“I don’t fuck,” he said as I started to get up. “Don’t go.”

“I—”

He lay back down on the bed and patted the pillow next to the one where his head rested. “Stay with me and cuddle, okay?”

I looked at him. What the hell. I slid up and put my head down on the free pillow.

His arms wrapped around me and he kissed the back of my neck.

I closed my eyes. It felt good there in his strong arms.

He wasn’t Chad, but he’d do.

I fell asleep.

Chapter 8

Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams” woke me up. I opened my eyes and didn’t know where I was at first. But the muscular arm draped over me brought it all back in a rush. I’d fallen asleep in Mike’s bed, and I could feel his hard-on pressed up against my ass. On the nightstand, I could see it was his cell phone playing the chorus. He shifted and mumbled a bit against my back, and as I looked at the phone I could see Mike’s girlfriend’s face staring at me. Perfect timing, I thought, smothering a grin. After another moment, Beyoncé was cut off, and the phone chirped. I eased his arm off and slid out of the bed, sitting up on the side. I could hear guys talking outside the window, and the alarm clock on his desk read 9:47 a.m. I got up and grabbed my underwear, sliding it on.

“Where you going?” Mike mumbled, his eyes half open. “Don’t go.”

“Your girlfriend just called.” I slid my jeans up, buttoning the fly. “I think she left a message.”

He sat up in the bed, and I leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for last night,” I whispered. “That was really hot.”

He grabbed my arms and pulled me down on top of him, pushing my hand down to his erection. “You want to play some more before you leave?”

It was tempting, but I pushed myself back up. “I think you should probably call your girlfriend back.” I picked my shirt up and slipped it over my head. “I bet she’s sorry she dumped you and wants you back.”

“Fuck her.” He pushed the covers aside and started stroking himself. In spite of myself, I was getting hard. He winked at me. “You sure you don’t want some more of this?”

“I’ll stay,” I said, putting my socks on, “if you let me fuck you.” I reached for my shoes. “You’ve got a gorgeous ass.”

“I don’t do that.” He stopped stroking himself and frowned. A drop of pre-cum oozed out the tip.

I slipped on my shoes, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Mike, trust me. You are really hot, but you really want to call your girlfriend.” I stood up, grabbed his phone, and tossed it onto the bed next to him. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be more than happy to be with you again—but what I really want is to fall in love and be with someone who really wants to be with me, not with his girlfriend.” I reached over and rubbed the top of his cock. “Work things out with her one way or the other—but if you’re not really into guys . . .”

I shut the door behind me as he dialed his phone.

Once I was inside my car, I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. The whole thing was so absurd. I remembered Blair telling me once that “straight boys will put out if they’re drunk enough—all it takes is a six-pack.” I rolled my eyes and started my car. As I backed out of my space, I saw Chad walking Dante to his car. Chad was just wearing a pair of basketball shorts and sandals. His shorts were riding really low, and I looked away as I put the car in drive and headed home.

How long is this going to last? I wondered as I drove. I liked Dante—he seemed like a really nice guy. But he was standing in my way. Somehow, I was going to have to get rid of him. The question was, how? I kept running through alternatives as I drove, but nothing seemed possible. Maybe I’m going to have to let this run its course.

As I walked into my apartment, I decided the best thing for me to do was wait and be patient. An opportunity would present itself, surely.

The first week of classes sped by. My classes all seemed really easy, and it was going to be another semester of making the dean’s list without putting a lot of effort into it. My first meeting as a brother was Monday night, and the main item on the meeting agenda was the start of Rush the next week. I kept watching Chad, who spent the entire meeting doodling in a notebook in front of him, not participating in the meeting at all. He was sitting in between Brandon and Rees, and they seemed equally bored. When the sign-up sheet to work the Beta Kappa booth in the quad on campus went around, I signed up for as many slots as I could. I was proud to be a brother and wanted to contribute. When the meeting broke up, Mike came up to me. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” I replied, wondering if he was going to invite me into his room again.

“I wanted to say thanks.” He stuck out his big right hand, and I shook it. “I called Leona when you left the other morning, and we talked everything out. We’re back together again.”

I smiled. “Mike, that’s great. I’m really happy for you.”

“I also wanted to thank you for Friday night,” he went on. “I was a wreck, and it was nice of you to keep me company when I was so down about her.”

I bit my lip. It wasn’t like I didn’t get something out of it, I thought. “Glad I could help. And I was serious about helping you with your econ class, if you need me to.”

Later, as I was getting into my car after the meeting, I saw Dante pulling in. I sighed, and debated whether I should say hello.

You should—how else are you going to get into position to help them break up if you don’t befriend Dante?

Instead, I started the car and left.

There was plenty of time for that later, I reasoned, and I wasn’t ready to start playing the game yet.

It still hurt to see them together.

Besides, I still hadn’t figured out how to do it.

I’d hoped my first Rush as an actual brother would give me something to focus on besides Chad and Dante. It was easier said than done. I ran into them everywhere, it seemed. When I went to the grocery store, they were there, shopping for a romantic dinner Dante was cooking that night. Every time I drove into the parking lot at the house, there was Dante’s car to remind me. I went shopping for clothes, and sure enough, there they were, trying things on and laughing while I watched through slitted eyes. As if that weren’t enough, it turned out that Dante worked out at my gym. As my trainer put me through my paces, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on Dante whenever I could. He always wore a loose-fitting tank top with spaghetti straps, exposing his mountainous pecs, and was drenched with sweat as he lifted weights I couldn’t conceive ever being strong enough to move myself.

It just further emphasized my inability to compete with him.

And every time I got into bed and closed my eyes, I couldn’t get the image of the two of them together out of my head. I’d get hard, imaging muscular Dante on top of Chad, fucking him, his big ass clenching and unclenching as Chad screamed with pleasure.

And after I wiped my own cum off myself, I’d cry a little bit.

But at least I knew Dante wouldn’t be around during Rush.

I managed to successfully avoid Chad during the first two nights, and I was pleased to discover I actually had a knack for rushing. Well, maybe part of it was knowing if I kept myself busy talking to prospectives I wouldn’t have time to talk to Chad or wonder what he was doing or if he was going over to Dante’s house the minute Rush ended. So I lost myself in talking to the prospectives and taking them on tours. My memory also came in handy. Being able to remember their names, where they were from, and things they told me impressed them. It also didn’t hurt that I really believed Beta Kappa was the best house on campus with the most to offer pledges. I believed what I was telling them. I dragged Roger along on the tours, including him in my conversations with the prospectives. I was a little surprised when Roger dropped the surly mocking attitude he’d had when I’d gone through Rush and seemed to open up and enjoy himself. He was really making an effort, and I was proud of him. He was trying to change. Every once in a while, though, I’d catch him staring at me. It was like he was studying me, which kind of creeped me out a little bit—but then I’d just shrug it off.