Big lug.
Micah plops down beside Aleks before I can, and . . . Okay. I had been planning to sit there, but now I get to sit on the opposite couch with Hendrix, which is totally fine with me. Just as I sit across from Aleks, Hendrix returns with four nearly overflowing cups in his big hands. He passes two across the table before settling beside me on the cushion.
The two cups remaining are filled with a tannish liquid, but I’m quick to realize they are significantly less frothy than the two that went to Aleks and Micah.
While the two drunks across from us giggle at the football players fumbling to put one hand on red and one on yellow, Hendrix passes me a cup. I take it cautiously, watching as he sets his between his knees to keep it from spilling. His hands come up, and he signs to me. “It’s soda mixed with water. No alcohol.”
I purse my lips and sign back. “And yours?”
“Same.”
“You didn’t have to.”
A quirk of his mouth, just a tiny one. “I know.”
“You’re a sneaky bastard,” I sign with a responding grin.
“Who taught you that?” he demands with his hands. “Not me.”
“G-O-O-G-L-E,” I spell.
Micah clears his throat, and we snap our heads to look at him. “You guys gonna play?”
I nod and shoot him a sheepish look. “Yes. Sorry. Who wants to start?”
We take turns, starting with Aleks. It begins relatively tame with things like “never have I ever been in a fraternity” and “never have I ever wrecked a car”—Micah has, much to his chagrin; I think Hendrix chooses that one specifically to mess with his friend. I keep it simple with a “never have I ever ridden a bike.”
Okay, I thought it would be simple, but it sends the three of them into such an uproar that Gallon loses his concentration and falls on the Twister mat. Tank rotates in, and Gal takes his place on the spinner.
“Do gym bikes count?” I ask to try to appease the group. It seems that knowing how to ride a bicycle is extremely important to them.
“Alright, alright,” Micah slurs once I have been thoroughly berated. “Never have I ever met a movie star.”
Aleks and I release matching snorts and take sips. “Child’s play,” I say, nudging Hendrix’s arm. “You’ll meet one soon.”
We make it another full round of nondescript Never Have I Evers, and when we get back to Micah, he pulls out the personal stuff. “Never have I ever kissed Ezekiel Aleks.” Hendrix and I drink—so does Aleks, which makes me tilt my head for a moment because, like, I guess?—and I assume this is another dig between Micah and Hendrix. That is, until I see the way Micah is looking at Aleks.
Oh. Someone is interested.
On Aleks’ turn, he flashes a cheeky grin as he says, “Never have I ever kissed a sexy bunny.”
Nobody drinks because—yeah. That was too specific. And not subtle at all. In fact, the way they’re eyeing each other isn’t subtle either.
Hendrix and I trade glances, and he hesitantly begins his turn despite our other two participants not paying attention. “Uh, never have I ever—”
“Seen Aleks’ bedroom,” Micah jumps in, eyes locked on my friend.
I . . . take a drink? Are we still playing?
Aleks licks his lips, staring at Micah’s, and . . . Yeah, game over. “Never have I ever fucked you,” Aleks rasps to Micah.
Feeling my eyes go wide at his forwardness, I roll my lips between my teeth and attempt to stifle my laughter. One peek at Hendrix reveals his pink-tinged cheeks as he tries to look at anything other than our friends eye-fucking each other. Oh—
And now Micah is climbing into Aleks’ lap, straddling him the same way Hendrix had to me a few weeks ago . . . No, don’t think about it, I chastise myself. Every time I remember that moment on the couch in his apartment, I instantaneously get hard. It’s a serious problem.
Kind of like his serious problem of struggling to find clothes to contain his big—
“O-kay, Micah.” Hendrix stands and lifts his friend from Aleks’ lap.
My arms around Hendrix’s waist, picking him up and pulling him over my thighs—
“Dude, you can’t fuck him in here in front of everyone.”
“I—” Micah tries, but Aleks stands and cuts him off.
“Let’s go to my room, sexy bunny.”
Hendrix sitting against the headboard, my body nestled between his muscular thighs, his chest against my back—
He grabs Micah’s chin and pulls so he has to look him in the eyes rather than eye-fucking Aleks. “Are you okay with that? You’ve been drinking . . .”
Micah nods. “I’m buzzed, but I’m not stupid. I have been dreaming of this forever. Nothing is going to stop me from accepting an invitation like that.”
I shake myself out of my inappropriate thoughts long enough to check with my friend. “Kiss? You good?”
“Fuck yeah.”
Hendrix and I watch, bemused, as Aleks pulls Micah from Hendrix’s arms, wrapping the smaller man’s legs around his waist and stumbling down the hall toward the bedroom.