I didn’t want to pressure him, but it’s possible I might’ve moved too fast. I left him for ten minutes to check on my stupid-ass teammates, and when I came back, he could barely see straight. Or stand. Or walk.
Now he’s moaning, and it sounds nothing like the type of moans he was making last night when I was on my knees.
He’s curled on his side with my front plastered to his back, but when I lean up on my elbow to check on him, he’s still fast asleep.
Knowing he’s going to wake up soon feeling a hell of a lot sorry for himself, I slip out of bed and walk to an off-campus joint that sells the best hangover cures ever. Bacon and egg rolls with extra cheese.
And coffee.
I sent him a text on the walk so if he woke while I was gone, he’d know where I was, but I still hold my breath when I return to my dorm. I’m hoping he hasn’t run away.
I break into a smile when I find him sitting in the middle of my bed, looking around the room with a cute confused look on his face.
“Why’s your bed bigger than mine?”
I laugh. It’s not that much bigger, but it’s definitely easier to fit two people than the crappy singles in the rest of the dorms. “Perks of being in the jock building.”
He runs his hand over his hair and squints.
“Here.” I put the food on my desk and hand him his glasses.
The confusion is strong this morning. He stares down at his clothes—my clothes that are way too big on him—and groans.
“And here I was hoping that part of last night was actually a horrible dream.”
I smirk. “I dunno. Dressing you while you were practically passed out was the highlight of my night … Wait, that sounds super creepy.”
Zach buries his head in his hands. “I ruined it.”
I climb onto the bed next to him. “You didn’t ruin anything. Last night was fun.”
“For me. What did you get out of it?”
“I got to spend time with you. I got to kiss you.” I lean in and kiss his cheek, slowly moving toward his mouth, but I pull back at the last second. “Hmm, you’re not going to vomit, are you?”
“No vomiting. I promise.”
“Good.” I pull back even more and reach for the coffee and food. “Then eat up. Breakfast, shower, and then we have all day to hang out.”
“Hang out …”
I sigh. “Not a euphemism. We can fool around, or we can watch movies on my laptop. We can do whatever you want, and none of it has to be sexual if you don’t want it to be.”
He goes to open his mouth, but I shove the breakfast roll in his face.
“Eat.”
He pales a little. “I don’t know if I can …”
“It’ll make you feel better. Trust me.”
Zach takes it from me, and we both settle, sitting across my bed and using the wall as a backrest.
He has a few bites while I sip my coffee and watch him intently. It’ll either make him feel better or make him throw up. One or the other.
“It’s good.”
“You know, when I said I wanted to give you the college experience, it went a lot different in my head.”
Zach doesn’t reply. For a little guy, he eats fast. The whole thing is devoured in minutes.
He avoids eye contact like he usually does when he has something to say. “I feel like I need to explain myself.”
I take another sip of my coffee. “You don’t have—”
“I’m a virgin,” he blurts, and his cheeks go pink.
I smile. “I figured.”
His face drops. “Oh. Is it that obvious?”
Hmm, to come clean or not. “Well, at first I thought you’d had some experience, not a lot, but then I might’ve overheard you in the library the other day. I was in there trying to find the bylaws when your very loud friend was very loud.”
“Just great. The whole school probably knows.”
“It’s not a big deal, Zach.”
“It is a big deal. While everyone else was going off and doing stupid shit freshman year, I was studying. And now I’m twenty-one and have no idea what I’m doing.”
“You don’t need to know what you’re doing. You … do what feels good.”
“Kissing you feels good. What we did last night definitely felt good. But I don’t know how to reciprocate, and—”
“Then let’s take a step back. You go jump in the shower, do what you gotta do, and I promise the best damn kissing of your life.”
The confusion line on his forehead is back. “Why are you cool with this? I don’t know of many college seniors who’d be okay with abstaining. If you want to go have sex with someone else, you can. Don’t let me hold you back.”
“I don’t want to have sex with anyone else. I want to have sex with you. But I’m never going to make you do something you’re not comfortable with. If you want to get comfortable with it, I’m all for it, but this is going at your speed, okay?”