Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:51:11 -0500
From: Jonothan Wolf <jwolf24450@gmail.com>
Subject: The List Chapter 21: Devon

**Standard disclaimer applies. This is purely fiction (if based only
slightly on actual events). Don't read if you shouldn't because you're
under 18 or live in a backwards area. I appreciate any and all feedback, so
please email me at jwolf24450@gmail.com. Enjoy the story!

	Specimen's Name: Devon

	Height: 5'4''

	Build: 115 (Petite)

	Occupation: Student (Kappa)

	Age: 18

	I knocked on Chase's door, fully expecting him to freak out that I
was standing there with an overnight bag and a forced smile.

	"What happened?" he asked me, letting me in to his house. He led me
straight to his bedroom upstairs, where I set my stuff down and collapsed
into a mess on his bed.

	"I'm sorry, but I had nowhere else to go," I replied. "I thought
about driving home."

	"No, no," Chase said, sitting next to me. "It's cool that you came
here. What happened?"

	I breathed in deeply, lifted my head up to avoid spilling any
tears, and then asked him for a drink. He reached into his refrigerator and
pulled out a blue Gatorade and a bottle of Skyy.

	"Strong, please," I said as he poured.

	"I can tell you need it," he said, bringing two glasses over. We
cheered weakly, and I knocked half the cocktail back.

	"So, I figure if I keep asking, you'll tell me why you're here on a
Sunday night with a duffle bag," he said. He wasn't agitated, just
confused. He sat down next to me and waited.

	"I, um, got into a fight with Spencer," I said. I debated telling
him why. Chase knew about the drama with Kyle. He knew that Kyle and I had
dated. The circumstances surrounding the break up and the list were left
out, but he knew the implications of my roommate sleeping with my ex.

	"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that," he said. And with no hesitation, he
added, "You can stay with me for as long as it takes to blow over."

	I didn't say out loud that I doubted it would blow over. This
wasn't a simple fight. This was major. This was friendship ending major.

	"He slept with my ex-boyfriend," I said.

	"Kyle?" Chase asked, remembering his name from our one night of
celibacy where we got to know each other.

	"Yeah. And here I was feeling guilty about sleeping with you
because Spencer had a crush on you, and he was having sex with my
ex-boyfriend behind my back like our friendship means nothing to him."

	"Wow."

	"Yeah, wow. More vodka, maybe?" I handed Chase my glass and he
refilled it without a question. I would pay him back with a full bottle
later.

	"How did it happen?" he asked.

	"He claims it only happened once. On the night I was supposed to
meet you on the roof, you know? Apparently Kyle and Rusty got into a huge
fight over me. Kyle came by our dorm room to apologize to me, and instead
he ended up fucking my roommate," I said, lifting my head again. I was on
the verge, but I refused to cry in front of Chase.

	"And it was just the once?" he asked. I sensed the tone.

	"It doesn't matter if it was once or a million times, that's not
cool." My voice was steely and hard.

	"I know, I know," Chase said, softening me with his sweet
voice. "It should never have happened."

	But it had happened. And the question was what I was going to do
from there? When I left the dorm room, I told Spencer I never wanted to see
him again. I told him what he'd done was unforgivable and that I would come
back for the rest of my stuff later. I told him he was the worst kind of
traitorous bastard and that he and Kyle could have each other. I said a ton
of stuff I now realized I didn't mean.

	But I didn't know how to go on being his friend. He knew that Kyle
meant the world to me. He was the one who'd said we would get back together
when I didn't believe it. He should have stopped it at some point before
dicks were inserted into asses and vice versa.

	"God, the thought of them," I blurted, pulling my hands to my face
and almost dropping my glass. I lost it just then, thinking about the two
of them, in my room, fucking, making noise, calling each other `Mister' and
`Sir'.

	Chase gave me a big, warm hug. His bare hairless chest wrapped
around me perfectly.  "We'll deal with this. Don't worry about it. We will
get through this."

	The `we' wasn't lost on me. I'm not sure what I expected from Chase
out of this. I'd known him for a total of a month, and for a solid week in
there, I ignored everything about him. But he'd quickly risen in the ranks
of guys I could trust, and coming to Backstroke had been a no brainer. I
knew I was welcome to spend the night, but after that, what could I expect
out of him? We weren't dating, and even if we were, I wouldn't move into
Backstroke with him. I knew in my core I had to figure out a way to go back
to my dorm without the desire to kill my roommate. I also knew it might
take a few days for that desire to go away.

	I slept in Chase's nook that night, trying hard not to think about
Spencer and Kyle sweating on top of each other, but failing miserably. The
oscillating thought of them humping like rabbits made it impossible for me
to mess around with Chase, after a few minutes of slow making out, we both
fell asleep.

	The next morning, I had a late lunch with Sebastian after my full
day of classes. Before I could ask for his advice on the Spencer and Kyle
matter, he asked me about Valentine's Day.

