Page 13 of Matched By My Rival
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Friday night, I passed on hanging with the guys, wanting to be rested for an early morning at House Pledge. It was a house rehab program, so I knew there’d probably be some labor involved. That didn’t faze me much. If I could handle football, I could handle a little construction work.
What did faze me was the possibility of seeing Simon Prentiss.
I’d signed up on impulse, wanting to make things right between us. But Darnell’s reaction had unsettled me. We’d never been super close, Double D and me, not like he was with Simon. But we were teammates and dorm neighbors, and I didn’t think he’d steer me wrong. If anyone knew how Simon would react, it was him.
I figured I’d better be braced for anything to happen—even another fist to the face. So instead of drinking and waking up hungover, I settled in early with one of my favorite movies,Groundhog Day.It drove my mom crazy that I enjoyed watching a movie that repeated the same day over and over again—but there was something comforting about that. I wouldn’t mind going back to one day in particular and re-doing it. Maybe find a better outcome for everyone involved. Besides, Mom had no room to talk after watchingSophie’s Choice. At least my movie wasn’t depressing as fuck.
While the movie played, I scrolled social media and returned texts from friends. I was on a group chat with some of the guys, and they were hyped up since it was a Friday night and they were guaranteed a morning to sleep in—unlike me, since I was a glutton for punishment.
It also annoyed Mom to watch me multi-task like this, but hey, it was a skill. If I could watch a movie, talk to friends, and catch up on the latest Reddit post, more power to me, right?
In that spirit, I added the Thrust app to the mix. I had no intention of hooking up tonight, but it’d been a while since I’d checked it. With my need to stay on the DL, I couldn’t exactly jump at the first offer that came my way. But at least the app gave me the opportunity to flirt a little. Maybe exchange some pics (no face, of course) or sext now and then. It wasn’t much, wasn’t enough, and eventually I’d try to find a discreet guy. There were always guys who wanted to be as anonymous as I did, but as a recognizable sports star on campus I had to be extra cautious.
My app was jammed with match requests, along with a few messages from guys I’d approached first. ExtraTopping, a beefy guy with a cute grin and dimples; xxbottomsupxx, a slimmer guy with gorgeous ivory skin set off by dark hair; and BiCuriousStud, a more built version of the last guy. Oh yeah, I liked him. He hadn’t included his face in the pic, but I could tell from his skin tone and the hair that trailed down from his navel into an elastic waistband that he also had dark hair. I definitely had a type.
This last guy intrigued me. His photos were sort of crappy, like he wasn’t practiced at taking sexy selfies. The lighting was dim, but the man was fit. This being a college town, there were plenty of young, hot guys—but not many with this level of muscle definition. He hit the gym a lot, maybe was an athlete too. He was a man of few words in his profile, saying he liked to stay active but worked too much to date.
I opened the message he’d sent after agreeing to my match.
Liked your profile. You sound like me.
Hmm. Interesting. My profile had mentioned I was busy as hell, so he could mean that. Or he could mean that he wanted to remain discreet. Which would greatly improve my shot at actually taking this offline.
I slid into his DMs.
Are you a narcissist?
Two seconds after I sent it, I wished I could snatch it back. What if he took me seriously and blocked me for being an asshole. I quickly added:You said you liked my profile because I sound like you... sorry haha.
BiCuriousStud:You’re a charmer.
HotPan22:Bad joke. Sorry. One of my charms?
BiCuriousStud:Well, it’s a step above wanna trade dick pics, I’ll give you that.
HotPan22:There goes my pickup line.
There was a long enough pause I had to wonder if he got my humor. Something got lost in translation with texting. Despite exchanging only a few words, I didn’t want to fuck it up before we even got started. There was something about his acerbic delivery I liked.
Before I could rush out another comment to clarify I was kidding, a message from him came through.
BiCuriousStud:To answer your question, I might be vain, but I’ve got zero desire to fuck myself.
HotPan22:Really? I quite enjoy a good self-pleasure session ;)
BiCuriousStud:It’s more a necessity of life at this point. Gotta get to sleep somehow.
HotPan22:That’s sad. Sounds like you need some excitement in your life.
I exhaled in relief. There we go. Better. Smiling to myself, warming up to the flirty banter, my thumbs flew over the screen. I was invested now. I felt a little flutter in my gut, a warmth that suffused my body.
I’d always loved flirting. There was something about flirting online that was nth level though. You couldn’t rely on your looks or your body language. It was all in the words, your wit, and there was a fun challenge in that.
BiCuriousStud:This where you ask to see my dick?
HotPan22:I’m not opposed...
