MATCHED

LSU BOOK #5

BECCA STEELE

Matched

Copyright © 2025 by Becca Steele

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.

Editing by One Love Editing

Cover photography by Marx Edgar Chavez

Becca Steele

www.authorbeccasteele.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

PLAYLIST

stacy’s brother - Mad Tsai

Yes or No - Jung Kook

Lime Bikes - Will Bryant

sex - EDEN

love, or the lack thereof - Isaac Dunbar

I’ve Got Feelings - Will Bryant

Butterflies - MAX, Ali Gatie

back to friends - sombr

come over x - modernlove.

How to Stay with You - Troye Sivan

lose it all - Sam Tompkins

Mess is Mine - Vance Joy

This Song - Conan Gray

Before You - Benson Boone

More Than a Feeling - Declan J Donovan

Find the playlist on Spotify or YouTube

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The author is British, and this story contains British English spellings and phrases. The football referred to in this story is known as soccer in some countries.

GUIDE TO THE MANSIONS

In case you need it, here’s an at-a-glance look at the housemates in two of the row of student houses collectively known as the Mansions:

NUMBER 1

Ander

Charlie

Elliot

JJ

Levi

NUMBER 3

Damon

Liam

Noah

Preston

Travis

You can view the books for each of the above characters at the end of Matched in the Thank You section.

More details on all characters are available in the character and location guide located on my website:

https://authorbeccasteele.com/character-guide/

For Alexandria

The beauty of love is that you can fall into it with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time.

— RITA GHATOUREY

1

“I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it! I’m a genius!” 

“Huh?” I glanced over at Jonas, who was bouncing on his feet in the kitchen doorway of our student house, waving his phone around with a wide grin on his face.

“The app. Matched LSU. You know, the one I’ve been working on for the past three months? The one that’s worth twenty percent of my final grade?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” Rubbing my hand over my brow, I sighed. “Late night. Very late night. My brain hasn’t woken up yet.”

My housemate smirked at me as he stepped inside the room. “Lucy?”

“Yep. It’s not like you’re thinking, though.” Gritting my teeth, I steeled myself for Jonas’ inevitable reaction. “We had the talk.”

He gasped dramatically. “Not the talk. Let me guess how it went… She said you were incapable of commitment, and⁠—”

“No. It was me.”

“That was gonna be my next guess, but I thought maybe… She seemed like she was a bit, uh, over it, the last time I saw her.”

“Yeah…fair point. It was mutual, though. What’s the point in us trying to get more serious when we’re just gonna move in different directions in another few months? She’ll be up in Sheffield, and I’ll be starting my master’s degree in Plymouth in September.”

He shot me a knowing look. “You don’t seem sad about it.”

“I’m not crying into my Cheerios, if that’s what you mean.”

“You’re not even eating Cheerios.”

I glanced down at my bowl. I hadn’t even registered what I’d been shovelling into my mouth, and now I realised I’d managed to eat my way through almost an entire bowl of Weetabix. Fucking hell, I must’ve been more out of it than I thought. I didn’t even like Weetabix that much.

Shaking my head, I pushed the bowl away from me and turned back to Jonas. “I’m not sad…no. She was…she was great. We had fun together. But we want different things. It makes no sense for us to waste our time dating when, like I said, we’re going to go in different directions in a few months.”

He shot me an unimpressed look. “Mate. You always do this. I don’t know how you can give it up, just like that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You date a girl for what, two or three months max, and then you dump her. Usually for the reason you just gave me. We want different things,” he mimicked.

“Fuck off.”

“Just saying it how it is. If you found someone you actually cared about, you’d try harder to make it work.”

“I have cared about all of them. Almost all my break-ups have been on good terms, and I’m still friends with most of my exes.”

“Okay.” Raising his hand, he pointed at himself. “Look at me and Jada. If she told me she was moving to, I dunno, Australia or somewhere, and I’d planned on living here, I’d do everything I could to make it work. I’d do that long-distance shit if I had to, but you know what? I’d get on a plane in a fucking heartbeat and move my whole life to be with her. I don’t care where I live. I can get a job doing programming anywhere, but Jada’s only in one place.”

“You’d need a visa.”

“Not the point.” He cuffed me around the back of my head, and I gave him the finger. “That’s all hypothetical, anyway. She’s not moving to Australia. The point is, if you love someone, you don’t let them go.”

“I thought the saying was, ‘If you love someone, let them go.’”

“You’re fucking hopeless,” he muttered. “Look. If you’d been in love with Lucy, or any of your exes, you’d be crying into your Weetabix right now.”

“Okay. Yeah, I get your point.”

“Fucking finally.” Spreading his arms wide, he tipped his head back to face the ceiling. “Nate has seen the light! It’s a genuine miracle!”

“With all due respect, fuck off. Now, are you gonna tell me what you were shouting about earlier? Your app?”

“Oh yeah.” He grinned. “You, my friend, are gonna be one of my test subjects.”

“For your hook-up app?”

“One, it’s not a hook-up app. It’s for dating. Making a proper connection, not just a quick shag with someone you’re never gonna see again. Two, you’ve split up with Lucy, and you’re not bothered about it, so that means you’re free and single and ready to mingle.”

“You are such a knob. Did anyone ever tell you that?”

“Yeah, you. Frequently. Takes one to know one.” He grabbed my phone from the kitchen table. “I’m just gonna get the app set up.”

I held up my hand. “Wait. Before you do that, I want you to tell me exactly what it is this app does.”

“Okay.” He slid onto the bench seat next to me, pulling his phone from his pocket. “So you know how there’s that HookdLDN app, which is just for London?”

“Isn’t that a hook-up app?”

“Not important. The point is, it’s localised to the area, so users can find people close to them. Makes it easier, y’know. So, my app works the same way, except I’ve localised it even more, so it’s restricted to LSU students only. You have to sign up with your student email, so we won’t get any randoms.”

“An LSU student dating app. Yeah, I can see the appeal. I still think people would use it for hook-ups.”

“Maybe. I can’t control that. But I’ve set it up more like a dating app, with a bit of a twist. You have all these questions— Wait, I’ll show you.” He tapped on his screen, swiping through his apps until he reached a blue square with “LSU” in block letters. “Ignore the logo, I haven’t finished that yet. But see here, I have these questions.”

I began reading them aloud. “What’s your usual coffee order? If you could go on a date to any of the following places, which would you pick?” My brows rose. “Which of the following is your favourite LSU location?”

“Well, yeah. They’re all multiple choice, too, so the algorithm I coded will work out your closest matches based on your answers. And the best thing is, there are no photos. So it’s like a way to even the playing field.”

“No photos?”

He waved his hand between us. “Take you and me, for example. If we were both single and on the app, and someone matches with both of us. Who are they gonna pick? The good-looking footballer with the body of—of someone who works out way too much? Or me? The blue-haired beanpole with no muscle definition to speak of?”

“Not everyone’s that shallow, and you shouldn’t sell yourself short, mate.”

“I’m not. I’m realistic, and you know it’s true.”

“I guess…yeah. I can see what you’re saying. If I matched with more than one girl, I’d pick the one I was most physically attracted to.”

“And that’s why my app isn’t a hook-up app. It’s all about finding a connection with someone you might not look twice at ordinarily.”

“Alright. What do you want me to do? Just sign up for it?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got to get my lecturer to sign off on it, and once that’s done, I’ve been given permission to include the details in the LSU bulletin—the one that gets sent out to all the students. Hopefully, enough of them will sign up to give it a decent sample size. I’m giving them an incentive, too. Anyone who signs up will have their email address entered into a draw to win fifty quid of credit at the student union. They can use it in the shop or the bar or whatever.”

“Good idea.”

“Yeah, I do have them occasionally.”

“Ha ha.”

“With you, I wanna do a little interview after you’ve been on a date or even a couple of dates. Just a few questions about your experience with the app and if you thought it matched you with the right person, things like that.”

“I can do that. Want me to get set up now?”

“Yeah. Technically, I’m supposed to wait for my lecturer to sign off on it, but you’re my test subject. You get to go first.”

My phone buzzed. “Shit. I’ve got football practice in half an hour, and I haven’t even showered yet. Here. Install the app on my phone while I shower, and I’ll fill in the details later.”

“I’m holding you to that. I’m gonna be asking you questions about your experience of filling in the questions. Oh, forgot to say. Ignore it if it gives you a weird name.”

“Weird name?”

“Yeah. So you know how I mentioned no photos so people aren’t biased when they pick? It’s the same thing with names. Even if you just put in your first name, if you’re, like, well known at uni or if you have an unusual name, then your match might guess who you are, and that’s gonna lead to more bias. I want my app to literally just be about finding someone you have things in common with, without looks or preconceptions playing a part in it.” He sighed. “Fuck. Is this a bad idea?”

I instantly shook my head. “No, it’s not. I think you’re onto something. Fuck knows, I always pick girls because I like the way they look. I mean, yeah, I’ve had things in common with all my girlfriends, but I wouldn’t have spoken to them if I hadn’t been into them physically.”

“Yeah, and okay, physical attraction is important, but sometimes you have to get to know someone before you find them attractive or whatever. Or you might go on the date and be talking, and then think, huh. This person is actually hot or someone I want to get to know better.” He shrugged. “At the least, you might get a new friend out of it. Someone who shares your interests.”

“Alright. Get the app installed, and we’ll see what happens.”

2

Propping my bike up against the brick wall, I double-checked the Matched LSU app before returning my gaze to the neon sign over the glass door. The Game Room. Yep, the location was definitely correct, and the app was showing me a green check mark next to the username of my date, which meant Green41 had arrived. The only other person around was a guy leaning against the wall, so she must be inside.

Hang on. I did a double take, scanning the guy again, trying to place him. I knew I recognised him from somewhere…

He was probably somewhere between eighteen and twenty, dressed in loose shorts and an Adidas T-shirt, with a messy mop of brown hair, slightly lighter than mine, and angular features. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth as he stared down at his phone.

“’Scuse me, mate.”

The guy gasped, his eyes widening, flitting to mine before they flew back to his phone. He blinked rapidly and then laughed as he straightened up. “Fuck. Sorry. You scared me. I was in my own world; didn’t even realise there was someone else out here.” His amusement was suddenly wiped away as his eyes widened even further, his gaze darting around us. “Look, I don’t have any money. My phone’s not even a good model…I bet it’s not even worth a tenner second-hand. Twenty, max.”

It took me a second to parse through his jumbled mess of words, and then I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Loudly. “Do you think I’m about to mug you or something?”

He blinked again, eyeing my hands cautiously from beneath his lashes as he slid his phone into his pocket. I made a point of spreading my fingers in case he thought I was planning on punching him or grabbing his phone or something. “You’re not?”

I snorted. “Do I look like a mugger to you?”

“Yes,” he said instantly. What the fuck?

“How?”

“You have a bike.”

I was instantly offended on behalf of all cyclists, even though some of them were fucking assholes. The reason I’d ridden here was because it was close to my student house, and I didn’t have to waste time waiting around for an Uber if my date went downhill. I rarely drove my car anywhere in London. There was no point with the extortionate parking charges and difficulties getting a decent space, not to mention the daily congestion charge.

“Having a bike makes me a mugger, does it?”

The guy huffed out an impatient breath, shaking his head. “No—I didn’t mean— Fuck. There’s been all that stuff in the local news about those bike muggers that snatch people’s phones, you know? Obviously, I don’t mean that every single person who rides a bike is a mugger. But I heard the gangs were using younger people who looked, you know, fit or whatever.”

“Wow. I’ve gone from a uni student to a member of an organised crime gang in the space of five minutes. Give me a second to phone my friends and tell them about my career change.”

“Will you be using one of your stolen phones?” Finally, he cracked a smile, and my lips curved upwards. 

“This is genuinely the weirdest conversation I’ve had. Not counting the random ones when I’ve been high.” I stepped closer to him, lifting my phone in the air so he could see it clearly. “Look. My own phone, that I didn’t steal from a poor, defenceless person.”

He stared at me, his gaze scanning my face as he properly took me in for the first time. “Are…are you Nate?”

My brows flew up. “Do we know each other?”

“Yeah. Uh, no. Not really. I don’t think we’ve ever spoken, but I live with Ander and Levi.”

So that was why he looked familiar. Ander and Levi were two of my football teammates, which meant we probably would’ve crossed paths at one of the house parties or post-match celebrations.

“I guess I should introduce myself properly. I’m Charlie. Charlie Brooks. Um…I’m a first-year student studying sport and exercise science. I live with Ander and Levi.” He laughed, rubbing his hand across his jaw. “I dunno why I said that again. You already know that.”

“Charlie. Hi. Yeah, I’m Nate Glover, and I’m in my final year of a degree in architecture. I’m on the football team, which you obviously know, and—and I support Glevum FC.” I added the last part in the hope that it would make him less uncomfortable, and an involuntary smile tugged at my lips as I watched his mouth fall open.

“You support Glevum? Fucking hell, I didn’t think there were any of us here at LSU. Most of my friends support one of the London teams or Liverpool.” He pulled a face.

“Or one of the Manchester teams,” I added, making him groan. “I can’t believe I’ve found another Glevum supporter here in the wild.” It was…unexpected, to say the least.

“Yeah. Well. They’re one of the smaller teams in the Premier League, and I guess most of their fans are local. Does that mean you’re local to the area? Me, I’m from a shitty little town near to Gloucester.”

“Uh, yeah. No. Local-ish, I guess? Swindon. My dad’s originally from Gloucester, though, and he’s a big fan, so that’s why I started supporting them.”

“Makes sense.” He glanced down at his phone. “Shit. Uh, sorry. I’m supposed to be meeting someone here. I’m gonna go inside and see if she’s here yet.”

I suddenly remembered the original reason I’d approached him. “Yeah, me too. I’m meant to be meeting up with someone. That’s why I came over here. I was gonna ask if you’d seen a girl hanging around outside.” Glancing over at my bike, I added, “I don’t suppose you know if there’s anywhere safe to leave my bike around here, do you?”

“You won’t be able to mug anyone without it.”

“No?” My brows lifted. “Wanna bet?”

“Remember, I’m poor. Not worth mugging.” He jerked his thumb towards a small alleyway to his left. “But yeah, there’s a bike rack round the back.” Spinning on his heel, he headed for it, and I grabbed my bike’s handlebars and followed him down the short stretch of alleyway to a small courtyard with several industrial-sized bins and, as promised, a small bike rack with three bikes chained to it.

“My bike’s that one,” Charlie said, gesturing towards the battered mountain bike on the end of the rack.

Crouching down, I threaded my bike lock through the back wheel and around the frame before clipping it together around the metal bar of the rack. “You gave me all that shit about being a bike mugger when you had a bike yourself?”

As I straightened up, he glanced over at me with a shrug. “Yeah. Sorry about that. Now I know you’re a Glevum fan, I know you can’t possibly be a mugger.”

“I have no idea what logic led you to that conclusion, but I’ll take it. C’mon, let’s see if the people we’re meeting have turned up.”

As we made our way back down the alley, I opened the Matched LSU app and checked myself in. A pop-up appeared to remind me to stay safe and let my friends know where I was. I selected the check box to say I’d done so and was presented with another pop-up informing me how to activate an emergency “panic” button, should I need it. I was impressed with the amount of thought Jonas had put into the app and mentally reminded myself to tell him so.

Still clasping my phone, I headed inside on Charlie’s heels, thanking him when he held the door open for me. My phone buzzed with a notification from the app, telling me to meet Green41 at the bar. Okay, that made things easier. If the place had been busy, I wasn’t sure how I’d know who my date was when I didn’t even know her name or anything about the way she looked.

The Game Room was fairly small, with a group of four pool tables and a long row of retro gaming machines along the exposed red brick walls. Over by the bar, there was a selection of tables and cracked leather sofas, and the bar itself had plenty of seating in the form of padded bar stools. The walls were plastered with gaming and film posters and memorabilia, and the whole place was dimly lit, with soft music playing from hidden speakers. The whole vibe was laid-back, relaxed, and I smiled as I looked around.

“This is nice,” Charlie said, echoing my thoughts. His gaze dropped to his phone, and he tugged his lip between his teeth, his brows pulling together. “I dunno what…” He trailed off.

My gaze flicked from Charlie to the empty bar. “What⁠—”

The door in the far corner of the room opened, and two girls stepped out, heading straight for the bar. Straightening up, I pasted a friendly grin on my face as I approached them. 

“Green41?” I asked.

“Blue16?” Charlie said at the same time. He blinked, his head whipping around to mine as his eyes widened. “What the fuck? What did you just say?”

My heart was pounding. “What did you just say?”

“Blue16…uh, did you say Green41?”

3

Turning away from the two girls, I grabbed Charlie’s arm and tugged him over to the wall next to an empty sofa. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening, but are you using the Matched LSU app?”

He nodded slowly, biting down on his lip again. Unlocking his phone, he turned it to show me his screen. 

There was a check mark next to my username and the same message about meeting at the bar. Silently, I opened my own app and showed him the screen.

Shaking his head, he let out a disbelieving laugh. “How can this be? I specifically put that I wanted to be matched with women only.”

“Yeah, I did, too, and I’m one hundred percent straight. Fucking Jonas,” I muttered. “He’s got some explaining to do.”

Charlie shoved his phone in his pocket. “Well, that was a waste of time.”

Something about the flash of disappointment in his eyes made me pause. “Wait a minute. We’re both here. We know each other…kind of, and you know I’m not a mugger. Why don’t we have a drink while we’re here? Or—” I glanced around me. “—play some pool or go on the machines?”

“Alright.” He shrugged, a tiny smile appearing on his lips. “This better not be your attempt to lull me into a false sense of security, then you mug me when I least expect it.” 

“You have an incredibly overactive imagination. C’mon, drinks are on me. What do you want?”

As we headed back to the bar, I noticed the girls who’d come out from the toilets had been joined by two guys. So, yeah, Charlie was definitely the one I was supposed to be meeting. How had Jonas managed to get it so completely wrong?

“I’ll have a pint of Carling, but I can get it.”

“Nah, I’ve got it. Two pints of Carling, please, mate,” I told the bartender. Returning my attention to Charlie, I tapped my phone screen. “I don’t know what my housemate is playing at, but I’m gonna get to the bottom of this.”

“Your housemate?”

“Yeah, he’s the one who designed this app. That’s why I’m here, really. It was a favour to him.”

“I got lured in by the prospect of winning credit to spend in the student union.”

I gave an exaggerated sigh. “So you really weren’t joking when you said you had no money.”

He smirked. “Nope. Really not. You can try to mug me, but you’re not gonna find anything exciting.”

“So suspicious.” Tapping my phone on the card reader, I slid Charlie’s pint across the bar towards him and then grabbed my own. “Want to sit down or have a go on those⁠—”

“Pinball.”

“Yeah.” A grin tugged at my lips. “Good choice. That would be my first pick, too.”

When we were in front of the pinball machine, I let Charlie go first while I sent a text to my housemate.

Me:

Is this your idea of a joke, or is there something wrong with your app?

Jonas:

What? Why! What happened?

I glanced over at Charlie. “Mind if I take a photo of you?”

“What for?”

“My housemate, to show him how he fucked up.”

“Go for it.” Charlie leaned up against the machine, folding his arms across his chest. He stared at me with a raised brow, and I laughed, shaking my head before snapping a photo of him. 

“Honestly, what was Jonas thinking?”

“I don’t date muggers. Especially not if they’re men.”

“Are you saying you’d make an exception if your mugger was a woman?”

“Dunno. Depends what she looked like.” Charlie turned back to the machine, and I opened my photo gallery to check the image before sending it to my housemate.

Me:

This is who your app matched me with

We’re both straight and both said we wanted women only when we filled in our details

Jonas:

What the fuck! That shouldn’t have happened!

I’m so sorry bro. Promise I didn’t do it on purpose. Pass on my apologies and I’ll work on the coding right now

“He says it shouldn’t have happened, and he didn’t do it on purpose. I believe him. He wouldn’t do shit like this just to fuck with me. What would be the point?”

Charlie straightened up. “Yeah, it would be kind of fucked up.” He tapped the machine, nodding towards the LCD display showing his score. “Your go. See if you can beat that score, mugger.”

“You call that a high score? I’m not worried.” Stepping up to the machine, I took a moment to familiarise myself with the controls. It had been a while since I’d played on a pinball machine. A while since I’d done anything like this on a date, actually. Not that this was a real date, but it was supposed to be. Most of the dates I’d been on had either involved a coffee shop, chain restaurant, or just hanging out at the student union. There was nothing wrong with any of those things, but it was nice to do something different for a change.

“Remember, I’m the fucking pinball king.” He jerked his thumb towards his chest.

A laugh burst from my throat. “Sorry, what?” 

His lashes swept down as he scuffed the toe of his trainer against the floor, his cheeks flushing. “I don’t know why I said that.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Okay.” His gaze flicked back to mine. I realised his eyes were a light green, with a darker green ring around the edge. Hmm. Unusual. “I worked at my friend’s brother’s pub last summer. They had a pinball machine just like this one. When the pub was quiet, we used to play on it, and I ended up with the highest score at the end of the summer.”

Stretching out my arms, I cracked my knuckles. “You may have been the pinball pub king, but I was the undefeated pinball youth club champion for five years back home. Watch and learn.”

Then, I proceeded to demolish his high score in ten minutes flat. 

“Oh yeah. Still got it.” I fist-pumped the air, and Charlie gave me a wry grin.

“You fucker. This is not fair.”

“How isn’t it fair?” Without any discussion, we drifted towards a sofa in the corner of the Game Room, placing our pints down on the pitted wooden coffee table before sinking into the cushions. “Bloody hell, I feel like this thing’s gonna swallow me.”

Charlie shifted into a more upright position. “Yeah. This sofa could do with a bit more support. Uh, so. Unfair.” He held up his hand, ticking off points on his fingers. “Great at pinball. Great at football—as evidenced by you being on the LSU team. The type of…uh…vibe women go for. The⁠—”

“Whoa. Hold on a minute. What do you mean by ‘the type of vibe women go for’?”

“Y’know.” He flicked his hand out. “The whole dark hair, potential mugger thing you’ve got going on at first glance. Then you smile and it’s all…oh, fuck. This sounds so weird when I’m saying it out loud.”

I laughed, and he gave me the finger. It was weird how we’d instantly fallen into this banter with each other, like we’d been friends for a while instead of meeting each other less than an hour ago.

“What I’m saying is,” he continued, “you know what you look like. Conventionally good-looking. That’s all I’m saying.”

Well…I guess I couldn’t dispute that. I was aware of how I looked, and I had been told I had a nice smile. But Charlie…I took my time to study him properly. “I can counteract every single one of your points.”

He snorted. “Unlikely.”

“Shut up and listen, or I really will mug you. When you least expect it, as well. You’ll be walking alone across campus, in the dark…”

His brows flew up. “Okay, stalker. Thanks for making this situation a hundred times more uncomfortable.”

“When you least expect it,” I said again.

“I’m gonna start carrying pepper spray and a Taser. I don’t care if they’re illegal.”

My wide grin matched his. This whole conversation was so fucking weird, but I was having fun. Way more fun than I’d had on any actual date in a long time. “Scary. Anyway. Back to your points. Your pinball score was literally fifteen points below mine, which is nothing⁠—”

“Which means I’m not the pinball king anymore.”

“The pinball prince, then. Now, can you shut up for more than five seconds so I can finish a sentence without you interrupting?”

He slammed his hand over his mouth, nodding as he widened his eyes dramatically.

“Good. As I was saying. Only fifteen points lower than mine, and you still smashed the previous high score. You’ve got that cheeky kind of look girls like.”

“Cheeky. Great,” he muttered from beneath his palm.

“Shut it. You own a mirror, use it. Now…one of your points is that I’m good at football. Yeah, that’s true, but there are sports you’re good at.”

He slowly lifted his hand away from his mouth. “Am I allowed to speak now?”

“You may.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Another eye roll. “I don’t know how you concluded that I’m good at sports, since you don’t even know me, but yeah, I’m good at football myself. I really wanted to join the uni team, in fact, but I needed a job more, and I needed to make sure I didn’t commit to anything else before I got one. I needed as many hours free as possible, y’know?”

He stared at me almost defiantly, his lips pressed together as he held my gaze. Picking up my pint, I took a swig, tearing my gaze away from his. He was right—I didn’t know him, despite the fact that it felt like I did, but I was fairly certain I was reading him correctly.

“I get it,” I said, turning back to him and seeing his whole body relax at my words. I hid my smile in my pint glass. “My housemate was the same. Kind of. There was a tabletop gaming club thing he wanted to join. I dunno exactly what it was. Some Dungeons and Dragons shit. He was doing shifts at the student union bar the same night it was on, so, yeah. He couldn’t join.”

“I’ve—”

“Are you still looking for a job?”

His mouth snapped shut, and then he nodded. “Yeah. Uh, I do shifts in the library, but it’s not many hours, so I’ve been looking for something else I can fit around that and my lectures. Why?”

“I just remembered Jonas mentioning that they were gonna advertise for a new bartender to cover a few shifts in the student union. Want me to find out?”

“Yeah. If…if the subject comes up.”

“Charlie. I’ll ask.” I unlocked my phone and slid it across the table to him. “Give me your number so I can let you know what he says.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“It’s no problem.” Finishing up my pint while he input his details, I held up my glass. “Want another?”

Glancing at my empty glass and then to his, he downed the remainder of his drink. “Yeah, but I’ll get these. You got the last ones.” 

I watched him cross the floor to the bar and then picked up my phone.

Me:

Did you say the student union is looking for new bartenders?

Jonas:

Yeah. Why?

Me:

Charlie’s looking for a job

Jonas:

Who the fuck is Charlie?

Me:

The person your app set me up with. You owe us both MASSIVELY

Jonas:

I don’t think I do. It’s been over an hour since you text me last which means you’re having a good time

Me:

He’s alright yeah. Not what the app is supposed to be for though

Jonas:

Maybe it’s telling you to broaden your horizons

Me:

Maybe you and your app should fuck off

Jonas:

JK. I’ve known you for almost 3 years now and I think I’d know if you were into men. You would have hit on me

Me:

No chance. I have standards

Jonas:

Low standards

I chuckled as a brimming pint glass was placed down in front of me. Charlie flopped down onto the sofa and gulped a huge mouthful of his own drink. “Something funny?”

“Just my housemate trying to take the piss out of me. You know, this whole date thing. He’s telling me I have low standards.”

“Because of me?” Charlie’s brows pulled together.

“No, that wasn’t— Oh, just read the texts.” I showed him the latest exchange with my housemate. A smile curved over his lips as he scanned the messages. 

“I see. What’s the low standards comment about, then?”

“Just Jonas being Jonas. Any excuse to take the piss out of me. Both my housemates are the same, now I think about it. My other housemate, Joe, is just as bad.”

Amusement danced in his gaze. “You have a housemate called Joe and a housemate called Jonas?”

I shrugged, my lips kicking up at the corners. “Yeah. How many people do you live with, anyway?”

“You know Ander and Levi. My other two housemates are JJ, who’s doing a dance degree, and Ander’s boyfriend, Elliot—you probably know him already from coming to your matches? And…uh…a snail, if that counts. Is this where we do the ‘get to know each other’ part? It feels like we skipped a few steps.”

He was right. “Uh, yeah. I guess so. If this was an actual date, we’d probably have done the awkward small talk first. Instead, you accused me of being a mugger.”

“And a stalker—don’t forget. And you demoted me from pinball king to pinball prince.” 

“You’ll have to try harder next time.” I paused as my own words sank in. “If we happen to meet up as friends or whatever.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He shook his head, grinning at me. “Maybe your housemate is right, and you’re secretly into me.”

“Ha. Nope, not into men, and that includes you.”

“Phew.” Wiping his brow, he let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “That means I don’t have to plan a way to ditch you.”

“Or for me to ditch you. Go on, then. Let’s do the ‘getting to know you’ thing. We already said what we were studying and where we live when we’re not at uni. What else do people ask on first dates?”

Charlie shrugged. “Who knows? You should know better than me. You’re the oldest. All the girls I’ve been with so far have been ones I already know, or I’ve pulled them on a night out, and, uh, not much conversation happens those times.”

“All the girls? You’re a first year…how many are we talking?”

He smirked at me. “Hmm…let me see.” Holding up his hand, he began to count on his fingers. When he went through all ten and began the cycle all over again, I laughed.

“Okay, player.”

“No, not really. I think it’s around fifteen, but that’s including girls I’ve just kissed on a night out and not done anything else with. Why, what about you? You’ve had almost three years here. That has to mean you’ve been with a lot of women.”

“Nah, I’m not really a one-night-stand person. I’ve had them, but I normally end up dating the women I’ve slept with. My housemates say I have commitment issues because we always end up breaking up after two or three months at the most. I dunno, I just think there’s no point in getting serious with someone when we’re going in different directions after uni.”

His brows pulled together as he processed my words. Eventually, he nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. What if they’re going in the same direction as you, though?”

“So far, that hasn’t happened. I don’t want to end up in a situation like my parents had. They wanted totally different things out of life, and instead of leaving each other, me and my sister had to spend half our fucking childhood listening to them fight with each other. They got together at uni, wanted completely different things, and then my mum fell pregnant with me in her second year. They divorced when I was thirteen, and they’re both so much happier now.” I rubbed my hand across my jaw. “I don’t ever want anything like that that to happen to me.”

Charlie was silent for a moment, digesting my words as he traced patterns in the condensation on his glass. Eventually, he nodded. “That makes sense. You have a sister. Older or younger?”

“Younger.”

“Can I see a picture?” He shot me a boyish grin. “With your genes, she has to be pretty.”

“Oh, fucking hell. My date wants my sister— Whoa…forget the date thing. I’m gonna have to prep my big brother routine.”

“I’m not your date. Calm down, big brother, I only asked to see her photo.” He held out his hand, batting his lashes. They were abnormally long. Fucking ridiculous, really. “Show me. Pleeease.”

“Okay, fine. Stop doing that thing with your eyes, it’s creepy.” I scrolled through my gallery, giving him my middle finger when he muttered something about me being the creepy stalker. There. Me and Sophie, taken outside her student halls of residence on her first day at uni.

Tugging his bottom lip between his teeth, he studied the photo, grabbing my phone from my hand and enlarging the image. “Really pretty. She looks like you. I mean, you can tell you’re siblings. It’s the mouth.”

“The mouth. Right.”

“Is she single?”

“I am not setting you up with my sister.”

“Okay, but what if you both just happened to be in the same place as me and you introduced us?”

I sighed. “We’ll see. You said you were into one-night stands, and⁠—”

“I didn’t say that, and I’m open to a girlfriend if the opportunity arises.” His smile dropped. “I wouldn’t string anyone along or anything. I’m not like that. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but everyone I’ve been with has wanted the same thing as me…or if they didn’t, one of us ended it, and I’m on good terms with everyone I’ve been with. Ask Ander or Levi. They can vouch for me.”

“Can we stop talking about my sister? Please?”

“Yeah, course. Sorry.” Charlie handed my phone back to me. “In case you wanted to know, I’ve got a sister, too, but she’s older than me. Gem. She works as a TA at a school close to our house. I have a younger brother as well called Rocky. He’s sixteen now, doing his A levels. Our parents…uh, they split up when I was five, and pretty much as soon as I turned eighteen, my mum moved up north with her boyfriend. Then Gem got sucked in by a wanker who married her and decided married life wasn’t for him about a week later and did a runner. So. Yeah. That’s why I’m looking for another job. My sister worries about money, because, uh, bills and whatever, but she’s always telling me I have to have the full uni experience and not deny myself because of our situation. So I work to send a bit home for her, if and when she actually accepts it, and have money left to do shit like this.” His cheeks were flushed, and he wouldn’t look at me, mumbling into his pint glass as he waved his hand around the room. “Then when she phones me for our weekly catch-up, I can give her a rundown of the social stuff I’ve done. Believe me, she asks.”

“What are you gonna tell her about tonight?”

He swallowed. “Uh, that I narrowly escaped being mugged, and then my would-be mugger threatened to stalk me and took away my pinball crown.”

An amused grin tugged at my lips. “Nice. Let me know what she says about that.” Before I could add anything else, my phone buzzed, vibrating against my pint glass where I’d left it. My housemate’s name appeared on the screen. “Ah, here. Jonas sent me the link to the job application. He says if you have any bar experience, you’re pretty much guaranteed a job. I’ll forward this to you.”

Navigating to my contacts list, I temporarily changed Charlie’s name to Pinball Prince, just to fuck with him, and then forwarded the relevant information. A couple of seconds later, his phone lit up with my message.

“I’m saving you in my contacts as Mugger. Or should it be Stalker?”

I rolled my eyes. “Original. How about Pinball King?”

He gasped, clutching his chest. “How dare you? Drink your pint. I want to beat you at Mortal Kombat.”

“Lose to me, you mean,” I said.

4

Forty minutes left, and then I could leave the library. My shift was dragging today. Maybe because I was waiting for a certain call.

A call that, if it came, would be thanks to Nate.

What a weird evening that had been. Weird…but it had turned out to be a lot of fun, too. Despite the initial mix-up, it had been worth it. I had a potential new friend for the rest of the semester until Nate left LSU, he had a gorgeous sister whom I might be able to swing an intro with, and I had a potential new job in the works.

Speaking of the job…that was the call I was waiting for. Less than half an hour after I’d filled in the online application for the student union, I’d received a call and had a phone interview there and then. Now, I was waiting to hear back from them with confirmation that the job was mine—hopefully. They’d wanted to check references from my previous pub job before officially offering it to me, and I couldn’t envision there being a problem with that.

My phone screen lit up, and I snatched it up, only to find Nate’s name appear. Scanning the message, I bit down on my lip as my brain replayed the highlights from our “date”. Was it worth giving it another go?

Nate:

Passing on a message from Jonas. He said he thinks he’s fixed the algorithm so please can you give it another try

Me:

Hmm what’s it worth?

Nate:

It’s his final grade and he’s been working really hard on this project. I’d tell him to fuck off if I didn’t know how important it was for him

Me:

Oh I see, thought you’d guilt trip me. I’ll do it but I’d better have double the chances of winning that SU credit

Nate:

I’ll sort it

Me:

The least you could do for your date

Nate:

Fingers crossed the next date goes to plan and we get to meet someone we like

Me:

I don’t know whether to feel offended by that comment, mugger

Nate:

I don’t know whether to feel upset about you calling me a mugger AGAIN. You know I didn’t mean it like that

An incoming call from a local number appeared on the screen, and I quickly swiped to answer, ducking into the stacks so I was out of sight of the librarian. I doubted she’d appreciate me taking personal calls when I was supposed to be working.

Five minutes later, I ended the call, a huge grin on my face. Navigating back to my chat with Nate, I tapped out a message.

Me:

Just heard from the student union. I got the job! Pass on my thanks to your housemate

Nate:

Congratulations! Knew you’d do it!

Me:

Does this mean I get to meet the infamous Jonas?

Nate:

If you’re doing the same shifts, yeah. Watch out for him

Joking. He’s a good guy

Me:

Good. Better go, I’m at work at the library. Good luck with your next date

Nate:

You too

I made my way back to the side of the room where I’d left my cart and wheeled it back to the front desk to stack it with books to refill the shelves.

“You seem suspiciously happy,” my boss commented, raising a brow at me.

“I’m always happy, Mrs. H. What could be better? I get to work at the best place on campus and have the pleasure of your company.”

“Hmmm.” She tilted her head down, eyeing me over the top of her hot-pink-framed glasses. “Don’t think your flattery will get you anywhere with me, Mr. Brooks. Now, what is it? A young lady?”

“For fu—I mean, for flip’s sake. I swear you librarians are worse gossips than my sister. If you must know, I got another job. Don’t worry, it won’t interfere with this one. It’s just pulling pints at the student union a couple of times a week.”

“Gossips.” She tutted. “In that case, congratulations are in order. Why don’t you leave early just this once? Go and celebrate.”

I stared at her. “Seriously?”

Her cheeks dimpled as the corners of her mouth lifted. She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go on. Get out of here. You only have half an hour left, and the library is quiet. I’m sure we can manage without you just this once.”

“Thank you, Mrs. H. You’re the best,” I said, swooping down to kiss her cheek in a move that took us both by surprise. My face heated, and I cursed myself under my breath. “Uh, sorry about that. I got carried away with all the excitement. See you in a few days!”

I legged it out of the library before she could change her mind.

“What’s up?” My housemate Levi threw himself onto the sofa next to me and immediately began scrolling through his phone.

“Nothing much. Just got back from my shift at the library. You? Is Asher coming to stay this weekend?”

He shook his head. “No, he’s got an away match, but I’m gonna go and see him tonight.” Tapping at his screen, he flicked his gaze to mine before returning it to his phone. “You seem happy.”

Why was everyone commenting on my happiness today? “What do you mean? I’m always happy. Aren’t I?”

“Yeah…” He shrugged. “Happier than usual, then.”

I nodded. “Could be because I got a part-time job at the student union.”

“Yeah?” Levi put down his phone and turned to grin at me. “We should celebrate.”

Levi was…rich. Or his parents were, at least, and if I didn’t know him so well, I probably would’ve kept my news to myself. But although he didn’t have to worry about money, he wasn’t the type to flash his cash around. I mean, he was living in a shared house with four other students when he could probably quite easily afford a place of his own. And I knew his boyfriend was in a similar income bracket to me, so…yeah, Levi understood why getting a job serving lukewarm beer to drunk students was something to be celebrated.

“Okay. If you have time, let’s celebrate. I get a discount at the student union now that I officially work there. Want to go for a quick pint before you have to meet Asher?”

He glanced at his watch. “Yeah. I have a couple of hours before I need to leave, anyway.”

“Okay. Let me see if anyone else is around, then we can go.”

Surprisingly, all of my housemates were home, and all of them wanted to come and celebrate. We ended up commandeering a table in the corner of the student union, and as I raised the pint of beer Ander had bought for me, I smiled.

“Thanks for coming to celebrate with me. I know it’s not a big deal to you⁠—”

“Fuck that. It’s a big deal. You got the job you wanted, and we get to use your discount.” Ander flashed me a quick grin. “Seriously, though. You wanted another job, and this one’s ideal. Close to our house, good hours, and decent pay. What could be better?”

“To be on the football team.”

Fuck. I clamped my mouth shut immediately, but the words were already out, and based on the looks on my housemates’ faces, everyone had heard them. I couldn’t remember ever saying aloud that I wanted to be on the team…except to Nate, and I wasn’t even sure why I’d told him. Maybe it had been easier to talk to him because he didn’t know me.

But I could turn this around. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “I mean, uh, for my uni project. I have to compare different training methods in different sports. Mani—a guy on my course—set me up with the rugby team to watch some of their training sessions, and I’ve already watched the hockey team training. I thought…uh…I should add football?”

Ander and Levi exchanged glances, and then Ander nodded. “Let me speak to Travis. No promises yet, so keep it to yourself for now, but I think we can do one better. Instead of just watching the team train, why don’t you train with us?”

5

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Nate’s dark brows flew up as he pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against. Today, he was dressed casually in a navy LSU zip-up hoodie and faded denim shorts. His thick, dark hair was styled away from his face, artfully arranged on top of his head. It sent my focus straight to his deep brown eyes. “Tell me you’re not Orange89.”

I stared at him, my mouth falling open. Okay. This wasn’t a weird dream. It was actually happening. When I’d first caught sight of him, I’d thought it was a coincidence or possibly a hallucination that he was here in the courtyard of The George…but apparently not.

“Are you Pink31?” There was no point in my even asking the question. The answer was obvious.

“Fucking Jonas,” he growled, scraping his hand through his hair. “This was funny the first time, but now it’s taking the piss.” Jabbing at his phone, he huffed out a frustrated breath. “I’m gonna tell him exactly what I think of his fucking app.”

“Yeah…” I scuffed the toe of my trainer against the courtyard’s cobbles. There was no point in feeling offended by Nate’s reaction because I felt the same. We were supposed to be here to meet potential dates, not to have a replay of the first mix-up. I aimed for a light-hearted tone. “No offence, but I was actually hoping I had a date this time. Not another potential mugging.”

The angry look melted away from his face, and my stomach did a weird flip at the reluctant smile that replaced it. “Sorry. I’m not pissed off with you. Just the situation. As for the mugging…you’re safe for now. I don’t have my bike with me this time.”

Okay. Fuck it. We might as well make the most of it. “In that case, since we’re both here…”

He sighed in defeat, but then he nodded. “Alright. Wanna head inside for a pint?”

“Our second date. Can you believe it?” We were four shots and several pints in at this point, and both of us were feeling the effects.

Nate leaned into me, the warped, antique wood of the pub booth seating creaking audibly as he moved. “First time I’ve been on a second date without getting a kiss.”

“Aww.” Turning my head, my nose brushed against his. I pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek, and he laughed, shoving me away.

“Fuck off.”

I blinked several times until my eyes could focus properly again, and then I glared at him. “No, that’s not how it works. You’re supposed to kiss me back.”

“You’re not into men. And neither am I.”

“Yeah, but we’re on a date.” It made sense to my drunken brain.

He frowned. “Mmm. Good point.” Without any warning, he lunged at me, messily sliding his mouth over the corner of mine in a move that was definitely not a kiss before falling back against the booth. “Ugh.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, wiping at the side of my mouth. “Fuck. I’m gonna feel the effects of these drinks tomorrow. Want another?”

“Yeah, why not. Let’s do more shots. Fucking hell, I don’t think I’ve drunk this much since I was a fresher. You’re a bad influence, Charlie B. Guess it comes with the territory of you being young. How old are you, anyway? Eighteen? Nineteen?”

“Nineteen, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it.”

“Look, I’m almost twenty-two, and I’m a responsible older brother,” he slurred.

I laughed. “Respon—spon—responsible?” My tongue tripped over the word. “You’re not my brother. Wait here. I’m gonna get us more drinks.” Carefully easing myself out of the booth, I did my best to walk in a straight line to the bar. I only bumped into two, maybe three people, so I counted that as a win.

When I returned to the booth, somehow managing to carry two pints of beer and two test tube shots with minimal spillage, Nate had peeled off his hoodie, leaving him in a navy T-shirt that stretched tight across his pecs and biceps. As I set the pints down, I stared at him. It was lucky we weren’t trying to find any women right now because it was a guarantee that they’d look straight past me to him, with all those muscles on show.

“You’re so fucking fit.” I poked his bicep, then slid my palm onto his pec, squeezing the firm muscle lightly.

He swatted my hand away with a laugh. “Are you sure you’re straight? You’re kind of feeling me up here, mate. And you just called me fit.”

“I didn’t mean fit as in hot. I meant like, physically fit. You know.” My hand had somehow landed back on his arm, but this time, he didn’t comment. Instead, he raised his test tube shot to mine and then tipped it to his lips. My gaze got caught on the way his throat worked as he swallowed, and my breath stuttered. I blinked several times. Fucking hell, I was drunk. Speaking of drinks… I downed my own shot and then collapsed back into the booth.

“You’re fit, too. See.”

“Huh?” I realised that Nate was squeezing my bicep, and I flexed it. “Oh, yeah. Well. I go to the gym, and I play football whenever I get a chance to scrounge up enough players. It’s hard when most of your friends are either already on the uni team or not interested in playing.” Sliding my hand down his arm, I traced my finger over the raised veins on the back of his hand. He shivered, and I cleared my throat, quickly pulling my hand away and curling my fingers around my pint glass instead. “I heard girls like those.”

“Like what?”

“Veins.”

He stared at me blearily. “Veins?”

I shrugged. “Don’t ask me. Just what I heard.”

Huffing out a soft laugh, he picked up his pint, and I found myself fixated on his throat once again. I’d never paid any attention to anyone’s throat before. Even if I was kissing a girl’s throat, it was just skin. Nate’s was…weirdly mesmerising right now. 

My drunk brain was fucking strange.

“After tonight, I’m done,” I told him, forcing my brain down a safer path. “No more Matched LSU app.”

“I don’t blame you. If Jonas wasn’t my housemate, I’d uninstall the app and be done. But I know he’s gonna talk me into one last go.”

I lifted my drink, downing the contents to drown the sudden restless, twisting feeling. “Good luck with that.” 

“Third time lucky. Or so they say.”

“Yeah. So they say.”

The rest of the night was a vague blur, but the god of test tube shots must have been smiling down on me because somehow, I ended up safely in my own bed in my student house. It felt like I’d been asleep for just a few minutes when I was rudely awoken by my phone buzzing madly across my desk.

“What,” I rasped after tapping to accept the call without checking who was on the other end, throwing my arm across my face. My head was pounding.

“Oooh, someone’s hungover.”

“Fuck off,” I groaned as my younger brother’s gleeful voice sounded through the speaker.

“Rocky! Stop taking the piss.” My sister’s words were followed by a soft smacking sound and then a cry of outrage. Despite my hangover, I smiled, easily picturing Gem smacking the back of Rocky’s hand in warning, both of them locked in a stubborn glare-off.

Gingerly moving into a seated position, trying not to jostle my body too much, I licked my dry lips. “Um…why did you phone me so early?”

“You look like shit— Stop it, Gem! Charlie, tell her!” Rocky whined. Blinking my eyes open, I squinted down at my phone screen.

“What the fuck! A video call!” Throwing my phone down, I buried my face in my hands, drawing my knees up.

“Charlie. It’s not early. It’s almost half twelve,” Gem said.

I groaned loudly, admitting defeat as I fumbled for my phone, raising my head as I lifted it so it was level with my face. “Okay. Give me five—no, ten minutes, okay? I’ll phone you back.”

Ending the call, I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom, bypassing the mirror as I headed straight for the shower.

Twenty minutes later, after showering and downing a pint of water with two paracetamols, I was feeling more human. Curled up on my bed, I opened the group chat with my siblings and hit the Video Call button.

“How was your date last night?” Gem said as soon as the call connected. I looked at her eager face, her brown eyes sparkling, and shook my head.

“Believe it or not, the app messed up again.”

Rocky burst out laughing, and I glared at him through the screen. He ignored my glare, leaning into his camera so I had a close-up view of his nose. “Not another bloke?”

“No, actually,” I bit out. Gritting my teeth, I steeled myself for their reaction. “It was the same one.”

Both of them fell about laughing for a solid minute. My siblings sucked. Still, I guessed it was nice to see Rocky acting so light-hearted, even if it was at my expense. Gem and I had tried to shield him from the worst of our money issues, but he was perceptive, and I knew he worried about things.

When they recovered, Gem turned serious. “You know we don’t care if you’re into men.”

“Yeah,” Rocky added. “Emery and Lewin are together, and everyone loves them.”

Jordan Emery and Theo Lewin were two of Glevum FC’s players who had caused headlines when they’d been outed by an anonymous source. They’d been in the tabloids for a while, and although most of the media coverage had been positive, there were always homophobic assholes ready to crawl out of the woodwork. So it wasn’t strictly true that everyone loved them, but the majority of Glevum’s fans and their teammates were behind them. My brother was a huge Emery fanboy, probably because he was a cocky asshole, too, and like called to like.

“Yeah…I know. It’s not that. You know all my housemates are gay or bi or whatever, so it’s not like I’d have an issue with admitting it, if I was into boys. Which I’m not.”

Nate’s face flashed in my brain, the lazy grin he’d given me when I was sliding my hand over his chest— Fuck. I shook my head. Even if new, unusual, fleeting thoughts had crossed my mind when I’d been drinking, there was no point in taking them any further. Nate had made it clear that he was strictly into women, and there was no other man I’d ever looked twice at, drunk or sober.

So, yeah. Wasn’t gonna happen. Nothing to admit. If I happened to find a man attractive in the future, I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

I cleared my throat, changing the subject. “I get paid for my student union job today, so I’ll transfer some money to the family account.” As with my library job, I was paid weekly, which made life easier.

Gem frowned. “We can manage, Charlie. I don’t want you worrying about us.”

“Gem. Don’t.” It had been difficult enough to convince her to take some of the money I was earning in the first place, but there was no way I’d leave my siblings to struggle on their own when I could help out. Rocky ate enough for three normal people, and although he didn’t have any expensive hobbies, we both wanted him to be able to do things with his friends without stressing about whether we could afford it. Gem’s job wasn’t exactly the best paid—not when it was the only wage they were relying on.

“You’d better put enough aside for social things,” she said eventually.

“Yeah. More dates.” Rocky smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“I know you’ll give me shit if I don’t, so, yes, I factored that in.” Time for another change of subject. “Did you get your project finished, Rock?”

We fell into a comfortable conversation, catching up on everything that had happened in the past week, although there were a few things I kept to myself.

Namely, the way my drunk brain had been so fixated on Nate Glover.

6

Jogging out onto the pitch, I screwed up my eyes against the sudden brightness of the sun. 

“Nate! Cone drills!” Travis shouted, and I shot him a thumbs up before heading over to where my teammates and second team members were forming two lines behind the sets of cones that had been arranged on the pitch.

My brows pulled together when I took in an unfamiliar head of tousled brown hair in front of me. Then the person turned to the side, and— “Charlie?”

“Oh, look, it’s my mugger. Or stalker. You do keep showing up at the same place as me.” Turning to face me fully, he gave me a bright grin, and my heart jumped from the shock of seeing him here.

It took me a second to regain my composure, but when I did, I stepped closer, cocking my head as I studied him. “Hmmm. You’re the one at my football training, so I think that makes you the stalker. What are you doing here?”

His lips curved into what had to be the worst impression of a pout I’d ever seen. “You don’t want me here? That makes me sad.” 

“’Course I want you here.” Moving to his side, I threw my arm around his shoulders. “It makes it much easier to keep an eye on you for my nefarious stalking purposes.”

“Nefarious.” He snorted. “To answer your question, it’s part of my uni project. I’m looking at different training methods between different sports. I’ve looked at the uni rugby and hockey teams already, and my housemates sorted it out so I could train with the football team for a few sessions.”

I took in his slightly wistful expression as he stared out over the pitch, and his words from our first date came back to me. I really wanted to join the uni team, in fact, but I needed a job more. I squeezed his shoulder before removing my arm. “That sounds good,” I said. 

“Oi! Nate! Charlie! Stop flirting and pay attention!”

My head snapped up to find the line of players had moved on while Charlie and I were talking—not fucking flirting, whatever my team captain said. Charlie’s cheeks flushed, and he spun away from me, jogging across the pitch to the others, and after shooting Travis a warning look and ignoring his answering smirk, I rejoined the back of the line. 

Charlie’s presence left me off-kilter throughout our training session, and I kept making stupid errors I’d never normally make. It was just having someone new there that I wasn’t used to, and it was Charlie Brooks, the person I’d been on two accidental dates with. Everything about it was bizarre.