	"What?" I asked, distracted, as we set up shop at a table near a
window. It was a mild February day and the first signs of spring were
peeking out.

	"Valentine's Day," he replied. "The Kappa formal. I told you about
it. What do you think about going?"

	"Oh," I remembered. "Yeah. I mean, sure, yeah, I'll go. Free food
and free booze, right?"

	"Well, free booze, yes. There's no food at the formal," he said. He
went on to explain the events with me only half listening. He droned on
about a cute girl that Britney would set me up with. Her name was
apparently Devon and she was supposedly perfect for me.

	"Um, you do know that I'm gay, right? Perfect for me would imply
that she's not actually a girl." It wasn't lost on me that for the first
time, I'd come out and said I was gay. No `gay-ish' or anything. I'd said
it. It was true.

       "I don't anticipate you'll date her or anything, but you'll like
her. She's really nice and ya'll will have a fun night. Her and Britney
were roommates at the beginning of the year," he said.

       "What happened?"

       "Sorority drama. A single became available when one girl slept with
another girl's boyfriend. They couldn't stand to look at each other; there
was a food fight, a lot of rumors. It was silly."

       It didn't sound that silly to me. In fact in sounded like exactly
what I was going through. Were Spencer and I behaving like sorostitutes?
How childish, I thought.

       "Speaking of crazy roommates and drama," I said. "I got into a huge
fight with Spencer last night."

       "About the forbidden swimmer?" Sebastian asked, stuffing his face
with turkey and bread.

       "No," I replied. "Although I did tell him about Chase and me."

       "What did he say?"

       "He told me that he hooked up with Kyle a couple weeks ago."

       Sebastian's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was more than up to
speed on the Kyle and Cooper Lifetime Original Movie. I guess he was
realizing it was only silly when it involved random others. When it was
this close to home, it was hard.

       "What did you do?"

       "I wanted to punch him, really," I confessed.

       "As a dorm counselor, I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that." I
smiled. "But seriously, that's really fucked up. Did he tell you what
happened?"

       "Vaguely. It involved a lot of liquor, an upset Kyle. The Sigmas."

       "Don't get me started on those douche lords," Sebastian said. I
hadn't told him about my involvement with any of them, and I was glad for
it now. "It doesn't matter what happened, though, that's against guy code."

       "I know! Which is why I'm crashing with Chase until I figure out
what to do. I don't know how I can live in that room with Spencer, when the
thought of seeing him makes me want to blow a gasket."

       Sebastian gave me a pensive glare.

       "You can move in to the empty room on my floor," he said slowly,
considering whether or not I would actually be able to move in there.

       "Really?"

       "Yeah. I mean, I'll have to check with the head RA, but it shouldn't
be a problem. The guy who lived there got pulled by his parents to go to
rehab. It shouldn't be a big deal." Rehab after one term had to be an SMU
record. "I'd rather have you squatting there than at an off campus house."

       "Wow," I replied, actively considering it. For a split second, I
wondered if Sebastian was opposed to me living off campus or living with a
guy off campus. "That would be great."

       "I mean, I will say, I'd talk to Spencer about it before you
decide. Ya'll are really close and I know he did a shitty thing, but moving
out could make everything irreparable."

       Sebastian was right. I had been angry like this before, but it
always blew over. There always came a point where it was easier to just
forgive and forget. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to trust Spencer like
I had for half a year, but I would eventually want to forgive him. And as
my best friend, there was no way I could forget about him. I told Sebastian
I would talk to Spencer before I made a decision.

       "There's only one catch," he said as we were packing up to
leave. "You have to come to the Kappa Valentine's Day formal."

       "You're a douche," I said, smiling. I agreed to it, and made the
trek to my future former dorm room to get the rest of my things.

       I figured it being afternoon, there was no way Spencer would be
home. Still, I was super nervous about going to the room. I didn't have
much stuff to carry out, but I would have to sort through a lot of
Spencer's things to get to mine. It would take a while to rack up all of my
t-shirts, jeans and toiletries from the communal mess we'd built for
ourselves.

       As I walked, I thought about why it was such a big deal to me that
they'd hooked up. I wasn't with Kyle anymore. Technically, he was free to
do what he wanted and there was nothing I could do about it. Both of them
were attractive, they had a history. When I thought about it, it didn't
seem so far out of left field for two sexually charged friends to end up in
bed together.

       But at the end of the day, Spencer had given me such a hard time for
all of the shit I did behind Kyle's back. He'd yelled at me openly, made me
feel like crap about my actions, and then hypocritically went behind my
back and did this? There was a simple code among friends, and those two had
broken it.

       Mindlessly, as I walked through the quadrangle, I found myself
crossing the lawn towards Kyle's dorm instead of my own. For some reason, I
wasn't as upset with Kyle as I was with Spencer. I knew that it would be
easier to get the full story from him without losing my lunch over it.

