Page 77 of Level Up

I shot up, my head snapping in his direction. “We?”

“Yeah, we.”

“Are you sleep-talking or something? You know you aren’t dreaming anymore.”

“I know, that’s why your kisses on my stomach made me leak.”

I glanced at his still-stiff cock. Precum pearled at the tip. His cock gave a jump, the precum stretching out from his belly to the head of his cock.

My mouth already started to water. The sight of him getting wet almost made me forget about what had shocked me in the first place. I faced his other head, the one who clearly must have lost his mind.

“Seriously, though? You want to come? News reporters are going to be there, and it’s being filmed for social media. People are going to know.” I took a breath. “And by people, I mean your dad.”

“I do. You’ve really inspired me. More than anyone else ever has. And I’m fine if my dad finds out. He already knows I don’t stand for what he does. If he sees it on camera, maybe he can realize I’m not joking.”

My heart swelled, my emotions overflowing. “I love you so damn much.”

He winked at me and grabbed his morning wood in a tight fist. “Prove it. Do another split.”

“We don’t have time,” I said, slightly disappointed I didn’t have the ability to freeze this moment for us. “It’s an hour’s drive back, and I have to help Maddy start setting up around lunchtime.”

“Let’s head out, then,” Ryan said without hesitating. “Let’s go save a beach.”

We drove back to the FU campus and made it with enough time to take another shower (together) and reach the beach right as Maddy was arriving. She carried a big box of supplies toward our meeting spot. Colton dragged a large cart overflowing with more things. They’d only been dating a short amount of time but were apparently already developing a dual outfit style, matching each other in slightly different light blue shirts and white shorts.

“Hellllloooo,” I said, running over to help grab the box from Maddy’s hands. I had let her know last week that I was going to be at the beach, no matter what. I knew then that I wanted to go to Ryan’s rowing race, and I hoped it would help me face my fears.

I was right. It had. I still wasn’t thrilled to be so close to the ocean, but I wasn’t as fearful or anxious as I thought I’d be.

And I knew that would make my dad proud, which was all I really wanted.

“Thanks, babe,” Maddy said.

“What else is left?”

“The camera stands, waters, and the signs we made. The events people are bringing over the stage with the backdrop.”

Ryan had already started toward the parking lot. “I’ve got it.” He gave Colton a shoulder slap as he walked back, clearly in a great mood.

Hmm, I wonder why.

Soon, more volunteers began to fill the beach, helping with the setup. I said hi to Perry, who was there with Theo, who he introduced as his boyfriend. They were there to help with the drinks, immediately clicking with Maddy who wanted to learn how to make all of Perry’s favorite drinks from Shenanigans. Austin was also there, sans Kindle, with his boyfriend, Dex.

The group kept growing. The drag queens showed up around the same time as the local news reporters did, the fresh ocean breeze keeping all of their layers of makeup looking fresh even though the sun sat high in a cloudless San Luco sky. Blaise was with him, having apparently become good friends with all the queens. The outfits he made for them were incredible. Glimmering stones, different shades of ocean-blue tones, velvety soft fabric that hugged their padded curves.

“Incredible job, Blaise. You all look stunning,” I said, totally taken aback.

Blaise smiled wide, clearly proud of his work. “I wanted to make sure the queens felt like queens.”

I stopped gawking. “You nailed it.”

A crowd began to develop. Bottomless mimosas and hoppy beers were being handed out as music played over two large speakers sitting on either side of the stage. Even our bio TA, Everly, was here… with Professor Sinclair.

Hot.

I looked around at the crowd as I stood next to Maddy, both of us sweating and smiling. “We did it.”

“We did,” Maddy said. She looped an arm through mine and put her head on my shoulder. “You did it. You didn’t have to come to the beach today. We could have handled it, you know?”

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