Bat Boy (Easton U Pirates 1)

He lifted the remote so fast, he nearly clocked himself in the face. I was too stunned to poke fun.

“Is it okay if I turn this up a notch and watch for a while?” he asked. “Will it bother you if you’re trying to sleep?”

“No, I…” I was feeling overheated, wondering what in the hell he was going to say about Brad Pitt, but too chicken to ask. So I angled my head toward the screen again. “I’ll watch for a bit too.”

After about five minutes of getting lost in the movie, I heard Kellan adjust himself on the mattress, then sigh. “Get up here, Donovan.”

I blinked, glanced back, and noticed he’d moved toward one side of the bed. “Huh? No, I can see fi—”

“Get up here so you’re more comfortable. You’re craning your neck, and your back is gonna scream at you tomorrow if you stay on that hard floor.”

My pulse suddenly kicked up, which made me feel a bit lightheaded. I considered for a second more and then said fuck it. “Okay.”

He had the movie paused, waiting on me. I pulled the comforter from the floor and slid my pillow in place a distance from his, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable. When he held open the covers, my entire body thrummed like my muscles had turned into live-wires. This was different than sharing a blanket with my roommates. I wasn’t attracted to them. No way in hell.

When I slipped under the sheets, there was this moment of awkward tension I immediately tried to break. “At least you’ll smell better than Hollister and Maclain. Christ, they can fart up a storm.”

He scrunched his nose, then laughed. “TMI.”

“Sorry.”

And then we fell into an easy silence, becoming completely engrossed in the rest of the movie and chuckling at the same parts.

He clicked it off during the credits and fell back in bed with a happy sound.

The room fell dark, the tension in the air ramping up again.

I reached for my pillow to return to my spot on the floor, but his hand on my arm stilled me. “You can stay. I was making too big a deal about everything.”

“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“It’s hard when the coach is your dad.”

“I get it. For what it’s worth, you’re cool to hang with,” I admitted, my gut tightening. “And if that’s a crime, then lock me up.”

He burst out laughing. “Okay, that was really cheesy. And, you’re sort of cool to hang with too.”

“Wait, did you just admit to enjoying my company?”

He rolled his eyes. “But my dad and the guys might not—”

“Too late. They already razz me for trying too hard where you’re concerned. And Hollister…”

“What?”

“He just…” I focused on the sliver of moon I could just make out where the heavy drapes stopped short of covering the entire window. Sometimes it was a hell of a lot easier to say stuff in the dark, when no one could gauge your reactions or nervousness. “He thinks it’s weird that I try so hard to be your friend, and he thinks it’s because of Ricky. That I have a soft spot for you or whatever.”

I heard him gulp, and fuck, now I didn’t know what to think. Maybe confessions in the dark weren’t such a good idea.

“Are you saying that’s not the reason you’re constantly bugging me?” There was a smile in his voice but also some trepidation.

“Is that what you—No! Hell no. Maybe it does make me like you more, because you talking to Ricky is really fucking cool, but I like you for you. Not the uptight you that ignores everyone,” I added, and he scoffed. “I want to get to know the guy from tonight when no one’s around. The one who apparently had a lot to say about Brad Pitt.”

He lifted a pillow and smashed it over my head, and suddenly I was pelting him with mine and we were wrestling around the bed, trying to get the upper hand. He might’ve been smaller than me, but he was strong and wiry, and hell, he could’ve made the varsity wrestling team the way he was slipping out of my holds.

But after a minute he was panting hard and must’ve gotten tired because I was easily able to maneuver him to the mattress beneath me. I made sure not to put my full weight on him as I sank down on top, hemming his thighs in with my knees.

“King of the World!” I lifted my arms, and when I looked down at him—his eyes blown wide, his lip caught between his teeth as he tried to rein in his breaths—the smile slid from my face. His muscles were tight and hard beneath me, and the air turned all swirly and thick as it got trapped in my throat and I tried to suck in breaths as our eyes met. Holy hell, was he—