       Seven minutes and a million mind changes later, I knocked on his
door on the fifth floor.

       "Hey," he said, opening the door. For the first time in a month,
Kyle smiled at me, albeit sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"

       "I need to talk to you," I said.

       "Cooper, now's not the best time."

       I stopped for a second and considered why.

       "He's here isn't he?" I asked, realizing my voice had angry grit in
it.

       "No, he isn't here," Kyle said, opening the door wider to let me see
in. The room was empty and clean and Kyle was dressed up. He scanned the
hallway. "But he's on his way."

       "Kyle," I said, dropping my arms, deflated. I shook my head, unable
to form a rational sentence. "So... what the hell is going on with you and
Spencer?"

       My voice shook as I spoke.

       "I know he told you about it, Coop. It happened one time. It was
stupid. I'm still with Rusty."

       "Wow, what a relief," I said tartly.

       "Spencer and I are just friends."

       "Who fuck!"

       "Who fucked one time. It was a huge mistake."

       "So why is he coming over here? Why are you guys still seeing each
other?"

       "He's my best friend, Cooper."

       I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye before it had a chance to
fall.

       "Kyle, I am sorry about everything that I did. I am. I'm sorry I
cheated on you and I dumped you and I was an asshole, I apologize for
everything. Truly, I do. But you have got to stop punishing me over this."

       "Cooper," Kyle said, his voice remarkably strong. "My relationships
from here on out have nothing to do with you. If I want to sleep with
Rusty, I will. If I want to sleep with Spencer, I will. It's none of your
business anymore."

       "Anyone but them, Kyle," I shouted. I heard a door open and close
down the hall and I realized we were making a scene. "I'm begging you, fuck
the entire world. But you know Rusty is an asshole and Spencer is my
goddamn roommate. How could you do that? Can't you find anyone in the world
to have a relationship with that won't drive me insane?"

       Kyle blinked at me and shrugged. The answer was no, I realized. Kyle
could get with anyone and I'd find fault in them. This wasn't my business;
he was right. And to accost him wasn't fair. He didn't owe me anything. It
was Spencer who had fucked up.

       Just then, I turned to the left and saw him approaching down the
hall. He was dressed for dinner, I presumed, and looked as good as ever
with his golden locks and his solid frame held in snuggly by a sport's
coat.

       "I just feel like you're turning the screw over and over, and I'm
trying to move on, but it sucks when you keep creeping back with the wrong
guys," I said, lowering my voice and attempting to sound civil.

       "I don't know what to tell you, guy," Kyle said with a shrug. He
couldn't have been any more indifferent.

       "Cooper, I'm sorry," Spencer said as he approached. The second he
got close to me, my blood boiled from zero to sixty. My eyes turned red
with rage, and I spent a few seconds actively calming myself down before I
responded.

       "You most certainly are," I replied. "You both are actually." I
turned and walked away, determined to never see either of them again.

       I crossed the quad straight to the parking deck and hauled ass to my
Camry. A minute later, I was careening out of control down Preston Freeway
towards Backstroke.

       "Why, hello there," Chase opened his bedroom door. He was dripping
wet and must have just come out of the pool. The smell of chlorine lingered
in the air.

       "Fuck me," I said, pushing past him and into the bedroom. I pulled
my shirt over my head and turned to see Chase grinning at me.

       "O-kay," he said. He pulled me in and planted a hard kiss on me,
reciprocated even harder by my angry tongue fishing. He pushed me back onto
his bed aggressively. I watched him peel his shorts down with a winning
grin on his face. "I don't know what I did to deserve this."

       "Just get over here," I said wickedly. I was extremely angry, but
extremely turned on. Chase's gorgeous Adonis body was the perfect ibuprofen
to my boiling tension headache. Instead of diving in like I wanted, he
peeled my pants off slowly, and stood over me, seemingly admiring the view.

       He gave me a wicked smile, almost snarling, baring his teeth at
me. Within a second, he dove in and went straight for the sweet spot on my
neck. I knew the hickey would be huge in the morning, but I didn't give a
rat's ass. All I wanted was Chase. As he nibbled on my neck, alternating
between deep, hot kisses and long pulls on my chest and shoulders, I got
more turned on than I'd ever been before.

       "Fuck, that feels great," I said, grating my nails against his
back. It was impossible not to thrust upwards in sheer ecstasy every single
time Chase's tongue rubbed against my sensitive regions. I pulled him close
and felt both of our boners rub together, impossibly hard, and already
leaking.

       When it comes to foreplay, that night with Chase was the best I'd
ever had. Hands down. His hands were everywhere. His tongue was a million
miles long. His dick was impossibly hard.