Lifting my shirt, I wiped it across my brow. When I lowered it, I noticed Charlie’s gaze flicking away from me, his cheeks flushing. What was all that about? I tipped my water bottle to my mouth, downing the cool liquid.

My heart was pounding. Fuck, I’d overdone it today.

“Um.” Dragging his eyes up to mine, he licked his lips. “I forgot to bring any water.”

“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Here.” I shoved my bottle at him, our fingers brushing together as he grasped it. He visibly shivered. 

What the fuck?

“Nate!”

We both turned at the new voice. I smiled, seeing my sister waving at me from the sidelines. She was standing with two of her friends, Daisy and Millie, and I nodded a greeting at them as I jogged over to greet Sophie.

“Don’t hug me. As much as I love you, I don’t love your sweat.” Sophie ducked away from my outstretched arms, and I pretended to lunge at her, making her use Millie as a human shield. Millie squealed, diving into Daisy, and when the three of them had collapsed into a giggling heap, I cleared my throat.

“Sophie, Daisy, Millie. Meet Charlie. He’s training for us as part of one of his uni modules.”

The three of them straightened up, and I grinned at the glare Sophie directed at me. It was my brotherly duty to make things as awkward as possible, after all.

I continued with the introductions. “Charlie, this is my sister, Sophie, and her friends Daisy and Millie. They all went to the same school and then followed each other to LSU.” I nodded towards the players on the pitch. “Daisy is Pete’s sister.”

“Hi.” Charlie smiled at each of the girls, giving them weirdly polite handshakes, and I wondered if he felt awkward, too, knowing that I was watching him interact with my sister. Especially because he’d admitted to me that he thought she was pretty and he wanted to meet her.

I stepped away, giving them some privacy, and Sophie shot me a grateful look. Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I moved into a series of cooldown stretches.

My sister’s bright laugh carried across the field, and my gaze snapped back to them. Charlie was leaning into her, tapping his fingers on her phone screen and saying something I couldn’t catch. Whatever it was, it caused her to flush and give him a half-shy, half-flirty look.

My jaw clenched, and by the time Charlie had handed Sophie her phone, my whole body was on edge.

Stop being so overprotective, Nate. Charlie’s a good guy, and Sophie’s a grown adult.

I forced myself to turn away, silently helping Travis to gather up the training cones before heading towards the changing room to shower.

I refused to look back.

“Seen Charlie lately?”

My brows rose at my housemate’s question. It had come out of the blue, right in the middle of a discussion about the latest Star Wars TV adaptation that we were currently watching.

“Huh?”

“Charlie. You know. The guy you had two dates with.” Jonas nodded at my phone. “All thanks to my app.”

“No thanks to your app, you mean.” Slumping further back into the sofa cushions, I kicked my feet up on the coffee table. “Speaking of seeing people, have you seen Joe today?”

Jonas shook his head. “Nope. I haven’t seen him in a few days. It feels like it’s just the two of us living here, most of the time.”

That was true. Our third housemate was rarely home, preferring to spend the majority of his time at his girlfriend’s place. Not that I blamed him—she lived alone, so they had privacy when they were at hers.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “He’s hardly ever here these days. As for Charlie, I saw him today, in fact. He’s training with the football team for one of his uni modules.”

“No more dates?”

“That would be a no, because in case you forgot, I’m straight, and so is he.” Jonas opened his mouth, and before he could say anything, I added, “He met my sister today. They seemed to hit it off.”

Jonas stared at me. “He met Sophie?”

“Yeah. She was at my training session today with a couple of her friends. One of them has a brother who joined the team this year.”

“Mate. What’s with the face?”

“What face?” I made a conscious effort to relax my posture. “I’m not making a face.”

“If you say so.” He rolled his eyes. “I can’t decide what it’s for, though. Are you pissed off at the thought of someone making a move on your baby sister, or is it because Charlie and Sophie seem to be into each other?”

“Wha— Why would I have a problem with any of that? They’re adults, and Charlie’s a good guy. I don’t have a problem with it. See?” Leaning forwards, I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and opened the message thread with my sister.

Soph:

Thanks for introducing me to Charlie today. He seems really nice *smile emoji*

Me:

He’s a good guy

Soph:

Is that you giving us your blessing?

Me:

Us???

Soph:

OK there’s no us yet, but I think he’s interested. Be a cool big brother pleeeeease

Me:

I always am

Soph:

I know. You’re the best, Nate. Love you

Me:

Love you too Soph

“Okay,” Jonas said eventually. “I’ll take your word for it. If you’re fine with all…that… you won’t mind giving my app one more go. Please?”

I groaned. “This had better be third time lucky, and I’m only agreeing because you’re probably my closest friend.”

“Probably. Wow,” he muttered sarcastically.

“Okay. Definitely. Whatever, you know you are.”

“Yeah.” He gave me a small smile. “Same to you. Probably.”

“Fuck off.” I elbowed him. “I’ll give the app another go, but only if you one hundred percent guarantee I won’t be matched with Charlie again. Or any other man, for that matter.”

“I promise,” he said.

7

Clicking the Save icon and exiting out of my assignment, I leaned back in my desk chair. I still had a few more training sessions left with the LSU team—depending on my work schedule—but the first one had given me a solid basis to compare with the sessions I’d attended with the hockey and rugby teams. Taking part in the actual training rather than being there as a spectator had given me a completely different perspective, though. For a start, I thought I was fit. I spent enough time at the gym, after all, but right now my muscles ached in places they’d never ached before.

Then there was the fact that instead of watching the players practise, I’d been watched by the spectators. And one of those spectators happened to be Sophie Glover, who had given me her number.

I hadn’t texted her yet. I should, though. I’d told her I would.

Reaching for my phone, I opened the group chat I had with a few of the guys from my course. There was a loose plan for a coffee-slash-study session after Tuesday’s anatomy and physiology lecture, so I tapped out a quick message to see if anyone minded me inviting a few extra people.

When I’d received confirmation from my course mates that no one minded, I scrolled to my contacts and found Sophie’s name.

Me:

Hi Sophie, it’s Charlie Brooks

I wandered down to the kitchen while I waited for her reply, pre-heating the oven so I could cook a frozen pizza for my dinner. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, I greeted my housemate JJ, who was tentatively sipping a smoothie that was an interesting shade of green.

“Alright? What’s that?” I indicated my head towards his cup.

“It’s a test recipe. I’m trying to perfect it for Killian.”

“My sister makes a lot of homemade smoothies, if you want any ideas. Is it for him to have at work?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Kill relies too much on black coffee, so I wanted to make him a healthy alternative. Some days he’s really busy and doesn’t even have time to eat properly.”

I racked my brain, trying to remember what my sister used. “I know there’s one she makes sometimes with berries and avocados. It’s meant to be a brain boosting thing. Want me to get the recipe?”

JJ shot me a bright smile. “Thanks, that would be great. Nothing too sweet, though. Kill doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth.”

“Unlike you.”

He laughed. “True.”

I left him to finish up his experimental smoothie, shoving my pizza in the oven before sending Gem a quick text. As I hit Send, a reply came through from Sophie.

Sophie:

Hi Charlie! I was hoping I’d hear from you! How are you?

Me:

Good. If you’re free on Tuesday afternoon do you want to come for coffee and a study session? A group of us are going after our lecture. Bring a few friends. It’s just a casual thing

Sophie:

That sounds great! What time? My seminar finishes at 3. I’m sure my friends would be interested

Me:

We’re meeting at 3 so that works. First floor of the library. The big tables at the back. We normally get coffee from the machines and pretend to study

Sophie:

Great! See you there!

My screen lit up again, and I blinked, a smile tugging at my lips when I saw the name of someone I hadn’t expected to hear from.

Nate:

Feeling sore after yesterday?

Me:

Yeah. You worked me hard

Nate:

That sounded a bit suggestive

It wasn’t me working you hard, it was Travis

Me:

It’s your brain making it suggestive. Don’t blame me

Yeah but I had to keep up with you

Nate:

Found it a struggle, did you?

Me:

I guess that life of crime keeps you extra fit, mugger

Nate:

So funny

The message was followed by a selfie of Nate with an unamused expression on his face.

“Someone’s happy.”

“Huh?” My head flew up to see JJ smirking at me.

“You’re smiling at your phone like someone sent you the hottest dick pic you’ve ever seen.”

“I am not! What the fuck, JJ? If I had a dick pic, I definitely wouldn’t be smiling about it.”

“I would, if it was from Killian.”

“Please. Stop right there,” I begged, and my housemate laughed.

“Okay, if you insist.” He stood, carrying his smoothie cup over to the sink where he rinsed it out. “I’m off to work now. See you later.”

When he was gone, I returned to my conversation with Nate, beginning with a photo of my pizza cooking. Why I felt the sudden urge to send him a picture of my dinner, I couldn’t say. We texted back and forth for a while, and by the time I finished eating, he revealed his original reason for texting me.

Nate:

I was supposed to pass on a message from Jonas. Can you fill in the feedback form for the app? I’ll send the link

A few seconds later, a link came through, and I bookmarked it on my web browser.

Me:

I’m assuming he doesn’t want me to mention the mix up that happened twice

Nate:

Preferably not

Me:

Guess I can’t complain too much. I got to know a real life mugger

And between you and Jonas I managed to get a new job

And met your sister.

Nate:

That was all you

Me:

Thanks either way

Hey you know those ladder drills Travis made us do yesterday? Do you do them every time?

Nate:

Not every time

Me:

I need to make a note of that for my assignment

Nate:

You know Travis would be happy to answer any questions for your assignment

But you can ask me anything, anytime

My smile widened.

Me:

Does that include asking for mugging tips?

Joking. Thanks, I appreciate it

Nate:

You’re welcome. I’d better go now. I’m meant to be cooking dinner for Jonas and his girlfriend. Have a good evening. Make sure you rest your muscles

Me:

You too and I will. I might not be at the next training session because I have to work, but I’ll see you soon

Nate:

See you soon, pinball prince

8

Making my way through the library, coffee cup in hand, I stopped dead when I heard the familiar sound of Sophie’s laughter. My gaze arrowed straight to the table my sister was seated at, to the guy sitting next to her. His eyes were wide as he stared at me, his mouth slightly open. Fuck.

I vaguely registered my sister rolling her eyes, but I couldn’t fucking stop looking at Charlie. Charlie, who I hadn’t seen in nine days, not that I’d been counting. Charlie, who seemed very fucking cosy with my little sister.

Sophie eventually broke the silence that had fallen when I approached their table. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s the library. I’m using it for its intended purpose,” I told her, still unable to tear my gaze away from the boy at her side.

“Nate.”

I blinked, my brain registering the plea in her voice, and it finally snapped me out of this weird…staring thing I had going on with Charlie. I flicked her a grin that I hoped looked natural. “Alright. I was just passing. I’ll leave you to it.” Forcing myself to step closer, ignoring the faint scent of Charlie’s woodsy aftershave as I did so, I squeezed her shoulder. “See you later, okay?”

She smiled up at me. “Yeah.”

Later…when we’d be in the car travelling back to our hometown for the weekend and I’d have to hear Sophie talking about Charlie…

I gritted my teeth as I walked away, stopping out of sight in the first stacks I came to so I could regain my composure. Why seeing them together was affecting me so much, I had no clue.

I ignored that small, insistent voice in my head that was trying to tell me something. I’d had enough practice in suppressing it over the years, after all.

Sophie’s voice carried over the low murmur of conversation around the library. “Older brothers. Right?”

“Right.” That was her friend Daisy’s voice. “It’s sweet that they want to look out for you, but they don’t always seem to understand that we’re adults now, and we can be trusted to know our own minds.”

Fuck. I was a horrible brother. My sister and her friends thought I was there looking out for her, but instead, I was—I was— I wasn’t anything. No. I was just looking out for her. Like a good brother should.

My dad lowered his mug, placing it on the kitchen table with a soft thunk. “Okay. Now we’re all caught up on what’s happening with your degrees…is there anything or anyone new in your lives? Anything you want to share with me?”

I glanced over at Sophie, who was smiling shyly down at her empty mug, and I bit the inside of my cheek, hard. Self-loathing and jealousy—no, not jealousy, but whatever that other feeling was—churned in my stomach. I grabbed my glass of water, downing the contents in an effort to stop the sudden nausea. I wished it was something stronger.

“There’s a boy I like. It’s… Nothing’s happened except for us grabbing coffee a couple of times, but I think he might be interested. He’s really nice⁠—”

“How did you meet him?” My dad’s gaze flicked to mine. “Do you know about this, Nate?”

My sister sighed. “Dad, Nate’s already played the overprotective big brother once this week. I don’t need it from you, too.”

“Oi, less of your cheek.” He grinned at her before leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “Go on, then, tell me about him.”

“He’s a first-year student, same as me. Um…I actually met him through Nate, to answer your question about whether Nate knows about him. He’s studying sport and exercise science and had to train with the football team for one of his assignments.” She glanced over at me with a smile and returned her attention to my dad, her eyes sparkling as she sang Charlie’s praises. “I think you’d like him. He’s really into football, and he supports Glevum, same as us.”

My dad nodded approvingly. “Good man. What else?”

“Um…let me see. He’s working two jobs to send money home to support his family. Isn’t that sweet? He works so hard, Dad.”

I prayed that no one would ask me to contribute to this conversation because I couldn’t fucking speak. I’d managed to avoid any Charlie-related conversations on the journey up, thanks to Sophie finishing an assignment ready for Monday and then taking a nap.

“You’ve always been sensible. If he has our Nate’s approval, I’ll say nothing more. Just…don’t make me a grandad yet, okay?”

“Dad!” Sophie’s cheeks flamed. “Please. As if I would.”

“Sorry,” he said unapologetically. “You know my thoughts on that. I want you to make the most of uni so you can get the best start in the world, okay?” When she nodded, he smiled and then turned to me. “Nate. Do you approve of this Charlie?”

Brown hair and bright green eyes flashed through my mind, accompanied by a cheeky grin. I managed a nod, which was enough for my dad, and I saw Sophie’s entire body relax. She reached over to squeeze my arm, mouthing, Thanks. Self-loathing roiled through me again.

I had to get out of there.

“Is that the time?” Both Sophie and my dad stared at me, brows raised at the hoarseness in my tone. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “The meal’s at seven. I need to shower.”

Thankfully, they both bought my excuse. My dad stood and began clearing the empty mugs and glasses from the table while Sophie loaded the dishwasher, and I fled, like the coward I was.

9

My cousin Renée’s twenty-first birthday should’ve been a celebratory occasion. It was the reason Sophie and I had come back to Swindon for the weekend, after all. We had a table for eighteen booked in a local restaurant, and after the meal, my cousin and Sophie were meeting up with some of their friends to go to a club. They’d invited me to join them, but the last thing I needed was to be surrounded by the single friends of my sister and cousin, drunk and probably flirting with me.

Fuck, maybe that was what I needed. I wasn’t going to do it, though.

“Look. There he is, training with the football team.”

“Whoa! He’s hot, Soph.”

My gaze snapped to Sophie and Renée, their heads bent together, studying Sophie’s phone.

“I know. He invited me to go out with him tonight, but because I was coming here, he said we’d do something when I got back instead.”

“He’ll do you, you mean.” My cousin smirked at my sister, and her cheeks flushed.

“Shush! Don’t talk about that here.”

“Got you. We can talk more later.”

I gritted my teeth hard enough to make my head pound. Reaching for my glass of wine, I downed it, grimacing at the taste, and then poured myself another from one of the open bottles set out on the long table. I ignored the raised brows of my uncle as I topped up his drink as well as mine. 

“One of those nights, is it?” he commented. “Go on, then. Might as well finish off the bottle. Fill those glasses all the way to the top.”

With a nod to acknowledge him, I split the rest of the bottle between both our glasses. I knew my uncle—not Renée’s dad, a different uncle—had gone through a messy divorce recently. As in, the ink was barely dry on his divorce papers. It seemed like we’d be commiserating together.

What the fuck, Nate? You’re not commiserating.

“Cheers.” He lifted his glass. Across the table, I heard Renée say something about Charlie’s thighs, and I swiped my glass from the table, a little of the wine sloshing over the edge.

“Cheers,” I muttered as I raised the glass to my lips and took a huge gulp, followed by another. I caught my dad’s eye, watching me with his brows pulled together. The last thing I needed was to attract his attention for acting out of character, so I lowered my glass and grabbed a bread roll from the basket in front of me. I methodically tore off pieces, not bothering with butter, chewing slowly as I tried to work out why exactly I had this same stomach-churning nausea I’d felt earlier in my dad’s kitchen.

Last summer, my dad decided to downsize to lower his mortgage payments and ended up buying a small two-bedroom house on the outskirts of Swindon. Sophie had the second bedroom, and I was on a camp bed in the small dining area that led off the kitchen because the front door opened straight into the lounge, and my dad hadn’t wanted me to be disturbed by people coming and going. Lying on the camp bed in the dark, with the glow of my phone charging providing a sliver of light to my left, I was still wide awake with my racing thoughts when I heard the front door open. A few moments later, the stairs creaked, and I exhaled as I rubbed my hand over my face. Sophie was back, and now I could sleep.

In theory, at least.

After another half an hour of tossing and turning on the tiny, uncomfortable bed, I gave up, reaching for my phone. Unlocking it, I scrolled through my social media, viewing Sophie’s stories. She’d posted a photo from the meal and a short video of her and Renée dancing with their friends in the club, holding up flutes of Champagne or prosecco. When I reached the end of the video, the next story automatically began playing.

Charlie’s story.

He was also in a club. I spotted Levi and his boyfriend, Asher, in the background as several of my teammates raised their glasses to the camera. Charlie had a wide grin on his face, mouthing something I couldn’t make out at the camera. I tapped the screen to like the video before I could think twice, and no more than a few seconds later, a notification appeared on my screen.

Charlie:

Still awake?

My lips curved upwards.

Me:

What gave it away?

Charlie:

You stalking my social media

Me:

You love me stalking you

Charlie:

If you want me to justify your life of crime, your gonna be waiting a long time

You’re, I mean

Me:

Yeah ok. Don’t forget to watch for those dark corners. I’ll be there ready to mug you when you least expect it

Charlie:

I told you before. You’ll be disappointed if you mug me. Why are you awake anyway? Was the birthday thing good?

Me:

Couldn’t sleep. The birthday was ok

Looks like you had a good night

Charlie:

Yeah it was fun. Have you been to Sanctuary before?

Me:

No, can’t say it’s been on my radar. Bit out of my student budget

Charlie:

Haha me too but JJ sorted us out with tickets. Hey remember when we went to The George together? We should do that again

I stared down at my screen.

We should do that again.

My fingers shook when I typed out a reply.

Me:

Yeah we should

Charlie:

I knew you wanted a third date

Me:

You’re the one who suggested it

The stairs creaked again, and a few moments later, I heard the soft click of the door opening, a faint light spilling into the kitchen from the lamp my dad had left on in the lounge. I dropped my phone to the floor, tugging the bedcovers up over my shoulders.

“Nate? Are you awake?” My sister’s soft whisper cut through the silence.

“Just about.” I blinked, shifting onto my side and propping myself up on my elbow. “Good night?”

“Yeah. Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to get some water.”

“S’okay. Heard from Charlie tonight?”

The second the question spilled from my mouth, I wanted to take it back. Fuck. Why had I asked that?

It was too dark to make out the expression on Sophie’s face, but I could see her nod. She turned away from me, reaching into the kitchen cupboard for a glass before padding across to the water dispenser on the fridge door. “He sent me a message earlier saying he hoped I had a good night and to let him know that I got home safely. I replied when I got back, but he hasn’t replied again. He’s probably asleep now.”

I glanced down at my phone, the screen showing an unread message icon. My heart pounded.

“Yeah, probably,” I said hoarsely, collapsing onto my back and throwing my hand over my eyes.

Part of me was on top of the world, and the other part was in the fucking depths of despair. I was the world’s worst fucking brother.

As soon as she’d left, closing the door behind her, I swiped my phone from the floor and returned to my message thread with the guy my sister was into.

Charlie:

I did suggest it, but that’s because I have a nefarious plan to make you buy me drinks and then I’ll mug you

I smiled despite myself. There was nothing wrong with talking to Charlie, anyway. Was there? If he and my sister liked each other, it was my duty to get to know him better.

I didn’t even believe myself, but nothing would’ve stopped me from replying.

Me:

You’d mug me AFTER I spent all my money on drinks? Doesn’t really seem like a great plan

Charlie:

I admit it needs some tweaking

Me:

How about we agree not to mug each other? A temporary truce

Charlie:

I guess I can agree to a temporary truce. Where do you want to go and when?

Me:

Have you been to Hyde Park?

Charlie:

Yeah, but I’m happy to go again

Me:

OK. We can ride our bikes there if you want

Charlie:

You’re not planning to drag me into your bike mugger gang are you?

Me:

I’m choosing to ignore that comment. Bikes? Or Tube?

Charlie:

Meet at the park with our bikes? We can ride through the park?

Me:

Yeah. When?

I ignored the fact that this had started with a jokey comment about going to the pub again, and now we were planning to meet up to go cycling in the park, like it was an actual fucking date.

Charlie:

What time are you back tomorrow? Today I guess. Fuck it’s 3 am. I’m doing some extra shifts in the week so I don’t know when I can fit it in otherwise

Me:

I should be back by lunchtime

My plan had been to have a lazy morning and drive back later in the day, but fuck it. Calculating how long it would take to get back to south London on a Sunday morning, I quickly set an alarm for 7:00 a.m. to give me time to shower and coerce Sophie out of bed. 

Charlie:

It’s a ‘date’. Message me when you’re back and I’ll meet you

I grinned at his use of inverted commas around the word “date.” 

Me:

See you then. Get some sleep

Charlie:

You too

Instead of letting the conversation conclude there, I kept on texting.

Me:

Did you see Glevum beat Newcastle 3-1 today?

Charlie:

Yeah! Did you see the goals? Emery’s overhead kick was fucking amazing

The room gradually grew lighter around me as the hours passed, and night turned to day.

My conversation with Charlie didn’t stop until my dad came shuffling into the kitchen two minutes before my morning alarm was due to go off.

“Already awake?” He glanced down at me.

I never fell asleep. “Uh…yeah,” I said. “Are you making coffee?” 

“Black? One sugar?”

“Please.”

He gave me a thumbs up, and I quickly tapped out a final message to Charlie.

Me:

Got to try and wake myself up enough to drive back to uni. See you later?

Charlie:

I didn’t even notice the time. How the fuck did we manage to talk all night? 

Good question.

Me:

No clue

Charlie:

I’m gonna nap now but I’ll set an alarm for 12 so I don’t miss you

Me:

Alright for some. Enjoy your sleep while I try to stay awake so I don’t crash on the way home

Charlie:

Coffee. And red bull. Don’t crash

Me:

Thanks for the advice. See you later. I’ll text when I get back and we can sort out the details

Charlie:

I’m full of good advice. Sounds good, see you later

I exited my messages to find my dad watching me with interest. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes. He snorted, and I opened my eyes again. “What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering who’s put that smile on your face.”

“It’s—it’s nothing. No one. A friend.”

“A friend,” he said, his words loaded with sarcasm. “Whoever she is, if she’s making you that happy at a time of day when you’d usually be a grumpy git, you should hang on to her.”

“Whatever,” I muttered. “I’m going to wake Sophie up. We need to get back early today. Uh, you know, final-year projects. It’s busy for me at the moment.”

“Okay. Here. I made Soph a coffee, too. You can take it up with you.” He stepped forwards, clasping my shoulder. “If you want to talk, I’m here.”

“I know. Thanks, Dad.” Taking the two mugs of coffee from the counter, I made my escape, heading upstairs. Sophie was already awake, sitting up in bed and scrolling through her phone.

“Coffee! How did you know that was what I needed?” She made grabby hands at the mugs, and I handed the one with milk to her.

“You’re awake early.” I sank onto the edge of her bed, blowing on my own coffee before taking a sip.

“I know. I didn’t drink much last night, and I dunno, I think I’m just not used to sleeping here, so I couldn’t sleep properly.”

“Do you want to go back this morning?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that would be good. Dad’s playing golf with Uncle Rob today, anyway, isn’t he?”

“I think so. Okay. Let’s leave in an hour or so, yeah?” Rising to my feet, I stepped over to the door and paused. I wanted to ask her if Charlie had messaged her back, but I knew I shouldn’t. It wasn’t any of my business, anyway.

“Nate? Did you want something else?”

“No.” I shook my head, forcing my feet to move.

10

Icouldn’t stop my grin when I saw Nate leaning up against a tree, a backwards cap jammed on his head, his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts, and his bike dumped carelessly at his feet. His eyes were covered by sunglasses, but I saw his mouth curve into a smile when he caught sight of me pedalling towards him. My stomach felt…giddy. It was weird. 

Hopping off my bike when I reached him, I held out my hand for a fist bump. Nate laughed, tapping his knuckles against mine.

“Is that how we greet each other now?”

I shrugged. “It’s hard to navigate the not-date etiquette.”

“Not-date etiquette.” He laughed again, and a warm, shivery feeling spread through me. It couldn’t be, could it? Fuck. No. There was no way.

“Uh.” Clearing my throat, I squeezed my bike’s brakes. Just to test them. Not because I was suddenly flustered. I’d never been more glad for my own sunglasses. “Yep, brakes all working.”

“Always useful when you want to stop,” Nate commented. The next second, a wide yawn overtook his face. “Fucking hell. I’m so tired. Did you get any sleep this morning?”

“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Maybe we should’ve done this another time so you could sleep.” There was no way I could say I just wanted to see you after we spent all night talking without it sounding weird.

