Finally Us

by Quinn Ward

  “Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I parroted the words he told me so often. And then, to make sure he had a good first day of college, I slid my hand around to the small of his back and tenderly pressed my lips to his. When I pulled back, his mouth hung slack. I used one finger to close it, then slid the pad of my thumb over his cheek. “I promise, you’re going to have a great day, and you can tell me how right I was when you see me tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I stood at the intersection, watching him cross the street and disappear into the coffee shop.

  The following Monday morning crashed down around us like a hurricane. My alarm blared at six and Gabe threw a pillow at the wall, demanding I shut that damn thing up before he pitched my phone out the window. I chuckled, realizing he would never be a morning person. As much fun as it’d been to wake up every morning and have breakfast together last week, I let him sleep.

  I entered the password on his phone and set six alarms, just in case five weren’t enough. Even then, I knew I’d have to call him between my first and second classes to make sure he hadn’t turned off his phone so he could sleep uninterrupted. After showering, I quickly dressed and sat in what’d officially been dubbed the smelly chair⁠—despite the fact it no longer reeked like stale beer after a thorough cleaning⁠—and surfed the internet on my phone while I watched Gabe sleep. When he rolled over and curled his body around my pillow, I snapped a quick picture for posterity.

  Shortly after nine, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out as discreetly as possible and smiled at the message. You were supposed to wake me up.

  Sorry, you were too cute to disturb, I texted back before tucking the phone away so I could pay attention to the professor droning on the historical development of Western culture. This course was going to be mind-numbingly boring, but I was trying to not fall into a false sense of security that the semester would be a breeze. The professor came across as one who would be a total hardass, despite the first-day pep talk he’d given us about how passions were meant to be embraced and he was there to guide us through our journeys.

  I told myself I wouldn’t keep checking my phone, but when it buzzed for the fourth time, I decided to look. Gabe had text-bombed me.

  9:32 - I’m not cute.

  9:33 - Okay, so I totally am, but that’s beside the point. Wake me up from now on.

  9:35 - On second thought, don’t. Sleep good. But I need to get up earlier. Didn’t have time for my Port Java run today.

  9:47 - Heading in now. Wish me luck. Pizza night?

  Dad had given me a lecture about utilizing the meal plan he’d paid for, but the food in the dining hall seriously lacked flavor and texture. There were other options available, but by the end of the day, I had zero energy to go back out into the real world. I could only hope it got easier once I got into the swing of the semester.

  By the end of the first month of school, I knew I was in over my head. I hadn’t listened when everyone told me I didn’t have to take the maximum allowed credits. Unlike most students, I loved a challenge, so I figured packing my schedule would be a good plan. The reality was there was exponentially more homework in college.

  I missed Gabe. Sure, I saw him every day and slept next to him every night, but it wasn’t enough. We spent most evenings in the common area, him at one end of the couch and me at the other, both with books strewn between us and laptops perched on our legs. When his eyes grew heavy and he couldn’t concentrate anymore, we’d pack up our books and he’d head to bed. I, on the other hand, would fall into the chair under the loft and keep working until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Lesson learned. If I survived this semester, I’d rethink how many credits I took on for the spring. I wanted to regain the balance between my academic and personal lives.

  6

  Gabe

  “Ugh, I’m beat.” Trevor dropped his backpack as soon as he walked through the door.

  Where I’d taken an easy course load, Trevor was still the overachiever. He’d returned from classes every day since the second week of school, complaining about how tired he was. I wished I could say that was because we were fooling around all night, but the truth was both of us were having a hard time acclimating to our new schedules. Neither of us wanted to sleep on our own, but a twin bed wasn’t exactly designed for two grown men to share. There were a lot of misplaced elbows and knees causing unpleasant sleep interruptions.

  Seth and his roommate, Gibson, were both headed home for the weekend. Trevor asked if I wanted to get away, too, but I was selfish. We’d driven home almost every weekend for the past month, but this weekend I wanted him to myself.

  He’d always been so closed off in high school, but now, he was a beautifully frustrating social butterfly. The upside of him dragging me from place to place was I got to see his transformation first-hand. His mom had even demanded to speak to me during one of their nightly calls because she was certain he’d been exaggerating how much time we were spending with classmates and new friends.

  “You want to head down to the dining hall or call for pizza?” He really did look ready to fall over, which was why I suggested the option that’d allow us to stay here. He could grab a shower to rinse off the funk of the day, a necessity when it was two-thousand degrees with five-hundred percent humidity.

  “Air you could wear” is what Gran would’ve called it. So far, it seemed everything we’d heard about the weather being more pleasant along the coast was complete and utter bullshit. Hell, it’d been too hot this week to go down and enjoy the beach, and I didn’t think that was even possible. This late in the season, it should’ve been cool enough for a sweatshirt, but I was cursing the fact the university frowned on attending classes naked. I was beginning to think it’d still be close to ninety degrees for Halloween in a few weeks.

  “Pizza. Definitely a pizza night,” he told me, already rummaging through his drawer for clothes. I preened a bit, happy that we’d fallen into this totally natural routine where we knew what the other was going to do before they did it. “Get the veggie tonight. It’s too hot for meat.”