       When I finally held it in my hand, ready to direct it into my
throbbing and waiting hole, his cock actually felt hot to the touch. He sat
up, rolled a condom on, giving me his crazy hot smile the whole time.

       "You're so fucking hot, Cooper," he panted. I stroked his cock back
and forth slowly, ready for him to be inside of me.

       "No way, buddy," I replied. "You're the one who's incredible. Now
get down here and fuck me, please." The please was a formality. I wasn't
asking him to fuck me. I was commanding him. And he did.

       I had no clue where this aggressive side of me was coming from, but
Chase was taking it in stride. I was horny, angry, and desperate to get
plowed. I'd forgotten Spencer and Kyle a million hours ago. At this point,
it was all about Chase and what he could do to me.

       The second his searing hot poker touched my ass, I bucked upwards
and he slid right in. It was searing hot and too hard to handle at the
beginning. He held his stance in a push up position on top of me for a
minute before easing downward.

       "You good, babe?" he whispered. I smiled at him, raised my head and
kissed him.

       "I'm good. Bring it on!" I said. He charged like a hungry cowboy,
diving in and out of me in swift, long strokes. I was beside myself in
pleasure from the first time the head of Chase's cock grazed my prostate
and he didn't relent from there.

       While my head was rolling back, feeling better than I'd ever felt
before, Chase lost himself as well. Before long, his words were a series of
grunts and moans. His kisses turned into pants and little pecks on the
cheek. As he revved up faster and faster, it was like my marathon swimmer
was rounding the last corner.

       Twenty-seven minutes of unbelievable fucking later, I lost my
wad. My cum shot to the backboard of Chase's bed. It hit me all over the
face and chest and created a sticky lubricant between our slithering
bodies. A second later, Chase licked a slab of cum off of my forehead and
lowered his tongue to mine for a kiss. He came mid-kiss, deep inside the
reservoir tip in my ass.

       It was impossible to move, speak, or breathe for several minutes
after we both spilled our load. I couldn't remember a time when every
single nerve ending on my body was obnoxiously stimulated. Even breathing
heavily next to Chase turned me on.

       "That was unbelievable," he said, after a few minutes. "Just
unreal."

       I turned my head and smiled at him, realizing that there was
definitely something there. It wasn't quite as strong as I felt with Kyle
this early on, but it was growing, and I had no doubt that it could get
there. Maybe angry sex was what I needed to get over Mr. Wriggs once and
for all.

        I leaned over and kissed Chase, his skin still hot to the touch.

       "I'll be right back," he said, getting up and pulling a pair of
sweat pants on. "Want anything from the kitchen?"

       "No," I replied. "But I need to pee."

       "Down the hall." I pulled my pants on and followed him out. Just as
Chase opened the door to the hallway, two upper classmen swimmers started
clapping their hands and hollering.

       I recognized one as the guy who'd loaned me a speedo at the
party. The other was a curly haired black guy with incredibly cute
dimples. I blushed as I walked passed them, head down, towards the
bathroom.

       "Babe that was unbelievable," one of them mocked.

       "Oh, Chase. Chase, Chase!" the other yelled in a high pitched
voice. I didn't really sound like that, did I? It's impossible to describe
how red my face got listening to them mock my sex noises.

       One flush later, I went back to Chase's room, intending to ask if I
could spend the night. I was still technically homeless, but I planned on
dealing with that the next day.

       "Since when do your roommates know about us?" I asked. Chase had
returned with a glass of milk and a turkey sandwich.

       "I had a talk with them after you stayed over and we didn't hook
up. I figured this might be going somewhere, so they'd find out sooner or
later. I wanted to be the one to tell them. I guess I'll alert the rest of
the team next."

       Sweet, I thought. My litmus test had worked wonders. I knew keeping
away from Chase physically would reveal whether there was something else
there or not. I now knew that there was, and he felt it too.

       There was something comfortable about being with Chase. He was like
a horny warm teddy bear with the body of a god. He was so happy all the
time that his jovialness rubbed off on me, even in the midst of all of this
drama. I found myself becoming less snarky and more playful.

       "How'd your roommates take it?" I asked when he'd finished his
sandwich. He looked at me, scratching his stomach like such a dude, and I
couldn't help but smile.

       "They were surprised. I mean, I didn't tell them it was you I was
coming out for, but I'm sure they know now. I just said I was into dudes,
and I didn't want it to matter."

       "So if you make the Olympics, you'll be the first openly gay swimmer
on the national team," I smiled.

       "Maybe they'll give me a medal."

       "Ohh, a nice shiny one," I added, realizing where this was
headed. There was no way I was up for another round just then; maybe in the
morning, but I was still tingling.

       Chase was more than happy to have me sleep over. He said we could
wake up early and shower together before things got hectic. I seconded that
idea.

       "After you, Monsieur," he said, lifting the covers up for me. I fell
asleep in Chase's nook that night, and for a brief time, I never wanted to
sleep anywhere else ever again.

