He came back carrying a bag of chips and two sodas, which he set near my feet and then plopped down.
This time he sat closer than before. If I moved over just an inch, our legs would be pressed together.
Could Drew actually be into me, too?
Beneath the blanket, my cock jerked. It was still fucking hard. Seriously. Apparently, one kiss from Drew was like the equivalent of an overdose of Viagra.
I’d never been hard this long before. I’d always just taken care of the situation.
But I couldn’t right now. It was like sick torture, and I enjoyed it.
“Second one’s starting,” he said, popped the top to the can, and took a sip. I watched his profile as he stared up at the TV. After a few seconds, the can was returned to the table and Drew’s back hit the cushions. Our shoulders were so wide they bumped together.
I wanted to reach for his hand, but I was unsure.
What if he didn’t want me to?
What if he does?
I glanced down at his long fingers, resting loosely on the top of his thigh. I moved like I was settling back into the couch a little bit more and dropped my arm near his. The back of his hand fell open. I took a chance and reached for it. His fingers opened wide to make room for mine.
“When I’m drunk, I call my grandma and tell her she’s hot,” I said, still looking at the TV.
“In a Scottish accent.” Drew snickered.
“You knew?” I shot him a surprised look.
“Yeah.” He chortled.
“Did Ivy tell you?” I demanded.
Drew’s hand went stiff in mine. “Ivy knows?” The humor in his voice was no longer there.
I hesitated. “Yeah, I told her a long time ago,” I explained. “The night she told me she was into Braeden.”
“‘Cause you were interested in her.” His tone was harder now, like he was upset. Drew started to pull back, and my chest seized in panic.
“Listen.” I gripped his hand tighter to prevent him from moving away.
“You and my sister is not an image I want in my head.”
“Nothing happened between me and Ivy. I swear. If it did, do you think Braeden would even let me in this house?”
Drew gave me a sidelong glance and then settled back against the cushions, but his hand was still rigid in mine.
“So…” I began, cautious. “The idea of me and Ivy bothers you?”
He made a rude sound. “The idea of you and anybody bothers me.”
Well, that made me happy. Totally fucking giddy.
He didn’t seem quite as gleeful about the announcement, so I decided to maybe not act like I’d just won the lottery.
“Most guys have one-night stands, random hook-ups when they get drunk. If there aren’t women around, they do stupid shit like run across the quad or get into fights.”
“You’re such a frat boy.” Drew teased.
“If anybody else called me that, I’d punch ‘em in the face.”
“Frat boy,” he said again.
I let him get away with it.
Because I loved him. And when it came off his lips, it sounded like a term of endearment.
“Instead of doing that stuff, I’d call Granny. Who the fuck calls their grandma to tell her she’s hot when they’re drunk?”
“I think we should get you some therapy,” he deadpanned.
“So cold,” I said, pretending I was hurt and like I was going to pull my hand back.
In reality, someone would have to use a chainsaw to get my hand out of his.
“Aww, T,” Drew drawled. “I was just kidding.” As he spoke, he pulled my hand back and lifted it to his lips.
Before either of us could think about it, he kissed the back of my hand.
My heart literally tripped. It fell flat and skipped a beat.
That chainsaw?
Not even that would be enough to separate me from him now.
I could tell the act caught him off guard. The way he stilled and pulled his face away like he was in shock.
I didn’t want to act like it was a big deal, even though I was pretty sure my heart graduated from skipping a beat to doing cartwheels inside my chest.
“Those phone calls were a sign.” I continued, calm. “One of the many signs I tried to ignore, the ones whispering in the back of my mind that maybe… No, not maybe. That I am gay.”
“Shouldn’t you be calling your grandpa, then?” Drew asked. He was totally serious. This wasn’t a joke anymore.
I smiled anyway because it was funny. But he didn’t see because he was still looking away. “If it was my grandpa I called, I wouldn’t be able to tell myself the shit I was feeling was wrong. Plus, then I could tell all the guys I was calling some chick I met online to have phone sex. I told them she thought I was Scottish.”