Straightening up, he rubbed his hand across his mouth, stifling another yawn. “I don’t mind. Caffeine helps, and I’m just gonna power through and make up for it with an early night tonight. I’ve done enough of it this year, pulling all-nighters to get my assignments done. I work best that way.”

“Me too. Okay, if you’re sure you’re good with it, why don’t we cycle to the cafe so we can get you a coffee, and then you can give me my first mugging lesson.”

Nate grinned at me, shaking his head as he bent down to pick up his bike. “One day, someone’s gonna hear you talking about me being a mugger, and then we’ll both be in trouble.”

“We will? I’m not the mugger.”

Wheeling his bike over to mine, he stopped right next to me, dipping his head to my ear. “You’re my accomplice, Pinball Prince.”

I shivered again and quickly moved my bike away from his, so I could no longer feel his body heat. “Whatever you say.”

With a laugh, he swung his leg over his bike, the muscles in his legs flexing. “You’re so tanned,” my mouth said before my brain could catch up.

“Uh…I am?” He shrugged. “I guess so, yeah. I spend a lot of time outside. Speaking of…I know you said before about wanting to play football and not being able to, so I brought a ball with me. It’s in my bag. I thought we could have a kick around later, if you wanted to.”

My stomach flipped. “That would be great,” I said, much more softly than I’d planned. “But first, let’s kick off our third date with caffeine. Race you there.” With that, I jumped on my bike and began pedalling as hard as I could.

“You’re going the wrong way,” Nate called, effortlessly catching up with me. Bastard. How was he so good at everything?

“I am?”

“Yeah. The cafe’s that way.” He jerked his head to the right, and slowing down my manic pace, I steered my bike in the indicated direction. By the time we reached the cafe, we’d slowed right down, cycling next to each other so we could talk at the same time.

Nate disappeared inside the cafe while I waited with the bikes, returning with two iced lattes. It was a warm day, and I was already overheated from all the cycling, so it was exactly what I needed.

We slowly wheeled our bikes along the path, sipping our coffees, and I caught Nate up on my night out at the club while he told me about his cousin’s party. It was so easy to fall into conversation with him, and somehow, the time seemed to fly by while we were talking in a way I’d never really experienced with anyone before.

“Let’s stop over there.” Nate pointed towards a large, empty patch of grass just off the path with several large trees shading the edge of the space. “We can leave our bikes under the trees and have a kick around.”

“Okay.” After dumping my empty coffee cup in the nearest recycling bin, I wheeled my bike over to the tree and propped it up against the trunk. When Nate joined me, he unzipped his backpack, pulling out a ball.

“Fuck me, it’s hot today.” Dropping the ball to the grass, he lifted his shirt, pulling it over his head, and I was suddenly faced with miles of tanned, smooth skin and toned muscles.

“Fucking hell,” I whispered, swallowing hard.

“Huh?”

“Oh. Uh…you’re really fucking fit, you know.”

“Yeah, you told me that on our second date.” He shot me a grin. “It’s not like you have anything to worry about. I told you that already. Have you tried using that mirror I mentioned?”

There was nothing for it. I steeled myself, tugging my own T-shirt off, leaving me in just my shorts and trainers. 

Nate fell silent as he stared at me with his lips slightly parted. His sunglasses were way too dark for me to work out his expression, but I could feel his gaze boring into me, sweeping down my body.

“Okay, I know I don’t have the body of an underwear model like you do, but I didn’t realise it was going to shock you speechless,” I said, attempting a laugh that came out a little shaky.

He swallowed, and my gaze was drawn to the way his Adam’s apple moved. What was it about his throat that always seemed to catch my eye?

“Fuck off,” he said, swiping his tongue across his lips before he continued. “You’re fit as fuck.”

Whoa. I’d said the same thing to him in the pub, but there was something about that low rasp in his voice— “Fit as in physically fit or sexy fit?”

“Both. Fuck. No.” Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he groaned. “You know. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Hey, my date thinks I’m hot. That’s always a good sign.” I elbowed him in an attempt to release the weird tension between us, and it worked…except for the fact that my bare skin slid against his in a really distracting way. Who knew that jabbing someone in the side with your elbow could be weirdly hot? And he was a man. It was all very fucking strange. I would blame it on sunstroke, but we were currently in the shade, and the temperature in the sun was warm rather than heatstroke-inducing.

“You think I’m hot,” he countered, relaxing as he tapped the ball with his foot, sending it rolling across the grass.

“Dude, anyone with eyes thinks you’re hot. You could give Jordan Emery a run for his money.”

“Yeah? That would be the life. An underwear model and Premier League footballer?”

“If architecture doesn’t work out, that could be your backup plan,” I told him as I removed my sunglasses, dropping them next to my T-shirt.

Nate jogged over to the ball and began dribbling it into the centre of the open space. “I’m too old to become a professional footballer now. Guess I’ll have to stick with my original plan.”

I watched his back muscles moving and flexing in the sunlight, a light sheen of sweat making his skin almost look as if it was glowing. Or sparkling, like those vampires my sister had been obsessed with at one point. Laughing to myself, I chased after Nate. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t want me comparing him to a sparkly vampire, so I kept that to myself. Some thoughts should remain in your head and never be spoken aloud.

I tackled Nate, our bare skin sliding together again as I managed to kick the ball away from him. It made me distracted, and he was easily able to regain possession of the ball. Okay. Focus, Charlie. 

“Watch out, Glover,” I called, coming up behind him and ducking around his body. I swiped my foot out, the toe of my trainer connecting with the ball for a second before Nate kicked it away from me.

“Call that a tackle? Try harder, Brooks. My grandma could move faster than that.”

“Ref! The opposition is heckling me. Yellow card!”

“That was not heckling,” Nate panted, throwing the words over his shoulder as he sped up, racing across the grass. Putting on my own burst of speed, I came at him at an angle, darting around his body and booting the ball away from us both.

“Fucker!” He grabbed me from behind, his fingers slipping for purchase on my bare skin. The sudden, unexpected shock of contact made me stumble, and then his arms came around me properly, steadying me. “Whoa. Careful.”

“Yeah.” We stood still, both breathing hard. Nate was still holding onto me.

Nate was still holding onto me.

A loud bark made us spring away from each other. A shout followed the bark, and something golden brown streaked past our feet, carrying⁠—

“My ball.” Nate sighed. “Looks like it’s been punctured now. Guess that’s the end of our game.”

“I’m so sorry!” The dog’s owner came jogging up to us, a lead dangling from their hand. “He’s a bit excitable. Here, let me give you some money for a new ball.”

Nate waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. These things happen. We probably shouldn’t have been playing football in this part of the park.”

“Even so⁠—”

“It’s fine.” He gave the dog’s owner a bright smile, and I could physically see them swoon.

“Ugh,” I grunted under my breath. Nate elbowed me, and I slammed my mouth shut.

As soon as the dog and owner had disappeared, Nate spun in my direction. Clasping the slowly deflating ball under his arm, he pulled off his sunglasses and shoved them in his pocket with his free hand. When his gaze was unobscured, he turned to me fully, his brows rising. “What was that all about?”

“You know. Just the effect you have on people. Oh, look, I’m swooning because Nate Glover smiled at me.” I placed my hand to my forehead and pretended to swoon. Nate snorted, shaking his head.

“There’s something seriously wrong with you.”

“Yeah? I’m not the one swooning because you smiled at me.”

He stepped closer. Reaching out, he placed the knuckle of his index finger under my chin, tilting my head up slightly. “Charlie,” he said softly, and then the fucking swoony asshole let his lips curve into a slow, sexy smile.

“Oh, fuck right off,” I managed to choke out, shoving his hand away from me.

“My date is immune to my charms.”

“My date is an annoying dickhead.”

“My date is a bastard who likes to insult me.”

“My date is an asshole.”

“My date is even more of an asshole.” Nate made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a groan. “Okay, okay, I’m done. Enough of that. Let’s just agree we’re both assholes, and we can get on with the rest of our day.”

“Let’s agree you are, and we can go.” I followed him back to where we’d left our bikes. It was much cooler in the shade of the tree, and I took a second to breathe in the fresh air before swiping my T-shirt from the ground so I could rub it across my face. When I lowered it, Nate was standing right in front of me, and I couldn’t help my sharp exhale of surprise.

“Bit jumpy, aren’t you?” He gave me a smug grin, which widened when I glared at him. To be fair, it was hard to properly glare at someone when they were looking so pleased with themselves.

“I guess you’ve perfected the art of sneaking up on people, what with your stalkery criminal tendencies.”

“Maybe I have.” Moving around to my back, he dipped his head to my ear. “Boo.”

I was prepared for him this time, so I didn’t jump, but I did have to tense all my muscles so I didn’t do anything weird like shiver at the feel of his hot breath on my bare skin.

A hand appeared in front of my face, holding— “What the fuck? When did you get my phone?”

“Distraction technique,” Nate said low in my ear, dropping his hand. This time, I felt him slide my phone back into my pocket.

My dick felt it, too.

Oh, fuck. This was not good.

I exhaled slowly, trying to control my spiking heart rate. “Uh, good job. Let me try it.” What the fuck was I saying?

Because Nate’s head was still close to my ear, I heard his breath hitch, even though he cleared his throat and moved back straight away. “Go on, then. See if you can manage to mug me.”

“I’ll do it when you least expect it,” I promised, counting to ten inside my head. When I felt calmer, I slid my sunglasses back on and turned around to find Nate crouched on the ground, digging around in his bag. He’d put his sunglasses back on, too, and his cheeks were a little flushed, although it was probably from the exercise and the heat.

Straightening up, he tipped a sports bottle to his lips. I took my chance, sidling up behind him and slipping my hand into the right pocket of his shorts.

I completely misjudged—well, fucking everything, and my hand slid over the hard muscle of his thigh and then onto what was quite clearly his dick.

He choked on his water, spitting it everywhere as he jumped away from me with a gasp.

“Oh, fuck, I’m sorry!” I dropped to the ground, drawing up my knees and burying my flaming face in my arms. “Leave me here to die. Please.”

I’d touched his fucking dick. And now he was either going to run away or kill me, or if he did neither of those things, it was about to get very, very awkward between us.

“Charlie. It’s okay. I know you weren’t trying to touch my dick.”

I raised my head, hearing the amusement in Nate’s voice. There was something else there, too, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to examine it at that moment.

“All that trauma, and your phone wasn’t even in your pocket,” I moaned. 

“Trauma.” He laughed. His cheeks were definitely more flushed than they had been, which was unsurprising since he’d just been inadvertently groped. “I’ve never heard that word used in relation to my dick before.”

“Have you ever had a man try to grope it before?”

“No, but it can accidentally happen sometimes when we’re fucking around or playing football— Wait. You were trying to grope me?”

“Nooo. No, I wasn’t. I promise. I was just trying to pickpocket you.”

“You did that, alright.”

“Ugh. Leave me to die, please.” I flopped back on the grass, covering my face. “My life of crime is over before it even managed to begin,” I mumbled.

Fingers curled around my palm, lifting it away from my face. Nate was sprawled out next to me, that stupid, wide grin on his face.

“Your first mistake was that you chose the wrong pocket. My phone was in my left pocket.”

“No, my first mistake was touching your dick.”

“Try again.”

“Fine.” In a move I was sure any martial artist would be proud of, I jackknifed my body up and threw myself onto Nate, straddling his thighs. My right hand went for his left pocket, but he was too quick for me, gripping my wrist and holding it in place.

“Nice try.” His free hand landed on my thigh. Why the fuck was he touching my thigh? I flexed the muscle beneath his palm, and he squeezed lightly. “I see what Renée meant about your thighs,” he murmured, almost to himself.

“W-what? Who’s Renée?”

He didn’t reply, focused on squeezing my muscle—and what the fuck was that all about, and why did I like it?—and I took advantage of his distraction to shift my body just enough to reach across with my left hand and get my fingers into his pocket. The tip of my index finger brushed against metal, warm from his body heat.

Then his fingers dipped under the hem of my shorts, pressing down on my skin, and I couldn’t stifle the gasp that tore from my throat.

We both froze, our gazes connecting through the barrier of our sunglasses. I couldn’t see Nate’s eyes, but his lips were parted, and his cheeks were flushing a deep red beneath his tan. I didn’t know what my face was doing, but I was sure it couldn’t be anything good, based on the way my heart was racing.

And my dick. My stupid, traitorous dick decided it very much liked what was happening. Fuck.

That was enough to shock me into movement.

I tore myself away from Nate, throwing myself down onto the grass and rolling. I heard Nate groan, and when I risked a glance at him, his arm was thrown over his face, and he was muttering something to himself.

Somehow, the fact that he seemed just as unnerved as I was calmed me slightly. After taking several deep, slow breaths, I pulled my body upright. My gaze flicked to Nate again, and I didn’t do it on purpose…but my eyes went to his shorts. Or specifically to the place where there was a visible bulge. I swallowed hard, willing my dick to behave. It was fucking impossible, though, with Nate right there, all sweaty and lickable with his glistening muscles and⁠—

What the fuck. What the actual fucking fuck.  

Enough was enough.

I cleared my throat and climbed to my feet, turning away from Nate. Pacing up and down, I thought fast. Bike. Yeah. That should work. I jogged over to my bike and picked up my T-shirt, pulling it back over my head. After straightening my sunglasses, I pulled the bike upright and swung my leg over. Pedalling slowly, I made a circle around the tree, and by the time I was back in my original starting position, my dick was under control. Nate was now standing with his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts. He’d twisted his cap around and pulled it down low, the brim throwing his face into shadow.

Stopping my bike, I cocked my head. “It looks like I failed as a career criminal. Wanna have a bike race instead?” Thank fuck my voice came out more or less normal, and it seemed as if it was enough to convince Nate, because the corners of his mouth turned up into a tiny smile, and he began making his way towards me. When he reached our bikes, he pulled on his own T-shirt, and after grabbing his stuff, he climbed on his bike and turned to me.

“First one to the ice cream van by the fountains wins.”

Then the cheating bastard cycled away at high speed before his words had even registered in my head.

Swearing under my breath, I raced after him, drawing closer but never catching up.

“Cheat!” I shouted, and I heard him laugh, but he didn’t slow down.

The ice cream van came into view, and I pedalled harder, putting on a burst of speed, and by some miracle, I managed to draw level with his back wheel when he had to swerve around a dog that had appeared out of nowhere. But when we both skidded to a stop on the path in front of the ice cream van, Nate was still slightly ahead.

“Yes! I won!” he shouted, fist pumping the air, and I shook my head at him.

“It doesn’t count as a win if you cheated.”

He smirked at me. “Sounds like the words of a loser.”

I discreetly gave him the middle finger—discreetly, because there were children around—and he laughed again. 

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s leave our bikes over there, and I’ll buy you an ice cream to make up for your loss.”

When we’d left our bikes safely locked up and were walking along the path next to the sparkling water of the Serpentine with our ice cream cones in hand, I realised what a bad idea this had been.

Because the way Nate ate that ice cream was fucking pornographic. It seemed like now I’d noticed him in a certain way, my body was reacting to everything he did, and I was honestly at a loss. I’d never been in this kind of situation before.

“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath. 

“Huh?” Nate glanced over at me before swiping his tongue over the top of his ice cream.

“N-nothing,” I choked out, closing my lips over my own ice cream in an effort to distract myself. Creamy vanilla filled my mouth, sweet and delicious, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the man walking next to me, his arm occasionally brushing mine and sending chills across my overheated skin.

Holy fuck. This was not just a weird non-heatstroke thing. I knew I’d been in denial, but there was only so much denying I could do before the inevitable conclusion forced its way to the front of my mind.

I think I might fancy Nate Glover.

11

Charlie was quiet next to me, focused on eating his ice cream. My gaze kept flicking to him, taking in the way he licked up the dripping cream from the cone, and I hoped he didn’t notice, because I had no explanation for why I was looking at him.

“Wanna go on the pedal boats?” I suggested when we’d finally finished our ice creams. We’d been here for hours already, but I was having fun hanging out with Charlie. I wasn’t ready for it to end yet.

“Are you gonna pedal me around?” He shot me a wide grin.

Nudging him with my elbow, I returned his smile. “Remember, I beat you in our bike race. You can pedal me around.”

We bickered all the way to the boat hire place, nudging and elbowing each other and generally acting like kids on a sugar high. When we were seated in our pedalo, next to each other, Charlie tipped his head back, letting the sun shine directly onto his face.

“This is nice.”

“Yeah.” Following his lead, I twisted my cap around so the brim was at the back and lifted my face to the sun, closing my eyes behind my shades. Nice was an understatement. The sun was warm, not too hot, there was a fresh breeze cooling my skin, and the sound of the birds mingled with chatter from the people dotted around the shore. Out here, it was easy to forget we were in the centre of the city—if I ignored the tall buildings visible when I looked in certain directions.

The boat was an e-pedalo, so thanks to the electronic assistance, it took hardly any effort to manoeuvre us into the centre of the lake. I glanced over at Charlie to find him already looking at me, his mouth curved upwards. The breeze was ruffling his hair, and his posture was relaxed, his legs stretched out in front of him as he let me do all the work of pedalling. My breath caught in my throat. He was so fucking good-looking. Cute and fucking sexy.

My jaw clenched. There was no way I’d just had that thought about my platonic friend.

Tearing my gaze away, I stared out across the lake. “Are you coming to our match next weekend? If we win the next two, we’ve got a chance of winning the southern division cup.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t miss it,” Charlie said instantly. “Training with the team has been— I dunno, I knew you were good, but you’ve got some really strong players.”

“Including me, I hope.”

“Fishing for compliments?” He tutted. “As if your head wasn’t big enough already.”

“It could always do with being bigger.”

A loud, exaggerated sigh came from next to me. “Fine. You’re a very talented…mugger.”

“Fuck off.”

He hummed. “Okay, okay. You’re great at pinball. Not as good as me, because we both know your win was a fluke, but you’re still great.”

“Not what I was asking, Charlie B. Compliment my ball-handling skills.”

“I wouldn’t know about those,” he shot back and then gasped. “Uh—I didn’t mean— That didn’t come out right— Fuck.”

“Charlie.” Turning to him, I reached out, squeezing his bicep. “I’d be happy to show you how well I can handle balls anytime.”

The second the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back, but it was too late. I’d been aiming to lighten the moment with a joke, but fucking hell, my voice had sounded way too sincere.

“Um.” He coughed, then swallowed. “Yeah. A one-on-one training session would be good. My footwork could do with, uh, some refining.”

“Yeah. Your footwork. Okay. Want me to book the training pitch one evening in the week?”

There was a pause, and I could see him clenching his fists, his knuckles whitening, but then he exhaled unsteadily and nodded. “That would be good. Um. Wednesday?”

“I’ll log in now and see if it’s free.” Fishing my phone from my pocket, I opened the booking app for the LSU sports facilities. We had a short training session on Wednesday, but the pitch was normally empty after we’d finished. “Uh…it looks like it’s fully booked this upcoming week, but it’s free after our Wednesday training session the week after. Want to do it then? We’ll be warmed up from training, so we can get straight into it.”

“Yeah. That—that sounds good. Yeah.” Charlie cleared his throat. “Yeah. Okay.”

We fell silent as we slowly pedalled the boat across the lake, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

“Shhh,” Charlie warned me. “I don’t wanna have to explain to my housemates why I’m bringing a boy home.”

My laughter was immediately stifled by his hand clapping over my mouth. We were both a bit tipsy, and it was possible that I was a little delirious from my lack of sleep at this point. Attempting to focus myself, I did my best to tiptoe quietly through Charlie’s student house, following him up the stairs to his bedroom.

After we’d had enough of hanging out in Hyde Park, we’d come back to the LSU campus and left our bikes in his backyard because it was closest. We’d grabbed some burgers from the cafeteria, and then one thing led to another, and we’d mutually decided that burgers should be followed by beers. And more beers.

I’d come back to Charlie’s house to get my bike, but he wanted me to sober up before I rode home, so he’d invited me inside so he could feed me water and snacks, apparently. It was kind of sweet that he was looking out for me. Normally, I was the one looking out for other people.

“Here it is. You’ve seen one student room, you’ve seen them all,” Charlie announced with a sweep of his hand after he’d flipped on a lamp and closed the door firmly behind us. I glanced around me. The small bedroom was on the top floor of the house, in the eaves, so part of the ceiling was sloped. Plain magnolia walls surrounded us, decorated with a couple of football posters and a small noticeboard, and there was a double bed pushed up against one wall with a tiny bedside table to the left. A chipped pine laminate desk piled with textbooks stood below the window, which was cracked open, letting in the cooler evening breeze. The doors of the wardrobe next to the small bookcase on the far wall were hanging at an angle, and when Charlie caught me eyeing them, he sighed. “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to get those doors fixed.”

“Nah. It adds to the aesthetic,” I told him, crossing the room to take a seat on the edge of his bed.

“If you say so.” Toeing off his trainers, he placed the pint glass of water and bags of crisps he’d brought up with us on the bedside table. “Want to watch TV or something?”

“Yeah, okay.” I took off my own trainers and shifted back to lean against the wall with my legs stretched out across the bed. Charlie handed me the water, and I downed a third of it while he was getting his laptop set up. After placing the glass down, I patted the space next to me. “Sit here.”

He laughed. “You’re inviting me to sit on my own bed? Wow, thanks, Nate. That’s so kind of you to offer.”

“Shut it, Charlie B.” I flicked his thigh, and he shot me a wounded look before retaliating with a light punch to my ribs that I wasn’t expecting. I gasped, shoving his laptop across the bed so it was out of the danger zone before I tackled him, sending us both sprawling over the mattress with me on top of him.

He stilled beneath me, and I suddenly realised just how close we were. Close, as in half of my torso was plastered against his, and I could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest underneath mine. He blinked up at me, his ridiculously long lashes fluttering and his light eyes darkening as his pupils expanded.

“I—” Cutting himself off, he bit down on his lip.

“What?”

His lip was still tugged between his teeth, and I watched my own hand lift from where it had been braced against the mattress, my finger brushing over his mouth where he was biting down. Fuck, his lips were so fucking soft. 

“Don’t do that,” I said in a low voice, and he exhaled, parting his lips slightly, sending hot breath skittering across my fingertip. I fucking shivered. Shit.

“N-Nate?” he whispered, a clear question in his tone.

“Fuck,” I said, rolling off him. My dick was half-hard, and I knew he’d noticed. Pushing myself upright, back in my original position, I grabbed one of his pillows in a futile attempt to hide my hard-on. I pointedly kept my gaze averted from him, not ready to see if he was in the same predicament I was. 

The mattress dipped. “Uh. TV,” he eventually croaked out. I nodded, and after thirty-seven seconds of awkward silence—not that I was counting—we were both seated with a respectable distance between us and the laptop on a pillow on Charlie’s lap, angled towards me.

“Have you seen that BBC documentary about Glevum FC? We could watch that,” I suggested.

Charlie instantly grinned, wide and bright. “Yeah! I didn’t know it was out already.”

And just like that, everything was back to normal between us. 

Or it was…for forty minutes. Forty minutes during which I relaxed so much, I was on the cusp of falling asleep right where I was, my sleepless night finally catching up with me.

Then Charlie got a text from my sister.

He shielded his phone from me, but I’d already seen her name appear on the screen. “Charlie. You don’t have to hide the fact that you’re texting my sister.”

His gaze flew to mine, and he studied me for a long moment before dropping his eyes back to his phone. “Yeah. Sorry. I dunno, I just— Uh. She wants to meet up.”

Oh. “For a date or to study?”

He chewed on his lip. “Uh…for a date. We didn’t— I invited her to go to the club with us, but you were both away in Swindon, so I said at the time that we’d do something when she got back.” 

My fingers curled tightly into the duvet, bunching up the fabric, and I reminded myself to breathe. “Oh, okay. Yeah.”

“Nate. Do you want⁠—”

“You should go. I think she really likes you. And you like her, don’t you? You seem to get on. I—I don’t have a problem with it,” I rushed out.

“Right.” He stared down at his screen, still chewing on his fucking lip, before he lifted his head. His gaze slid to mine. “Are you sure I should meet up with her? You don’t have a problem with that?” He exhaled shakily. “Is there any reason I shouldn’t go?”

I swallowed hard. “No. No, you should go. I’ve—I’ve got a date myself, too. Jonas persuaded me to give the app one last go. Third time lucky, right?” Forcing an unconvincing laugh, I added, “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll use my tried and tested method of going to a bar and catching a hot girl’s eye.”

Charlie’s mouth set in a flat line as he nodded briskly. Pausing the documentary, he quickly tapped out a message on his phone and then threw it down on the bed next to him. “Done. Looks like I’m going on a date with your sister.”

“Good.” This was Charlie, my friend, and my sister—the most important person in the world to me. I was happy for them. Or I would be, after I got my fucking head sorted out. I needed sleep. Rubbing my hand across my face, I blew out a heavy breath. Charlie was eyeing me cautiously, so I forced myself to continue. “Soph’s great, and the two of you have a lot in common. Just…treat her well, and I won’t have a problem.”

“Of course I will.” He gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “C’mon. Let’s finish watching this.”

“Actually. I think I’m gonna go. I’m falling asleep here. I should be in my own bed before that happens.”

“You sure? There’s only ten minutes left.”

“I’m sure.” I needed to get out of here. Away from Charlie.

Climbing off the bed, I shoved my feet into my trainers. When I looked back at Charlie, he was sitting with his shoulders slumped, staring down at his hands. “I guess I’ll see you at the training pitch,” he muttered.