       My reality hit me like a ton of bricks the next morning. I checked
my email after a hot shower with Chase to find a message from Tye asking
why I missed practice. I wrote him a solid apology, explaining that my
living situation was growing tenuous and I had completely forgotten about
volleyball.

       Next, I tracked Sebastian down. He had offered up the empty room on
his hall and I was very ready to take him up on that. There was no way I
could share a room with Spencer for the rest of the year. I could barely
stand to see him.

       "Are you sure this is what you want?" Sebastian asked, handing me
the room key and putting my info into his hall log. "I can arrange some
peer counseling for you two."

       "I don't want peer counseling," I shrugged, my demeanor much calmer
than it had been 24 hours prior. I wasn't even upset about the whole
situation. I just wanted to get out of my dorm room and start over
somewhere else. "I want him out of my life."

       "Why are you so upset, exactly?"

       "It's Kyle," I said after a moment's pause. I felt comfortable
confessing to Sebastian what the heart of the matter was: I still had
feelings for my ex and Spencer betrayed that. "It'll always be about Kyle
and Spencer knows that. What he did will never count as okay."

       Sebastian shrugged at me and handed me the key. The room was around
the corner from Sebastian's room. It was small, even by dorm standards, but
it was a single with a private restroom. Apparently several guys on the
hall had fought for the room after the lush had left, but Sebastian had
kept it locked. Until now.

       Moving the things from my overnight bag in was difficult. The tooth
brush. The pajamas. My flip flops. Knowing that I had to go to CVS and buy
my own body wash and toothpaste was difficult. Making my bed and knowing I
would be the only one to sleep in it was the worst.

       Instead of moping around in my empty room, I called Chase.

       "What's the occasion?"

       "I want to fuck the daylights out of you," I said in the sexiest
voice I could muster. I couldn't remember a time when a guy brought out the
horniest in me, but Chase was that guy. Feeling better and fucking him were
synonymous.

       "I'll be there in ten minutes," he replied. I swear I heard a door
click before he'd even hung up the phone.

       I did want to see Chase, but most of all I didn't want to be
alone. I didn't know how to be alone at that point. The thought of having
to sleep there by myself, essentially driving the final nail in my
`friendship with Spencer' coffin was too much to handle.

       Twelve minutes later, Chase knocked on the door and I opened it
wearing nothing but a towel and a smile. He must have done 90 miles per
hour down Preston to get here that fast, but I wasn't complaining.

       "Hi, I'm looking for the cute guy that lives here," he said,
sexily. "His name is Cooper. He promised to fuck me."

       "Umm... Will I do?" I replied, pulling him into the room and locking
the door behind me.

       "You'll do," he said, planting a warm passionate kiss on my lips. He
sucked my tongue deep into his mouth as I lead him backwards to my barely
made bed.

       One thing that was different about Chase was that he didn't
necessarily care for foreplay every single time. He loved being inside of
me or having me inside of him. His philosophy was that the stuff usually
saved for beforehand could be done during.

       And so with very little pomp and even less circumstance, Chase
stripped down, climbed on top of me and slid his ass around my rock hard
cock.

       "Dude, you are so fucking hot," he said, looking down at me with a
face filled with lust. I ran my hands up his straddling thighs, across his
rock hard stomach and past his chest. He slid up on my javelin stick and
quickly slid all the way back down. I rolled my eyes backwards, enjoying
his tight ass squeeze down on me like it had never taken a dick before.

       "Ditto," I replied, smiling. He leaned down in a move only a guy
that flexible could do and planted a firm kiss on me without once letting
my dick slip out of his ass. I ground upwards into him, burying myself
deep. Losing myself.

       "Oh fucking god," Chase almost screamed when my dick grazed the
little hard button in his ass.

       "Shhhh," I said, putting a finger up to his face. I wasn't sure my
new neighbors would take kindly to Chase screaming my name over and over. I
hadn't even introduced myself yet.

       The next twenty minutes of near silent fucking were the sexiest
twenty minutes of my life. Chase held intense eye contact, biting down on
his bottom lip to avoid making too much noise as he fucked himself on my
cock. I put all of my screaming tension into my finger tips and dug them
into Chase's back, probably creating sexy welts that would remind him of
me.

       The hotter both of us got, the faster Chase bounced up and down,
creating a friction that made me want to explode more than ever. He leaned
back onto my bed so that we were creating a sexy spider, and bounced up and
down like a pro working a jackhammer. I pulled my pillow from under my head
and let out a muffled grunt as I came deep inside Chase's ass, oozing into
the condom ever so sexily as his tight ass clenched my dick tighter and
tighter.

       Chase sat up, slid off and lay right next to me.

       "Are you going to cum?" I asked as he snuggled behind me.

       "Dude, I came twice already," he whispered into my ear. There was no
fucking way he'd already come once, let alone twice.

