Then again, he doubted the crazy bastard would stay that long.
And maybe he could convince one more person to stay with them?
Shane knocked on Ros’s door. He hadn’t been a regular at the frat, but after the fateful night almost two weeks ago, Brad had instructed all his frat bros to stay out of Shane’s business and make him feel welcome.
The atmosphere had been somber in the past few days, since Pete’s disappearance affected the overall mood at the campus. And with almost everyone leaving for Thanksgiving, the chances of bumping into anyone at the frat were pretty slim. Shane had passed one family picking up their kid on the way into the house, but that was that. The emptiness of corridors that were always bustling with life was a reminder that normal people did care about their fellow student going missing. Not that Shane cared, but Ros was still feeling guilty over what had happened.
At least Cerberus was lifting everyone’s spirits with a quick recovery, and Ros often visited the veterinary clinic to see him. The mutt was kinda cute, and as resilient as Shane. They would make a good team, and now that Shane had decided to take the dog in, he was even in the process of choosing a car, because he couldn’t take his new pet on a bike ride.
“Come in!” Ros yelled from inside.
Shane entered, and while his gaze was instantly drawn to the large backpack resting against the desk, once he spotted Ros on the windowsill, with hair pulled up into a messy bun and a book in his lap, his heart might have stopped for a moment, no matter how little he cared for reading. Ros wasn’t wearing pants with his T-shirt, and the late afternoon sun transformed the hair on his calves into little flames.
Shane almost forgot why he’d come here in the first place. “Hey.”
“Shane!” Ros’s smile was brighter than the sun behind him, and he put down the book to rush over. He wrapped his arms around Shane’s neck and kissed him. His lips tasted of the experimental toothpaste he’d been trying—raspberry and mint.
Shane loved its flavor.
He wrapped his arms around Ros’s wiry form and lifted him up, overcome by a sense of weightless relief that came with holding him again after a whole day apart. “How are you doing?” Shane asked, his hands already gravitating to their favorite place—Ros’s ass.
“I’ve just finished packing. I spilled water over my jeans so I’m drying them before I go.” Ros laughed and pointed to the pants draped over the radiator.
“Won’t you miss me?” he teased, pinching Ros’s ass.
He was here to set a new plan in motion, and one of the cogs in it was luring Ros away from his cushy life. Thread by thread, he’d be pulling the rug from under Ed Beck’s feet and turning his son against him while luxuriating in the attention of the pretty boy. Win-win.
Ros snorted and kissed him again. “Of course I’ll miss you. And my dad’s new wife is a pain in the ass, but it is what it is, he wants me to come. I’ll be back in no time. Want me to bring you a turkey sandwich?”
An undercurrent of anger ran through Shane as he smiled back. He moved his fingers up Ros’s neck, and finally settled them on his cheeks, looking straight into the bright blue eyes. “What if you stayed with me instead?”
“I mean, that would be pretty fantastic. We probably wouldn’t have to even sneak around much, because everyone’s gone, but I can’t. Dad’s got some grand photoshoot planned with flags and shit. I wish I could bring you and see the look on his face.” Ros grinned as if the concept was a joke.
Shane stilled. “You could,” came out of his mouth before he could have stopped himself.
Ros rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause that’s gonna work. ‘Hey, Dad, I know I wasn’t supposed to do any gay stuff at college, but Shane fucks me so good I just had to make him my boyfriend’?”
“I could be a friend who doesn’t have anyone to celebrate with. Wouldn’t a godly man like your dad want to play the Good Samaritan to a lost soul like me?” Shane teased with more conviction. That scenario would have ended in disaster once Beck Senior realized whom his son had befriended, but it would not reveal the one secret Ros was so desperate to keep—his sexuality.
Some might have called Shane’s actions manipulative. He’d rather have said they were the perfect middle ground between keeping the boy’s livelihood safe and Shane getting under Ed Beck’s skin.
Ros bit his lip and seemed to actually ponder it, which in turn made Shane realize he hadn’t really expected that. “I mean… we do have a big house.”
Shane’s smile widened, and he moved his hands down the slender body, rubbing it in gentle circles until he found bare skin, just below Ros’s underwear. Ed Beck wouldn’t dare reveal who Shane was, but he’d spend the whole evening sweating bullets, and then sleep with one eye open.