Page 39 of Vexing the Viper

"You were a dick for a reason, and I'm over that. I'd like to think of all the hatred and anger as foreplay leading up to this."

"Oh, it was definitely some weird foreplay thing." Niko yawns loudly, his eyes starting to droop.

"Come on, we have class tomorrow. Let's go to sleep."

"Okay."

Reaching over, I make sure my alarm is set and my phone is plugged in, then gather a sleepy Niko in my arms. His eyes start to drift closed, and I gently rub his back helping him fall asleep. His breathing evens out soon after, but I'm still wide awake. Niko bringing up sex has got me thinking–like the fact we haven't even been on a date yet.

I get it, most guys our age like to hook up and have sex. But I've never been like that. Every person I've ever been sexual with has been someone I was dating. And I don't want to take that next step with Niko until I've at least taken him out.

Deciding to plan a proper date, I settle in, getting ready to go to sleep myself.

A tickle hits my ear and I jerk to the side, opening my eyes. Bo is right in my face, hissing wildly. "Oh, Bo. I have to go to sleep. I have training in the morning."

He hisses again, running into my face.

"Fine. But only for a little bit."

I spend a few more minutes playing around with Bo and giving him some extra love. Once he's had enough, he slithers over to the pillow and falls asleep. Finally, I slowly drift off too.

It's beena few days since I decided to take Niko out on a date. He had to work after class yesterday, so I didn't want to plan for us to do something knowing he would be tired. This morning, before he left for class, I told him not to make plans for after. He peppered me with a million questions, but I'm proud of myself for not giving in. I want to surprise him; I'm just not sure with what yet.

Rushing out of the locker room after practice, I pull out my phone and dial Mateo. The phone starts ringing and I silently pray he'll pick up.

"Hello?" His gruff voice comes on the line followed by, "King? You never call me."

"Hey, are you busy?" I weave in and out of the players, one finger plugging my ear since it's so damn noisy in the hallway.

"Nope. I'm about to head back to the dorm."

Oh, that's perfect. Niko still has class for another hour, so that'll give me time to talk with Mateo. "I'll meet you there. I need your help with something."

"Sounds good. I'll be there in ten." He ends the call, and I look at the screen. I guess Mateo doesn't say goodbye on the phone.

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I walk out of the Athletics Center heading straight for our dorm room. Mateo is Niko's best friend, so he has to know of activities he would want to do. While I’m familiar with some of his likes, I don't want to get anything wrong, especially with it being our first date and all. I want to woo and wow him.

After bypassing the elevator, I rush up the stairs, taking two at a time. I don't know why I’m in such a hurry, other than thefact I really want to talk to Mateo and start planning this as quickly as possible. The guy in question reaches the front door at the same time as me. I lean over, out of breath from taking the stairs.

Mateo looks over my shoulder, eyeing the entrance to the stairwell. "Did you... did you run up all those damn flights of stairs?"

Resting my hands on my knees, I huff loudly. "Yeah, I probably didn't need to do that. But, whatever, it's too late now."

Mateo chuckles while walking into our room, me slowly following behind him. "So, what's up? What did you need help with?"

"Well," Damn it. Now that I'm here, I didn't think this through. What if Niko hasn't told him anything about us? We did previously say something about keeping it a secret. Was it just a secret from his dad? Or was it a secret from everyone? Well, fuck. Now I don't know what to do.

"Is this about you and Niko?"

"What about me and Niko?" I say slowly, wondering what he knows and if he's going to tell me.

He rolls his eyes walking further into the room. "I do have eyes and ears. Plus, you sleeping in his room the past few nights sure wasn't because you guys were studying, I know that much. And the hickey. One day you don't have it, then you come out the next morning with it."

Slapping my hand to my throat, I groan, closing my eyes. I forgot about the damn hickey. My mind flickers to when Niko was sucking me like a Vampire who was dying of thirst. Oh god, I could only imagine if he was a Vampire. He had latched on tightly and didn't want to let up. And honestly, I didn't want him to stop either. My neck is one of my erogenous zones, and I would have been fine if he sucked on me all night.

I shrug, looking at Mateo. "Okay, well, since you already know, then I'm glad I came to you. But, uh, sorry for any noises you might have heard. I'll keep it down."

"It's cool, I just put on my headphones. Nothing a little rap music can't cure."

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