“Yeah.” My fingers curled around the handle of his door. “Bye, Charlie.”

“Bye.”

There was a finality to the way he said that one word. Steeling myself, I opened the door and walked away.

12

Iclosed my message app, then reopened it.

The messages were still the same.

Nate:

Hope your date with Soph goes well tonight. Tip: don’t ask her about the time she was sixth form prom queen. She won’t shut up

That was a joke. If you need a good conversation starter, ask her about the time she had to chase a goat off the pitch when she was playing football

Me:

A goat? WTF?

Nate:

Don’t ask. Or do but ask her not me. You’re welcome. Have fun

Me:

You sure you’re ok with this?

Nate:

I already told you I was. Why wouldn’t I be? I spoke to Sophie and she’s really excited. So don’t fuck it up

Me:

Ok. Do you have a date from the app yet?

Nate:

Maybe. Maybe not

Me:

So mysterious

Nate:

Enough of that, PBP

Me:

What?

Nate:

Pinball prince

Me:

Was that meant to be amusing? Because it wasn’t

Nate:

Tough crowd

Me:

Stick to the day job, mugger

Nate:

I won’t take career advice from someone who tried and failed in his criminal career at the first hurdle

Me:

Noted

Nate:

Gotta go. I have a date to get ready for. Have a good time tonight. I mean it

Okay. This was my fourth read-through of our conversation, and my initial conclusion hadn’t changed. Nate was definitely fine with me going on a date with his sister. Not only that, but he had his own date tonight. Sophie was great. We’d been getting on well, I found her attractive, and it was clear she was into me.

There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel like something was missing. Whatever I’d thought I was beginning to feel for Nate was all in my head. We hadn’t even spoken since that weird moment where he’d made an excuse to run out of my room, other than a brief “hi” during my penultimate training session with the football team.

It was all fine. I was ready to move on with my life, and Sophie deserved a proper effort from me.

With that in mind, I decided that I needed some advice from my housemate Ander. Jogging down the stairs, I knocked on his bedroom door. At the muffled “come in,” I threw the door open, to be confronted with a sight my eyes were not prepared for. Ander was standing in the centre of the room, dressed in a pair of the shortest shorts I’d ever seen in a garish metallic purple. JJ was circling him, a thoughtful expression on his face, while Elliot reclined on the bed, tapping at his phone.

I cleared my throat. “Uh…hi.”

“Hi.” Ander gave me a bright smile. “What’s up?”

I decided to ignore his shorts as best as I could, because they were very short and very tight. Keeping my eyes fixed on my housemate’s face, I stepped into the room. “I just wanted your advice on what to wear for my date. If this isn’t a good time, I can come back.”

“What look are you going for? Fuckboy chic?” JJ’s gaze raked over me, and I gave him the finger. All three of my housemates laughed, and I glared at them. Three against one wasn’t fair. Where was my remaining housemate when I needed him?

“I have a date with Sophie tonight, and I want to look good for it. You’re…you know.” I gestured at Ander, and his grin morphed into a softer, genuine smile.

“Yeah, alright. I’ve got you. JJ—I’ll be back. Get the next outfit ready.” He darted over the bed, pressing a kiss to Elliot’s lips. “See you in a minute, E.”

When we were in my room, Ander helped himself to my wardrobe, throwing my clothes all over the room as he decided on an outfit. I hadn’t exactly planned for him to style me; I’d just wanted… I guess a part of me felt guilty for the way I’d temporarily thought about Nate when something was happening between me and his sister, and I needed to assuage my guilt by making a proper effort. It wasn’t fair on either of us otherwise. Ander’s taste in clothing was similar to mine, and before he got together with Elliot, he’d been a bit of a player, so it seemed like getting his advice was a safe bet.

“What do you want out of this?” he said, holding up two of my T-shirts, studying them with his brows pulled together.

“Uh…it’s a date. We’ve met up a few times before on a casual basis, but there have been other people around. This…I guess it’s our first actual date.”

He nodded. “Okay. Where are you going?”

“The Coffee Collective. They’ve started doing late openings a few nights a week. I think they have different themed nights. Sophie suggested it, I dunno. It sounds like it’ll be casual.”

Throwing both T-shirts onto the bed, he scanned the contents of my wardrobe before opening the drawers at the bottom.

“Maybe this one with your jeans with the distressed bits.” He threw me a teal polo shirt Gem had bought me for my birthday that I’d never actually worn. “Wear that chunky leather wristband thing and your brown boots with it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The teal will make your eyes pop.” He pulled a face, shaking his head. “Eyes pop. For fuck’s sake. I swear I never noticed anyone’s eyes before I started dating E, and now I notice everyone’s. Obviously, E has the nicest eyes, but yours are alright, too.”

I laughed as he headed for the door. “Thanks for that. Okay, I’ll take your advice and wear this shit.”

“Good. You can thank me later.” Stopping in the doorway, he tapped his fingers on the battered wooden frame as he studied me. “Is it gonna be weird, going out with Sophie when you’ve basically been on three dates with her brother?”

“What? No. Those weren’t proper dates. The first two were accidental—you know that—and the other one was just us meeting up as friends. And Nate’s straight anyway.”

His gaze turned calculating. “So are you…aren’t you?”

I shrugged. There was no point in lying to him. “I thought so, but I dunno now. Whatever, it’s irrelevant either way because I like Sophie.”

“Nate’s definitely straight?”

“Yep.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Probably a good thing he’s not into you. It could get messy if, y’know, you ended up in some weird love triangle with Nate and his sister. Although there was a time in my first year here when these two girls both wanted me, and they turned out to be related. It⁠—”

“I don’t wanna know.”

“Rude.” He grinned at me. “To be honest, I prefer not to think about my past. Elliot’s my future.” When I rolled my eyes, his grin widened. “It’s true. And if there’s anything you wanna talk about, you know all of us are here. I’ve been through the whole ‘realising I’m not straight’ thing too, so…”

“Thanks. There’s nothing to discuss, though. I’m going on a date with a girl I’m attracted to, and that’s the end of it.”

“Okay. Just thought I’d offer. Have a good time tonight. We want a debrief when you get back.”

“Uh, no.”

“Uh, yes. You’re the only single housemate left. You owe it to us.”

“Unlike you in your manwhore days, I never kiss and tell.”

Giving me the finger, he backed out of my bedroom. “You will.”

“I will not.” I shut the door in his face.

Time to get ready for my date with an attractive, sweet girl who was interested in me.

“This is nice. I’ve never been here in the evening before.” 

“Yeah. It’s nice. More cosy.” I placed the sparkling mocktail down on the wooden table in front of Sophie before collapsing into my seat across from her. Dragging my Coke closer to me, I took a sip. The Coffee Collective was in the process of obtaining an alcohol licence, but they didn’t yet have one—hence us sticking to soft drinks. I had an early shift at the library tomorrow, anyway.

The atmosphere tonight was much more intimate than it was during the day. The blinds were closed, and the lights had been dimmed, with little tealights in jars set on the tables. Soft music played from the speakers, and when I glanced around me, I realised that the place was full of couples, staring into each other’s eyes and holding hands across the table. I shifted in my seat. This suddenly seemed all too romantic for what was supposed to be a low-key, casual first date.

“So…” Sophie cleared her throat, eyeing me from beneath her lashes. I smiled, my gaze dropping to her mouth as she wrapped her lips around her straw. Fucking hell, it was crazy just how similar her mouth was to Nate’s⁠—

I blinked, forcibly averting my gaze. “So…?” I prompted, watching her cheeks flush lightly.

“Um. How was your week? Did you have any shifts at the student union? Sorry I couldn’t come to see you training, by the way. I had an assignment due.”

“Yeah. I had two shifts this week. Uh…one was right after my library shift, and then I had to submit some coursework the same night. That was a late one.” We both laughed a bit awkwardly, not that there was anything particularly funny about what I’d said.

“I try not to be last minute with my assignments, but sometimes I just can’t help it.”

“Yeah, me too. Oh. The training. That reminds me. Nate said to ask you about something that happened with a goat on the pitch when you were playing football?”

She groaned and covered her face with her hands, her glossy golden-brown hair swinging over her shoulder as she threw her head back. “Why did he have to bring that up? Seriously, Nate!”

Now I was intrigued. “Okay. You have to tell me the story. Why was there a goat on the pitch?”

Lowering her hands, she sighed. “Fine. Bloody Nate. It was when I was in school and playing for the girls’ football team. We had a three-counties sports day thing with some other schools, and it was being held at Hatherley Hall. Um, that’s a private boarding school in the Cotswolds. Anyway, all you need to know is that it’s out in the middle of the countryside with all these fields and farmland around it. Somehow, a goat escaped from a local farm and ended up on the pitch when we were playing one of our matches. I was in goal, and the goat ran into the goal and wouldn’t leave.” She groaned. “Everyone was laughing, and I was trying to shoo it out of the back of the net.”

I laughed. “Did you get it to leave?”

“Eventually. A couple of my teammates and some of the teachers helped to chase it off the pitch. Of course, Nate found the whole thing hilarious. He still has photos, probably.”

“I’ll have to ask him to see them.”

“Please don’t.” She dipped her head to her drink, taking the straw between her fingers and angling it towards her mouth. It really was so similar to Nate’s… “What was that about Nate’s mouth?”

My gaze shot up to hers. Oh, fuck. “What?”

“You just mumbled something about Nate’s mouth.” Her brows lifted. “Any reason?”

I swallowed, gulping down several mouthfuls of Coke in an attempt to stall the conversation. “You have similar features,” I said finally. I could feel how hot my face was, and there was no way she hadn’t noticed it. “Uh, when he first showed me a photo of you, I noticed you had the same mouth shape.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Oh. Well, I can’t say anyone’s ever mentioned it to me before, but I suppose it makes sense, since we’re siblings.”

“Yeah. People say my brother looks like me, although I can’t really see it myself.” 

“Do you have any photos?”

With a nod, I pulled my phone from my pocket, glad of the distraction. As Sophie scrolled through pictures of my siblings while I traced patterns in the condensation on my glass, my face cooled, and my tension slowly melted away.

The sounds of the coffee shop were muted now we’d stepped outside, and the street was quiet. I nodded in the direction of the uni campus and Sophie’s halls of residence. “C’mon, I’ll walk you back.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Nate would kill me if I didn’t.”

She laughed at that, falling into place next to me as we began walking towards campus. “I suppose that’s true. He can be a bit overprotective. It’s one of the reasons I strongly advocated for him to apply for his master’s at Plymouth uni. It’ll do us good to have a bit of distance. Who wants their brother cramping their style, after all?”

I stared at her. “He’s going to Plymouth?”

“Yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know…it’s not like you hang out much, do you, being in different years?”

So I guessed that meant Nate hadn’t mentioned our “dates” to her. Which was a good thing, because it wasn’t exactly easy to explain, especially to his sister, and it was why I hadn’t brought up the subject with her.

“Uh. Plymouth?” I said again.

“He’s going to be doing his postgrad degree there in September. I think he’s moving in the summer after he’s finished his degree. I’ll miss him, but I always feel a bit weird seeing him on campus. Or not weird…but say if I’m with you when he shows up, for example, I know he’s going to pull the overprotective big brother act, and I can’t relax when he does that.” She paused, playing with the strap of her small crossbody bag. “It can be a bit off-putting for boys I’m interested in, too.”

“Oh. Yeah. I get your point. Not that you have to worry,” I rushed out when her face fell. Inside, I was still reeling from the shock of Nate moving to Plymouth. He’d never mentioned it to me in all the time we’d spent together. Not once.

I bit down on my lip, trying to compose myself. Why should it bother me? I was aware that he wasn’t going to be at LSU after this semester finished, anyway, so it shouldn’t make a difference. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t told me. Then again, it wasn’t like we were friends. Or we were, but our friendship was new, and we both had plenty of other friends we were closer to and had known for much longer.

We continued the walk to the student halls in silence, and while it had seemed awkward back in the coffee shop when we’d had long pauses in the conversation, now I was grateful for it. By the time we came to a stop outside the entrance to the halls, I’d convinced myself that I’d overreacted to the news, and I gave Sophie a genuine smile as she fished her key card from her bag.

“Um…so…are you going to the student union with everyone next Friday night? I heard most of the football team were going, and I know you’re not technically on the team, but you’ve been training with them.” Sophie shifted on her feet, glancing up at me as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. I don’t really have a choice since it’s supposed to be celebrating my final training session with the team. That’s the excuse for going, anyway.” 

“I’ll see you there?” There was a question in her voice, and I nodded quickly.

“The more, the merrier. Bring your friends.” At my words, she smiled, swaying forwards, and before I knew what was happening, a slim hand was curling around the back of my neck, and her lips were on mine. My hand went to her waist to steady her as we kissed, almost on autopilot, my heart hammering in my chest. 

It probably only lasted a few seconds, and by the time my brain caught up with what was happening, the kiss was over. Stepping back, Sophie released me, a small smile on her face, and with a soft “bye,” she left me alone. My hand went to my mouth, my fingertips pressing at my lips, coming away slightly sticky with the residue of whatever glossy stuff she’d put on them.

“I am so fucked,” I mumbled aloud, slumping back against the wall and closing my eyes.

13

My phone vibrated against my leg, and I eased it from my pocket, glancing up at my lecturer to make sure she wasn’t paying attention.

Sophie:

It went well. Really well

My brow furrowed as I stared at the message that had appeared on my screen, before I remembered that I’d finally given in and texted my sister late last night, asking how her date went. Had she gone home with Charlie, or had he gone home with her?

I rubbed at my stomach in a futile effort to get rid of the sudden, weird feeling. Balancing my phone on my thigh, I tapped out a quick message.

Me:

Not too well I hope

She sent me back several eye roll emojis, and after the longest minute of my life, my phone buzzed with an actual reply.

Sophie:

I know what you’re implying and you can stop it. He was a perfect gentleman. He walked me home and kissed me. Not that I would tell you if anything else happened, because IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. But you can hold off the big brother routine

Gritting my teeth, I stabbed out a reply.

Me:

There’s no big brother routine. It’s called being concerned for my sister

Sophie:

I know but please remember I’m an adult now

Me:

I know. Sorry

Sophie:

Can you promise to act cool on Friday? I’m assuming you’re going to the student union with the rest of the football team. Charlie will be there and I don’t want you to scare him off. I really like him

Friday. Fucking hell. It wasn’t even a proper night out—it was supposed to be casual drinks, with the flimsy excuse of celebrating Charlie’s final training session with the team, which was happening on Wednesday. Now, Charlie had presumably invited my sister. 

I exited out of the message thread with Sophie, opening my conversation with Jonas.

Me:

You know how I couldn’t do the LSU Matched date. Can you mess with the algorithm or whatever so I can go on Friday?

Jonas must’ve been on his phone already because his reply came back almost instantly.

Jonas:

You mean how you pulled out of it for no good reason and spent the evening moping instead?

Me:

Fuck off

Jonas:

Did I hit a nerve? 

Seriously though. The app isn’t designed like that. I can’t manipulate it that way, but if you go back to your matches and put in your preferred dates, just select Friday. You don’t have to select more than one day

Nate:

Thanks. I’ll do that

Jonas:

Good. See you later. I’m making cottage pie for me and Jada for dinner. Want me to save you some?

Nate:

So domestic

Jonas:

And?

Nate:

Yeah I’ll have some if you have any spare. Don’t worry if not. Thanks

Jonas:

Of course we’ll have some left. You know I always make too much. I’ll save you a plate

Nate:

Thanks mate. Really

Jonas:

Anytime. Did you hear from Charlie or Sophie about their date?

Why was he asking me? It was none of his business. Or mine, for that matter. I wished I’d never mentioned their date to him.

Me:

It went well from what I hear

Jonas:

Ok. See you later

That was it? He wasn’t going to push for more details?

Whatever. I returned to my conversation with my sister. 

Me:

I’ve got a date on Friday but in the unlikely chance I happen to see you, I promise to try not to embarrass you or scare Charlie off

Sophie:

Thanks. You’re the best. I don’t want to mess anything up

Something inside me twisted, and I couldn’t bring myself to reply. Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I did my best to concentrate on my lecture. It was a lost cause, though. The events of the past few weeks played through my mind on a loop. 

By the time the lecture ended, I’d come to a decision.

I was going to put some distance between me and Charlie—even more than I had over the past week. The fact was, Charlie liked Sophie. Sophie liked him back. Charlie and I were friends. He was a good guy. Good enough for my sister, and that wasn’t something I thought about many people.

A memory flashed through my mind, completely unbidden.

“I like Ria. Who do you like, Nate?”

I glanced over at my new friends, sprawled out under the shade of the large elm tree on the school field. They’d been discussing the party we’d been at last weekend. 

Meeting Mark’s gaze, I shrugged. “Uh…I dunno.”

Alfie rolled his eyes. “You have to like one of them, at least. Is it Amelia? Or Kayla? She kissed Henry, but I know she thinks you’re, like, fit or whatever.”

“What if I don’t like any of them?” My voice came out scratchy, and I swiped my water bottle, downing the contents.

“Any of them? What? You have to like at least one of them.”

“Yeah. That’s weird. You’re not gay or anything, are you?” Alfie and Mark pulled a face at each other, and then Mark sat upright.

“It’s okay to be, uh, gay, or whatever,” he said slowly before exchanging another grimace with Alfie. “But everyone knows football players are straight, though.”

Their faces were too easy to read. It was okay not to be straight, but they’d have a hard time accepting it. Not that I needed to be thinking about that, anyway. I was straight. Noticing other boys didn’t count.

It didn’t.

It couldn’t.

I was a football player, and they were right. It was going to be my career when I grew up, and there were no professional players in the Premier League who were anything but straight. Not openly, anyway. 

I wanted to fit in here at this new school, and that meant I needed to act the way they expected me to. It wouldn’t be hard, anyway. I liked girls, a lot. Noticing the odd boy here and there was something I could easily ignore.

“Yeah. Kayla’s alright. Amara’s nice, though, isn’t she?”

The looks of relief on their faces made something clench in my gut, but as they continued talking, it eased up. I had friends. I fit in. I was good at football. I was becoming popular in my school year, and that, in turn, would ease the way for Sophie when she joined the school in September. She’d been struggling since Mum and Dad divorced, and having to move to a new house and school had made her life even harder. As her big brother, it was up to me to make things go as smoothly for her as I could.

That was what was important.

The noise of students packing up their things around me shocked me out of my memory. On autopilot, I gathered everything up, swinging my bag over my shoulder and exiting the lecture hall.

It was only when I was back in my bedroom that I let myself look at my final unread text.

Charlie:

Looking forward to our training session after the team session on Weds. My last ever one with the team!

My jaw clenched. Opening the LSU app, I entered the booking calendar and changed mine and Charlie’s session to the following week. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face him alone. Not yet. Not so soon.

I couldn’t even explain my actions to myself as I tapped out a message.

Me:

Forgot to say they double booked the training pitch. Rebooked for same time next week

Scrolling quickly to the message thread with my team captain, I let him know that I couldn’t make this week’s team training because I had a major assignment due. Then, I turned off my phone.

14

This was okay. More than okay. It was fine. I was here at the student union to celebrate, surrounded by my friends. My friends…and a group of girls that included Sophie. Sophie…whose hand was wrapped around my waist while I had my arm slung across her shoulders. We’d only casually texted a few times in between our date and now, but it felt like something had changed between us, based on the way she’d slipped her arm around me as soon as she’d shown up. Right now, she was in the middle of a conversation with Daisy and Millie, but she was leaning into me, her side pressed tightly against mine.

To my left, Finn was talking animatedly about Leo to one of the girls, whose eyes were beginning to glaze over. To my right, Noah and Liam were wrapped up in each other, oblivious to the rest of us. Everyone seemed as if they were having a great time, but for some reason, I wasn’t really feeling it. Maybe it was because I’d taken a last-minute one-hour shift right before this to cover a staff member who was late. Maybe I was tired from a week of uni work and paid work. Whatever the reason was, I needed to snap out of it, fast. We were supposed to be celebrating, after all.

“I’m gonna get a drink,” I told Sophie, easing my arm from her shoulders and moving so her hand slipped from my waist. “Want one?”

She held up her own mostly full drink and shook her head, turning back to Millie and Daisy. I exhaled, quickly moving off the dance floor and into the quieter area at the side of the room. I stopped, my back against the wall, and rubbed my hand over my face.

“Get a fucking grip, Charlie,” I muttered aloud, earning me a suspicious look from a guy who was wandering past. I let my eyes fall closed, remaining in my dark corner against the wall until I’d composed myself. 

With a sigh, I pushed off the wall, making my way back to my friends. Sophie was still engrossed in conversation with her own friends, so I caught Finn’s attention. “What do you think of LSU’s chances?”

“For getting into the cup playoffs?” When I nodded, he shrugged. “It’s hard to tell, really. The southern division is strong. If we can win the next few games, we’ll be in a good position, but I dunno. Plymouth Uni’s team is the one to beat. I hope so, though. It’d be good for the guys leaving at the end of the year, like Nate. You two are friends, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Kind of.” I scuffed the toe of my trainer against the floor. I didn’t really want to get into the whole matched situation again. “I hope you win it. Training with the team, even though I only did it a few times, made me realise how hard you all work for it. You deserve it.”

Finn smiled. “Thanks.”

“I’ll try to make it to your next match if I don’t have a shift⁠—”

“I have to go,” Finn blurted out, his eyes widening as he stared down at his phone.

“Everything okay?”

He disappeared without replying to my question, and I stared after him, making a mental note to text him to check up on him later. Turning back to Sophie, I found her already looking at me, a smile playing across her lips. She beckoned me closer, and when I reached her, she placed her hand on my shoulder, rising up onto her toes to place her mouth to my ear.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“My brother’s here tonight with a blind date.”

My breath caught in my throat. “What?”

“Asha saw him on her way back from the loo. She’s on the same course as his date, so she spoke to her. He already told me he was going on a date tonight, but I didn’t realise they didn’t know each other. Apparently, they matched on an app.” She laughed before taking a sip of her drink. “Let me know if you see him anywhere, and maybe I can get him back for being too involved in my love life.”

Was it possible for your entire fucking body to freeze in shock?

“He’s here? With a date?” I managed to croak out, and Sophie’s brows flew up.

“That’s what I said. Are you okay? You look…um, a bit…ill?” Her voice trailed off hesitantly, and it was enough to make my brain come back online. I breathed in, then out, and then forced a smile.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a bit hot. Probably dehydrated or something, I dunno. I haven’t had enough to drink today. I should’ve had some water when I went to the bar.” Fucking shut up, Charlie. I was well aware I was rambling, and there was no reason for it. So what if Nate was here with someone? I was here with Sophie and my friends.

“Do you want to get some now?” Sophie’s hand moved from my shoulder back to my waist.

My gaze caught on someone else’s. Someone standing at the edge of the dance floor. Alone. Deep brown eyes beneath furrowed brows were fixed on me, glittering with something that looked a whole lot like anger, based on the set of his jaw and the way his fists were clenched at his sides. 

I gasped. My head started spinning, and I couldn’t catch my breath. What was happening to me?

“I—I’ll be back,” I said, or maybe I just thought it. It was like I was in a daze as I tore myself away from Sophie and my friends, pushing through the crowds to get to Nate.

When I reached him, his hand shot out, his fingers clamping around my wrist in a tight, punishing grip. He said nothing to me, and I lost the power of speech yet again as I let him drag me away towards the corridor that led to the toilets. Shoving the door open with his shoulder, he paid no attention to the other people at the urinals and sinks as he pulled me towards the row of stalls. We reached the furthest one, and he let go of my wrist, only to place his hands on my chest and push me inside.

The door slammed shut somewhere behind us as he pressed me up against the wall, a metallic clink dimly registering in my brain. The lock. We were locked in this stall. Together. And Nate’s whole body was pressed up against mine, torso to torso, his harsh, fast breaths skittering across my throat as he lowered his head.

“Nate—”

“Shut up,” he snarled, and the venom in his voice had me recoiling because Nate Glover did not sound like that. Ever. Not in my experience, at least. He pressed against me even harder, the flimsy stall wall creaking behind my back as it took the weight of both of our bodies. “Shut. Up. Fucking. Fuck—you—fuck!”

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t even think. I could barely breathe through the intensity.

Nate.

He was lighting up all my nerve endings, setting me on fire, making my entire body respond to him like no one else ever had before.

“Fuck,” I whispered, my head falling back against the wall. Nate followed me, his mouth going to my throat.

His mouth. My throat.

I stilled.

His body tensed, and then he exhaled against my skin, so slowly, like a soft breeze. “Charlie,” he murmured, and then his lips were brushing over my pulse point.

“Nate! What the fuck?”

His head shot up, and he tore himself away from me, his pupils so wide and so dark. His chest was rising and falling as he panted, his fists clenching at his sides. 

“Fuck. Do you even fucking know?” he ground out, his gaze never leaving mine.

“Kn-know what?”

“How it feels. To be jealous of your own fucking sister. Do you know how fucked up that is, Charlie?”

I reeled back, jerking my body away from his. He’d never raised his voice to me before. Never been angry with me.

Words flew from my mouth, words I hadn’t even known were inside me until I spoke them aloud. “Yeah? You feel jealous? What about me? When she kissed me, I felt guilty for days! Because of you!”

My final words were shouted into the space between us. A space that suddenly felt impenetrable.