       "Nu uh," I replied. He ran his fingers across my chest and I
realized there was some warm sticky on me that I hadn't felt yet. "No way."

       "Yes way, Jose," he replied, bringing his finger up to my face. I
licked it sexily, feeling my dick twitch once more. It tasted like
Chase. Sweet and salty. Sexy. "Can I tell you something?"

       I nodded.

       "This is the hottest sex I've ever had. Right here, this, you and
me."

       It was a flattering comment from someone I regarded as unattainably
sexy. The fact that he enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed him felt good.

       "I second that emotion," I answered honestly. I fell asleep for the
third night in a row with Chase holding me close and me loving it.

       Our sleep-overs continued, night after night. Chase coming over
became the highlight of my day. For the next week, I ran through the
motions of volleyball, making up for my absence in spades, and meeting with
Sebastian.

       Even pulling my stuff out of my old room and wheeling it across the
quad didn't seem that bad because I knew Chase would be over after practice
to fuck me until we passed out. Within a week, I'd extracted all of my
things, updated my contact information, and returned my original key to the
dean of freshman. I was officially out of Spencer's life and he was out of
mine.

       As a consolation, I had sex with Chase to look forward to. Insanely
passionate and incredibly addictive sex. Like a drug almost. I was always
at a loss for words after and it was easier to just pass out instead of
trying to stay awake. Sleeping in his arms was special. He was so warm, his
skin so soft, and his body so hard that snuggling against him was sheer
perfection.

       I realized on Thursday that I wasn't getting any work done after
Chase started coming over nightly. He'd literally get to my single after
practice at eight, about half an hour after I got out of volleyball, and
we'd bang for a few hours. We'd come together three, sometimes four times,
and then pass out. I called him Friday night to say I was staying in to
catch up on studying. In the week since I'd gotten my own place, I hadn't
done a lick of homework.

       "Want me to come over?" he asked. He had no desire to go out and
remain sober while everyone else on campus got wasted.

       "No I don't," I lied. "I should really get some work done."

       "You can't work while I'm there? I'll be good, I promise," he said,
that hint of lust lingering in his voice.

       "If I don't finish Seabiscuit tonight and Revolutionary Road
tomorrow, I'm screwed."

       "I thought you liked that," he said wickedly. I smiled just a
little.

       "Goodnight, Mr. Pallendrino," I said, sticking to my guns. I
couldn't afford to do badly on my midterm on Monday as I'd already done
badly on two of my reading quizzes thanks to late nights fucking instead of
studying.

       I breezed through most of Seabiscuit, assuming the horse beat War
Admiral at the end, and I went straight onto Revolutionary Road. At some
point, I fell asleep sitting at my desk. I was awakened by a sharp knock on
the door. I looked at my cell phone and saw that it was past two a.m.

       I opened the door, not caring that I was in just a pair of boxer
briefs.

       "I brought you sustenance," Chase said smiling at me as he came
in. "Don't worry, I'm not staying, I just wanted to make sure that you had
enough coffee to burn the midnight oil."

       "The midnight oil ran out a long time ago," I grogged, plopping on
my bed and taking the cup of coffee from him. "I fell asleep."

       "On which one?"

       "Revolutionary Road," I said.

       "Good," he replied, pulling a DVD out of his jacket. "The movie is
more fun, anyway. Leonardo DiCaprio gets naked."

       "You lie."

       "It's called the producer's cut." Chase plopped on my bed, took my
cup of coffee and put it on the ground and kissed me softly. "Let's watch
it in the morning."

       "Who said you could stay until morning?" I gave him a cheeky smile.

       "I have a feeling you won't kick me out." He was right. We made out
for a few minutes before I fell asleep in his nook.

       The rest of the weekend was crunch time. I somehow pulled a B+ out
of my ass for my American Novel midterm and managed to turn my Theater
History paper in on time. Tye could tell I was a wreck on Monday night when
I showed up to volleyball ten minutes late.

       "Good of you to join us, Mr. Carpenter," he said, indicating all of
the extra work I'd put in since my unannounced absence was null and void. I
silently changed into my shorts and joined the setters as they warmed up on
the net.

       After an extra grueling practice, coupled with extra laps for being
late, Lucky asked me what I was doing the next night for Valentine's Day.

       "I, uh, actually have a date to the Kappa formal," I replied as I
changed into jeans. It surprised me that he was still around that long
after practice, so I assumed it was just to talk to me.

       "Nice," he said with a smile. "Lucky you."

       "I guess so," I said, tying my shoes.

       "What about tonight?" I shrugged at him. I planned on calling Chase
over and celebrating my B+ in class with an A+ in the ass. "Penny is
visiting his girlfriend over at TCU for the next two nights, so I thought
maybe you'd want to hang out at my place."

       Tempting, I thought.

