Out in the Field (Out in College 4)

“Hmm. I should clean up and—”

“Well, since I’m partially responsible, I should help,” I said in a serious tone.

When he chuckled and shook his head, I jumped on top of him, grabbed the tissue from his hand, and helped him clean up. I nipped his inner thigh and breathed in our combined scent on his skin. Then I threw the tissues on the floor and pulled a few from the box and flung them haphazardly in the air like confetti to make him laugh.

“You’re ridiculous.” He beamed at me with a starry-eyed look that made me feel ten feet tall.

“I try.” I rolled to face him and brushed his hair from his forehead before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Phoenix closed his eyes and collapsed back on the pillow theatrically. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“Liar,” I chided without heat.

He sighed as he propped himself up again. “Okay…the truth is, I thought you might not want to be with me if you knew I’d never done it before.”

I wanted to say he was wrong, but I wasn’t sure. The last time I’d been with a virgin, I was one too and we were both sixteen. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

“I don’t know. You’re pretty fucking hot,” I said, kissing his nose. “I just wish you’d told me. I would have gone slower and been more gentle.”

“Then I’m glad I didn’t. It was perfect.”

I brushed his hair over his ear. “Can I ask you something?”

“I don’t know. Is it embarrassing?”

“No. There’s no right or wrong answer. I’m just wondering.…Why? I mean, you’ve been with other guys and you’ve had boyfriends, so…I don’t really get it. Were you saving yourself for the right guy?”

“Is there such a thing?” Phoenix scoffed. “My problem is a combination of bad luck and bad taste. I tend to go for jocks with big reputations on and off the field. My last boyfriend is a great example. He was a basketball player.”

“You mean off the court, then.” I smoothed the lines on his forehead. “Basketball is played on a court, not a field.”

“If you say so. Anyway, I met James at a campus party at Arizona State last year. We hit it off right away. We could talk about anything. Movies, music…Shakespeare.”

“Wow. He sounds exciting,” I snarked.

Phoenix grinned. “I thought so. A sexy jock who can recite sonnets? Sold! Other than the fact he always seemed to be busy, I thought I hit the boyfriend jackpot. He came to all of my plays, he was polite to my parents, sweet to my sister, and…he was good in bed.”

“If he’d been that good, you would have fucked.”

“We got close a few times…like really close. Part A nudging Part B—if you know what I mean.”

“I get the idea. Sounds like he was a bottom.”

“Maybe so. I feel like I should have guessed, but you can’t always tell. My other ex was a rugby player. He was a huge, burly dude who eventually admitted he’d rather have my dick in his ass than—”

“Whoa. Hang on. You fucked the rugby player?”

“Yeah,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“More than once?”

“Sure. Sam was my boyfriend. We did it all the time.”

I couldn’t stop my shit-eating grin from spreading like wildfire. “I think I get it now. You have a lot of experience, you just didn’t have the experience you wanted. Thus the indecent proposal. Am I right?”

“Well…”

“No complaints here. Although, I still would have gone slower. And why did you say ‘Stick it in’? Was that what you did to poor Sam?”

“Ugh. I knew you’d make this embarrassing. I was just…nervous.”

“Hey, I’m teasing you.” I tweaked his nose playfully, then kissed it. “So what happened with the basketball player?”

He went suddenly quiet. “He had a girlfriend.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope. A cheerleader, no less.”

“How did you find out? Did he tell you?”

“No. I surprised him. I went to one of his games and stayed to congratulate him. I was just making my way down the bleachers when I witnessed their celebratory kiss. I tried to tell myself she was an enthusiastic friend, but the tongue action told another story,” he said.

“That fucker.”

Phoenix let out a half laugh. “Yeah. It sucked. We were together for a year. Except we weren’t. He was with her the whole time. I was the side piece. His gay curiosity. I was crushed. I thought he was out, but he was only out when no one was looking. I’d always planned on moving to LA, but after that fiasco, I couldn’t wait to leave. The second my last final was over, I packed up my car and Sunny and I headed west. I met Braden soon after and—”

“The volleyball player?” I waited for his nod, then added, “Also played on a court, by the way.”

“Thanks. I remember that…not,” he quipped sarcastically as he traced the veins on my forearm. “Braden is a good guy and even though he has a taste for the theater, he’s not for me. I’m not interested in slowly coaxing my boyfriend out of the closet and only partially enjoying sex because I’m too afraid to ask for what I want.”