by M. A. Innes
“I’m surprised you made it down the stairs with it on.”
“Me, too. I didn’t even think about it for the most part until I heard her voice.”
“I’m proud of you. You’re so much more confident in yourself. I love you, Baby.”
“I love you, too.”
“I want you to think about what I said, okay? We’re not going to talk about it yet, but I want you to figure out how you feel. No pressure. We’ll figure out what’s right for us. Who knows? The dorms might turn out to be great.”
“Maybe they will, Daddy.” There was no way it would turn out like that, but I was going to humor him if it helped him relax and get some sleep.
“Everything is going to be fine, Baby. You’ll see.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
****
I was right. The dorms were going to suck. The room wasn’t that bad. It was bigger than last year’s, but it didn’t seem big enough for two strangers to live in. Especially, one as bouncy as Jay. He was like some kind of little cricket—he was interesting enough for about thirty seconds until he started bouncing around and wouldn’t shut up. Then you wanted to squish him.
Maybe I was exaggerating a little bit, but not much.
Maddox and I had walked in, arms filled with boxes, and he started off right away. “Hi, I’m Jay. Which one of you is Bryan? I’m so excited to be here. I’m new this year. I was going to community college but now I’m here. My parents didn’t think I was ready enough for a big school my freshman year. I’m not sure about that. But they know best, right? Are you Bryan?”
He paused long enough for us to snap out of our shock. Maddox shook his head and pointed his box in my direction. “I’m Maddox. I’m the boyfriend; that’s Bryan.”
Then he gave me a wicked grin and turned back to the bouncing little bug, “I’m sure you guys are going to get along great.”
I was going to kill him.
Right after I squished the bug.
I didn’t even get to set the box down on the bottom bunk before he started right back in. He had a thousand questions about me, about our relationship, and about school in general. He was good about the whole gay thing but I wasn’t sure if it was because he was gay or if he was just comfortable. He was hard to read. In all his oversharing, nothing about his own preferences came up and I wasn’t going to ask.
It was easy to see he thought he was going to be my best friend and that I was going to show him the ropes. Asking him personal questions seemed like it would be setting myself up for more problems. Having a new friend to follow me around endlessly was like a special version of hell designed specifically for me.
I couldn’t get enough privacy from the guy even after a few loads from the car to hide my box in the closet. I was starting to regret agreeing to bring it. When I was alone it hadn’t been an issue, but now I wasn’t sure. This guy seemed to have boundary issues.
Maddox must have figured out the problem as I started unpacking things. He gave Jay a pat on the back and asked him if he would come down to the car and see if there was anything else that needed to come up. There wasn’t. I was glad for the reprieve, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Luckily, there were two small closets. I quickly unpacked the little metal box and making sure it was locked, tucked it into the bottom corner. I put some extra blankets on it to make sure it wouldn’t stick out. It should be private enough there. However, with my new little buddy, I was starting to think I might not have enough privacy to play with anything.
Maddox and Jay were back in a few minutes. I gave Mad a discreet nod as Jay turned around to finish unpacking his suitcase. I had my system pretty well organized, so it didn’t take us long before everything was put away.
“You ready to tackle your stuff?” I would have volunteered for almost anything to escape my room.
“You know it, B. Let’s finish; then we can relax.”
Between the drive and unpacking half the car, I was done. But it wasn’t going to take long to get Maddox unpacked. I had him well prepared, too. Jay stopped talking about himself long enough to frown as we started heading out the door.
“You guys are leaving?”
“Yeah, we’ve got to get Maddox’s stuff out of the car and put away too.”
“You came together?” He got this confused expression.
“Yeah, we were living together over the summer.” It was the first time I’d told anyone that. It felt nice. Like I was marking my territory or something. Maybe there was some caveman in me too.
“Wow.” His expression looked like I’d just told him we’d lived on the moon over the summer. “My parents thought I was too young to date until recently. I can’t imagine living with someone.”
This kid must have grown up in the strangest family. Us being gay didn’t throw him at all but us living together was shocking. I wasn’t sure what to say. Luckily, Maddox stepped in.
“We’ve known each other for a while now. We’re going to head out. Don’t forget, there are some new student activities on campus this week. You probably have something you’re supposed to do this afternoon.”
“Oh, you might be right. I’ll have to check. I know I have a packet around here somewhere. Do you think I’m supposed to go to all of them? It didn’t say. My parents thought I probably should so I didn’t miss any information.” He paused long enough to breathe and we took that as our cue to escape.
Exiting quickly, we called out good-byes and headed out the door.
“I feel like I’ve run a marathon.” Maddox was laughing by the time we climbed into the car. “He goes ninety miles an hour.”
“I’m not going to survive. Out of all the people to put me with! How did I end up with the socially awkward new kid with boundary issues?” I was obsessive about my privacy and had more to hide than anyone I knew. How did I get stuck with him?
“Did you piss off anyone in the housing office?” Maddox was teasing, but it seemed reasonable.
“I don’t think so. Do you think I could have?”
