Page 13

Chapter 13

Calling the Shots

"On the bed," Oz growled as the door of their room slammed open to reveal Logan's storm-faced roommate, his damp hair curling at the ends like he'd just gotten out of the shower.

"What?" Logan asked in confusion from where he'd been hunched over their desk, his mind still half on the math problems staring up from his textbook.

"Whenever and however, right?" Oz snapped his fingers impatiently. "Then get. On. The. Bed. Honeybuns."

Logan swallowed harshly. He was doing better in his classes, he reminded himself. He was on track not just to pass, but also meet Coach's minimum GPA.

He glanced down at his textbook, tempted for about a minute to point out that he was studying. Technically, that meant Logan was off-limits until he was done. He might've made their deal in the heat of the moment, but at least he'd laid out some ground rules about time for his classwork and anything to do with keeping his spot on the university's football team.

But then his body quickly reminded him of the last few times Oz had called in compensation for his side of their bargain. Compensation that had Logan in Oz's bed, or up against a wall, or kneeling on the floor; both of them covered in sweat and cum and satisfaction after.

Oz might be gay, but Logan wasn't. Though he had to admit… He was starting to see the appeal.

"Come on, straight boy," Oz huffed, snapping his fingers. "Bed. Now."

Logan slammed his textbook shut, the desk chair left spinning with the speed he practically vaulted onto the mattress.

For all his impatience, Oz took his time; pacing around their room like an animal stuck in their enclosure at the zoo.

"You shower?" Logan asked as he folded his arms behind his head, watching appreciatively as Oz shucked his wet shirt for a fresh one.

Oz was ridiculously skinny, and a guy besides. But the past few weeks had given Logan a few reasons why he shouldn't hold either against Oz. Especially when it was him being held against Oz; all that lean hunger focused on giving Logan what, hands down, had been some of the best orgasms of his life so far.

"No," Oz answered him curtly, biting off the word with enough force that Logan heard the warning buried inside.

Mostly, he'd asked out of boredom. But partly too because he hadn't heard the pipes rattling like he usually did whenever someone used the little shower room on the other side of the wall.

His hair's wet, and so are his shirt collar and shoulders. But the rest of him's dry…

Watching Oz putter around their room, anxiety rolling off him in waves as he snatched up bits of dirty laundry and stray pencils? Grimly, Logan made a mental note to go have a talk with Ashton, just to make sure the 'Wet Wally' game really was well and truly over.

Later. After…whatever this is he's planning

Logan had recently become a very big fan of Oz's plans.

"You get more shoes?" Oz asked, picking up the shoebox Logan had set down on their shared dresser, turning it over.

Logan shrugged. "Yeah. Suppose so."

"I never understand why you spend so much on these," Oz mused. "They're just sneakers."

In the hopes of getting laid, Logan magnanimously chose the path of diplomacy and ignored that.

"I don't," he said instead. "Most of these are gifts."

He leaned forward as Oz held out the shoebox, reaching to take it before hiding it under the bedframe to protect it. He'd move it to his closet later, stacking it with his other pairs. Now that this was technically Oz's bed, Logan had moved his collection. Even if Oz had demanded Logan spend every night since making their deal sleeping in what'd formerly been his old bunk.

"And the ones that aren't gifts?" Oz asked as he set up his laptop where the shoebox had been.

Interesting

"Still a lot of money," Oz continued. "Is this why you're always broke?"

"I'm 'broke'," Logan huffed, craning his neck to see around the other man to what was on OZ's laptop screen, "because I can't work without losing my athletic scholarships. And they can't pay me to play, either, outside of normal student stuff like scholarships to cover tuition. But sure, you spend your entire summer for five years straight mowing people's lawns, and tell me you don't buy something for yourself every now and again."

"Yeah, but…" Oz fidgeted. "Just seems like a lot of money to spend on anything, much less a pair of shoes you don't even wear."

Logan nodded at the big blue robot figure that dominated Oz's shelves of his own collectibles. "You get that in the clearance bin?"

"No!" Oz stepped between the model and Logan, as if he were trying to protect it. "Had to save a whole month just to — "

Logan lifted an eyebrow at him, smirking as Oz trailed off.

"…Okay, fine. I see where you're going with this," Oz said, drifting toward the bed. "But why shoes? "

"Why not? My mom's a staging decorator for Maddox Real Estate. Our house always felt more like she was preparing it for a magazine shoot. And my dad was forever on my case about getting 'distracted'. Wanted me to concentrate on football instead of 'junk'," Logan answered, shifting over on the mattress to make space as Oz sat on the side. "Didn't have a lot of toys and books or whatever to clutter up my room, and what I did have… When I'd lose a game, Dad would… he'd toss my stuff. Said it was splitting my focus."

"Logan…"

Logan frowned at Oz's tone, not wanting to hear it.

"He threw out a library book once," Logan barreled on. "Made me pay the fine to replace it."

Oz was thankfully silent, even as his eyes flicked over Logan's face.

"…But not shoes?" was all he finally asked, and Logan sent him a grateful look.

"Can't play football barefoot." He shrugged.

It didn't feel awkward anymore when Oz settled against him. Quite the opposite. By this point, Logan had grown used to his roommate snuggling up on him after sex, or at night when they slept. But, given the way Oz was tucking Logan around him, this didn't appear to be either of those times. If it was, Logan would've expected Oz to be straddling Logan's hips by now, pulling their shirts off to reveal all that glorious bare skin…

Logan supposed they could manage trading hand jobs like this. Or maybe Oz had some other positions in mind that a straight guy like Logan didn't know about? The last few weeks had certainly left Logan willing to learn.

"So, how do you want me?" Logan murmured as Oz settled his back against Logan's chest.

"Just…like this," Oz muttered, pulling Logan's arms around him.

"You sure?" Logan blinked.

"I get you any way I want you, right? Then…I really just want to watch a fucking movie and not think for a bit," Oz admitted. "Is that okay?"

He twisted in the cradle of Logan's body, looking up into his face with a pleading expression. Something about it gave Logan the urge to go out and find something — or someone — to hit. Repeatedly. But… later. For now —

"So, you don't want to have sex?" Logan asked slowly, just to be sure.

Oz sighed. "I can jack you off first, if that'll shut you up. But I've… It's been a weird day."

Logan grimaced. He'd pieced together enough clues to hazard a guess, but.. "Did something happen?"

A shadow passed behind Oz's eyes, before he shook his head no. "Nothing I want to think about right now. Is that a problem?"

Logan considered it for half a beat, but…

"Naw. Let's just watch a movie," he said, leaning back and pulling Oz tighter against him.

And as he relaxed back onto the bed, Oz settling into place against Logan's chest in the cradle of his arms; something unwound deep in Logan's gut. Comfortable and content as the warm body fitted against his paired Oz's phone to his laptop and started flipping through their options, Logan pressed a kiss to the top of the curly head tickling his chin.

Oz froze. They both did.

Shit

Logan squeezed his eyes closed, hoping desperately Oz wouldn't say anything.

"So, uh…what do you want to, um…watch?" Oz stammered.

"Dunno," Logan answered, clearing his throat. "Just… pick something good, okay?"

"Um…yeah," Oz replied, his attention locked with unnatural stiffness on the little laptop, before settling on some nerd-looking thing titled ' Kronos the Barbarian'.

"Here's one we'll both enjoy," Oz said as he called up the title screen.

Logan rolled his eyes, but… whatever. This was the deal, right? ' However you like ', he'd told Oz.

And the way Oz was snuggled up on him right then? Well, it wasn't awful. Honestly, when Logan had made his offer, he'd had no idea Oz was so into…touching. Tangled together at night to sleep. Little touches as they moved around the room, now that Oz was allowed. Plus, of course, Logan couldn't leave out Oz's enthusiastic pawing, his hands sweeping over every inch of Logan's body any time they so much as made out. And now this?

Logan didn't expect that sort of intimacy from the guy. From any guy. Not that he'd ever really considered the idea of it before. But once it'd started…it wasn't bad. But none of that explained away the accidentally intimate kiss, so… Why had he done it?

He could blame it on the heat of the moment. Or given how they were both so curled up and cozy together, that Logan had just...gotten confused where he was for a moment. That the whole day had been a little off, and Logan's brain was too tired to keep his straight walls up…

Yeah. He could blame it on all of those things. Because there was no way that Logan liked all this . Absolutely none at all.

It was just…comfortable. That was all. He'd lost his head, doing what he'd do on a movie date with a g— with anyone . And if he kept repeating that, he was sure he'd believe it. Right?

Oh, he was so fucked.