Brandon smiled his best smile. “I can’t see what would possibly keep me away.”
A half hour later we were still beneath the superheated water, our bo
dies cleansed, rinsed, and mutually scrubbed. No sex this time, just touching and flirting and really hot kissing.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d showered with anyone. It was probably Garrett, although nothing memorable came to mind. It felt amazing just to be this close to someone again. To laugh like this. To feel good about myself, the person I was, the things I had to offer.
All three of them had made me feel this way. Welcome. Wanted. Loved and adored. We were a team, fixing up the house together, but in many ways fixing each other.
“Guess where I’m going now?” asked Brandon.
“To get towels?”
“Yes…” he allowed. “But after that I’m gonna sprawl out face-down on my bed so you can rub my back.” He massaged his neck with both hands, wincing. The flexing of his massive arms made my heart skip a beat.
“And what do I get out of the deal?” I teased.
He laughed. “A raincheck?”
Brandon’s bed was little more than a mattress and box spring on the floor. Typical college stuff. It wasn’t made but we climbed into it anyway, neither of us willing to call it a night.
“How’s your scholarship?” I asked.
“Good and secure. My grades are up in three out of four classes, so the coach is happy.”
Rubbing him was tough, and my hands looked incredibly small against his massive shoulders. Still, I did what I could.
“Backrubs… tutoring… a really hot blowjob…” I laughed out loud. “You know you owe me, right?”
“Mmmmm…”
I must’ve hit a sore spot. Brandon groaned loudly into his pillow.
“I’ll pay you back,” he teased. “Don’t worry.”
The massage went on for a while, and we talked about the small things. The places we grew up, our childhoods, our parents… how we got to be the places we were. In time, Brandon stopped asking questions and his replies became fewer and further between. It wasn’t until he started snoring that I realized he’d fallen dead asleep.
“Ouch!” I said, pulling my aching hands away from his lower back. My hands were all cramped up. My fingers almost—
SLAM!
The sound of the front door startled me. I leapt up and re-entered the hallway just as Hunter and Colin bounded up the stairs.
“Hi!” I said cheerfully. “How’d it go?”
Hunter said nothing. His face was dark. His fists were clenched. I looked over his shoulder at Colin. Silently and gravely, he shook his head.
“I’m sorry guys,” I offered sincerely. “I can’t believe they won’t at least—”
“Two hours,” Hunter growled. “More than two hours they made us wait outside the room, and the Dean listened to us for about forty-five fucking seconds.”
I reached out for him. It was a mistake.
“NOT NOW.”
He pushed me aside. It was more of a shove. Pain flared through my already-sore hand, flattening me up against the wall as Hunter swept past me and unlocked the door to his room.
“I—”