But if you break them up, then Chad is free to finally see what he’s missing in you. And you know you’re the right guy for him. The only impediment was your body—and sure, maybe you aren’t a great big hunk of muscle like Dante yet, but you’re on your way. If he’s out of the way—

I sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to do,” I said slowly.

“Can you talk to him for me?” Dante’s big brown eyes pleaded with me. “Please?”

I pushed that voice out of my head and smiled at him. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to him, okay?”

“Thank you, Jordy, I really appreciate this.” He scribbled his cell number down on a napkin and shoved it at me. “Call me anytime, okay?” He stood up and awkwardly hugged me.

I sat there for a while after he left. I looked at the napkin with his number on it. I pulled out my phone and entered it into my address book.

When I arrived back at the house, the first person I ran into was Chad. He was sitting at the picnic table in the backyard as I walked up from the parking lot, and I caught my breath. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and my heart started beating a little faster at the sight of his chest. He waved at me, and remembering my promise to Dante, I headed over there.

What do I say? I wondered as I drew nearer to him. I should have just said no.

“Jordy!” He smiled, but his eyes seemed a little sad. “I’ve hardly seen you this semester.”

I sat down on the edge of the table. “Well, you’ve been busy.” I shrugged. “It’s cool, I get it.”

“Yeah, well.” He looked down at his hands. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“Hey, you want to go to Fusions after Rush?”

“Sure.” I wasn’t exactly dressed for going out, but what the hell. “Will Dante be joining us?”

“No,” he said quickly. He didn’t look up, just kept staring at his hands. “I just broke up with him.” He gave a slight shrug. “Was probably shitty to do it by text message, but—”

My heart almost jumped out of my chest, and it was all I could do not to jump to my feet and scream “YES” at the sky. Trying to keep my voice level, I said, “Oh, Chad! I’m so sorry! What happened?”

“It wasn’t there.” This time he did look up. “I mean, he was everything I wanted—hot, successful, had his act together, but I was forcing it. After the initial attraction wore off, I mean, I was trying to force it, make it work when I really wasn’t feeling it at all.” He tossed his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I mean, could there be a more perfect guy than Dante?” He sighed. “Gorgeous house, great career, and that body—oh, my God, that body.” His lower lip came out, and he pinched it—a weird habit he had. “Well, the sex wasn’t great.”

“It wasn’t?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this, but somehow I had to.

“He’s a bottom.” Chad looked into my eyes. “A total bottom.”

“And that’s a problem?”

Chad sighed, like he was dealing with someone incredibly stupid. “I like to get fucked, Jordy. I was born to be fucked.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know how they always say it hurts the first time, that it’s something you have to practice and learn how to do?” He leaned forward. “Not for me. The first time I was with a guy, he went right in. All the way in, and it didn’t hurt. It felt awesome. I was a natural. And I love getting fucked. But Dante? No interest in being a top at all. Nope, he just wanted to get fucked. And I need to get fucked, you know?”

My dick was getting hard. I swallowed. I opened my mouth to say but I’m a top but stopped myself. This wasn’t the time to make a move. No, I was playing for keeps, for a lifetime together, and being a rebound fuck wasn’t enough for me.

“I’m sorry, Chad.” I put my hand on his bare shoulder. It felt cool to my touch, but a little electrical charge flowed from my palm straight to my stiffening cock. I crossed my legs to try to make it less noticeable. “I really liked Dante. We had coffee this afternoon.”

His eyes narrowed. “You did?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I ran into him and he invited me out for coffee. He said he wanted to talk to me. I was curious so I went.”

“And just what did he want to talk to you about?” His voice was terse.

“You.” And in that moment, I knew I was doing precisely the right thing. The way his face twisted made me feel slightly triumphant. “He was worried about where your relationship was heading, and he wanted to know if you’d said anything to me.”

Chad’s face flushed. He stood up and started pacing around, the words tumbling out of him. “That just pisses me off. He went behind my back and talked to my friends about me? Tried to get my friends to betray my confidences? Man, I did the right thing dumping him. That’s just so—so junior high.”

“I know.” I nodded, trying hard not to smile. “I mean, did he want me to pass you a note in gym?”

“Exactly.” Chad folded his arms, which made his chest and arms look even bigger. “I am so sorry he put you in that position, Jordy.” He shook his head. “That’s just so wrong.” He blew out a deep breath. “Well, any doubts I may have had about dumping him are gone now.” He patted my shoulder. “I’m so glad you told me. You’re such a good friend.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d better get some clothes on. Fusions later, okay?”

“You got it, bud.” I watched as he walked back inside the house, waiting until he was inside before letting out a sigh of relief.

I didn’t think the night was ever going to end. Chad stuck by my side almost all night, and I remembered Dante saying, “You’re his only real friend.” I couldn’t help but give Rees and Brandon smug looks from time to time. He likes me better than his pledge brothers. He likes me better than anyone else.

And finally, the night was over and we were walking into Fusions.

“Get us some drinks, Rees,” Chad said loud enough to be heard over Lady Gaga and “Paparazzi.” Obediently, Rees went to the bar, and Chad put his arm around my shoulders. “It’s nice for us to be out again,” he said into my ear, his breath against my lobe sending tingles down my spine. “I really missed it.”

“But didn’t you and Dante—”

“He wasn’t as much fun to dance with as you.” He gave me that smile again. “Didn’t you notice? He had no rhythm at all.”

Rees brought our drinks, and I took mine, sipping it. The club was crowded, like fifty-cent-drink night always was. There was a crowd of guys on the dance floor, and an assorted drag queen here and there. When Brandon spotted someone he knew and vanished into the crowd, Rees was right behind him.

“Where are they going?” I asked, finishing my drink and putting it down on a table.

Chad rolled his eyes. “See that guy over there?” He pointed. “The one in the wifebeater?”

I followed the direction he was pointing. “The guy with the tattoo?”

Chad nodded. “They had a three way with him a couple of months ago and have been looking for him ever since.” He made a face. “I think that’s creepy.”

“Creepy?”

“Not three ways—those can be a lot of fun. But to have sex with your friends?” His lip curled a little bit. “That’s gross. It’s like having sex with your brother.”

I looked at him, but he was finishing his drink. You think having sex with a friend would be like having sex with your brother?

That didn’t bode well for me.

But I wasn’t going to be his friend, I was going to be his boyfriend.

“Come on, let’s dance,” he said, pulling me out onto the dance floor.

I followed him through the gyrating crowd until we got a space where there was actually room to dance, and we started moving. I started scanning the crowd of dancers when a chilling thought occurred to me.

What if Dante shows up?

I was starting to sweat, so without a second thought I pulled my shirt off and tucked it into the back of my jeans. Chad smiled approvingly at me. He thinks I look good! I thought as he did the same. “I’m so proud of you!” he shouted to me over the music, which was now changing to “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha.