Page 93 of Try Me

He did. And apparently so did I. We passed out, woke up, and fucked for a second time. The third time, I woke to Mark going down on me, and the fourth time I groaned, truly exhausted, my dick signaling defeat by remaining resolutely soft, but he only pulled me back against his chest, fingers playing over my stomach.

“I figured it out.” He kissed the nape of my neck, along my hairline, the corner of my shoulder. “My dad might take away my inheritance, but he won’t stop paying my tuition, and I’ve got money I’ve been saving since I was a kid, unrelated to my inheritance. He can’t take that away. If you get kicked out or whatever, you can move in here. We’ll figure out the money situation. There are always loans and credit cards…”

“This is all very reassuring,” I mumbled sleepily. “I’ll be happy if I can stay out of jail.”

“You’re not going to go to jail. You’re going to law school.”

“I was selling pot, Mark. I mean, Ididthat. There’s no getting around it.”

“Yeah, but it was a while ago.”

“Think that’ll stop your dad?”

He blew out a breath. “Probably not. Okay, fuck it. I don’t know what to do. But we’ll figure it out, I promise.”

But we didn’t figure out shit that night; we just passed out again.

And that was fine with me.

It was the first good sleep I’d had in weeks.

31

Mark

Iwoke up to an empty bed, and my stomach guttered like a dying campfire because fuck if that wasn’t familiar. Chet at my window, in my bed, then gone.

I kicked free of the covers, laced my arms behind my head, and waited for my stomach to settle. Because the difference this time was everything we’d said to each other last night.

I figured maybe Chet had gone to get a glass of water or coffee. When he didn’t return a few minutes later, I slid from the bed and opened the bedroom door, peering down the hall. I heard cabinets opening in the kitchen and, sure enough, the hiss of the coffeemaker.

I found Chet peering into the fridge, moving aside an egg carton before pulling out milk. He glanced over his shoulder at me, startled at first, and then broke into a grin that hit me like a double shot of espresso and euphoria.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “I know you’re not cooking me breakfast.”

“Definitely not. We’ll work up to that one. I am making coffee, though. The milk is iffy.”

“We just got it last week.”

“Sniff for yourself.”

I did, then poured the rest down the sink.

“Whoa…” We both turned our heads to find Jesse staring at us from the doorway. “What the fuck? Chet?”

Chet lifted a hand. “Hi.”

Jesse whirled in my direction. “But you…I thought…Fuck me fucking sideways,”he spluttered. “It’s just…I don’t understand why all the hot ones keep picking these baby bi’s.” He nudged Chet aside and opened the fridge with a huff. “You friend zoned me in, like, two seconds flat. True or untrue?”

“True,” Chet replied with a grin. “But, that’s only because—”

Jesse put a hand up. “I swear to fuck, if one more person says I’m too sweet or something about boyish charm, I’m going to lose my shit. Yes, I had a boyfriend freshman year. Yes, I very much enjoyed holding hands with him and…and cuddling in the quad and giving him heart eyes or whatever. But Jesus, a guy’s allowed to change. I’m not about that life anymore. I just want the hard-core action now,thank you very much. No relationships, no strings. I just want a guy with a big dick—because, yes, I’m a size queen and—”

“I have a big dick.” Sam wandered in, inserting himself effortlessly into the conversation with an unrepentant grin.

Jesse flipped him off. “Anyone who has a big dick doesn’t walk around claiming it, you know.”

Sam shrugged, attention shifting to me and Chet next. “I know you.” He narrowed his eyes at Chet, taking in his naked chest, then gesturing between us. “Wasn’t he the guy who—”