  I sniggered because, even though we’d celebrated our nineteenth birthdays last month, I was still a teenage boy at heart. Unable to resist the temptation to be totally immature, I moved behind him and ground the semi-hard dick I always had when he was around against his ass. “Does that mean you’re on a completely meat-free diet for the night?”

  “No, just meat that’s been ground to a pulp and cooked at four-hundred degrees,” he responded without missing a beat. He paid my current predicament no attention and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Knowing we were alone, I was tempted to follow him to see what he’d do if I offered to scrub his back. I stayed in the room because I still didn’t trust that Seth had left for the weekend. He’s a good enough kid, but he had this uncanny ability to show up at the worst possible times, like last Saturday night when I was about two seconds away from wrapping my lips around Trevor’s dick for the first time. I’d been dreaming about tasting him longer than I’d ever admit to anyone, including him, and then Seth had shown up when my face was close enough I could smell Trevor’s arousal. We really needed to come up with a warning system so he’d know when to back away quickly because it seemed to embarrass him even more than it annoyed me.

  “Hey, Gabe, I forgot my shower caddy. Could you bring it in here?” That wasn’t like Trevor at all. He was the planner, the one who was prepared for any situation despite the fact his parents were totally against him joining Boy Scouts when we were little.

  I snagged his caddy and walked through the study into the bathroom. Steam already clouded the air and Trevor was hidden behind the shower curtain. I reached to hand him his supplies, shocked when Trevor wrapped his wet hand around my wrist. “It’ll be a tight fit, but I think there’s room for two in here.”

  My mouth went dry and my dick perked up at the suggestion. I quickly locked the door to our study and checked to be sure the door to the other half of the
suite was also locked. We’d still have some explaining to do if Seth pounded on the door, but I’d think of something if that happened. Trevor was inviting me to get wet and naked with him; there was no way I was turning that down.

  I quickly stripped and pulled back the curtain to find Trevor languidly stroking his cock. He carried around a lot of insecurity about his size, but he was utterly perfect to me. I winced as the scalding hot water stung my back, willing myself to deal with it until my body acclimated to the heat. “How in the hell can you stand this? Pretty sure you’re in here to get clean, not to poach yourself.”

  “Yeah, but I was hoping I’d have company and figured we’ll probably get cold because we can’t both be under the spray the entire time.” I wouldn’t be surprised if Trevor went online to research how to make a shared shower enjoyable. So far, he was doing a damn good job. I reached into the shower caddy for the body wash and poured a glob into my hands. Trevor tried handing me his washcloth, but I wanted to feel his skin against my palms, so I let it drop to the shower floor.

  I began massaging his shoulders with the soap, kissing the back of his neck. My dick felt ready to explode, so I stood at an awkward angle, afraid I’d freak him out if I allowed it to slide between his ass cheeks like I desperately wanted. Intent on torturing me, Trevor leaned forward, pressing his hands against the tile, which tilted that perky ass in my direction. I stared at it, wondering what he’d do if I dropped to my knees so I could worship him. “You’re killing me, Trev.”

  “Good. Now you know how I feel every night when you rut against me in your sleep,” he sighed. “Been thinking about this all day. Couldn’t concentrate in Econ because I was trying to figure out how to get you naked.”

  “You could’ve asked,” I pointed out. “It’s not like I need a reason to get naked and sweaty with you.”

  “Yeah, but you’re always trying to take things slow,” he complained.

  It was true, but I thought that was for the best, because he’d grown skittish with every day that passed between high school graduation and college. If we took things any further than jerking off and making out, I needed him to be certain he was serious. Despite my cool exterior, I worried a lot that he was going to meet someone he liked better now that he was developing his own circle of friends. Someone hotter, smarter, more like him. I wouldn’t hold him back, didn’t want either of us living with questions down the road. Regrets. Feeling like we’d settled for the first person we’d been attracted to and missed out on someone better, more suited to our personalities.

  “Stop. You can’t always beat yourself up when I say something you don’t want to hear.” Trevor turned and held me steady by my hips. “You’ve always tried to protect me, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so comfortable with you. But sometimes, you need to trust that I know what I want. That I know the consequences. I want this, Gabe. I’ve wanted it for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “This is a damn good start.” I ran my hand down Trev’s chest, loving the way he shivered beneath my touch. Stepping closer, I slid my hand around to his ass, grinding our dicks together. I’d fantasized about everything I wanted to do to and with Trevor since the first time I jerked off, thinking of anything other than how good it felt, but the reality… so much more. Fuck, my balls already ached with the need to come. “Don’t ever think you have to hold back when you want to go further, Trev. Tell me. Show me. If I don’t get the hint, throw me onto the bed and do whatever it is you want to do.”

  7

  Trevor

  I woke up early the next morning, like I always did, but this morning was different. This morning, my entire body ached in a good way. The entire room reeked like sweat and cum, but I was too warm and fuzzy to do anything about it. I’d expected Gabe to stop last night’s events before things went too far, but I’d never been happier to be proven wrong. We’d stopped short of full-on sex, but I no longer felt that was because he didn’t want to go all the way. After the first round of orgasms, which left us both sated and sleepy, we’d woken up in the night for round two. As we’d drifted off following round three a few hours ago, Gabe had promised we’d pick up where we left off, only leaving the room this weekend to eat. That sounded like a good plan to me.