Nate’s eyes widened even further, his jaw dropping open. I swore under my breath, spinning away from him and resting my forehead against the door. I was vaguely aware of the cool, laminated wood, but my harsh breaths and pounding heart filled my senses. It took me a few seconds to even realise that I’d been pulled back around, and a hand was tightly gripping my jaw.

“Charlie.”

“Nate.”

I arched towards him at the same time as his mouth came down on mine.

15

Charlie’s hand wrapped around my nape, drawing me impossibly closer, his thigh slotting between mine. I was so fucking hard, and so was he. Even if he denied it, I could feel the evidence against my leg.

Our mouths connected again and again, kissing harder and deeper until his tongue was sliding against mine, and I couldn’t think of anything but him.

Nothing had ever been like this. Ever. I never wanted it to end.

But it did, as suddenly as it had begun. 

Sophie.

I ripped my mouth away from Charlie’s, staggering backwards as I frantically rubbed my hand over my face.

“No. No, no, no,” I gasped, fumbling for the lock and pawing at the door. I managed to get outside, and I knew I was a coward, but I ran.

“What the fuck? Nate?”

I ran blindly past Jonas, who was curled up on the sofa with his girlfriend, yanking open my bedroom door and falling inside. Collapsing onto my bed face first, I punched my pillow, shouting into it.

When my anger at myself was temporarily abated, I twisted my head to the side, staring at the wall. To my horror, I could feel tears pricking at my eyes. Why? Why had I— Why had any of that happened?

A throat cleared from somewhere behind me, and the mattress dipped. Swallowing hard, I attempted to compose myself, but it was a lost cause.

“Nate? Are you okay?”

“Where—” My voice was far too hoarse. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Where’s Jada?”

“Gone back to her place. Mate, talk to me. What’s up?”

“It’s nothing.”

“That’s not true.”

He wouldn’t let it go, I knew. With a sigh, I rolled over and pulled myself upright, leaning my back against the wall. Staring down at my hands, I let the words fall from my lips. “I fucked up. Badly.”

Jonas shuffled closer, moving to sit next to me with his legs stretched out across my bed. His arm was a solid presence against mine, grounding me. “Wanna talk about it?” he said softly.

“No. But…maybe if I do, you can make sense of it for me. Because I don’t… Fuck, I don’t even know where to start.”

He patted my thigh once. “I know it’s a cliche to say this, and you know how much I hate cliches, but the beginning is usually a good place.”

The beginning. Okay. “Uh…I guess it started with your app.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from next to me, followed by a pained sound. My head whipped around to see my housemate eyeing me with what looked like guilt. Guilt?

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You know how I met Charlie that night, and then the same thing happened again. It was like…I dunno, we clicked instantly.”

I gave him a condensed rundown of my interactions with Charlie. He already knew about the dates, including the one in Hyde Park, but as far as he was concerned, everything had been two new friends hanging out. Now, everything spilled out of me, including the kiss.

The kiss that even now, I couldn’t stop replaying over and over.

“I tried so hard to convince myself that I was okay with Sophie and Charlie being together. And now this has happened, and I feel so fucking guilty. Even more guilty than I already felt. And then I acted like a complete fucking coward, running away from my problems instead of facing them. I’m supposed to have my shit together by now, and I don’t—I don’t know what to do.” My voice cracked, and I scrubbed my hand over my jaw, exhaling heavily. “Sorry. It’s just so fucking…I don’t know. Everything is so fucked up. How could I do that to my sister? And Charlie…I-I just left him there. Just fucking ran from him. And he’s a man, and I don’t—I’m straight?” It came out as a question.

“Take a breath.” Jonas patted my thigh again. “Let’s look at this logically, and I’m sure you’ll see it’s not as bad as you’re making out.” He grimaced. “I guess I should confess my part in this.”

“What?” I stared at him.

“Yeah…please don’t do anything rash, but that second time you were matched with Charlie…I might’ve engineered it.”

“You what?”

“I’m sorry. I know it was an abuse of your trust, not to mention unethical. I could’ve been kicked off my course if my lecturer found out. But I just— When you came back from that first date, you were so happy. Happier than I’ve seen you in a long time. Not that you’re normally sad or anything, but you were really, really happy. And you talked about Charlie for like, an hour straight, and you don’t even do that with the girls you fancy, so I thought maybe there was something there.”

My mouth opened and closed, but I had no words. Jonas seemed to sense I was struggling, and with a heavy sigh, he continued.

“So I decided to play Cupid for your second match, and when I saw you again after that date, you were exactly the same. Uh…after you got over your hangover. Really happy, talking about Charlie, acting like you do when you have a crush on someone.”

“Crush,” I spat. “It wasn’t a fucking crush. Who even says crush?”

Jonas ignored my comments. “I get that you feel guilty about Sophie. But do you—” He paused, licking his lips. “—do you think part of this is you freaking out because you think you’re straight?”

“What do you mean, I think I’m straight? I am straight.”

“I hate to break it to you, mate, but straight men don’t go around kissing other men as a general rule.”

There was silence as I processed his words. “Okay, maybe I’m not one hundred percent straight. I… Fucking hell, this is hard to talk about.” I banged my head back against the wall, letting my eyes close while Jonas waited patiently next to me. I couldn’t imagine even having this conversation with any of my other friends, but this was Jonas. My best mate, who I knew wouldn’t judge me. “When I was younger, I noticed boys sometimes. Uh. I started a new school when I was thirteen when we moved house, and I wanted to fit in. It’s probably stupid, looking back on it. I dunno. My friends probably wouldn’t have cared. Or maybe they would have. I just wanted to fit in, and it was easier to just ignore that part of me. I liked plenty of girls, and I guess I suppressed the part of me that liked boys, too. At the time, I wanted to be a professional footballer, and there were no out players in the Premier League, and I dunno, there’s a lot of homophobia in football.”

“Mate.” Jonas squeezed my shoulder. When I opened my eyes, I found his gaze full of empathy. “I get it. It’s really fucking sad, but I get it. This world is shit, sometimes.” He shook his head, huffing out a soft laugh. “Honestly, I never had any inkling you were anything other than straight until you came back from that first date with Charlie. It surprised me, but I want you to know I don’t have any problems with who you wanna be with.”

“Thanks. I guess I got so used to suppressing that part of me, not even letting myself look at other boys, that it was just…easier to convince myself I was straight. That’s another thing I feel guilty about, too. I shouldn’t— It’s not like it’s something I should be ashamed of. I should have fucking owned it.” Oh, fuck, my vision was blurring again. Swiping my hand across my eyes, I sucked in a shuddering breath. “I shouldn’t be having a fucking sexuality crisis at twenty-one.”

“Everyone processes things differently. I don’t think age matters. Take me, for example. Did you know that I’ve lived for twenty-one years thinking I hated olives? Then last weekend, Jada’s gran put some in the pasta she was serving, and guess what? I accidentally ate one and realised I liked them. Twenty-one years. Twenty. One. Years.”

Despite everything, I laughed. And that was why Jonas was my best friend. He always knew what to say to make it better. “I don’t think this situation is quite the same as you learning you like olives.”

He grinned at me. “I know it’s not, but my point still stands. Now we’ve established that you do, indeed, fancy Charlie, what are you gonna do?”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “Try to forget about it. Apologise to him. I owe him that much, at least.”

“You’re really going to forget about it?”

“What else am I supposed to do? I dragged him into the toilets. He said he felt guilty for thinking of me when he was kissing her. He kissed my sister, Jonas. She really likes him. They’ve been on a proper fucking date, not even one that was engineered by you. I haven’t forgotten that little revelation, by the way.”

“I am honestly sorry about that. I thought it would be good for you. If I’d known what I know now, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“I know.” Letting my eyes fall closed again, I sighed. “You haven’t managed to program a time machine, have you?”

“Sorry, no. Not yet.”

“Okay. In that case, I guess…I need to apologise to Charlie for getting him into that situation and for running away instead of facing up to my problems. Then I need to forget about him. It’s not like… Even if there was a magical situation where my sister wasn’t involved, and it turned out he was somehow into me, I wouldn’t want to start anything up with him. I’ll be gone soon.”

I opened my eyes to see Jonas giving me a sad smile. “One day, you’ll find someone that makes you want to stay.”

“Maybe one day.” Stretching out my legs, I nodded in the direction of the doorway. “Since I cut your evening with your girlfriend short, why don’t I treat you to pizza?”

“I’ll never say no to pizza.”

“Want me to order one with olives?”

Jonas laughed. “Nah, I’m good. I like them now, but not that much.” Clambering off my bed, he glanced down at me. “Didn’t you eat earlier? On your date?”

“The date that lasted all of half an hour because I couldn’t stop thinking about Charlie and how fucking jealous I was of my own sister? Funnily enough, food wasn’t on my mind.”

“Ah. Yeah. Okay. In that case, we’ll get two—no, three pizzas.”

“Deal.” Swinging my legs off the edge of my bed, I stood. “Jonas?”

“Yeah?”

“Did I really act that happy after my dates with Charlie?”

He nodded, giving me another sad smile. “Yeah. You really, really did.”

16

Twisting my hands together beneath the table, I forced myself to meet Sophie’s gaze. “I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me. I know people say that as an excuse, but it is me. After that date we had, I think I knew it was gonna be a friends thing for me, and then when we were at the student union with everyone…I should’ve said something then, I know.”

Biting down on her lip, she nodded. “It’s okay.” Her voice was small, and fuck, her hand was shaking as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you for telling me. I guess…I think I knew that you didn’t feel the same way as me, deep down, when I kissed you and you didn’t even kiss me back, but I hoped… Well. Never mind.”

My eyes widened. “I didn’t kiss you back? I was sure I did.” The whole thing had been a shock, a quick blur, and I couldn’t even be sure I was remembering it properly.

“No. You just kind of froze. Your mouth didn’t even move.”

“Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean⁠—”

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t, but it was clear that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and neither did I. “I think I’m going to leave now.” Sliding her chair back, she glanced down at her untouched coffee, her mouth twisting. “It’s nothing personal.”

“You don’t have to explain,” I rushed out before she could say anything else. “I really am sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. You can’t help the way you feel, and I can’t help the way I feel. I—I’ll see you around, okay? I think…I’d like to stay friends, but I might need some space for a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah. ’Course.” I took a large gulp of my own coffee. Fuck, it was hot. “I’d, uh, like that too. To stay friends.”

She nodded jerkily. “Okay. Um. Bye.”

When she’d disappeared from the coffee shop, I slumped back in my seat with a groan. I should’ve made things clear to her at the student union. I’d known, even then, that I didn’t want to pursue anything more with her, not when I couldn’t get Nate out of my head. 

Do you even fucking know how it feels to be jealous of your own fucking sister? Do you know how fucked up that is, Charlie?

His tortured words played on repeat. The whole situation was a complete and utter mess, and I just prayed that I could get over whatever I was feeling for him quickly and somehow salvage what remained of our friendship. If there was anything left of it after he’d run away from me like a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime. 

Fucking mugger.

He’d stolen something far more valuable than my phone or my wallet. He’d stolen my fucking senses with that kiss. No one had ever kissed me like that before. Like they needed me to breathe. Like they’d die without my mouth on theirs. 

I doubted I’d ever have a kiss like that again.

Sipping my coffee more slowly, I scrolled through my phone, doing my best to forget about people whose names began with N and who could give me butterflies just from a smile. It was a lost cause, though, because today was the day I’d see him for the first time since Friday. He’d texted me to say he wanted to speak to me at our football session, which he surprisingly hadn’t cancelled, so I had another awkward conversation to look forward to. That was why I’d chosen to have the conversation with Sophie today—so I could get through both of the hard conversations with the Glover siblings in one day. Then I could go home, curl up on my bed, and finally let my stupid feelings overwhelm me.

My lip trembled, and I tugged it between my teeth, glad I was sitting in the back corner of the coffee shop. Why was everything so hard? I’d hurt Sophie, I’d hurt Nate, and I’d hurt myself.

“I hate having feelings,” I mumbled aloud and then instantly clamped my mouth shut, my face flushing.

“Bad break-up?”

“Huh?” My head flew up to see one of the baristas eyeing me sympathetically.

I sighed. Great. They’d obviously heard me. “Not really. Can you break up with someone if you were never together? It wasn’t like… We met up a few times with friends and went on one date together on our own. She kissed me, and I…yeah. I didn’t feel the same way. I like her brother.” Why the fuck was I telling a random stranger all my problems?

The barista’s eyes widened. “Her brother?” 

“Yeah. We kissed, and then he ran away. Not really a good sign, huh? I have to see him later, and I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”

“Take my advice. Talk it out. It’s always better in the long run.”

Talk it out. That was already the plan, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t dreading it. 

Beneath the table, the side of my foot pressed against my gym bag. Two more hours to go.

The team training session was still going on when I arrived at the pitch, so I took a seat on a bench at the side, next to my housemate Elliot. “Hi,” he said when I placed my bag on the bench and dropped down next to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t want to go into the whole Nate thing because that would involve giving him details I wasn’t ready to share, especially when I didn’t know how my conversation with Nate was going to go. I didn’t want to outright lie to him, so I decided to redirect the conversation. “It was fun getting to train with the team. If things had been different, I would’ve loved to be a proper part of it.”

I didn’t need to elaborate because all my housemates knew that I had two jobs to send money home to my siblings. “Life isn’t fair sometimes,” Elliot said softly. “From what I saw when you were training with them, you’re easily as good as anyone else on the team. I wish things were different for you.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. I’d rather have it this way and know that my family isn’t struggling. Especially my brother. He’s got this happy-go-lucky, cocky facade, but he gets so serious. I know he worries about money, and I just want to do what I can to make things easier for him.”

“They’re lucky to have you.” Elliot smiled at me. 

“I’m lucky to have them.” Speaking of, I should reply to the messages they’d sent me earlier. I busied myself with my phone as Elliot’s attention returned to the pitch, or more accurately, to his boyfriend. I didn’t dare to look in Nate’s direction.

Scrolling to the group chat, I replied to Gem’s message asking how yesterday evening’s shift had gone and then sent a few middle finger emojis in response to Rocky’s comment stating that I resembled a bush baby in my most recent social media image. Even though neither of them was online right now, messaging them lifted my mood. It was exactly what I needed. 

That done, I spent a bit of time going through my work schedules and assignments due, marking everything in my calendar so I wouldn’t forget anything, and by the time I was finished, football practice was over, and the team had disappeared into the changing rooms to shower. I spotted Finn’s maybe-boyfriend, Leo, lurking by the doors, and I waved to him. He returned my wave with a shy one of his own, and I grinned at him.

“I’m gonna go and say hi to Leo,” I told Elliot, hooking the strap of my gym bag over my shoulder as I rose to my feet.

“I’ll come with you. Ander should be out soon.” Elliot stood, swiping his bag from the ground with a pained groan. “Bloody hell, I forgot how heavy this was. I’m sure Killian—I mean, Dr. Wilder—loves to torture us. Making us carry the heaviest possible textbooks around.”

“Killian.” We smirked at each other, both of us remembering the events of a few weeks ago when we’d gone out for drinks for what Ander termed a “housemates bonding session.” JJ hadn’t been able to come because he’d had a late dance practice…or so he said. Long story short, we ended up coming back to the house earlier than we’d planned to find JJ and Dr. Wilder in a very compromising position over the kitchen table. The business school’s principal lecturer had a reputation for a reason, but I’d never be able to look at him the same way again after seeing way more of him than I’d ever wanted to.

“JJ’s softened him a bit, though, hasn’t he?” I mused as we drew closer to the doors. “You and Ander don’t seem to complain about him anymore, and he was all I heard about last semester.”

We stopped outside the changing rooms, leaning against the wall. Leo was already leaving, Finn having showered at lightning speed, his hair still wet and dripping down his back as they walked away. I noticed that Finn’s arm was around Leo’s waist, and they were leaning into each other. They could say they were friends all they wanted, but it was blatantly obvious that they were together.

Elliot nodded. “Yeah. He’s better now, and I think for me and Ander, it’s a bit like the Wizard of Oz. He used to be this larger-than-life, all-powerful asshole, and now he’s JJ’s boyfriend.”

“And you’ve seen his actual asshole.”

Both Elliot and I swung around to see Ander standing just outside the changing room doors, trying and failing to suppress his laughter. Elliot rolled his eyes.

“I did not. I saw the side of him for about two seconds before I ran away. You were the one who stayed there until JJ shouted at you to get out.”

“That’s right.” Ander gave him a bright grin. “I wanted to see if I could get a glimpse of his dick, to see if it really was as big as JJ says.”

“There’s something seriously wrong with you,” Elliot muttered, but he was fighting a smile.

“How did you ever think you were straight?” I wondered aloud, and Ander’s grin was instantly wiped away.

“That’s fucking gross! I don’t want to see his dick. I mean, not for anything other than science. Dr. Wilder is not my type. JJ must be a masochist.” He huffed. “Okay, that’s not fair. I can kind of see what JJ sees in him, and maybe I might like and respect him a bit now he’s stopped acting like an asshole, but that’s it. He’s no Elliot.”

They stared at each other for a second before Elliot launched himself at Ander, and I got out of there as quickly as I could, slipping inside the building while they were occupied. While we’d been talking, the changing rooms had emptied out, but I hadn’t seen Nate anywhere.

Steeling myself, I pushed the door to the changing room open, dropping my gym bag to the floor. The first thing I noticed was that Nate had showered and changed, his damp hair curling slightly at the ends. I swallowed, a lump forming in my throat. We weren’t even going to train? It was obvious that he wanted to get this awkward conversation over with as quickly as possible.

“Nate?”

His back stiffened, and he planted his hands on the lockers on either side of himself, exhaling harshly as his head bowed. Although he had his back to me, everything about his posture screamed “leave me alone,” but I took a step closer, anyway.

“Nate?” I repeated.

He clenched his fists against the metal doors, and then he straightened up and turned around to face me.

17

I’d done my best to prepare for this moment, telling myself to stay strong and focus on getting out the words I needed to say. But the second I turned around and my gaze connected with Charlie’s wary green eyes, my planned words flew out of my mind, and I was left with one thing only.

Want.

My body was moving before my brain had time to process what was happening. I stepped forwards, striding across the space between us, and then grabbed him around the back of the neck, yanking him into me and slanting my mouth across his. It was as if that one kiss in the student union had unlocked something deep within me, something I couldn’t even hope to shut away again, and all I could do was succumb.

Charlie made a tiny noise in the back of his throat, almost a whimper, and his arms came around my waist as he kissed me back with as much hunger as I had for him. He pressed up against me, moving us both across the floor until my back hit the lockers. I spun us around so I could push him up against the lockers, moaning into his mouth as we fucking devoured each other. 

“Off,” he panted, tugging at the back of my T-shirt. I had a split second of being frozen with shock at the thought of us getting naked together before my brain caught up and then— fuck, yes. I disconnected our mouths for the few seconds it took for us to rid ourselves of our T-shirts, my cock throbbing at the sight of a dishevelled Charlie, mouth swollen and pupils blown wide, and then we were kissing again. How the fuck had I denied this for so long? All I wanted was to touch, and touch, and touch, to map out his body with my hands and my mouth⁠—

“Nate. Please.” His hips arched forwards, his erection sliding against mine. This was so different to our stolen kiss in the student union. This time, there was intent, and I had just enough brainpower left to yank both of our shorts down and do exactly what I wanted to do—get my hand around his leaking cock. “Oh, fuck,” he moaned, his head falling back against the lockers as I rolled my hips into his, chasing the friction against my dick as I stroked him hard and fast. The first time I’d ever touched another dick, and it belonged to the one person I couldn’t get out of my mind. It was so good, it felt so right, and it was going to be over all too soon.

“Fuck,” I ground out, licking at the skin of Charlie’s throat before sucking, hard. He gasped and jerked against me, his cock pulsing in my hand, warm and wet as he came between us, soaking my hand with his release. I thrust against him once, twice, then I was coming, too, stars bursting behind my eyelids as all the breath left my lungs.

I slumped forwards, burying my head in the crook of his neck. His hand stroked up my back in a tentative movement.

“That was…unexpected.”

“Yeah,” I said hoarsely as I lifted my head. Unexpected was an understatement. Had we really just done that?

Our eyes met, and my stomach swooped, in total freefall. Fuck. This was worse than I thought.

Then the blood froze in my veins. No. Sophie. How could I have forgotten about Sophie?

I tore myself away from Charlie, frantically fumbling for my clothes. “No. No. What have I done?”

“Stop.” Charlie grabbed my arm, jerking me back into him. “Please. Don’t run away again.”

“Sophie,” was all I managed to say before he clamped his hand over my mouth. The movement was so unexpected that it stopped me in my tracks, my gaze flying to his. When he lifted his hand from my brows, he cocked his head in a clear question, and I took a deep breath before nodding.

“I spoke to her earlier. We’re not— I told her I wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship.”

My heart stuttered. What?

“Okay.” I blew out a heavy breath. “Right. We need to talk. I wasn’t going to run away, I promise.”

His brows rose like he didn’t believe me, but he stepped away from me, tugging his shorts back up before scooping his T-shirt from the floor and gesturing to himself. “I need to clean up.”

“Me too. Meet you outside?”

He nodded, heading over to his gym bag. I watched him go, my gaze drinking him in. He was fucking gorgeous. Once again, I wondered how I could have denied it to myself for so long.

He told Sophie he just wanted to be friends.

“Nate?”

I blinked to find Charlie staring at me with what looked a lot like amusement, although there was a flush high on his cheekbones. 

“Mmm?”

“Are you gonna, y’know?” He gestured towards me, and I noted the way his eyes darkened as he took in my body. I was so glad I wasn’t the only one in this situation, that I affected him the way he affected me. I think.

To make sure, I stepped out of my shorts and walked towards him. His mouth fell open, his eyes growing huge as I drew closer. He was so still, I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. 

When I reached him, I dipped my head to his ear. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” I breathed, unable to deny the truth, and he shivered, inhaling sharply.

“You’re straight,” he whispered.

“Am I?” I kissed the shell of his ear, relishing the way his body trembled against mine before I stepped away, creating space between us. “I’ll see you outside.”

After another quick shower, I made my way to the training pitch we’d booked. Crossing the AstroTurf, I headed for the chain-link fence that caged the pitch in, and sank down to the ground, dumping my bag at my side and stretching my legs out. The sun’s rays threw patterned shadows across my body, and I closed my eyes, soaking in the warmth.

When I opened them again, Charlie was sitting next to me with his knees drawn up, leaning against the fence as he stared out across the pitch. His hair was damp from his own shower, and he had his lip tugged between his teeth again. He remained silent, and I knew it was up to me to start this conversation. I was the one who’d asked him to come here to talk.

“My head is so messed up,” I confessed, clenching and unclenching my fists at my sides as I tried to release some of the tension that was locking up all my muscles.

“That makes two of us.” He looked at me then. “Were you lying before when you said you were straight?”

Rubbing my hand over my mouth, I thought about where to begin. “No, I wasn’t lying,” I said. “Or I was, but I was lying to myself.” I explained the same things I’d spoken about with Jonas, and by the time I’d run out of words, I realised our hands were resting next to each other, and he was carefully stroking his little finger over mine in a wordless gesture of comfort.

A small smile tugged at his lips. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s a bit of an ego boost to think I was the one who made you stop living in denial.”

His words made me laugh. “Of course that’s the part you focus on.”

“You’re fucking sexy, and I’m average. Of course I’m gonna focus on that.”

I leaned in, cupping his chin with my fingers. “There’s nothing average about you, Charlie B.” Brushing my mouth across his, I stroked my thumb over the line of his jaw.

He leaned into it, kissing me soft and slow, and my stomach swooped again. Drawing away from his tempting mouth was so much harder than it should have been, but if I kept kissing him, we’d never get this sorted out.

“Okay.” I licked my lips, savouring the taste of him. “Okay. We need to finish this conversation. We’ve established that I’m bisexual or pansexual or something. Whatever isn’t just me liking girls. What about you?”

He gave me a wry smile. “I actually thought I was straight until you came along.” Sighing, he twisted his hands together as he gathered his thoughts. “I dunno…I guess it didn’t shock me as much as it probably should have. All my housemates are queer, and my siblings don’t care who I like as long as I’m happy. So when I realised I…y’know, I just kind of thought, okay. Guess I’m not so straight, after all.”

“When you realised you ‘y’know’?” I grinned at him. “When did that happen?”

“Right around the time you took your top off in Hyde Park,” he shot back, his cheeks flushing. “Fucking show-off.”

“Really. You liked that, huh?”

“Fuck off.” Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. “Actually, it was before that. I think it was our second date. But I thought…I guess I wondered if I’d been imagining things because I was a bit drunk. Then, when we were at Hyde Park, I knew for sure it hadn’t just been my imagination.”

He liked me. I couldn’t have stopped my smile if I tried.

Catching my expression, he rolled his eyes. “No need to look so smug, mugger.”

“I think I have every reason to be smug.” I nudged him with my shoulder, and then somehow, we were kissing again.

“I can’t believe we just did that.” It was instantly clear that he was referring to what had happened in the changing rooms.

“Me neither. I’ve never done that with anyone before.”

“You wouldn’t know it.” He paused for a moment, his brow furrowing. “The weird thing is that it didn’t seem weird.”

“Yeah. It was fucking hot,” I admitted, pulling him into another kiss.

“We have to stop doing that,” Charlie mumbled when we parted, both of us breathless. “We have to talk about the rest of it.”

