“It’s an all-ages club in Oakland with this outdoor stage,” Aimee says as Dee and Mike file into the hall. Nate steps through the door and gives me a wave as Aimee keeps talking. “They get these great indie bands all year and...” The door closes and I hear her voice fade down the hall.
I dive into my book and have gotten through enough of it that I feel like I might actually pass my final when they all spill back into the room three hours later, laughing and holding each other up. We spend the next hour eating cake—which despite its pathetic appearance, tastes amazing—and shooting the shit.
Finally, when they’ve started sobering up, Mike stands from where he’s sitting on my desk. “Got an eight o’clock final,” he says as he tugs Dee out of my desk chair by the hand. “The prof locks the door at the start of the exam and if you’re like one second late, you’re shit out of luck.”
“’Night,” I say as they disappear through the door, leaving it open behind them.
Nate scoots off the bed next to me and pulls me up. “You got a toothbrush I can borrow, babe? Left mine in the car.”
I give him my extra toothbrush and let him into the guy’s bathroom on my way to the girls. I pee and brush my teeth and when I get back to the room, Nate is stripped down to his boxers, already in my bed.
“Come give papa some sugar,” he says, lifting the covers for me.
I climb in next to him and lay with my back to him. Nate spoons me and sucks my earlobe as Aimee comes back from the bathroom in her Hello Kitty tank top and pink flannel PJ pants.
This is a little awkward. Neither of us has had a boyfriend sleep over in our room before. She’s been with hers, a cute guy named Erik, for almost three years, since the start of junior year in high school, but he goes to school back east. I met him once when he helped her move in, but he went home with Aimee’s parents that night.
“You guys good?” she asks with a hand on the light switch near the door.
“Yeah,” I say.
She flips off the light on her way to her bed. “’Night,” she says as she climbs in, like this isn’t weird at all, so I decide not to worry.
Nate spoons tighter against my back and wraps his arms around me, kissing my neck. And the room goes quiet.
A little while later, Aimee starts to mutter under her breath. She always does that as she’s falling asleep and just before she wakes up. And then I feel Nate pressing his hard-on against my ass. He slides a hand under the front of my panties and glides his fingers between my legs.
“Nate, we’re not alone,” I whisper.
“She’s asleep.” He dips his middle finger inside me. “I want to give you that birthday present I promised you.”
“She might wake up.”
“God, baby, please,” he begs. “It’s been so long and I want you so much. You’re all I can think about.” His fingers pick up pace as he talks, and his breathing is getting heavier on my neck. He kisses my neck and shoulder as he inches my underwear over my hips. Even without my help, he manages to get them down to my thighs “I love you so much,” he whispers. “Please, baby. I need you.”
I feel him behind me wrestling with his boxers, then he rolls on top of me. I turn my face to the side so I don’t suffocate when his weight lowers onto my back. He lifts my ass a little as he wedges between my legs. “We’ll be quiet,” he whispers into my hair. “She’ll never know.”
Nate starts slow, easing himself into me from behind, but it’s only a minute later that the slap of skin as he pounds me is loud enough I’m sure Dee can hear it across the hall. I bury my face in the pillow until he comes with a low rumbling groan deep in his chest.
He collapses on top of me. “Fuck, I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I whisper.
“I fucking love you, baby.”
I lay here feeling his warmth against my back, feeling him breathe slow and deep, and realize if I stop comparing Nate to Caiden, I could be happy. He says he loves me. I’ve always loved him. This could turn into something if I’d let it.
If I can let go of the hope of Caiden.
After several minutes, when I feel his dick wither enough that it falls out of me on its own, I realize he’s asleep. I squirm out from under him and go to the bathroom to clean up.
I went to the student health center when I got to campus last fall and went on the pill, but I’ve since decided I like condoms better. All the mess ends up in a tidy little package that way. I get myself put together and tiptoe back into the room.
Nate is sprawled face down and naked across my whole bed. As I crawl over him, I realize this is the first time I’ve had to actually sleep with him. He usually leaves when he’s done. I wedge myself between him and the wall and steal all the covers.
∞