Page 8 of There's No Us Without You
A half-truth.
“And why can’t you touch her?” Will narrows his gaze, the focus of his dark-blue eyes intense.
I know he’s trying to work out my angle.
“Well... for one, she was wearing a wedding dress. And second, Coach said if I stick my dick in one more hole, he’ll bench me.”
Will rubs a hand over his chin and clears his throat. “Well... shit,” he says, his face remaining passive, although there is a hint of humour in his tone.
“It’s not funny, arsehole.” I blow out a breath and scrub a hand over my face. “We have finals coming up, so how the hell am I supposed to get rid of all my pent-up energy now?”
It’s rare I find myself in such a predicament, but I’m royally fucked.
“Hold up,” Will says, squeezing his eyes shut as he rubs his forehead. “Can we unpack the whole ‘wedding dress’ situation for a second? Didn’t think married women were your thing, bro?”
“They aren’t. And she wasn’t—I don’t think.”
“So, you didn’t hit on her?” Will raises an eyebrow, his beer bottle paused halfway to his lips.
“Yes—no.” I rub my eyes, pressing my fingertips in a little too hard. “Maybe. Fucked if I know, man. Honestly, I wish I could stop thinking about her. And now I’m on some bullshit sex-ban. Since when has stopping a guy from having sex ever been a good thing? Doesn’t that lead to murder or some shit?”
Will climbs from the couch. “Wait here,” he says before heading into the kitchen.
When the fridge door opens, the shelves rattle and the sound of glass against glass tells me Will is restocking his hands. As he comes back into the lounge room, he passes me another beer, tapping the neck of his bottle against mine before sitting back on the couch, his legs spread wide.
I spend way too much time eyeing the muscles in his chest and stomach, the ink covering his skin fanning out over his ribs and dipping below the elastic of his shorts. When my focus drops lower, I clear my throat and shake my head before pressing the cold bottle to my lips for a long sip.
I’ve never been into guys before, but I can’t deny that there’s something unspoken happening between us.
Should I ask Will if he can feel it too? Maybe I won’t feel so fucking awkward if he says yes.
Instead, I pick at a loose thread on my dress pants while ignoring the weird feelings racing through me. “Don’t you ever get sick of having someone different all the time?” I say, glancing up.
“No,” Will says, frowning. “Why would you even ask me that?”
“Right.” I shake my head. “I forgot you don’t have a heart.”
“Sure, I do.” A smile creeps onto his handsome face, and he points his beer bottle at me. “I’ve put up with you for this long. Must mean something.”
I scoff, almost choking on my sip of beer. “Please,” I say, patting my chest. “I’m the only one who will deal with your shit attitude, so I think it’s more likeIput up withyou.”
Will shrugs. “Sounds about right. Anyway, what’s so special about this woman besides the fact she was wearing a wedding dress?”
I pick at the label on the bottle, recalling her tears as she sat there alone, even though she tried to hide them. “Her eyes—fuck man, I don’t even know. She was just so... broken.”
Will scrunches up his nose and flinches as though I’ve just slapped him. “Sounds like hard work, not a fun time.”
Why am I even talking to him about this? I knew he wouldn’t understand. If anyone would get it, it’d be Wren or Koby—the other half of our found family. But I can’t ask either of them because they’re both off enjoying their lives, travelling around the world and probably having lots of awesome sex with their girlfriends.
Would Coach change his mind if I had a girlfriend? I could always push my luck and ignore him, but what will I do if it turnsout he’s serious? I’m not willing to play Russian roulette with my career. Or my dick.
“Doesn’t matter anyway,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “We’ll never see each other again.”
Will yawns and leans forward to place his bottle on a coaster on the table. “It’s probably for the best,” he says, before standing to stretch his muscles with a roll of his neck. When he steps up beside me, he places a warm hand on my shoulder, massaging it lightly. “Anyway, I’m heading up... unless there’s something else?”
With a tight smile, I shake my head. “Thanks, man. But I’m good. Night.”
Swiping his tongue over his bottom lip, Will nods once, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze before stalking off, leaving me alone to question everything about my entire fucking existence.
