind of place.”

“Baby, any place you’re at is my kind of place.”

His fingers tangled in the bracelets around his wrist.

“Hey,” I said, the sound of the rain hitting the roof nearly drowning out my voice. Grasping his chin, I pushed up his face so I could see him. “I want to be here with you. There is nowhere else I’d rather be. I want to hold your hand and walk around in the low lighting, push you into darkened corners, and kiss you. Maybe this isn’t my kind of place, but it seems like it could be our kind of place.”

“You’re good at being a boyfriend,” he whispered.

I laughed, but inside, my heart swelled, putting pressure on my ribcage. “Does that mean you want to go inside?”

He nodded.

Reaching behind him, I tugged the hood lying against his shoulders up over his head to help conceal him from the rain.

Since the black denim jacket I wore didn’t have a hood, I reached behind the driver’s seat for the black baseball hat I kept there and pulled it low over my forehead.

“Ready?” I asked, looking back at him.

He was watching me from beneath the hood, his face shadowed, but not even the shadows could conceal the glittering intensity with which he stared.

“Matthew?”

He leaned forward, angling so he fit beneath the brim of the hat. His lips brushed over mine softly at first, lifting enough for our eyes to connect. My stomach fluttered, and the air around us crackled as we stared at each other for several silent beats. And then his face dipped again, a lingering kiss that had us drowning in each other as the outside world drowned in the heavy rain.

Intimacy enclosed us, the interior of the car growing warm as our lips met again and again, our passion a secret kept by the concealment of our clothes. Pushing inside his hood, my fingers grazed across the sensitive skin of his neck, making him lean even closer.

Somewhere across the parking lot, a car alarm wailed, and he stiffened. Instead of pulling back abruptly, I gentled the kiss until our lips parted.

His eyes were hazy, breathing choppy, and his hair flopped over his forehead. The urge to cancel this entire date and push him into the back seat to have my way with him right there in the rainy lot crossed my mind.

Then crossed it again.

“Think they have an octopus?” he asked, voice husky.

I laughed. “How about we go find out?”

We sprinted through the rain, splashing onto the sidewalk, and I held the door so he could go inside. It always seemed to catch him off guard, so I always made a point to do it. He pushed back his hood, running a hand through his soft, dark hair, already completely distracted by a huge cylinder-shaped aquarium reaching all the way to the ceiling.

He walked toward it, staring at the massive shapes of bright coral, crystalline water, and colorful fish swimming around.

Pulling the hat off my head, I fastened it to one of the belt loops on my black jeans and went to the counter to purchase two tickets.

When I was done, he was still standing there staring at the display.

“Never thought I’d be jealous of fish,” I said, pocketing my wallet and approaching with the tickets.

He glanced at me, a lopsided smile transforming his face. “Don’t worry, bear. You’re the only one I want to kiss.”

“I better be,” I intoned, placing my hand on the small of his back and guiding him toward the attendant taking tickets.

Once we were admitted, his hand threaded through mine, and he tugged me toward a section labeled Ocean Wonders. The overhead lighting was low, all the attention on the large built-in tanks bursting with life found in the sea.

“Look at those,” Matthew said, pointing to a display labeled for seahorses. He leaned in, studying the habitat, then made a sound. “There,” he said, pressing a finger to the glass. “He’s there. They blend in so well it’s hard to find them.”

I leaned in, using it as an excuse to brush my chin along his shoulder. “There’s another one,” I said, keeping my voice quiet while pointing.

He said nothing, but his body shifted into mine, and I looped an arm around his waist. He pointed to another and another. “They swim so slow,” he murmured.

I laughed lightly. “Not like you.”

“I’m not the fastest on the team.”

“Does it matter?” I asked.

“Nah,” he answered, watching the seahorse undulate its dorsal fins. “It’s not really about the competition for me. I just like being in the water.” Thinking he said something wrong, he turned his face from the tank to look at me. “But I still try my best. I wouldn’t drag down the team with shitty effort.”

“I know, baby.”

His eyes averted. He moved away but kept hold of my hand. “Hey, it’s Nemo,” he said, pointing out a tank with clownfish. “That’s what Max calls Wes.”

“Nemo?”

“Yeah.”

We wandered through the entire exhibit, spending extra time at the octopus habitat, and then through the penguin habitat. The penguins were cute, but they seemed to bother Matthew, and when I asked why, he said it made him sad they were trapped behind the glass with so little space to explore.

His heart was so big, and the more of it I saw, the more I loved. It also made me that much more primed to protect him.

Because it was a Monday evening, the aquarium wasn’t crowded, and that made it feel like we had the place to ourselves. It also made it much easier to tug him into shadowed corners and kiss him just like I promised I would.

After petting some manta rays, we washed our hands and took the escalator down to the lower level where we held hands and wandered through an underwater tunnel with massive coral displays, sharks, and other aquatic life swimming overhead.

