Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

brENDON

Carter was beyond tired when he got home last night after his dance lesson with Sasha and was extra cuddly when we went to bed. I didn't think much of it until we woke up and he still seems off.

Carter's anxiety has been at an all-time low the past month, but this morning, he's on edge. I'm afraid he's going to try and crawl out of his skin if I don't help him work through whatever is bothering him.

"What's wrong?" I ask as we're eating breakfast.

"Sometimes I really hate that you know me so well," he murmurs around his mouthful of food.

"Deflecting isn't going to stop me," I inform him, and he sighs.

"It's nothing," he mutters, keeping his gaze on the table.

I reach over to grab his hand and give it a squeeze. "It's clearly not nothing. You've got bags under your eyes and you're jittery as hell which only happens when you're anxious. So what's got you out of sorts?"

"Someone left a stupid note on my car last night and for some reason it's throwing me off kilter," he tells me.

"What did the note say?" I check.

I know Carter said it was stupid, but it has to be more than just something silly to have him worked up like this.

"All it said was ‘ stay away from him '," he informs me with a shrug. "I just don't know who ‘ him ' is." He puts air quotes around the word him and I nod along, trying to come up with a response that will help ease his worries.

"Well, you were with Sasha, so they probably meant him, but doesn't everyone know he's with Rio?"

Carter hums. "Yeah that's what we thought at first, too. But for some reason I can't help thinking that someone knows about us and for whatever reason doesn't want me to be with you."

Aww, now I see the real reason for his anxiety.

"Babe, even if someone does know about us they aren't going to keep me away from you," I assure him. "You're the only person I want. It's me and you for life. Nobody else stands a chance."

He sighs, squeezing my hand that is still holding his. "Yes, I know that. I guess I've just been obsessing about people having an issue with our sexuality more than anything, and it didn't occur to me that someone could be pissed that I'm the one who's with you, instead of them. I really shouldn't be surprised though. You've always had a lineup of women wanting to be with you."

"I can't help how anyone else feels or what they want. I only care about how we feel," I respond, hating that he's feeling insecure at this moment. "All I can do is continue to show you how much I love you. I'm sorry the note bothered you, but I promise you, you are the only person for me. I don't have eyes for anyone but you."

A small smile slowly spreads across Carter's lips, and he nods. "Deep down I know that. I guess I just let my insecurities get the best of me. I trust you, Brendon, and know that you love me just as much as I love you, and I'm sorry for letting those stupid words get in my head."

"It's okay to feel like that as long as you don't keep it to yourself. Let me be there for you. Let me help you work through those feelings when they come up, because they'll probably come up again. I want to be your rock, and I don't ever want you to think I don't care about your feelings."

Carter beams at me before scooting his chair closer so he can lean in for a kiss. "I don't know what I did to earn a man like you, but I'm glad you're mine," he whispers against my lips.

"I'm yours, and you're mine," I tell him before sealing my lips to his.

We melt into each other and although the kiss starts off innocent, it quickly turns heated. My body is desperate to show him that he's the only person who can turn me on like this.

I lick the seam of his lips and smile as he lets me in. His tongue immediately meets mine allowing the two to dance together. Needy moans rumble up both our throats as I pull Carter out of his chair, making him straddle me.

"Jesus!" Artie shouts, stopping us in our tracks. "Seriously, guys! No fucking in the kitchen," he grumbles stomping toward the cupboard to grab a cup and fill it with water.

"Sorry," Carter and I murmur at the same time as we untangle from each other.

"Are you really sorry?" Artie asks lifting a brow at us to show he doesn't believe our bullshit.

"I mean, I'm sorry you saw it," I add, making Artie roll his eyes and Carter blush.

"It's going to be a long seven months, isn't it?" Artie murmurs with a smirk on his lips.

I'm taking his grin to mean that he's happy for us, even if he doesn't want to see us getting it on, which I totally don't blame him for. I'm not actually an exhibitionist; I just struggle to keep my hands off of Carter, especially when we are in our apartment.

"We'll do better at keeping things PG in shared spaces," Carter tells Artie.

"That's all I ask," Artie replies. "Now, if you two are done dry humping at the kitchen table, would one of you be able to drive me to school?"

I can't help but laugh. "What, you can't drive yourself?" I tease.

He flips me off in response and Carter and I get up from the table at the same time.

"We just have to grab our bags, and we'll be ready to go," Carter tells him as I clean up our dishes.