The rest of it. The hardest part. My smile dropped as the guilt that I’d been keeping at bay rushed over me. “Sophie. She really likes you, and I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Yeah. Uh, like I said before, I had a conversation with her today, and I told her I didn’t feel anything but friendship towards her. She… I could tell she was upset about it, and I felt really bad, but I can’t force myself to feel things that aren’t there.” He glanced up at me from beneath his lashes. “Especially when I can’t get her brother out of my head.”

His words gave me butterflies and made me nauseous simultaneously. “Yeah, and that’s the first issue. The biggest one. My sister is the most important person in the world to me, and as much as I like this—” I jerked my finger between the two of us. “—nothing is worth hurting her over.”

“Then there’s the issue of you moving to Plymouth this summer.” Hurt flickered in his gaze. “Something you never brought up.”

Shit. “Yeah.” I stared down at my hands. “I know I should’ve said something, but I just thought we were becoming casual friends, and you wouldn’t be bothered when I left anyway.”

“You really thought that? Seriously?”

“Yes. No. Honestly, I tried not to think about it. I was just having fun with you, and…” With a shrug, I trailed off.

Charlie sighed. “Okay. Good to know where I stand on your list of priorities.”

“Fuck. Don’t be like that. You are a priority. I love—like spending time with you. I’m gonna be fucking sad when I leave you, okay?”

“Yeah, alright,” he muttered.

“Charlie. Please.” Shifting to the left so I was right next to him, I pressed my shoulder against his. “You’re important to me, okay? I fucked up. I’ve fucked a lot of things up.”

“You and me both.” He twisted his head to meet my gaze. “I’m not angry, really. Just a bit hurt, I guess. You haven’t fucked up.”

“You’re so gorgeous,” I murmured, suddenly struck by the way the sun was sending shadows playing across his face, the breeze ruffling his hair, and those big green eyes fixed on me.

“Shut up.”

“No.” Leaning forwards, I captured his mouth again.

Somehow, we managed to pull away from each other, and I groaned, scrubbing my hand over my face. My dick was tenting my shorts, and I refused to let my gaze drop to see if Charlie was in the same predicament. Willing myself to calm down, I took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay. Okay. Back to the conversation.” 

“Yeah.”

“Even if Sophie wasn’t an issue. Even if she didn’t fancy you. Even if either of us wanted…uh…a relationship, it wouldn’t work. The fact is, I’ll be gone in a couple of months. You still have two more years here. Your uni life is just beginning, really, and mine’s coming to an end.”

He swallowed, his throat working. “You’re right.” Fuck, he didn’t sound happy. “So what do we do now? Go back to being friends?”

“Yeah. That’s what we do,” I said. “We go back to being friends.”

Anything more was too much of a risk. One I wasn’t willing to take.

18

“You make the best steak pies.” Sophie placed a hand on her stomach, smiling at Jonas. “I’ll miss this when you guys are gone.”

“He’s definitely got talent,” Jada said. “Even my gran praises his cooking skills, and she’s critical of everyone’s cooking.”

My housemate stood, beginning to clear away our empty plates from our kitchen table, and I pushed my chair back, gathering up the glasses ready to load the dishwasher. He gave me a small smile before returning his attention to his girlfriend and my sister. “I dunno about that. Anyway. Soph. I’ll still be around. You know Jada’s got another year still, and fingers crossed, I’ll have a job lined up by the time I graduate. You’re welcome for dinner anytime.”

“I’ll probably take you up on that. It’s my only chance to get proper, home-cooked food unless I go back to Swindon for the weekend.”

He nodded. “It’s a deal. Can’t let my best mate’s sister starve.”

I shot him a grateful look as I started loading the dishwasher. It made it easier to leave—knowing that although I was a four-hour drive away at the minimum, not accounting for London’s hellish traffic, Jonas would be here, looking out for my sister.

You’re welcome, he mouthed. Crossing to the dishwasher with a stack of dishes, he placed them on the counter. “That’s everything. I’ll be in my room with Jada, unless you want to do something all together?”

I shook my head. “Go ahead. I’m gonna watch Jaws with Soph.”

He eyed me thoughtfully and then moved closer, lowering his voice. “How’s she doing? How are you doing?”

“Good question. I’m going to talk to her tonight.”

“Okay. You know where I am if you need me. Just say the word. Jada understands. She’ll give us space if you need it.” Squeezing my shoulder, his voice rose back to its normal volume. “I’ll leave you to finish cleaning up. It’s only fair since I cooked.”

“We’ve got it,” Sophie called from the table. “Go and relax.”

The two of us finished cleaning up in silence and then headed into the lounge. While Sophie scrolled through Netflix, I ducked back into the kitchen to grab snacks and drinks, dumping them on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

As the opening credits of Jaws started up, I glanced over at Sophie. She was sitting curled up in the corner of the sofa, hugging one of the cushions to her chest. Catching me watching her out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head and raised her brows in a silent question. I reached out, squeezing her arm gently. “How are you getting on?”

“Okay.” She turned back to the screen, but not before I caught the downturned slant of her mouth.

“Soph.”

“Fine. I could be better.” She sighed, bringing her knees up, and tilted her head down so her hair swung forwards and hid her expression from me. “You know I had that date with Charlie? I thought…I suppose I thought it went well, and then we met up at the student union.” Huffing out a laugh that held no humour, she continued. “Of course, you know that, because you were there. I—we were together. Well, not together. I was there with him as part of a group, and I thought we were having a good time, but then he just…disappeared. He sent me a text later to apologise, but it was weird.”

Fuck. Guilt tore through me. I opened my mouth, although I had no idea what to say, but she wasn’t finished.

“He asked to meet me yesterday at the coffee shop. I had a feeling, but I told myself I was being paranoid. It turned out that I wasn’t paranoid. He told me he—he was only interested in being friends.” She exhaled a shuddering breath, swiping at her eyes, and my instincts to comfort her overrode the guilt. Pulling her into my arms, I stroked my fingers through her hair, like I’d done countless times before when she’d been upset. When our parents were fighting again, and she’d creep into my room with a tear-stained face, and I’d hold her while I was doing my best not to fall apart. I had to stay strong for her. 

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She shook her head.

“No. It’s silly. Like I said to Charlie, neither of us can help the way we feel. I just. I really liked him. I still really like him. I know it’ll fade, and I know we only went on one proper date, so I shouldn’t even be this upset, but right now, it really hurts.” Her voice was small. “All day today, I kept thinking I was going to see him with another girl, and I know when that happens, it’ll hurt even more.”

Fucking hell. There was no way on Earth I could ever tell her what had happened between me and Charlie.

Pushing all thoughts of Charlie away, I focused on my sister. I’d invited her over for a reason—to see if she was okay, and she clearly wasn’t. It was time for me to do what I did best. Being the supportive big brother.

“I’m not gonna say all the cliche stuff about there being plenty more fish in the sea, but I will say that you’ve got two more years at LSU to fill with experiences, and I can guarantee that the good will far outweigh the bad. You’re amazing, Soph. You’ll find someone perfect for you one day. Just not too soon, yeah?”

Turning to face me, she rolled her eyes, and I exhaled, some of my tension draining away. “If you had it your way, I’d never date anyone.” Squeezing my hand, she added, “Thanks, though.”

“Am I that bad?”

“Not really. You’re not even that overprotective, and you don’t meddle in my life like some siblings do. I guess I just sometimes feel like I can’t properly relax when you’re there. It feels like you’re judging me.”

I stared at her. “Soph, I’d never judge you. Okay, maybe I do keep an eye on you when we’re in the same location, but it’s only because I want to make sure you’re alright. I wouldn’t interfere unless there was a situation that needed it.”

Leaning her head against my shoulder, she squeezed my hand. “I know you’re not judging me. It’s just my brain telling me that. I do appreciate you looking out for me, I promise. Anyway, it’ll probably do us both good to have a bit of breathing room next semester. You never know, you might find a girlfriend in Plymouth who lasts longer than a couple of months, and then you’ll be too busy looking out for her to worry about me.”

“I doubt it,” I muttered. “It might not be a girl, anyway.”

Her head shot up, her eyes wide. “Nate! Are you⁠—”

“Bi, I think. Yeah.”

“Since when?”

I shrugged. “Since always, probably. I don’t really know.” As I told her the same things I’d told Jonas and Charlie about being at school and suppressing that part of myself, she squeezed my hand tighter and tighter, curling into me.

“I wish I’d known. I’m sorry. Thank you for telling me, Nate. I’m happy for you, that you can fully be yourself now.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Straightening up, she released my hand, reaching for the bag of popcorn. “Now we can celebrate as well as commiserate by watching a giant shark terrorise a small town.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Pass me the Doritos, will you?”

19

Friends. Just friends. No, I did not want to climb Nate like a tree…or have him climb me. If I reminded myself of the facts enough times, they’d sink in.

Crouching down to lock my bike up next to Nate’s, I wiped my palms on my shorts. My hands were suddenly clammy, thinking about what waited for me. It had been a few weeks since our conversation…since things had happened in the changing rooms, and we’d both agreed that having a bit of space from each other was the best plan. Even if it wasn’t the plan I wanted.

I’d taken extra shifts in the library and student union to keep me busy, and I hadn’t been to the past couple of LSU matches. My housemates had asked where I’d been instead, but I was able to throw them off the scent by saying I needed the extra shifts at work.

It was true, anyway. Rocky was desperate to see Glevum play—or more accurately, to see his hero, Jordan Emery—and I wanted to put some extra money aside so Gem and I could get him tickets for his birthday or Christmas.

Nate had been busy, too, working on his final architecture project, so it had been easy enough for us to avoid each other. We’d stayed in touch, texting each other regularly, keeping to our usual banter, and it was enough for me.

Okay, that was a lie. I missed Nate. Speaking to him via texts was okay, but I wanted to see him in person. And that was why I’d finally snapped and texted him to see if he wanted to hang out. As friends. He’d agreed straight away. 

Coming out of the alleyway onto the pavement outside The Game Room, I pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time.

It all happened so fast I didn’t even have a chance to react.

Someone cycled past me at speed, snatching my phone from my unresisting grip.

“Hey!” I shouted, launching myself forwards and knowing at the same time it was hopeless. I couldn’t keep up with a bike, especially not if it was an electric one. 

Ahead of me, the bike bumped up onto the pavement and screeched to a halt.

Nate grinned at me. Fucking wanker.

“Remember how you accused me of being a mugger the first time we met? Now it’s true.”

I stalked over to him and punched him in the stomach. He cried out, not expecting the blow. I hadn’t put any power behind the punch. I didn’t want to hurt him; I was just…a bit pissed off that he’d given me the fright of my life, and I was also kind of turned on. Not gonna lie, that was a little disturbing.

Rubbing his stomach with one hand, he shot me a warning look but passed my phone back to me before climbing off his bike. I followed him through the alleyway, drinking in the sight of him in his shorts, Glevum FC shirt, and backwards cap. Yep, I definitely still fancied him. Fuck, he was so hot. 

Just friends, Charlie.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I cleared my throat. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Turning around, he smiled at me, and butterflies exploded in my stomach.

“You’ve got to stop doing that thing,” I told him, turning my back on him and striding back down the alleyway.

“What thing?” His voice was far closer than I expected, and a low chuckle fell from his throat when I jumped. Stupid sexy bastard. 

“That swoony smile thing. You know exactly what you’re doing. Don’t forget our agreement.”

His face sobered as he came up next to me. “Sorry, I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I can’t help smiling when I see you, but believe me, I haven’t forgotten our agreement.”

I groaned, shoving the door to The Game Room open. This was going to be harder than I thought.

“I’ll get this round. Beer okay? What do you want to do first? Pinball?” Nate’s voice was casual, his posture relaxed as he began heading towards the bar. Maybe this was all in my head. He wasn’t acting any differently than normal. 

“Beer’s fine. Let’s work our way up to pinball. Wanna start with Pac-Man?”

“Yeah, why not.” He shot me an easy grin. “Ready to lose? Or are you going to tell me you’re the Pac-Man king, too?”

“Fuck off.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Wait—you’re not the youth club Pac-Man champion, are you?”

A laugh burst from his throat. “Nope. We didn’t have Pac-Man at our youth club. Just a pinball machine and a pool table. Oh, and a dartboard.” Turning to the bartender, he scanned the taps. “Two pints of Carling, please, mate.”

When we had our drinks, we made our way over to the Pac-Man machine, then moved on to Space Invaders. By the time we’d finished our circuit of the arcade games and reached the pinball machine, we were on our third pints of beer, and each of us had five wins. 

Five wins that had involved each of us trying to distract the other. Hands where they shouldn’t be. Heated looks. Suggestive comments.

Trying to act like normal friends with Nate was a lost cause.

“It all comes down to this, Charlie B. If you beat my score, you’ll be the winner.” Nate leaned up against the wall, his arm resting on the high table where we’d placed our drinks.

“No distractions this time,” I told him. “It needs to be a fair game.”

He held up his hands, shaking his head, and I turned my attention to the game. I tried to, anyway, but his presence was too distracting. He wasn’t even doing anything—just standing there—but my entire fucking body was aware of him.

As I began playing, I did my best to tune him out, like I’d just about managed for the other games, focusing only on what was right in front of me.

Muscle memory got me through the game, and I had a decent score at the end, although it was a lot lower than my usual score. Nate raised a brow as he took in the numbers on the board but didn’t say anything as he pushed off the wall and came up next to me.

“My turn,” he murmured. “No distractions.”

I swallowed as his shoulder pressed against mine, the heat of his body and the delicious scent of his aftershave sending my heart racing. “No distractions,” I rasped, moving away from him as quickly as I could. 

How the fuck did he make playing pinball look so hot? The way his arms were flexing, that intense look of concentration on his face⁠—

Stop. I dragged my gaze away from him with difficulty. Not that I’d had any doubts about the realisation that I was no longer as straight as I thought I was, but the way I was reacting to him made it hit home all over again. I’d never reacted to anyone else this way. 

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to remember the reasons why nothing could happen between us again. Sophie. Plymouth. 

Nate Glover was off limits. I needed to remember that.

“Charlie?”

Nate’s voice broke me out of my thoughts, and my eyes widened when I took in his score. He’d played even worse than I had, and I’d somehow managed to beat him by a whole fifteen points.

“I win!” I fist-pumped the air. “I’m the pinball king!”

“Congratulations.” He gave me a slow, exaggerated clap. “Want a medal?”

“I’d prefer a trophy. Can you have it engraved?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Shaking his head, he bit back a smile. “A fucking trophy. Honestly.”

“I took my crown back. That’s worth celebrating.” Downing the remains of my pint, I scanned the room. “Do you feel like continuing your losing streak? We haven’t played on those basketball things yet.”

“Do you feel like losing to me?”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.” I strode past him. “I can’t hear you over the sound of applause.” Spinning around, I walked backwards for a few paces, throwing my hands out. “Your pinball king and tournament champion, everyone!”

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, his smile too wide to bite back. “Cocky little shit.”

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me.” I studied the basketball game. For all my talk, I didn’t have any talent for this particular game. It consisted of a basketball hoop against a backboard, the whole thing surrounded by netting. The object was to sink as many baskets as possible before the timer ran out. 

Maybe Nate should go first so I could get some tips.

“Want to go first?” I suggested, batting my lashes at him.

“Stop that thing with your eyes.” He shook his head. “Anything to throw me off.”

“Me? I was only asking if you wanted to go first.”

“Yeah, okay.” He rolled his eyes. “But if you insist, I’ll go first. Watch and learn from the master.”

Stepping back, I watched as he got the game set up, tossing the basketball between his hands as he calculated the trajectory he’d need to sink the basket. Or at least that was what I assumed he was doing.

When I dropped my gaze, a glint of metal caught my eye. Nate’s phone was in his back pocket. If I could time it right… I needed to be quick, before he realised what was happening.

Waiting until he’d sunk his first basket and then picked up the ball again, I launched myself forwards, my hand closing around the top of his phone⁠—

His entire body jerked as I made contact, knocking into me, and I was completely unprepared. I fell backwards with a gasp, my ass hitting the floor, hard, punching the breath from my lungs.

“Ow. Fuck. That hurt,” I cried from my position sprawled out on the floor. Quickly, I climbed to my feet, my face on fire. It was lucky this place was quiet and the only person to witness my fuck-up was Nate.

Nate, the absolute asshole who was collapsing into laughter against the side of the basketball machine.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he wheezed. 

“I was trying to pickpocket you. Clearly, it didn’t work out the way I planned.”

“Bloody hell, Charlie.” He took several deep breaths, composing himself, and although he was still struggling to hold back laughter, concern appeared in his brown eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bit painful. My ass took the impact.”

“C’mere.” Stepping forwards, he unexpectedly pulled me into him, his hands sliding down my back. “Let me make it better.”

“I—I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I mumbled against his neck. How had we ended up so close? And oh— His hands. His hands had dropped even lower and were now stroking over my fucking ass, massaging it like it was a completely normal thing to do.

“Better?” His voice was low in my ear. I gave a jerky nod, breathing him in as my arms wrapped around his waist.

He felt so good against me. We fit so well together. Like we were made for each other.

My cock was enjoying the feel of him against me, too, and I couldn’t even bring myself to care that Nate could no doubt feel the effect he had on me.  

Because I could feel that Nate was affected as well. 

“Nate,” I whispered.

“Why is this so fucking hard?” he muttered, releasing me. 

“Hard in more ways than one,” I pointed out, my cheeks heating, and he gave me a wry smile. I noticed his face was flushed, too.

“Too soon to joke about that. Shit. I don’t know what I was thinking. I feel like I’m losing my mind when I’m with you.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Glancing back at the basketball hoop, I realised the timer had run down when Nate had been…uh, basically fondling me. “Want to just call it a draw?”

His mouth twisted. “It’s probably best. Maybe next time we meet up, we should be in a group setting.”

“I agree.” We’d managed to mostly behave up until this point, but who knew what might happen next time?

“Alright. Let’s call it a night, and I’ll see you at football?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I’m not gonna miss any more matches if I can help it.”

His soft smile took my breath away. “Good. We missed having you there. You’re a part of the team, even if you’re not training with us anymore.”

“Thanks. I’ll be there. I promise.”

20

“We’ve got this. Only forty-five minutes to go, and we’ll be in the southern division semi-final. The semi-fucking-final.” Travis took a moment to make eye contact with everyone in our huddle of players. “I dunno about the rest of you, but I’m planning on winning this thing.”

“Fuck, yeah!” Ander shouted. “Let’s kick their asses!”

We filed back out onto the pitch, taking our positions for the second half of the match. Across from us, Kingston Uni’s team looked just as determined, but we were 2-0 up and determined to keep our lead. It was a home match, so we had a sizeable number of supporters, but Kingston University was local, and their team’s supporter numbers almost equalled ours.

Somewhere out there, my sister was watching. 

Charlie was, too.

I couldn’t let myself think about any of that now, though. Every single team member had an important part to play, and I wasn’t going to let any of my teammates down.

The whistle blew, and we began. 

It was one of those matches where everything just seemed to go right. The rush of the game, the wind in my face, the grass beneath my feet—all my senses were heightened, and every time my boot connected with the ball, I felt alive. By the time Bryan, our coach, shouted that we had five minutes remaining, the score was 3-1. Five minutes longer. That was all we needed.

I tackled Kingston’s number nine when he hit the box, sliding across the grass to boot the ball away from him. He went down, clutching his leg, and even though I hadn’t touched him, the ref came running over. I paced up and down, breathing deeply so I wouldn’t get riled up when Kingston’s players were shouting for a red card and a penalty kick. Getting angry solved nothing—it only led to yellow cards, or even red, and I wasn’t going to jeopardise our chances for anything.

“Fucking bastard, playing it up for the ref, trying to get a penalty. You didn’t even touch him,” Liam huffed as he jogged up to me.

“I know. They want the win.”

“They’re not gonna get it.” He grinned at me, holding out his hand, and we exchanged fist bumps.

The referee conferred with the assistant ref for a moment, and then he jogged back over and blew his whistle. “No foul.”

A cry of outrage came from the Kingston players, and there was some pushing and shoving, but the game finally got back underway.

I glanced up at the scoreboard. Four minutes, plus whatever added time there was at the end. We could do this. We were going to make it to the semi-finals. One step closer to being southern division cup champions.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. I was working constantly, keeping the ball away from our goal as Kingston’s team threw everything they had into their attack. My legs were aching, my lungs were burning, but I pushed my body as hard as it would go, kicking the ball away again and again until suddenly, three piercing whistles filled the air.

We’d done it. We were going to the semi-finals.

With the final dregs of my energy, I made my way to the centre of the pitch, where my teammates were already celebrating. Travis pulled me into a hug, and then Ander jumped on my back, throwing his arms around us both.

“We fucking did it!” he screeched in my ear. I couldn’t even be annoyed about the fact that he’d temporarily deafened me because I was filled with euphoria. 

“You did a great job, holding them off at the end. You and Finn and Jason. Our last line of defence,” Travis said. “Fucking brilliant work.”

“What about me?”

Travis stepped back, eyeing Ander over my shoulder. “I think it goes without saying that every single member of this team had an important role to play. You did great.”

“Thanks, Dad. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Finally climbing off my back, Ander jogged over to Liam, and I straightened up with a groan. 

“Now I can add a back injury to my list of aches and pains after this match.”

Travis laughed. “An ice bath will sort you out.”

I shuddered. No, thanks. “I think I’ll just have a hot shower and some ibuprofen.”

“Suit yourself. Come on, let’s get showered and changed. We need to celebrate. Party at mine tonight.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Number 3, the Mansions, was heaving. The large, double-fronted Victorian terrace was packed to the brim with people celebrating, more spilling out onto the street and onto the front path of the house next door. Number 1, the Mansions. The house where Charlie lived.

He was here, somewhere, I presumed, but I purposely hadn’t texted him aside from a reply to his message of congratulations. I was still wary about being around him after what had happened the last time we’d met up. What had I been thinking? That was right—I hadn’t been thinking.

Whatever, it was time to celebrate now. Leaving the kitchen, tipping my newly acquired beer to my lips, I weaved my way through the crowd towards the lounge. The music was much louder in here. I greeted several of my teammates in passing, finding the small huddle of final-year players at the back of the lounge. These were the guys I generally gravitated towards, having known them the longest. 

“Still no girlfriend?”

“Huh?” In the middle of knocking my beer bottle against Jason’s, I glanced over at Omari. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jason smirked at our teammate. “He means you’re not normally single for this long. It’s gotta be what, a couple of months or something since you ditched Lucy.”

Omari nodded. “Yeah, bro. You don’t stay single for long.”

A shrug of my shoulders just had them giving me identical unimpressed looks, so I elaborated. “There’s no point in starting up something now, is there? I’ll be gone as soon as we’re finished with our degrees. It’s not long now.”

“I can’t wait to get out of London. I fucking hate cities.”

I exchanged glances with Omari. “Jase. Maybe you should’ve considered that, I dunno, back when you applied to a uni in the centre of London?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He swigged from his beer bottle before smacking his lips dramatically. “Whatever. Anyway, back to you. You don’t need a girlfriend. What you need is a one-night stand. Get rid of some of that tension.”

“What tension?” I didn’t have any tension. He was deluded.

“Yeah.” Omari slung his arm across my shoulders. “Be more like me and Jase. Plenty of single women here.”

“Maybe.” The thought wasn’t even slightly appealing. But maybe they were right. A one-night stand could be what I needed, as long as everything was clear up front. No risk of catching feelings, and it might take my mind off a certain green-eyed guy… 

As if I’d summoned him, he appeared, walking into the lounge with his housemate Levi and Levi’s boyfriend, Asher. Our gazes connected, and he smiled, soft and small and private. 

Fuck.

Shrugging off Omari’s arm, I pushed through the crowds towards Charlie, watching his eyes widen as I drew closer. Nodding a hello to Asher and Levi as I passed them, I grabbed Charlie’s wrist, tugging him along with me. He came without protest, and I let go of him as soon as we were out in the hallway. The music wasn’t so loud out here, and I was able to speak at a normal volume.

“Can we talk for a minute?” 

Charlie glanced around us. “Is here okay? Or do you want to go next door to mine? Half the party seems to be happening there, but it’s quieter than in here.”

“No. Here’s fine. Stay where people can see us. We’re just two people who know each other, having a normal conversation.” Taking up a casual position against the wall, I fixed my gaze on my beer. “Some of the boys were saying I should hook up with a girl tonight. It’s not…I don’t want to, but maybe we should. Or I dunno, flirt with someone at least.”

Next to me, Charlie inhaled sharply. “Do you think this is a good idea? You—you’re not even a one-night-stand person. Or so you said.”

I flinched at his unexpectedly harsh tone. “No. I think it’s a shit idea, but we need to do something.”

There was silence while he processed my words, but eventually, he spoke, his voice almost too quiet to be heard over the combined sounds of music and conversation. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. The sooner we get over this, the better.” With a decisive nod, he straightened up. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

21

“Come on.” Nate jerked his head towards the lounge. “We can start in there.”

“Now?”

“Yeah.” His jaw was set, his mouth a hard line. “The sooner, the better.”

Even though I’d verbally agreed with his idea, I wasn’t mentally prepared for it. The thought of seeing Nate with someone else made me feel physically sick, but he was right when he said that we needed to do something. This was a stupid plan, but who knew? Maybe it would work.

I followed him back into the lounge, watching as he scanned the room. In front of the bay window, the furniture had been pushed aside to create a large space for dancing, and after a brief pause, he headed towards a group of four girls on the edge of the dance floor area.

