Page 75 of Ricochet

“It’s not about me,” he says, speaking with a little more gravity. “But I’m happy foryou, Cal.”

It feels a little strange to be able to say that I’m happy too.

“Thanks, man.”

That mischievous twinkle returns to his eyes, and he waggles his eyebrows. “Wanna share anything else with me?”

Laughing, I shove him in the shoulder. “Absolutely not.”

“Fine, fine.” He laughs too as he stands, going back for his coffee. “Don’t you have a game tonight?”

“Yeah. I should get ready for morning practice.”

I groan as I get off the couch, feeling a little sore everywhere. Whether it’s from getting fucked or stuffed into a trunk last night, I’m not sure.

At least that should make the game tonight interesting.

We won both our gamesthe weekend after Callum and I shared our secrets with each other. We shared a lot more than that, but I think it was the secrets that had us playing better than ever.

And this past weekend, we won two more.

The team’s spirits are high, but I doubt they’re as high as mine and Callum’s.

He’s stayed with me a few nights over the past couple weeks when one of us isn’t completely drowning in coursework. Those are my favorite nights. When he’s tucked into my bed, curled into my side.

It takes a hell of a lot of self-control not to call him mine when he’s awake.

When he’s sleeping is a different story.

He’s woken me up a couple of times by muttering in his sleep or squirming beneath the sheets. I wasn’t surprised to discover he has nightmares. I’d simply pull him closer to me andwhisper in his ear that he was safe, and that seemed to calm him. I haven’t brought it up to him during the day.

I also still haven’t told him that I killed his stepdad.

I’m fucking terrified, alright?

I finally have him all to myself, and I’m not willing to risk losing him. My mind has convinced me there’s at least a fifty-fifty chance of that. Sure, Lewis Gibson was an awful excuse for a human being, but after I killed him, Callum was forced to leave his home and his friends and move to a completely different state. Maybe he won’t be as grateful as I hope.

I know I have to tell him one day, but it can wait.

Maybe when he’s finally ready to admit he’s mine.

With every orgasm I wrench out of him, I swear it brings him closer.

He decided to stay at his apartment last night because he had a paper to finish. We’ve attempted to do schoolwork at my place together, but we quickly learned that’s not going to work. His body is too damn distracting. And he’s no better. He’ll half-heartedly try to fight me off, but if he doesn’t use his safe word, I don’t stop. Because he doesn’t really want me to.

I still go slow with him. I’m still more gentle than what I know he could handle. He’s lashed out about it, but I’ve told him he has to let me learn his body and his limits.

Besides, he wasn’t complaining the night I mapped his entire body with my tongue.

I haven’t seen him today yet, and it’s making me a little antsy that I made it to our lab before him considering he’s typically the first to arrive to class. I’m just about to text him when he finally shows up. I hate that my instinct was right.

There are dark circles under his eyes, and his hair’s a little messier than usual. He yawns as he sits on the stool next to mine.

“Did you not sleep last night?” I ask, trying and failing to keep the concern out of my voice. I know he doesn’t like it, but I’m too fucking protective to be able to help it.

“I did. Just stayed up late to finish my paper.”

I can tell he’s not giving me the whole truth by the way he avoids my gaze as he takes his lab manual out of his bag.

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