Chad walked toward me with a big grin on his face. You’d never know he’d had a late night. Every hair was perfectly in place, he looked rested and refreshed, and he was already dressed in khaki shorts, a pale blue pullover, and penny loafers. “My day is going pretty well so far, thank you for asking,” he said as he gave my hand a strong shake. “But you look like you’ve had a rough night.”

You don’t know the half of it. “I was about to head home.” I tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “I slept on the floor in Roger’s room. And my head really hurts.”

“Your first hangover,” he replied with a smile that made my knees feel weak. “I was about to go see if anyone wanted to go grab breakfast.” He let go of my hand. “What do you say, pledge? Want to go have breakfast with a brother?”

There was nothing I would rather do, but I had fur on my teeth. “I’d really like to, but I need to shower—”

“No problem,” Chad replied. “Do you have your car here?”

I nodded.

“You can drive. We can swing by your place first and you can get cleaned up.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind waiting.” He turned me around toward the door. “And I think it’s high time we got to know each other better, don’t you?” I didn’t say anything as we walked through the parking lot to my car. The sun was incredibly bright, and I narrowed my eyes to try to cut down on the glare. Another wave of nausea rolled through my body as I fumbled for my keys and unlocked the car.

Chad whistled. “This is a really nice car.”

“Thanks,” I replied, sliding behind the wheel and starting it up. I turned the air conditioning up to high, and the cold air felt great against my hot skin.

“You’re Roger’s little brother, right?” he asked as he buckled his seat belt. “You know we were pledge brothers, right?”

“Yes, last fall,” I replied as I put the car into gear and backed out of my spot. “And you’re Jacob’s big brother?”

“Yes.” He frowned a bit as I pulled out onto Shaw Avenue and headed for my apartment. “What do you think of Jacob?”

“He’s really nice,” I replied, trying to keep my mind on what I was doing. He was sprawled in the seat next to me, his legs spread wide. His left hand was resting on the armrest between the two seats, and my arm kept brushing against his as I drove. I was getting aroused, despite how rotten I felt, and stupid thoughts kept rushing through my mind. He’s coming to your apartment, you’re going to shower, maybe he’s going to make a move on you, maybe when you’re in the shower he’ll join you in there, pressing his hard muscular body up against yours under the spray of hot water, and he’s going to apologize for taking Jacob instead of you, maybe he took Jacob because—oh, stop it, Jordy, you’re living in a fantasy world. He doesn’t want you and he is never going to want you. He just didn’t want to have breakfast by himself and you just happened to be there.

“He seems to be,” Chad went on. “Not particularly smart—just an observation, not being mean or anything, but he seems like he needs a lot of guidance.” He touched my arm. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I took Jacob for my little brother instead of you.”

“Oh, no need to explain, Chad,” I said hurriedly. “I’m fine with Roger. Really. He’s a great guy.”

“Oh, he is that,” Chad replied. He turned and looked out his window. “You see, Jacob—how do I say this? Jacob needs guidance. He’s not as smart as you are. I’m sure you’ve noticed he stumbles over his lessons a lot. When Eric told me both you and Jacob had chosen me, well, my first instinct was to take you.” He started drumming his fingers on the armrest. “But then Eric said Jacob had picked me, too—and Roger was your second choice.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

“I hope you weren’t hurt.” He patted my arm again. I took a deep breath and willed my hard-on to go away. “But Eric reminded me how introverted Roger is, and this might be the only chance he ever got to have a little brother—and that Jacob needed a big brother like me, to help him out.” He gave a little shrug. “So, what choice did I have? I couldn’t deprive Roger, could I?”

Relief flooded through my addled brain, and it was all I could do not to shout with joy. See? I said to that nasty little voice in my head. There WAS a good explanation for him not taking me. I am not a loser. He did want me. Eric talked him out of it!

Believe that if you need to, the voice sneered back, if that’s what you need to feel better about yourself.

“It’s okay, really,” I said as I pulled into the long drive to my apartment complex. “You don’t owe me any explanations, Chad. I’m glad it worked out the way it did. Roger’s a really great guy.”

“This is a nice place.” Chad whistled as I swiped my entry card at the gate and it swung open.

“I like it here,” I replied, driving through the gate and turning to the right. “It’s going to be weird moving into the house after living by myself for a year.”

“Living in the house can be a bit of a challenge.” Chad laughed. “There are some definite drawbacks—the lack of privacy is one”—I felt myself flush, wondering if he’d seen me and Roger watching him and Jacob—“but the advantages far outweigh the negatives, you know?”

“I’m sure,” I said as I pulled into my designated parking place. We got out and headed upstairs. I kind of hoped we’d run into Blair or Jeff—I hadn’t seen much of them since Rush Week—but there was no sign of them as I unlocked my apartment door and we walked inside.

Chad whistled again. “Damn, this is gorgeous.”

“Help yourself to anything in the fridge and make yourself at home.” I tossed my keys on the kitchen counter. “I’ll get cleaned up as quick as I can.”

“Do you have coffee?” He gave me a sad smile. “I really could use some.”

“Of course I have coffee.” I smiled at him. I quickly started a pot. “That should be ready in about a minute. I’ll hurry.”

“Take your time.” He plopped down on the couch and picked up the remote from the coffee table.

My heart was pounding as I went into my bedroom and undressed. I’d completely forgotten how tired I was, how much I’d wanted to come home and go back to bed. It might just be a friendly breakfast, but it might also be our first date. I stared at myself in the mirror and groaned. If this is a first date I’ve already blown it, I thought. My eyes were bloodshot, there was crud in the corners of my mouth, and my hair looked like I’d been electrocuted. I started the shower while I brushed my teeth. Then I climbed into the shower and stood under the hot spray, moaning a little as the water washed the sleep and beer off my skin. I started lathering up my body. As I soaped my crotch, an image came to my head of Chad sitting on my couch stark naked. Or of me, walking out of the bathroom with the towel around my waist and finding him lying on my bed, naked. My dick started getting hard, and I kept lathering it. I closed my eyes, and the image of Chad bent over his bed flashed through my mind, only it wasn’t Jacob fucking him from behind, it was me, and it wasn’t Chad’s bed, but it was mine, it was me fucking Chad, driving my cock deep inside of him time after time, and Chad was moaning and pushing back against me, trying to get me as deep inside as he could, and he was saying, fuck me fuck me fuck me . . .

And I came, drops of white shooting out of my cock and mingling with the hot shower water.

He’s out there waiting for you and you’re in here jacking your cock while you think about fucking him. Classy.

I turned the water off and grabbed a towel, cursing myself as I dried off. I hung the towel on the rack and walked into the bedroom, half expecting to see him naked on the bed—

He wasn’t there.

I threw on a pair of underwear, grabbed a pair of jean shorts, and slid a CSUP tank top on over my head. I walked back down the hall and grabbed a Coke out of the refrigerator, taking a long swallow. I looked into the living room through the bar window.