       I really had no excuse not to, except that I was spending the night
with Chase. Lucky had been a good oral lay, but it wasn't something I would
give up Chase for. Plus, Chase and I had spent a week sleeping together and
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get a wink without him behind me.

       "I'm, uh, sort of seeing someone," I said, carefully trying not to
make it sound like we were more than we were. I'd learned my lesson in
doing that. Lucky nodded. He looked hurt, but he'd get over it. There were
plenty of guys at SMU who would love to blow Lucky. Maybe Kyle or Spencer
would catch wind that I'd hooked up with him and they'd pounce over and do
him the favor.

       That night, after dinner and dessert at Backstroke, Chase and I
cuddled in his bed, me playing with his fingers and him nibbling my ears.

       "What are your plans tomorrow?" he asked me softly, still breathing
heavily. I could feel his diaphragm expand and contract on my back, and I
couldn't imagine us being any closer.

       "I'm going to the Kappa Valentine's formal," I replied. "I thought I
told you that."

       "No sir, you didn't," he said. I couldn't see his face, so I
couldn't tell if he was hurt or not. Did he have plans for us or something?

       "I totally did," I replied. "I told you my good friend Sebastian
asked me to double with him and his girlfriend. Maybe."

       I turned my head to see his reaction. I gave him an apologetic look,
complete with biting my bottom lip.

       "It's alright, killer, you have fun with the Kappas. I just didn't
know you had that kind of social pull," he said with a smile.

       "Oh, of course," I said. "Next thing you know, I'll be accepting a
social bid."

       "Ohh, my boyfriend, the srat star!"

       The use of the B word didn't go unnoticed. In fact, after the
initial shock of hearing it, I realized he'd dropped the B word
purposefully to get a reaction out of me. I sat up and pulled the sheet
over my bare bottom half.

       "Boyfriend?"

       "I was gonna ask you tomorrow at dinner," he said. "I was going to
take you to a great restaurant in Uptown and see where you thought this was
going. Ask you to go steady. Give you my letterman jacket." His smile was
juvenile and cute as hell.

       "Boyfriend?" I was speechless. I'd considered Chase a lot of things,
but I'd hesitated to consider him my boyfriend. My track record with that
distinction made me nervous.

       "Look, we can keep doing this if you want," he said, sitting up next
to me. "I'm completely fine being a fuck buddy, trust me. But I haven't
even thought about sleeping with someone else in weeks. I like you a lot,
Cooper. Enough to tell my roommates and friends about us. You're the first
guy I've done that for. I want to give it a shot."

       As hesitant as I was, I wanted to give it a shot too. Two months
ago, I would have gone home with Lucky when he asked. I wouldn't even have
considered the fact that I had someone who cared about me waiting at
home. I would have made an excuse. That's the guy I was two months ago.

       But maybe I was growing up. That bed-hopping side of me didn't need
to see the light of day as much anymore. I didn't feel the need to check
out any hot thing that walked past me. As I sat there considering what to
tell Chase, I couldn't help but wonder where I would be if I'd reached this
level of maturity before I dumped Kyle? Things might be totally
different. Or they might actually be the exact same.

       Instead of saying anything, I pulled Chase's face close to mine and
kissed him softly. I felt his lips turn up into a smile, and I knew that we
were on the same page.

       "I'm not going to say I'll be good at it," he said to me when we'd
gone back to our laying position.

       "Hm. You can't be worse than me." I closed my eyes and burrowed deep
into his nook.

       Valentine's Day is a big deal at SMU. Every sorority puts on a fancy
formal, complete with a DJ or Band and open cocktails all night. It's one
of only two times a year that the sorority houses open their doors for a
party. Usually the girls are mooching booze off the fratters on the other
side of Greek Row.

       Where you spend Valentine's Day says a lot about you socially. The
top tier guys get asked out by Kappas, KD's or TriDelts. Middle tier guys
get asked out by Thetas, Chi Omegas, Zetas or Pi Phis. Guys at the bottom
of the social barrel either don't get asked out at all, or split the curds
among the lesser sororities. It's the archaic way of knowing where you fit
in.

       If I had known that when Sebastian first asked me to go with Devon
to Kappa formal, I wouldn't have hesitated. Hearing guys in the D-hall and
in my classes stress out about who got asked and who didn't made me realize
how lucky I had it. I was an accidental social climber.

       Sebastian knocked at my door at exactly 7:40 to tell me that we
needed to head out.

       `Cocktails at 8:00, the band starts at 9:30. Dress to impress in
black and white,' the official invite that Sebastian had dropped off
said. I was ready to go when he showed up to my door with two shot glasses
and a pouch of Crown. He was dressed in tight black slacks, a white tuxedo
shirt and suspenders. If possible, he looked slimmer than usual. His hair
was done, glasses off, and absolutely beautiful. He looked like a sexy
indie rocker and the remnants of my idol crush surfaced.