“I was joking. They probably got a lot of new students in this year and you lost out in the lottery. It will be fine. He’ll settle down in a couple of days. We were all probably like that as freshman. This is his newbie year.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. He didn’t seem like the type to calm down much. At that point, I’d settle for a little bit calmer. I wasn’t looking for miracles. “Maybe.”
Thankfully, Maddox’s dorm wasn’t that far away from mine so we didn’t have to drive for long. Walking wouldn’t have taken much longer but with all the stuff we had to carry up, closer was better. Between his suitcases and the kitchen stuff, he had more things than I did, but it still didn’t take long to get everything inside.
His suitemates were nowhere in sight. There was some loud music coming from a closed door in the suite but other than that, nothing. It was clear his roommate had already been by.
The blackout curtains and crazy amounts of computer equipment gave it away.
“You’ve got some kind of gamer as a roommate.” I was trying not to laugh. The guy had almost every surface covered in computer monitors and different kinds of systems. Maddox didn’t even have a dresser without shit on it.
“This is going to suck.” He shook his head and looked around. “I’ve never had anyone put up those kinds of curtains before. What is he, a bat or something?”
The curtains went completely over the windows, blocking all the light. It looked like the guy had taped them down because there wasn’t any light getting in from them at all. I would have gone crazy living like that. With the lights off, it would be like a tomb.
“Maybe he’s not as weird as it looks.” I must not have sounded very confident because Maddox shook his head.
“This year is going to suck.”
CHAPTER 8
Maddox
Accounting and business classes should not have been the highlight of my day. Well, technically, Bryan was the best part of
the day but going back to the room was so bad, class was more fun. Benjamin Jones, who would only answer to Buzz, was making me crazy.
The guy was some kind of computer programmer and gaming genius. His parents were forcing him to get a regular college degree, but he had his own business already set up so he was awake all hours doing who knows what. He was constantly cranky and slept at the oddest times.
So my room was mostly just a space to store my clothes and books. There was never any privacy and never any time I could go and hang out. Bryan had only seen it twice since I moved in, and that was weirdly tense. The guy didn’t seem to be a homophobe, but having strangers around his computers made him nuts. I think he only tolerated me because he had to.
My stress level was so high, I was hoping I’d calm down before I got to the dining hall so I didn’t worry Bryan. However, I wasn’t sure that was possible. Pushing my way through the crowd at the door, I saw Bryan sitting over in the corner doing his best to hide. He’d been much more outgoing last year but I guess with his roommate situation, it was bound to happen.
I never realized how much Bryan needed his space. We were nearly always together last year so I never noticed it, but he needed more time without everyone around than most people I knew. Maybe it was because he’d always had this huge part of himself that he had to hide from people. He needed those times where he could relax and not have to worry.
With his new roommate, that wasn’t possible.
Jay was nice. He really was. He was also a lot to deal with. Social skills were not this guy’s strong suit. I thought there was something unique about him, but Bryan thought he was crazy. He was constantly badgering Bryan to go do things with him. If Bryan’s only goal was to stay in and relax for a while, Jay would stay with him to “keep him company.” My baby was ready to pull his hair out.
Not that I could blame him.
We’d been moved in for a couple of weeks and we hadn’t found any time to play. He hadn’t even had time to play by himself. I was afraid that he was going to go postal from sexual frustration and kill “the bug,” as he called Jay.
I had a plan to help relieve some of his stress. It wasn’t that well laid out. Hopefully, it would work. And fingers crossed, Bryan didn’t have a cow. I couldn’t decide if he was going to lose it when I told him what we were going to do, or if he was horny enough that he wouldn’t care.
I was betting too turned on to protest.
Finally making my way over to the table, I leaned close and gave Bryan a quick kiss before I sat down across from him. He didn’t blush or look to see if anyone was watching. He was so much more comfortable with himself, but I was afraid all the stress was going to eat away at the progress he’d made.
“How were your classes, B?”
Pushing away his books and papers, he slouched back in the uncomfortable plastic chair. “Not bad. It’s going to be a lot of studying, but I like them so far.”
“So not regretting the psychology major, yet?”
He laughed. “Not yet, but I might around finals. How goes the fascinating world of accounting?”
Bryan had this devilish little smile but I knew he was teasing. “Fabulous. Aside from you, it’s the highlight of my day.”
He must have heard something in my voice because he frowned and leaned closer. “Buzz still making things difficult?”
“He’s trying to take over my dresser again. He keeps saying that since I’m not using my TV then he should be able to put some of his computer stuff on it.”
Bryan’s mouth fell open. “You can’t use the TV because of his crazy schedule. He’s always working or sleeping when you go in there.”
“I tried to explain that to him but he shut me out. So far it feels like I’m in a battle, defending my territory from the invading armies.” I wished I was exaggerating but I wasn’t. If anything, I was downplaying how close to the edge I was getting.
I had to do all my studying at the library or other places around campus and it was getting harder and harder to get any sleep. How was I supposed to get any rest when he was up all night typing away and mumbling at the screens?