"Do you mind if we stop for coffee before class?" Carter asks as we're heading to the elevator, yawning at the end of his question.

"I'm sorry you didn't sleep well last night," I say, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

He waves me off and offers me a small smile, but it's clear just how exhausted he is by the dark circles under his eyes. "I'll be fine as long as I can get a large cup of deliciously caffeinated beverage."

"Sleep is healthier," I retort.

"Maybe you can wear me out later, and I'll sleep like a baby," he whispers, but clearly Artie hears it because he groans.

"You two have got it bad," he grumbles.

I shrug. "We do, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Carter beams at me, and I can see the love in his eyes.

"I'm happy for the two of you. It honestly makes so much sense that you two fell for each other. You really are a perfect couple."

I'm glad he sees just how good Carter and I are together.

Hopefully, if there really is someone telling Carter to stay away from me, they'll quickly see that Carter and I are made for each other and will back off. I'm completely off the market, and no matter how badly someone else may want me, they won't be able to have me.

The drive to school isn't long and I park Carter's car near where Artie's class is, which also happens to be near an awesome coffee shop. It means a longer walk for Carter and I but our first class isn't for another hour anyway, so we have lots of time.

Carter opens the door to the coffee shop for us and grimaces. "I'm not sure what I just touched, but I need to wash my hands," he grumbles, wiggling his fingers in disgust. "You know my order," he states before rushing off.

"Hey, B," someone calls out to me as I'm waiting in line.

I turn to find Matais, a classmate who was my assigned partner in one of my courses last year, coming toward me with his too big glasses and a toothy grin.

"Hey, man," I greet him. "How was your summer?"

"It was okay," he responds with a shrug. "Pretty boring, but I appreciate you responding to my texts.

I wave him off. "That's what friends do," I tell him, even though I'd consider him more of an acquaintance than a friend.

If I'm being honest, I probably wouldn't have a clue who Matais is if we didn't have that project together last year. We run in two completely different circles, but he was always so nice to me and he really carried our assignment last year. I felt like the least I could do was try and be friendly with him even after our class was over.

"Anything new going on in your life?" he checks, and my thoughts immediately drift to Carter, but I'm not close enough with Matais to let him in on the secret.

I shrug. "Not a whole hell of a lot. Summer was a blast, and now it's back to the grind."

He nods. "We should hang out sometime," he offers like he's done multiple times, but I always seem to drop the ball because my life is super busy.

Instead of lying to him and saying yes, I decide to go with the truth. "I'd love to, but life is about to get really busy," I tell him before the barista calls on me.

I give her my order and pay before turning back to Matais.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he mutters, frowning and looking at the floor.

"It's nothing against you," I assure him, hating how sad he looks. "I had a blast working on that assignment with you last year, and the memes you send me always make me laugh, but basketball kind of runs my life."

He nods. "Well, if you ever get some free time, hit me up. My number is still the same."

"Sorry, that took so long," Carter says, coming up to stand beside me. "I guess everyone had to take a piss this morning." He pauses when he realizes Matais is there and waves at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to cut off your conversation."

"It's fine," Matais responds in a cooler tone than I'm used to from him.

"Did you put in our order?" Carter checks with me, and I nod.

"Yup. You'll have your stupidly sweet coffee before you know it."

Carter beams at me, and I really wish I could pull him into my arms right now.

Matais clears his throat, making me feel bad that I forgot about him for a moment.

"I should get going," he tells me. "But if you have any free time, text me."

I nod and wave as he walks away.

"Who was that guy?" Carter asks once Matais is out of the building.

"My assignment partner from last year," I remind him.

"Oh, right," he says, putting the pieces together.

I feel like a dick for always blowing off Matais because I know he doesn't have a lot of friends, but my life really is crazy. Working on new friendships isn't something I have the time for.

"Poor guy doesn't have many friends, does he?" Carter checks, and I shake my head.

"I wish I had the time to be his friend because he was super nice to me when we were partners, but I've already got my hands full," I tell him.

"With me, you mean?" he questions in a quiet voice, waggling his brows at me and making me laugh.

"Absolutely! You are more than a handful," I whisper, wishing I could kiss him.

Carter nibbles on his lower lip, and I know he's thinking the same thing.

Thankfully our order is ready at that moment, giving us something to distract ourselves with.

I know we are supposed to be keeping our relationship under wraps at school but that is turning out to be much more of a challenge than I initially thought it would be.