Page 85 of Beautifully Conflicted

He turns his head, blindly since his eyes are more than halfway shut with exhaustion, and somehow I just know he’s seeking my lips. I leanforward and press my mouth to his, lingering there as we just breathe each other’s air.

Hours later, when something startles me from a deep sleep, our mouths are still touching, and I realize the kiss never ended.

Bennet

Fucking finance. It’s a good major, but I’m so over math right now. Mainly, because it’s standing in the way of an evening with Damien, something I’m quickly becoming addicted to.

We don’t get all that many since my roommates would notice if I never spent any time here, but Thursdays are when Cruz and Liam have a weekly date night, and Cameron and Jagger have a late lab. That only leaves Aiden to dodge, and I can usually come up with a plausible excuse not to be home.

Except when the professor assigns an ungodly amount of homework.

I’m halfway out of my coat by the time I open the front door, as if the extra ten seconds that’ll gain me will make a dent in the hours I’ll be hunched over my desk. Still, I feel better trying to maximize every one of those seconds so I can get to Damien’s sooner.

It’s pathetic really, this urge to be close to him all the time, but he excites me in a way no one else does. And I don’t mean the sex kind of excitement, although that’s a bonus, I mean an overall sense of exhilaration that I haven’t experienced around anyone else. It makes me want to spend as much time with him as possible.

I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’m not sure I care either.

My plan gets thwarted when I find him standing right inside my door, zipping up his coat. “Whoa, what are you doing here?”

The way his eyes light up have me biting my lip to keep it from spreading into a goofy grin as I take him in. Full, kissable lips. Hair partially obscuring his bright brown eyes. Puffy coat fastened to his chin and making him look as squishable as the marshmallow man.

Damien hooks a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the living room. “Aiden and I were watching a film for class, then he got a call from his mom and said it might be a while, so I was going to head home.”

“Yeah, she’s a talker. Is that all you have for homework? Film.” I start to reach for him but pause before I can make contact, remembering that we aren’t alone.

“Tonight, yeah. You?”

“I’ve got four pages of math that’ll probably take me at least two hours.” I slouch against the wall with a heavy sigh. “And that’s on top of economics. Is ten too late?” My voice drops as I glance around to make sure Aiden isn’t in sight.

“You’ve got a key for a reason.” Damien pulls a beanie from his pocket and tugs it over his head, pressing his hair down so it frames his face in that way I find irresistible.

I don’t even think, I just react, reaching for Damien’s coat and pulling him to me so I can get my lips on his.

“What’s this for?” He sighs into my mouth, returning the kiss.

“You’re sexy as fuck in this hat.” The fingers of my right hand toy with the strands of hair sticking out near his ear.

“You complain about this hat every time I wear it during workouts.”

“Because you look sexy as fuck in it and running with a boner is torture.” I nip at his bottom lip before pulling it into my mouth.

“But you’re gonna force me to walk home with one?” His tongue licks against mine.

“I’ll take care of it later.” I push my way into his mouth one last time before giving him a slow, sweet peck on the lips. Then I smack his ass. “Get out of here so I can start my homework.”

“Later.” He gets the last kiss—this time—and jogs out the front door while I stand there, mesmerized by how he moves, with a dopey smile on my face. One that’s too big to hide when I finally spin around and find Aiden watching me from the living room. “Oh, uh. Hey.” I rub the back of my neck nervously, wondering if there’s any chance he didn’t just see that.

Aiden just gapes at me, blinking. “Are you…bi?”

Well, fuck.

“Apparently?” I decide against lying to my closest friend, who wouldn’t lie to me if our roles were reversed. Hell, he’d have probably already put me in the loop.

“Since when?”

“Since my dick decided to take an interest in that fucker.” I jerk my head to the door Damien just ran out of.

“I thought you hated him?”

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