Better to Believe (Harrison Campus 4)

Liam lifted his head and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I’ll text you after PT.” He swooped in for his own goodbye kiss, but Liam moved his head and Coury kissed his cheek. Liam moved back just as Coury tried to adjust and they failed again. Finally, he cupped Liam’s face and held it still long enough to press his lips to Liam’s. It was quick and chaste, but it still made him hard.

Adjusting himself, he let out a nervous laugh. Liam looked like he wanted Coury to stay. Coury wanted to agree, but they needed to talk—about baseball and what would happen. Liam needed all the facts. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He stepped outside, walked down the steps, and turned back to wave. Liam looked as disappointed as Coury felt. It was the right thing, but some days doing right was hard.

Chapter Sixteen

Liam

Coury: Done with PT early. Coffee?

Liam: Don’t really have time before class. After?

Coury: We’ll get it to go. I’ll walk you to class.

Liam: K. Meet you there.

Liam grinned like a fool at the thought of him and Coury walking together like a couple on their way to class. Romantic much?

The little things Coury did, probably without even knowing he was doing them, turbo-charged Liam’s junior-high crush. It was already too late to avoid getting hurt. When Coury left, it was going to gut him.

As he held the door to the coffee shop open to let another couple leave, Liam remembered the last time he and Coury had been here. That craptastic day was an outlier of Coury behavior. The more he thought about it, the more he knew Pop had been right: Coury hadn’t been sure Liam would want him. It didn’t make sense, but it was the only explanation.

There were plenty of empty tables, so he got in line. He constantly checked the door, but Coury was still not there when he got their order.

The small table he found would be easy to spot when Coury arrived. He set out what he’d bought and hoped he’d got it right. Coury had been spot on when he bought for them. How bad would Liam be if he couldn’t come close?

He checked his phone. No text. It was getting close to when he needed to head out. If he did, hopefully Coury could catch up . . . the door opened.

A worried-looking Coury swept the room with his gaze. When he spotted Liam, his smile lit up his face.

That. So much that.

With a look, Coury set his insides on fire.

“Hey!” Coury didn’t take his eyes off Liam, like he hadn’t seen him in days instead of less than twelve hours. “Wasn’t sure I’d make it in time. There was a bit of traffic getting to campus this morning.”

“I was about to text you to say meet me by my building, but this is better.” He nudged a to-go cup closer to Coury. “Cappuccino with an extra shot, whole milk, and two sugars?”

Coury reached across the table, but instead of grabbing the cup, he touched Liam’s hand. “Perfect. Just like you.”

Heat flushed his cheeks as a giddy jolt filled him. He looked at their hands and smiled. “Glad I got it right. I got chocolate chunk and white chocolate macadamia cookies. I figured you had to like one.”

“Or both.” He winked. “But since you bought them, you pick.”

“No. I like both. Take your favorite.”

Coury took the white chocolate and slowly pulled his hand back. “Thanks.”

“A wise person told me I should treat my friends when they have good news.”

“I have good news?” He feigned confusion.

“You’re practically bouncing in your chair, so I’m going with you do.”

“But you couldn’t have known that from my texts.” Coury took a sip and raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. I assumed something good happened and you wanted to tell me.”

“Actually, I do have some good news, but I could have told you that in a text. I wanted to see you.”

“Okay, you’ve seen me. What’s the news?”

“Way to kill my buzz, dude.” He winked. “I’m done with rehab. I can start throwing tomorrow.”

“That’s great! No wonder you’re excited.”

“Yeah. It’s such perfect timing, too. There’s a scout coming to watch our scrimmage game in two weeks. That should be enough time to get back in shape.”

“Really? That fast?”

“My therapist was helping me with strengthening exercises; that should help me get up to full arm strength pretty quickly.” He grabbed his cup and nodded toward the door. “You need to get to class. I can tell you as we walk.”

Liam swooned a bit more at how Coury always had his back. “Sure.”

The door to the shop opened, and the guy Liam had pointed out to Coury as his “type” held it for a girl. “I can’t believe I failed.”

“Don’t worry, Teddy. You can make it up.”