Chapter Six: Tell Me You Don’t Want Me

Ryan 

“Oh…oh, there you go. I don’t want to kiss a drunken, concussed man.”

I laugh as my date and I stumble into the dark apartment, my head spinning from the amount of shots and drinks I had at the club. 

She has an arm around my shoulders and I have one around her waist, both of us equally drunk and fumbling to find our way. 

“My bedroom,” I slur, using my muscle memory to direct us, “—is that way. We should go there.”

“Oh come on,” she pouts. I can hear it in her voice as she leans in, her warm breath fanning my ear. She smells like lavender and vanilla ice cream, two flavors I didn’t think were possible until she asked me to dance while I was seated alone at the club, moping and being a wet blanket. 

“Where’s the fun in being proper?” She whispers as her tongue slides over my ear, her hand reaching under my shirt. “We should do it everywhere. Against the wall, on a table…I like to leave memories in places where you can always remember it, but you can’t tell anyone what happened.”

I panic slightly, when she shoves me without warning, but my back hits the wall instead of me crashing to the floor. She’s on me instantly, her fingers tangling in my hair and her tongue thrusting into my mouth. 

I can taste the alcohol on her lips and her tongue, but there’s nothing else. No spark. No thrilling sensation racing down my spine and tingling in my chest. But I pull her closer all the same, my hands reaching under her short leather skirt when she grinds wildly into me. 

She moans as I cup her ass, her grip on my hair tightening. “Like that baby,” she whispers. “Just like that. Make me happy and maybe I’ll go down on you.”

My cock responds to that, jerking excitedly in my pants. The alcohol makes my head feel lighter, like I’m floating on clouds and there’s nothing to hold me back. 

This is fun. 

I’m having fun. 

I’m not being a wet blanket or a couch potato. 

She stops kissing me and slowly slides down, going on her knees. The sound of my zipper is loud in the darkness—for some reason—and I grunt sharply when she spreads her fingers over my boner, stroking me slowly. 

“You like that?” She drawls. “You like that, don’t you? You want me to take you in my mouth—

A click. 

And then the apartment is flooded with bright, harsh lightning, that makes my eyes burn. I shut them immediately, groaning under my breath.

“What the fuck?” My date complains.

 Someone has horrible timing. 

Someone—

My eyes fly open, my lips parting next when I meet Caleb’s gaze from the living room area. He’s standing by the couch, shirtless, with a sweatpant on. My gaze drops low before I can stop myself…to the toned Adonis line below his waist, where his pants hang low enough that I can almost see the—

I shake my head, dragging my gaze hastily back to his face. The look there is unreadable, but his eyes are fixed on me. Unblinking. My throat goes dry, a mixture of the alcohol and his unwavering attention. 

“We agreed to use socks,” Caleb says dryly, glancing briefly at my date. “I get that you’re horny, but rules are rules, Ryan.”

He’s right. 

But something about his words pisses me off. They sound so casual, like hooking up is something I do on a regular basis. 

I push the feeling out of my head. 

I don’t care what his opinions are. 

“Let’s go into my room,” I tell my date, turning to her. 

But she’s looking at Caleb, her gaze openly raking over his body. She wets her bottom lip with her tongue, her eyes sparkling with mischief as her eyes linger on the imprint of his dick visible through his sweatpants. 

She spares me a glance, like I’m old news. “Is your…roommate single?”

What?   

“I—I,” I stammer in an attempt to respond, not knowing how to feel or what to make of the situation. 

“Sorry, honey,” Caleb drawls, with the same dry tone. “But I don’t fuck women.”

My jaw drops. Huh? 

He doesn't fuck women? What about his girlfriend, Anna? I tilt my head as my eyes squint, studying him. He didn’t look like he suffered a head concussion, but then again, Caleb being Caleb, he would pretend like he was okay. 

My date pouts, her bottom lip jutting out. “Aw. Too bad. I would’ve suggested a threesome.” Then she turns to me, like I’m her favorite piece of candy all over again, running her manicured nails down my chest, “I guess it’s just you and me, then.”

“Actually,” Caleb clears his throat, walking over to us.  

I try not to stare at him…at his bare chest and muscled abs, at the bulge beneath his pants or think about how I had it in my mouth only a week ago…or how it tasted…or how much I want to do it again. 

I try not to think about all those things. 

But the closer he gets, the more impossible it becomes. 

He stops in front of us, a few feet away, close enough that I can smell the clean sweat on his skin. I swallow quickly and try to reorient my thoughts as I glance away, but his head tilts in my direction, pulling my gaze back like a magnet. 

I take a deep breath, determined to face him. 

But the corner of his mouth tips up in a private, knowing smirk, like he’s already inside my head. My pulse jumps as heat floods low in my stomach and my cock stirs, hungry for attention. 

“Changed your mind?” My date asks, with a small laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Most men are always down to try everything at least once.”

“Aren’t they?” Caleb says quietly. “And sometimes they find out that they like it too much.”

He’s talking about that day on the couch. 

But he’s the one who pulled back after, not me. 

I shrug loosely. Nonchalantly. “And then they pretend like it never happened.” My tone is too curt for casual, though. 

Caleb’s smirk drops, replaced by a thin smile. His eyes snap to my date as he moves even closer to her. He leans in, whispering something in her ear that’s too low for me to eavesdrop. 

But as soon as he steps back, her face turns pale. “You asshole!” Her hand rears back to hit me, but he catches her wrist, tutting. She yanks it from his grip and turns on her heels with a huff, storming out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her. 

I frown, in confusion. 

What just happened?

“What did you say to her?” I question Caleb. 

He moves closer. And closer, until there’s nothing between us. His head cocks to the side, his breath fanning my face. “I told her the truth. That you were using her to get over me.”

My eyes go wide. 

“What?” I squeal, pushing at his chest. “I wasn’t doing that. Why would I—“ I grit my teeth when his smirk returns. “Why would I do that when there’s nothing to get over?”

“Oh?” He arches a brow. I shiver when his hand touches my chest, my breath hitching as it slides lower…lower, his fingers brushing against the waistband of my pants. 

And then his hand slides in. 

Fuck. 

Fuck—

My cock twitches so hard I feel it through my whole body. Caleb grabs my chin with his other hand, his mouth inches away from mine. “Tell me,” he rasps thickly as his fingers curl around my dick. My eyes roll back as he strokes me once. 

Just once, and I’m close to losing my mind. 

“Tell me that you weren’t using her to get over and I’ll stop.”