  The thought of food made my stomach rumble, a loud reminder that we’d skipped dinner last night. Gabe forgot all about ordering pizza after I’d tricked him into the shower with me, and we really hadn’t thought about anything other than being together after he dried me off.

  As tempting as it was to throw on clothes and sneak down to the dining hall before anyone else woke up, I needed another shower. The downside of sex seemed to be the stench that remained when you were too exhausted to get up when it was done. I rummaged through my dresser for a change of clothes without turning on the light and sneaked into the bathroom, careful to not disturb Gabe. I’d bring back something he could eat when he awoke, but I knew better than to wake him when he didn’t have anywhere to be.

  I tripped over my own feet when I came out of the dining hall to the sound of familiar voices. What the hell? It wasn’t even eight in the morning, which meant they had to have been on the road before six.

  “Oh, Trevor!” My mom called out when she noticed me trying to right my tray before everything spilled to the floor.

  “Mom, Aunt Gwen, what are you doing here?” I asked. They absolutely could not come up to our room. They’d take one whiff and either figure out what we’d been doing or think one⁠—or both⁠—of us had company last night. Their natural assumption would be Gabe, but where I was the one awake and he was still sound asleep, they might assume I was the one who had a late-night booty call. And then Mom would want to dissect the evening, asking who the lucky girl was, and I wasn’t ready to have that talk with her. Not yet. It would have to be soon, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet.

  “You didn’t come home this weekend, so we decided to drive down to you,” Mom said, as though it was totally normal to get in the car before dawn to check on your son you haven’t seen in an entire week. We’d dutifully returned home every weekend so far this semester, even though Gabe complained there was no reason. It wasn’t like we were doing anything when we were there. It was all about proving to the moms that we were still alive and capable of taking care of ourselves. Six days apart, and she couldn’t help herself. She’d lose her mind if I wound up getting a job out of the Triangle area.

  “Gabe forgot his laundry last weekend when you left, so I suggested to Gwen that we bring it down. We don’t want to monopolize your entire weekend, so we’ll be heading to an arts festival down by Sunset Beach a bit later.”

  “You didn’t think it might be better to stop here on your way back?” Dang, Gabe was a bad influence; his snark was rubbing off on me.

  “You’re always up early, so I didn’t think it’d be a problem.”

  “Mom, I love you, but you can’t drop by unannounced.” The more I thought about what she might find upstairs, the more annoyed I became. Gabe was right; my mom had zero boundaries when it came to me. It was a good thing he was the person I wanted to be with because, otherwise, I’d have to worry about her pushing away any potential partners with her helicopter parenting.

  “Well, maybe you’ll remember this the next time you decide at the last minute that you can’t be bothered to come home for the weekend. When you said you wanted to come to Wilmington for college, you promised you were going to visit.”

  “And I have!” My voice echoed through the empty lobby. Mom flinched at the angry tone in my voice. “I never said I’d come home every single weekend. And even if I had, it’s not feasible with my schedule.”

  “Are you having trouble? Do you need to drop a class or two?”

  “I’ll be fine, but I need to focus. I can’t do that when we’re spending five hours every weekend in the car. That’s time I could spend reading or working on my assignments.”

  “I can see your point,” Mom conceded. “But we haven’t e
ven seen your room. We should’ve been here for move-in, then maybe you wouldn’t be stuck in a suite hall.” I doubted mom would be as upset about our living situation if she knew why we’d requested the hall we had. She should be grateful we were living in a suite, where we didn’t have the same ability to lock ourselves away from the rest of our classmates.

  Besides, once you took our relationship out of the equation, both Gabe and I were happy with where we lived. It was nice to not have to worry about using the same bathrooms and showers as the rest of an entire floor. Everyone in our suite seemed cool about keeping the commons areas picked up and cleaned. Sure, it’d be nice if I hadn’t somehow been put on permanent bathroom duty, but it was fine because at least then I knew we wouldn’t have a thick layer of funk by the end of the school year.

  “You’re making it sound like we were assigned to a cardboard box. It’s a nice place,” I told her, waving my hand around as though I was giving her the grand tour.

  “Good, then you won’t mind showing us where you live,” she responded with a satisfied smirk.

  “Well, I sort of do. It’s early, it’s the weekend, and I’m pretty sure Gabe wouldn’t be happy about company when he’s sound asleep.”

  “Well, he needs to get up, anyway,” Gwen interjected. “It’ll do him no good to sleep the weekend away. I was hoping some of your good habits would rub off on him.”

  “They are, just not waking up early. But I promise, he’s not planning to sleep all weekend. We were up late last night⁠—”

  “Not at a party, I hope,” Mom interrupted. I wasn’t sure if I wished I’d stayed in bed or not. If I had, I wouldn’t be stuck down here trying to take on the team of moms, but at least we’d have been able to fight them together if they’d knocked on our door. Gabe was much better at smooth-talking them.