Page 2 of Bend Him, Break Him
“Whoops.” Leon loudly shushed himself. “We’re so sorry.”
“Whatever.” Isaac’s glare hung on Leon for a moment but quickly found its way back to Colton as it always did. “It’s just some students should probably focus more on the lecture since their grades are borderline, and they’ve already failed the course.”
Colton glared, ignoring the wheezing laughter coming from Leon and the other members, who also ‘oooooed’ at the cutting comment. Considering Isaac spent most of their time together on his knees, he sure did like riding Colton’s ass every chance he had, reminding him how much power he had over Colton’s academic standing.
“Take a hint and ride someone else’s dick during class,” Colton snapped, glaring back at Isaac in equal measure.
Isaac’s eyes widened in shock, the sharp blue glossing over slightly. The sharpness of Colton’s attitude twisted his stomach in knots, leaving him remorseful but unwilling to show it.
Leon’s lewd gagging and gurgling noises only added to the tension until, finally, Isaac abandoned the baseball team and returned to the front of the auditorium. While Leon—or anyone for that matter—didn’t have an inkling of a clue about Colton’s history with Isaac, he did have a knack for making folks uncomfortable with his constant belligerent behavior. Something Colton greatly accepted from Leon right now to get Isaac off his back.
It was hard enough for Colton to give a fuck about classes, but when the dude who literally embodied all of Colton’s shame waltzed about the classroom of three hundred-plus students with his piercing blue eyes locked onto Colton, it made it impossible to focus.
Every part of Colton wanted to drop the course, but his academic probation prohibited him from such things. He’d already bombed the class last year, bombed a few classes, honestly. He couldn’t afford to fail any courses this year. Switching his schedule would’ve been preferable, but his athletic schedule made it damn near impossible to find courses that fit together.
Ultimately, Colton had to suffer the guilt of his high school hookup’s icy stare every time they crossed paths. His hate was more deeply rooted than screwing around, though, and Colton knew that. He’d mocked Isaac for years, teased him relentlessly, then used him for his own experimental pleasures, and finally broke him to save his reputation.
Christ, he would never live down what happened between them, no matter what he did to make amends. Not that Colton had tried an apology. How would someone even begin to apologize for half the things he did to Isaac? For what he caused? For what he instigated? Allowed? Used to shield his own secrets?
And it wasn’t like Isaac was searching for an apology. No, he was a vindictive, spiteful prick who had it out for Colton.
Colton had barely maintained a C minus the entirety of the semester, thanks to Isaac’s harsh grading. And he knew it was Isaac who graded all his work even if the professor said all her TAs impartially graded the papers, blindly picking from the stacks and often not even checking names when running through work. That minus was below academic standards, and if he didn’t remove it, Colton would be in breach of his probation.
Given all his other faults, other incidents, he knew the disciplinary panel wouldn’t care for his excuses. He’d had too many already from the on-campus drinking tickets, the fighting, and the possible-sort-of-maybe-just-a-little-bit-of hazing that happened to some of the more unfortunate freshmen last year. Colton didn’t feel culpable for that incident. He either joined the team in their playful targeting, or he would’ve ended up a target. He swallowed hard at that, reminded of using a similar excuse when it came to Isaac.
This was why he needed his final paper to be perfect. Scrolling through his computer, he let his eyes gloss over a folder holding the file that’d save his ass this semester. Thankfully, he’d found a perfect essay. Not an easy feat since he already had a plagiarism scare last year, part of what put him on academic probation.
But it just so happened that this final exam essay involved career research, and his cousin had a similar one from his senior year. Colton couldn’t use his own senior year career essay since he bullshitted the entirety of it and everything senior year after getting his acceptance letters. His cousin’s essay was strong, though, even with Isaac’s asshole grading scale, Colton knew he could challenge the harsh scoring if it dropped his class grade. And the essay wasn’t floating around online, so Colton didn’t have to worry about plagiarism.
Colton could breathe easy once the fall semester ended. He’d keep his grades above the C average he was required, knock out this minus currently holding him back, and go into the spring semester ready to finish strong. Once this class ended, it’d be a breeze to finish out the spring semester on a high note, passing his courses and getting off academic probation once and for all.
