Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
After he leaves, I get cleaned up and watch some episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race while I work on some homework. Although I don’t know what the fuck I want to do with my life, Mom encouraged me to major in poli-sci. Said it would be the perfect foundation to apply to law school. Her dream is I’ll enter the family business, but I don’t have any intention of following in her path. The life she lives is an exhausting one. As far as I’m concerned, I’m secretly majoring in biology.
As the afternoon rolls around, I get dressed and head out to meet Keith at the Starbucks on campus.
He wears a smile as he greets me, but I know he’s curious as fuck about last night.
“Hey, man,” I say as I sit and set my bookbag on the floor beside my chair.
“Last night was crazy for someone.” He’s obviously not beating around the bush.
“Yes, it was.”
“So…you and Tim?” I can hear the suspicion in his tone. See it all over his expression.
He feels like I’m keeping this from him. Like I was running around with his man behind his back.
“I don’t really know him,” I reply quickly.
“But you just hopped on his motorcycle with him? Come on. What’s the real story, Mark?”
“I talked to him the other day about the shit that he did with you. Told him off about it.”
It’s a half-truth…ish.
“And you became buddies over that?” he asks, his eyebrows pushing together as he struggles to make sense out of what I’m saying.
“No. He just doesn’t like Greg, either, and he was trying to get me out of a bad situation.”
“Did you fuck?”
“No.”
Not after he took me home last night, at least.
God, I wish Keith wasn’t still hung up on Tim. That makes what we’ve done so much more fucking complicated.
“Look,” I say. “I haven’t been like talking to you all this time about what he did to you and then been chatting him up behind your back. That’s all I’m saying. I saw him at a party the other week and again at school briefly. That’s it. He knows about what went down between us. He was trying to help me out last night because I was wasted. That was it.”
His suspicion settles. Although considering how defensive I was about it, I’m sure he must know I’m not being entirely honest right now.
The bead of sweat sliding down my forehead and my warm palms assure me I know I’m doing something wrong by keeping the truth from him, but I can’t tell him we’ve already fucked twice and that I wouldn’t mind doing it again.
And why should I tell him? There isn’t really anything going on between me and Tim. We hooked up, but they aren’t going out, and I didn’t fuck him because I liked him. I fucked him because it felt good.
So fucking good.
“Ok, cool,” Keith says. “So how’s the fam doing?”
“Mom keeps calling, but I haven’t talked to her. Been too busy with work and school.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have taken on that job. You know your mom would have paid for your place.”
I glare at him. “Really? And have her rub that in my face? No. I got here on my own scholarship, and I pay for my own place. I don’t need Mom’s money to survive, and she needs to know that. Trust me, if she was paying for all this, she’d be even more annoying than she already is, and I’d feel even more like I need to show up to every press conference and every charity benefit she signs up for.”
“Just saying that waiting tables at a barbeque grill can’t be the most fun way of spending your free time.”
“What would be a better use of my time? Doing blow and K with your buddies?”
He shrugs, wearing a cocky smirk like he thinks that would be more fun.
I roll my eyes.
“So where are you getting this shit now that you can’t use Tim anymore?” I ask.
“Tim agreed to exchange shit with Jared so things wouldn’t be awkward.”
“And…?” I ask.
“I’m better.”
But considering the conversation we just had and the sad expression on his face, I know that isn’t true.
“No, really,” he says, obviously sensing my disbelief. “It’s taken some time, but at least I can stand to see him when I pass him in the hall. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to see him around on campus, but it’s getting easier. I just kind of take deep breaths. Like I did when he was at that party last night.”
My phone pings.
“Oh, must be mommy dearest calling to check in on you?”
I pull it out and see Tim’s name on the screen. I got his number so we could coordinate him getting his clothes from me.
“What’d she say?” Keith asks.
“Just about this fundraiser shit we’re going to next week.”