       "Boyfriend," I muttered to myself as I ushered him in.

       "What?" he asked.

       "Nothing. Nothing at all. I just need to put my vest on and I'm good
to go."

       Without having Spencer's wardrobe to wade through, I was forced to
wear my own clothes for a change: dark jeans, a button down, skinny tie and
vest.

       "You look good," he said. "But before we leave, we need to toast the
night."

       Two shots of crown and a hair check later, I followed Sebastian out
to his car and he drove us to frat row. The street was a buzz, every house
decorated with Christmas lights and imported flowers. A couple of the
houses had tents set up in the back. Kappa and KD had split their backyard
for the most exclusive party of the night. Their lights were
brighter. Their tent was higher and wider. Everyone else's DJs would be
drowned out.

       "We're here," he said, stepping out and handing his keys to a valet
driver. I marveled at the whole spectacle. We announced our names at the
door and were ushered into the sorority's drawing room on the first floor.

       "Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Carpenter," the doorman announced to the room
of cocktail dresses and their dates

       The buzz in the room slowed for a second and then swelled back
up. Britney approached looking just as beautifully bitchy as she had when I
first saw her. Behind her was a gorgeous brunette, about 5'8'' in her
four-inch stilettos, wearing an almost sheer black cocktail dress that
draped beautifully on her petite frame.

       "Sweetie, this is Cooper," Sebastian introduced after they shared a
quick kiss. "Coop, this is Britney and this is her little, Devon."

       "Nice to meet you," I said, offering her a hand. The first order of
business as we chatted was to get cocktails. As we waded through the room
that got quiet any time a new guy was announced at the door, I learned all
the things you learn within meeting someone at an awkward event.

       She was a freshman from Shreveport. Her parents were both attorney's
but she was pre-dentistry major. She was a Kappa legacy who got to move
into the house her first year because she accepted her bid over the
summer. Youngest of four, just like me. She spoke effortlessly and was
actually pretty charming. By the time we were two drinks in and ready to
head to the back for some dancing, I was pleasantly surprised at how cool
she was.

       "So what's your story?" she asked me flirtatiously, handing me my
third vodka and Red Bull.

       "My story?" I said with a crooked smile. "I don't think I have a
story."

       "We'll have to get you one, then," she said with a smile.

       The whole dance was a fun endeavor. We spent most of the night
hanging out with Sebastian, who was terrified of dancing. Britney
eventually coaxed him into doing the Cupid Shuffle with the other
rhythm-challenged white guys. By the time the vodka and energy drink
started taking hold inside of me, I was frisky and ready to move.

       There was something easy about hanging out with Devon. I knew she
was flirting with me. She wasn't subtle at all. At one point, during a
Britney medley mix, she ground of up on me, creating enough friction that I
accidently popped a boner. Instead of getting grossed out by it, like I
assumed most girls would, she looked at me and smiled.

       "I have that effect on people," she shouted in my ear. I smiled at
her. A second later, she kissed me sloppily on the lips.

       I returned her sloppy kiss with a vodka soaked kiss of my own. I
pulled her close to me and we continued to grind together. If I had
bothered to escape my bubble and look around, I would have realized we were
the only couple making out on the dance floor. I also would have spotted
the familiar faces lurking around the party.

       A few minutes after Devon rammed her tongue down my throat, I felt a
tap on my shoulder.

       "What happened to the gay thing?" Sebastian asked after he'd pulled
me aside. He handed me a water bottle.

       "I wasn't once, you know," I slurred. "And she's really pretty and
totally into me."

       "Are you positive this is what you want to do?" he had the concerned
look of a big brother on his face. Maybe he thought he'd pressured me into
hooking up with a girl by bringing me here. There wasn't any pressure. I
really was attracted to Devon and it was refreshing. I had been immersed in
homosexual drama for so long; it felt good to kiss a girl again. I had no
idea where this new found longing was coming from or how long it would
last. I did, after all, have a cute boyfriend waiting for me at his off
campus house.  Still, it felt good to live in the moment and it definitely
wasn't cheating because Devon was a girl.

       I chugged the water Sebastian had given me, and then returned to the
dance floor. To defeat the purpose, I took a pull of vodka and Red Bull
from my date's solo cup and started jumping to Don't Stop Believin'.

       Almost immediately, the rest of the night went black.

       Completely and totally black.

       I woke up hours later to the sterility of a hospital room. I
realized immediately that I was only wearing a thin sheet and I was
shivering cold. There was the unmistakable pulsing of an IV shooting into
my left arm. I looked around to try and find out where I was and why my
head was throbbing. Dizzy.

	Still unaware, I put my head back down and everything went black
again.

**Feeling titillated? I'd like to hear about it! Like I said, I appreciate
all feedback, so please drop me a line at jwolf24450@gmail.com.