Chapter Two
DidIsaac glare at Colton and the baseball team for the remainder of the lecture? Yes. Did he realize it was spiteful and unproductive? Absolutely. Did he give a fuck? Nope.
Isaac tried his hardest to endure Colton’s presence. But it was difficult to tolerate the guy who made life worth living while simultaneously ruining it. When Isaac escaped their small, conservative town of Straight Arrow, he hoped to move past the ironic homophobia. But then Colton had to choose to attend the same college. Of all the schools in the world, Colton’s decision felt blatantly intentional, even if no one knew where Isaac had fled. Every time he saw the budding baseball pro, Isaac struggled with the feelings that still lingered deep in his core.
When class came to an end, Isaac handed in some late papers to Professor Howard, turning on his heel to leave beforeshe could complain. There was a lot about Professor Howard he enjoyed, but her incessant requirement for punctuality on assignments wasn’t one of them. He intended to skirt her questions and dodge her accusations about the papers until she broke down and put the scores into her gradebook.
If she pressed too hard, Isaac would lie and say he fell behind on his grading goals instead of admitting the students failed to meet the absurd mandated deadlines. It was easier for Isaac to take the blame on the assignments, which never hurt his standing as a TA. The problem was that Howard didn’t fuck around when it came to grading, clawing her way from an adjunct professor to head of the department. Part of that came with a need to be ruthless, which Isaac normally respected; hence, the appeal to major in English and embrace his love for literature. Well, double major since he knew there was literally zero profit when it came to reading and writing, so he needed a real degree if he wanted cash flow after his grant money dried up.
The moment Isaac stepped outside the classroom, he nearly bumped into Colton, who lingered near the doorway at a table that wasn’t supposed to be there.
Isaac glared at the green-eyed, black-haired, chiseled jock who stood there looking annoyingly gorgeous with his perfectly tan skin, sharp features, muscular body, and perfectly fitting hoodie and tight jeans despite also appearing frumpy. How could someone be this hot in a wrinkled outfit that looked like they’d just tossed on?
“Excuse you!” Isaac glared.
“You’re excused, sweetie.” Mina snapped her fingers from behind the unsanctioned table and waved Isaac off before handing Colton a flyer to the GSA club meetings.
Mina’s dark brown skin popped, complimented by her baggy sky-blue blouse that hung off her shoulders and exposed her stomach. Her unrelenting bright, white smile matched the walls where she’d posted up to promote the queer club. When a few guys paused, Mina leaned forward, encouraging them to linger as she passed out flyers. Her makeup was perfectly composed, matching her shirt and complementing the starry night polish of her nails she’d gone with this month.
Beside Mina, Jazz did her best to ensure every single student who exited the auditorium had a flyer for the next GSA club meeting. It wasn’t uncommon for the president and vice president of the queer campus club to post up and hand out flyers to draw in a bigger crowd, but they usually set up in more populated areas, not a random English course that happened to have Isaac in attendance.
Jazz wore her very daring ‘I eat CLIT’ hoodie, which had tiny text to make it appropriate if anyone dared question her school spirit for Clinton Lloyd Institute of Technology. ‘I eatatCLITCafé’ was the full text, not that anyone could see the at or café portion, but it worked for her, and the university fed into the clit jokes to up their merchandise sales.
Jazz’s smile filled her entire face, making her chubby cheeks rise high. The only chubby thing on her, in fact, since she was almost as tiny as Mina, despite the fact Jazz dressed in baggy shirts and jeans she needed a belt pulled to the hilt in order to keep them up. Jazz had a bleach blonde buzzcut and a light brown tawny complexion. While she carried herself aggressively, she was butch in aesthetic only, walking around like a goddamn golden retriever in Isaac’s opinion. Jazz struck up three conversations at once in the time Isaac spent gawking at his GSA friends.
Jazz encouraged Isaac to join her at her makeshift booth, where she passed out flyers for the next club meeting. Unfortunately, Jazz had this annoyingly convincing attitude that Isaac hadn’t been able to escape since he met her. Isaac rolled his eyes and locked them on Mina, who brushed her fingers through her long, waist-length box braids, doing her best to appear dainty despite being known for her zero tolerance on bullshit attitude.