“Did you complain to Housing?” Bryan’s concern was growing. I think he was starting to realize how difficult things were getting for me.
“Yes, they said he hadn’t done anything wrong. That I needed to talk to him because we were both adults. Something about the way she said it sounded funny. Like she knew exactly what I was talking about and it was a rehearsed speech. I’m betting he drove people crazy before. There’s no way I’m the first person to have issues with him.” He should have been given his own room or gotten an apartment off campus.
“Can he run a business out of the dorms?” Bryan looked like he was rolling around an idea in his head. “Didn’t we have to sign paperwork that said something about the proper use of campus resources?”
“Maybe? I’m not sure I read it all. I just wanted the keys and to get everything unloaded.” Had we signed something like that? “Where did we put that paperwork?”
Bryan shook his head and chuckled at me. “I have both our paperwork because you were going to throw it up on the top of your closet and forget about it.”
Perfect. “Will you read it then? I can handle a moderate level of crazy. It’s the business at the weird hours and the fact that he’s taking over everything that’s making it impossible to function in there.”
“I told you that you should have read all those papers.” His cheeky little grin made me want to turn him over my lap and spank his bottom.
“Who reads all that crap?”
“Smart people.” Now he was pushing it on purpose. I could see it in his eyes.
I glanced around to make sure we were far enough from everyone to have some privacy, then dropped my voice to a whisper. “It seems I have a naughty boy who doesn’t remember how to behave. Daddy’s going to have to punish you, I think.”
A needy shiver raced through him, and I could see the heat flare in his eyes. A sexy little whimper escaped but then he caught himself and pushed the emotion back. He had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths before he could function. “Please? But I just…I don’t know how.”
So far, the only thing that seemed to be keeping him level was the rules we’d put into place. Knowing there were boundaries and that I was still his Dom helped, but soon it wasn’t going to be enough.
We only had a few basic rules, but they were a good reminder for him. He had to ask for permission to play with himself. He had to text or call and ask permission for caffeine of any kind. And he had to send me his schedule every day.
The last one might have seemed a little bit overboard, but I think it helped the most. Just having to take that five minutes every morning and think about what he needed to tell me focused his submission enough to satisfy it. But we were both ready for something more.
“Did you bring everything?”
Bryan blushed and looked around, but he nodded and managed a reply. “Yes, it’s in my backpack.” His blush faded and his brows tightened up, showing his frustration. “I had to time it just right this morning. I had about five minutes while he was in the bathroom to get the stuff out of the box. I had to do the lock three times before I could get it open.”
I reached over and squeezed one of his hands. “I’m sorry, B. We’re going to figure this out.”
He looked down at the table and started fiddling with the salt and pepper shakers with his free hand. “Have you…I mean…we were supposed to…” He stopped and took a deep breath, then tried again. “Have you thought about living together?”
He was so damned cute.
“Yes. Tons. I can’t see living like this all year. Being apart from you was going to be hard enough but with everything else piled on top, it’s too difficult. We have no privacy and no time to ourselves. You can hardly go to the bathroom without Jay going to find you and I can’t even sleep in peace.”
I wasn’t kidding about the bathroom comment either.
The other day Jay knocked on the door to make sure Bryan was okay when he’d been in the bathroom for a while. What kind of a moron did that? I’d given B permission to orgasm with some instructions on how long he had to play with his cock before he got to finish. He’d been looking forward to it for days.
Jay was supposed to be in class, so it should have been perfect. Instead, he’d gotten home early. Bryan got to come but it was more frustrating than satisfying. He didn’t know what to say to Jay either. Hey, dude, you interrupted me jerking off. Don’t knock on the bathroom door next time. I couldn’t see Bryan managing that.
Hopefully, I was going to make it up to him later.
“I’ve been thinking about some ideas. But I’m not sure how to pay for it yet. With the money your mom said she could give us, we’re about halfway there on the rent—as long as we get something small. I’m not sure about my parents. I don’t know if they’ll be willing to help once they realize I’m not going to major in finance.” I still hadn’t told them. I’d called a few times over the summer, but I’d wussed out every time.
“I thought you were going to tell them the other day. Didn’t you say you were going to call?” He gave me this confused, concerned look.
“Yes, and I did too, but my mother took over the phone call. Evidently, they’re going to be down next week and want to take me to dinner. I figured I’d tell them then.” Now we were getting to the part of the conversation that I wasn’t looking forward to. I didn’t know what Bryan was going to say. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
He must have heard something in my voice because his look turned skeptical. “That doesn’t sound good.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t terrible. “Well, I wanted to know if you would come. I told them about us dating over the summer and I wanted to introduce you. And I figured that if you were there, they wouldn’t totally lose their shit when I told them about the accounting degree.”
“I’m supposed to save you, huh?”
“Yup. Their manners are too good to kill me with an audience. And I figured it might help when I tell them I want an apartment instead of living in the dorms.” The conversation wasn’t going to go well. It was too many surprises at once, but it couldn’t be helped.