Partway through Reptile Alley, he slipped his arms around my waist and pursed his lips. Chuckling, I leaned into the sweet invitation and kissed him slowly. Somewhere nearby, a child laughed, and I forced myself back.

“You hungry?” I rasped.

“Starving.”

“There’s a restaurant in here somewhere. The walls are all made of glass so we can watch the fish while we eat.”

“That’s not the kind of hungry I meant,” he said, stare dropping back to my mouth.

Pressing against him, I wrapped my hand lightly around the front of his throat. “Don’t you worry, princess. I’ll make sure you’re fed.” I nipped his lower lip. “In every way.”

I sat beside him in the booth at dinner, and he hooked his arm through mine, resting his head on my shoulder as we watched fish float past the table. When our burgers and fries came, he ate the fries off my plate and ignored his.

I asked him what was wrong with his, and he just shrugged and said mine tasted better. Apparently, the same must have been true for my soda because he drank that too.

I didn’t know how to love someone this much. It overwhelmed me in ways I hadn’t ever expected, and I had no choice but to yield.

“Are you gonna help me eat this?” he grumped, making me glance down at the half-eaten slice of chocolate cheesecake I’d ordered him.

“Seems like you’re doing just fine with it on your own,” I teased. Clearly, Matthew had a weakness for chocolate.

And I have a weakness for him.

A fork filled with the sweet dessert bumped against my lips. “Take a bite, bear.”

I opened instantly and held his stare as he fed me.

“Good, right?” he asked, watching me eat.

I hummed an agreement and took the fork so I could reciprocate. “Open up, princess.”

Something inside me growled in pleasure, watching him eat as I fed him, and when the last bite was gone, the sexual tension between us was nearly unbearable. My dick pressed uncomfortably against the fly of my jeans.

“You ready to get out of here?” I asked.

He nodded.

I motioned to the server that I was ready for the bill and then handed my card over without looking when she brought it.

In my jacket pocket, my phone went off, and I quickly grabbed it so I could silence the ringer. Right after I rejected the call, the stupid thing lit up in my hand again. Eli’s name flashed on the screen.

“Who’s that?” Matthew asked, glancing at the incoming call.

“My friend Elijah.”

“He must need something.”

“He can wait,” I said, rejecting the call for the second time.

“You could have answered it,” Matthew told me.

“I know that, but I’m with you right now.”

The screen lit up for a third time. I groaned.

“Answer it.” He encouraged me.

Accepting the call, I held it up to my ear. “This better be good.”

“It’s not good. That’s why I keep calling,” Eli replied instantly. The noise in the background was loud, and his voice was muffled.

“What’s wrong?”

“One of my speakers blew, and I’m literally supposed to start playing in five.”

“Where’s your backup?” I asked.

He was silent.

I made a rude sound. “You never got it back when you loaned it out, did you?”

“You were right, okay? I never should have loaned it.”

“I take no joy in your stupidity,” I told him.

“I need a speaker, Arsen.”

I sighed. “I’m busy.”

“Too busy for a friend in need?”

“You wouldn’t be in need if you listened to me in the first place.”

Eli said something, but I didn’t hear because Matthew touched my arm. “What’s the matter?”

“He blew a speaker and wants to use mine,” I answered. Then into the phone, I said, “But I’m busy.”

“Who are you talking to?” Eli asked. “Are you with a guy?”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No!” Eli yelled. “Wait.”

Matthew heard him, and the corner of his mouth lifted. “He sounds desperate.”

“I am!” Eli yelled.

“You should help him,” Matthew told me.

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll bring you mine.”

Eli started profusely thanking me, but I talked over him.

“But I’m forty-five minutes out. So you’ll have to make do until I get there.”

“That’s okay. The party won’t really get started until then anyway.”

“You owe me. Where are you?”

He was silent a beat. Then, “Psi Zeta.”

I laughed. “Yeah. You owe me.”

“They pay good!” He defended his shitty choice.

“I’ll be there when I can,” I said, then disconnected the call, set the ring to silent, and shoved it in my pocket.

“Your friend is a DJ?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah,” I answered.

The server appeared to give back my card, and I scrawled my signature on the receipt.

Before sliding out of the booth, I turned to him. “Sorry for interrupting our date.”

“It’s okay.”

It really wasn’t, though. Leaning in, I pressed my forehead against his. “I wasn’t done with you yet.”

“Who said you had to be?”

I drew back. “You wanna come with?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

I considered it. “It’s at Psi Zeta. Those guys can be giant dicks.”

Matthew turned smug. “I’m Elite.”

I laughed. “And nobody messes with Elite?”

“I don’t make the rules.”

Still laughing, I stood out of the booth, and once he was behind me, I turned, palming his hip. “Elite or not, nobody will mess with you. Know why?”

He shook his head.

I leaned in, consuming his personal space. “Because you’re mine.”