“Zoe,” he said, turning that stupidly sexy smile on a pretty girl with long, glossy blonde hair. She instantly returned his smile, stepping up to him and placing a hand on his arm as he dipped his head to her ear to say something too low for me to catch over the loud music filling the room. She responded with a giggle and then said something about the football match that made him smile wider.

I didn’t react outwardly, but all I wanted to do was pull him away from her and take him somewhere far away where we could⁠—

No. This was why I was going along with his fucked-up scheme.

Just friends.

Nate raised his head, his gaze flicking to mine for a second before he glanced back down at Zoe. “This is my friend Charlie.”

All four girls turned to look at me, and so I pasted on a grin, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. Fake it ’til you make it, right? “Hi,” I said. 

“Hi. Do you happen to be single?” One of the girls stepped forwards, suggestively looking me up and down. I looked over at Nate. His expression was shuttered, but as he held my gaze, he slid his arm around Zoe.

“Very single,” I said, still looking at Nate. Something flashed in his eyes, but he turned back to Zoe before I could work out what it was.

“We’re both single,” he murmured, and somehow, I heard it clearly over the music.

Okay. This was the plan, and this cute, forward girl was making her interest known. Time to give her the attention she deserved.

“I’m Charlie. Want to dance?”

It took less than five minutes for me to realise what a mistake this was. My dance partner, Kate, was gorgeous, and before Nate, I’d have been into her. But instead, all I could focus on was Nate dancing with Zoe, his eyes fixed on mine, burning into me with an intensity that took my breath away. 

I couldn’t. Fucking. Deal with it.

“I’m really sorry,” I said to Kate, releasing her. “I can’t—I need to go.”

I twisted away from the dancing students, blindly shoving my way through the crowd. Out in the hallway, the number of bodies had increased, blocking my way to the front door. I turned on my heel, running up the stairs instead, taking two at a time. Anywhere was better than being here, surrounded by so many people.

By some miracle, the bathroom was free, and I launched myself through the open doorway, slamming the door closed behind me. A twist of the lock, and then I collapsed forwards, planting my hands on the counter on either side of the sink.

The sounds of the party were muffled by the thick wood of the door, and my breaths came loud and fast in the silence. I hung my head, swallowing around the sudden lump in my throat.

Three raps sounded at the door.

Then another three.

“Charlie.”

I closed my eyes, my hands trembling as I gripped the counter harder. No. He couldn’t be here.

Three more raps on the wood, heavier this time.

“Charlie. Let me in.”

Resigned, I opened my eyes. Refusing to look at my reflection in the mirror, I turned back to the door and twisted the lock.

As soon as the click sounded, the handle turned, and then Nate was locked in the bathroom with me.

“I can’t stay away from you,” he rasped, crowding me up against the sink. “I tried. Couldn’t even last five fucking minutes.”

“I—I left. You were still dancing.” 

“No. I was about to break away from her—I was, I swear—and then you left. You just fucking left me there.”

“I wasn’t leaving you. I couldn’t stay.”

“I know.” He lowered his head, his nose skimming over mine as his harsh exhales hit my skin. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. It was a stupid, pointless plan.”

“Yes, it⁠—”

I didn’t even get to finish my sentence before Nate kissed me, and everything was right in the world.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair of me. I’m sorry,” he murmured between kisses, his hands cupping my face as his mouth slid over mine so sweetly. My legs were weak, like my muscles had forgotten how to work, so I gripped his hips for support, my fingers working their way under his T-shirt until I was touching bare skin.

“It’s okay.” I stroked over his sides, mouthing at the hint of stubble on his jaw. One of his hands slid around to my nape as the other lifted my chin so he could kiss me again, his tongue licking into my mouth as he deepened the kiss.

“Charlie. Fuck. What are you doing to me?” he gasped, tearing his mouth away. His eyes were wild as he stared at me, his chest rising and falling rapidly against mine.

The half-second glance I gave my reflection in the mirror told me everything I needed to know. I was just as affected as he was on the outside as well as on the inside. “Tell me this is real.” I needed to hear the words. “Tell me we’re not gonna go back to being in denial. I know you can’t give me anything, but I want—I don’t want to pretend this is going to go away. Because it isn’t. Not for me.” This thing between us had been building ever since we’d first been matched, and even though, logically, it was pointless, who gave a fuck about logic?

He groaned, pressing his face into my throat as he wrapped his arms around me. “It’s real, and I’m sick of pretending that the thought of you with someone else doesn’t cut me into pieces.”

I exhaled. In and out. In and out, as we clung to each other, caught in this bittersweet situation where we knew we couldn’t stay away from each other, but there was no future for us. No present, either, not with things the way they were.

The odds were stacked against us, but he was here with me right now. He’d come after me without hesitation, and that had to mean something.

I wanted him. More than I’d ever wanted anyone.

“Nate.” I rocked forwards, making him aware of the effect his nearness had on me.

“Fuck, Charlie.” His hands lowered to my ass, caressing me like he’d done in The Game Room. Except this time, there was purpose to his movements as he pulled me closer, his equally hard cock rubbing up against mine. “I wanna suck you off so badly.”

My jaw dropped. “Really?”

He raised his head, his dark eyes boring into mine. A smirk tugged at his lips. “Yeah, really. No need to sound so surprised. I wanna suck your dick, Charlie B. Are you gonna let me do it?”

I swallowed hard. My dick was throbbing, leaking precum into my shorts. “Uh. Th—that would be a yes. No guarantee I won’t come in five seconds flat.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” he said as he dropped to his knees in front of me. My legs almost gave out at the sight of him kneeling at my feet, all tousled dark hair, blown pupils, and that sexy-as-fuck mouth wet and red from kissing me. I had to grip the counter to hold myself upright. Ludicrous. 

Licking his lips, his gaze dropped to my erection. Leaning forwards, he stroked his fingers up my length, through my shorts, before he pressed a kiss to the tip.

My dick jerked, and I exhaled shakily. 

“Okay?” He pressed another kiss to the tip.

“Please. I can’t.” These light touches were driving me crazy. How could he affect me like this?

Cool air hit my thighs as Nate lowered my shorts. I had to shut my eyes when his mouth closed around the head of my cock, the image forever burned into my brain. I was going to come so fast.

He licked over the tip with a low groan, and I gasped, my death grip on the counter the only thing holding me upright. My whole body was on fire, every one of my nerve endings lighting up as he took more of my cock into his mouth, his hand closing around the base to stroke in time with the movements of his mouth.

I was only human, and Nate was so fucking sexy that I didn’t stand a chance. My balls drew up, and I only had a second to tug his head back with a shaking hand before I was coming, my release striping his chest, his throat, and his face.

“That was⁠—”

“That good?” Nate’s gaze raked over me, no doubt taking in the way I’d collapsed against the sink and couldn’t even form full sentences. “Not bad for my first attempt.”

“Naaate.”

“Hmm?”

A loud pounding at the door shocked us both out of our bubble. I frantically pulled my shorts up, and as my eyes lowered, I swore under my breath.

“Nate! Your T-shirt.”

We both grimaced, taking in the mess I’d made of it.

“I’ll get it wet. Pretend I spilled beer on it,” Nate said after an agonising silence. “That’ll work.” Turning on the tap, he began splashing water on himself. It would’ve been funny if I weren’t so stressed about what or who waited for us outside.

“Okay. Yeah. Uh. My house is next door. Want to borrow a clean T-shirt?”

“I—”

The banging started up again.

“We need to leave,” Nate hissed, flicking the lock. The second he’d done so, the door flew open, and a bleary-eyed guy staggered inside.

“We were just—” I stammered out.

“Bruh, I don’t care. Get out because I need to take a piss,” he slurred, and I could work with that. Grabbing Nate’s wrist, I tugged him out of the bathroom and back down the stairs.

22

“Nate!”

We both stopped dead at the familiar voice, and I immediately dropped my grip on Nate’s wrist, discreetly shuffling to the left so we weren’t so close together. He looked at me with wide eyes before tilting his head slightly. Taking the hint, I headed towards the front door, leaving him alone to talk to his sister.

Outside, I leaned against the wall between the two houses, taking a moment to catch my breath in the cooler night air. My head was spinning. Had Nate really given me a blowjob, right there in my neighbours’ bathroom?

How was it that I liked him so much, and yet we were doomed?

Pulling out my phone while I waited for Nate, I texted my siblings. I probably should’ve done it sooner, but I hadn’t been sure how to broach the subject. Maybe it was best to just come straight out with it.

Me:

I have some news. I’m bisexual

It only took a couple of minutes for my siblings to respond, and a smile tugged at my lips as I read their words.

Gem:

OMG! Proud of you for telling us! You know we love and support you always

Rocky:

Bro got himself a boyfriend!

Me:

Thanks Gem. No I didn’t get a boyfriend. I realised I was bi so I thought I’d tell my family

Rocky:

OK proud of you then. Guys FYI I think I might be bi too

Gem:

What?

Me:

What!

Rocky:

Yeah I realised I spend way too long looking at Jordan Emery’s thirst traps for a straight boy

Me:

Yeah you are a bit obsessed with him

Rocky:

He’s fit as fuck

Gem:

Rocky! No F words. I agree though, he’s hot

Me:

Ok I can agree too. Love you, Rock. If you want to talk anything through you know I’m here. Probably won’t have the answers but we can work it out together

Gem:

Me too. Love you both

Me:

Now I’ve shared my news I could use your advice. There’s a guy I’ve messed around with a bit. Problem is he’s moving away soon and he doesn’t want to start anything, and his sister likes me. We went on a date

Rocky:

FUCK IS IT NATE?

I held my breath and tapped out the four-letter word.

Me:

Yeah

After the longest pause of my life, Gem replied.

Gem:

What do you want?

Me:

I don’t know. I’m still working things out but I like him

Gem:

What about his sister?

Me:

She knows where we stand. I made it clear. But she still likes me

Rocky:

Shit bro you do get yourself in bad situations

Me:

Not helping Rock

Rocky:

Just be FWB

Gem:

I don’t want you to get hurt. Just be careful

Rocky:

What she said

Me:

Thanks guys. I’ll update you when I have more news

I shoved my phone back in my pocket when Nate appeared. He came to a stop next to me, dragging a hand through his hair. “I asked Soph how she was, and she said she was fine. Said she wasn’t interested in anyone else, but she thought she might be starting to get over you.” He hesitated, his gaze darting to mine before slipping away again. “I still feel bad.”

“Bad enough to not come to my room?”

He looked at me properly then, holding my gaze with dark, serious eyes. “No.”

“Okay.” Straightening up, I began walking towards my own front door, knowing he’d follow me.

While I’d been inside Number 3, my house had filled up, although it was nowhere near as loud or crowded as next door. I nodded at JJ as he came towards me, his gaze flicking to Nate, then back to mine. We had a respectable amount of space between us, but JJ sometimes seemed to have a sixth sense for things. Distraction was the best tactic.

“Going out?” I asked him, taking in his shoulder bag and the keys dangling from his fingers.

“I’m working tonight. Killian’s meeting me later, though, so I’ll probably go back to his. Make sure no one goes near my room. It’s locked, but Sid’s in there, and I don’t want him to be disturbed.”

“Okay. Have fun. See you tomorrow.”

He smiled at me before disappearing out the door, and I continued through the house, up two flights of stairs, and stopped outside my bedroom.

We were alone up here. Nate pressed against my back as I unlocked the door, his hot breath hitting the nape of my neck. I shivered, letting my weight rest against him for a couple of seconds before I turned the handle.

Inside my room with the door safely closed and locked behind us, I turned to face him, pressing a quick, hard kiss to his lips before stepping back.

My gaze swept down his body, noting the bulge in his shorts. “Before I get you another T-shirt, want me to return the favour?”

“I didn’t do it expecting anything.”

“No, I know. But maybe I want to.”

“Yeah?” he said softly, cocking his head. “You sure? You thought you were straight until recently. I understand if⁠—”

“You were in denial until recently,” I reminded him. “Aside from that, don’t forget I live with four men who are regularly doing, y’know, sex things with other men, and one or two of them like to overshare. I could probably write an essay on giving blowjobs at this point, even if I haven’t done it myself.”

Nate laughed. “Sex things?”

“Shut up.” My face was hot, and I reached out, grabbing a handful of his damp T-shirt and yanking him into me. He came easily and let me manoeuvre him over to my bed, where I pushed him down. Seated on the edge of my mattress, reclining with his weight resting on his hands, he stared up at me with a challenge in his eyes. I tapped the inside of his shoe with my trainer, and he spread his legs enough for me to stand in between them. Leaning down, I planted my hands on the mattress on either side of his and took his lower lip between my teeth, applying light pressure. He moaned, and it went straight to my dick, but this wasn’t about me. This was about him.

“Keep your hands there,” I instructed him, and his eyes flashed with heat. He remained still, and I lowered myself to my knees. For all the confidence I was hopefully projecting, I was actually terrified of messing this up, and I wondered if it had been the same for Nate. If it had, he’d hidden it well. 

“Charlie. You look so fucking hot on your knees for me,” he said, all low and throaty, and fuck him for making all my blood leave my brain and rush to my dick. I needed my wits about me to suck him off, but how was I going to do that if I couldn’t even think?

“I—” I began hoarsely. Swallowing, I tried again. “I need you to stop talking for a minute, okay?”

The corners of his lips curved upwards in amusement, but he nodded. Taking several deep, slow breaths, I got myself under control…sort of, and then before I could overthink it, I tugged his shorts down.

Why did he have to have a big dick? I mean, it was a very nice dick, as far as dicks went. Not that I’d ever studied another dick aside from my own. Hard, with a vein running down the underside that I wanted to trace with my tongue, foreskin already retracted to show the head, all pink and wet with his precum. My mouth actually watered a bit. But yeah, it was a bit daunting thinking of getting it in my mouth. 

There was nothing for it but to try. Recalling everything I’d unwillingly learned from JJ and Ander—not that I wanted to be thinking about my housemates at this point—I shuffled forwards and gripped his erection lightly, then guided it into my mouth.

The groan that fell from Nate’s throat was fucking sinful, and it encouraged me. Turned me on, too. I breathed through my nose as I swirled my tongue all around the head, licking across the slit and tasting his precum. As I lowered my hand to gently palm his balls, I dipped my head lower, taking more of him into my mouth, feeling the tension in his legs as he held himself still. When I traced that enticing vein with my tongue, he groaned again, one of his hands leaving the bed to slide into my hair.

“Fuck, Charlie. You’re so—” he gasped, his words abruptly cutting off as I stroked my finger over his perineum. Getting into a rhythm, I raised my head until only the tip of his cock remained in my mouth, swirling my tongue again before taking him back down, as deep as I could go without gagging on his thick length. His hand tightened in my hair, his panted breaths loud in my bedroom as I took him closer and closer to the edge with my mouth and my hand. It was harder to breathe through my nose than I thought it would be, but I didn’t even care, too focused on the hot, heavy erection filling my mouth.

He suddenly gasped, tugging urgently at my hair, and I pulled away, stroking him through his orgasm as his dick pulsed out cum all over my hand. It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen, hands down.

“Wow,” I said shakily when he was finally done and he’d collapsed backwards onto the bed with a long, drawn-out groan. “I think I might have a cum fetish.” My dick was so fucking hard. Taking a tentative lick of his warm release, striping my index finger, I hummed. “Mmm. Weirdly into this.”

“Weirdly?” Nate said breathlessly, attempting to lift his head before giving up, letting it flop back down. His chest was still heaving, and a thrum of satisfaction went through me. I’d done that to him. My first ever blowjob, and I’d smashed it.

“Well, yeah. It’s not meant to taste good, is it?”

“Dunno. Some people like it.”

“I guess I’m one of those people.” My tongue darted out again for another taste. “I’m not gonna put it on my chips instead of mayo or anything, but yeah, I like it.”

Nate burst out laughing. “Put it on your chips? What the actual fuck? Why would you think of that?”

Wiping the remainder of his cum on his ruined T-shirt, I climbed to my feet, straddling his thighs. Choosing to ignore his question, I asked one of my own. “Was that good?”

He gestured to himself. “What do you think?”

“I think I’d like to hear you say it.”

“Is that so?” Shifting me back a little, he pulled himself upright and placed one of his hands on my side, holding me in place. “Let’s see. You…on the floor between my legs, staring up at me through these long eyelashes…” Pausing, he traced a finger carefully over my lashes. “I’ve never been so hard in my life. Then your mouth on my dick. Fuck. You’re a natural cocksucker, Charlie B.”

My dick jerked. It took me a moment to form words. “One of my many talents. You get mugging and pickpocketing, and I get this.”

His brows pulled together. “Are you saying mine wasn’t good?”

“Yours was fucking amazing. I’m trying to stop you from being even more smug than usual.”

“More smug?” His jaw dropped in faux outrage, and then he tackled me down onto the bed. Somehow, we ended up with him naked except for his trainers, which was kind of weird, but I didn’t care because he’d also ripped off my T-shirt, and his hand was inside my shorts…

“Nate. Nate,” I panted, arching upwards. “More.”

“I’ve got you. Shorts off,” he commanded, and I scrambled to get them down as fast as I could, kicking my trainers off as I did so. He finally toed off his own Nikes, and then his hot, hard body was plastered against mine, and I was in fucking heaven. His mouth came down on mine, and we kissed, and kissed, and kissed, rolling around on my bed, our legs tangled together and his cock hardening against mine.

It was so. Good. Even better when he flipped me onto my back and straddled my thighs, and then stroked both our dicks together, until we came almost simultaneously, his orgasm triggering mine, or maybe it was the other way around. It was hot and wet and so incredibly unexpected that I temporarily lost the ability to speak.

“Bloody hell. What was that?” I managed to gasp out after my vision had cleared and my brain had regained some of the blood it had lost. I gripped his wrist, pulling his hand towards my face, licking over his palm.

I grimaced, and Nate laughed. “Decided you don’t like the taste, after all?”

“Not mine, no. Just yours.”

His brows flew up. “Can you tell the difference?” I nodded. My taste buds were very well developed, thanks. Nate laughed again at my decisiveness, and then he threaded the fingers of his other hand through mine, lifting them to his mouth. He kissed my knuckles. “You’re so gorgeous.”

Butterflies swirled inside me, and even more took flight when he gave me that slow, swoony smile. I pulled him down to me, uncaring that our combined release was all over his hand and our abs. I needed to kiss him.

“Stay here tonight?” I murmured against his lips.

“Yeah. Yeah. Okay,” he said.

23

When my eyes opened to the morning sunlight filtering through the thin curtains, it took me a moment to get my bearings, and then it all came rushing back.

Last night.

We’d started out with my stupid plan to get over each other—which would never have worked—and we’d somehow ended up here. I was on my back with my head cradled by a slightly lumpy pillow and my arm curled securely around Charlie. He was sprawled out on his stomach with his head turned to the side and resting on my chest, his arm thrown across me. One of his legs was bent, covering mine, and I was suddenly very aware we were both naked under the covers.

I carefully brushed his messy brown hair away from his eyes, making his lashes flutter. He remained asleep, though, and I took the chance to study him uninterrupted.

Last night, I’d told him again that he was gorgeous, but that wasn’t a good enough word to describe him. He was beautiful, inside and out. He took my breath away, made my stomach swoop every time I was around him, occupied my thoughts day and night, and I knew that no matter how much time we spent together, it would never be enough.

This was supposed to be casual, but there was nothing casual about my feelings for Charlie Brooks.

I rubbed my hand over my face. There was no point in thinking about our inevitable end date now. It would only depress me. Instead, I carefully rolled Charlie onto his back next to me and began pressing soft kisses all over his face. His forehead. His brows. His closed eyelids. His cheeks. His nose. His chin. And finally, his mouth, which curved beneath mine.

“Mmm. What a way to wake up.”

“Yeah.” I smiled against his lips. “I hope I didn’t wake you. I just wanted to kiss you.”

“Not gonna complain about that.” He stretched, yawning, and then peeled his eyelids back, blinking sleepily up at me. “Are you okay with…uh, this? All this?”

“I’m okay,” I promised. “More than okay. Like I said last night, I can’t stay away from you, and I don’t want to. Yeah, Sophie still feels something for you, and I do feel bad about that, but… It probably makes me a bad brother, but I keep hoping she’ll be completely over you soon.”

Charlie reached up, threading his fingers through my hair. “She will be. She’s great— No, I don’t feel anything for her, before you start thinking that—but what I mean is, she’s got another two years here at LSU to meet new people, and she’s never gonna be short of options.”

I gritted my teeth for two reasons. One, the thought of smarmy guys trying it on with my sister. And two, the reminder that Charlie also had two years to find someone new when I was gone. It was inevitable, and we both knew where this was headed, but it still fucking hurt.

“Don’t look so murderous.” Charlie’s hand slipped out of my hair so he could smooth his fingers across my brow. “We can keep this between us. No one needs to know. No one needs to get hurt.”

Except us.

“Yeah. And then at the end of the semester⁠—”

Charlie shook his head violently. “Don’t. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the time we have left. Just you and me. No one else getting involved and giving their opinions. Just us.”

He was right. With a sigh, I lowered my head to his again, kissing him softly. “I should thank Jonas for the time we do have, even if it’s short.”

“Huh?” he mumbled before wrapping his hand around my nape and kissing me again.

“Jonas. That first date between us was an accident, but he engineered the second date.”

Charlie froze beneath me, his eyes growing impossibly wide. “What?”

“Yeah. I’ve had words with him. He said I seemed happy, and I dunno, he thought there might be something between us, so he messed with the app to make it set us up again.”

There was a long silence while Charlie processed my words. “You seemed happy? Weren’t you happy before?”

The worry in his voice startled me, and I hastened to reassure him. “I was. But he said he hadn’t seen me like that. He said I seemed really happy. Like I had a crush on you or something.”

Charlie’s concern was immediately wiped away, replaced with a beaming smile. “Nate Glover has a crush on me.”

“Fuck off,” I growled, nipping at his bottom lip. That made him smile even wider.

“Guess what? I have a crush on you, too.”

“The fact that I’m in your bed and we’re both naked might have clued me in to that fact.”

“Oh, really?” He smoothed his hands down my back and then slid them tentatively onto my ass.

“Mmm. Really.” I kissed him. Speaking of being naked in bed… My dick was a steel bar against his leg, and his was tenting the sheets, and I wanted to make the most of it. “Now, c’mere, and we can suck each other’s dicks before I have to somehow sneak out of your house without your housemates seeing me.”

“We’re going from our first blowjobs to sixty-nining in the space of…what…nine hours or something? We should get trophies.”

Rolling my eyes, I tapped his chest before pinching his nipple, making him gasp. Unsuccessfully biting back a smirk, I did it again. “You and your fucking trophies. This isn’t a competition.”

“Hey!” He swatted my ass. “It’s a competition if we say it is. Bet I can make you come first.”

“Doubtful.”

“Oh, it’s on, Glover.”

“Bring it, Brooks.”

We both grinned at each other, and then we proceeded to suck each other’s brains out. 

“I won.”

Clamping my hand over Charlie’s mouth, I shook my head. “You did not. It wasn’t even close.”

“You did that thing with your tongue. It wasn’t fair,” he hissed as we made our best attempt at tiptoeing down two flights of creaky Victorian stairs.

I turned to smirk at him. “Seems like my pinball prince is a sore loser.”

His expression suddenly went from teasing to so soft and yearning, I stumbled. Catching myself by bracing my hand against the wall, I ran through what I’d just said.

Oh.

“My pinball prince,” I murmured, stopping on the stair next to him, cupping his smooth jaw. “Mine.”

He shivered.

“Mine.” My lips slid over his, and he sighed into my mouth, melting against me. Fuck. The way he responded to me was so addictive. I wanted more, and more, and more. “Mine,” I reiterated between kisses, wrapping my arms around him. “Mine. Mine. Mine.” Even if it was only temporary. 

We lost ourselves in each other, kissing until one of us moved a foot and made the stair creak. Quickly separating, we made our way down the rest of the stairs to the hallway. I could see the front door⁠—

“Charlie.”

We both jumped, Charlie’s head whipping around to the left to see his housemate Ander standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Shit.” Charlie’s gaze turned pleading as he stared at Ander. “Ander. Please.”

Ander took up a casual pose, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. “Something you want to share?”

“No,” Charlie immediately bit out, and Ander held his hands up.

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” He glanced behind him. “Our lips are sealed,” he amended, and I groaned as Elliot appeared in the doorway, both of them looking between us with undisguised curiosity.

“Ander—” Charlie began again.

“You don’t need to explain. I’ll just use my imagination to tell me why you’re trying to smuggle one of my teammates out of our house at—” He paused to glance at his phone. “—8:42 a.m.”

Charlie exhaled harshly. “Shouldn’t you be in bed sleeping off a hangover or something?” 

“Me? Nope. My body is a temple.”

Elliot snorted and then gave Ander a warning look. “We won’t say anything. Whatever’s going on is none of our business.”

“But—” Ander began.

“None of our business,” Elliot repeated, grabbing his arm and dragging him back inside the kitchen. The door closed firmly behind them.

“Sorry,” Charlie whispered. “I know we agreed it would be easier not to tell anyone.”

“They won’t say anything.” Ander was a good guy, my teammate, and I highly doubted either him or Elliot would out us.

With a nod, Charlie breathed out, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah. What am I thinking? I know they wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

“Then we’re good.” Stopping by the front door, I glanced back to make sure we were really alone, and then I cupped his cheek, rubbing my thumb across his soft skin. “I’ll see you soon, okay? Come to football practice this week if you’re not busy.”

“I’ll check my work schedules, but I’ll try to make it.” His lips met mine in a soft kiss that was way too brief. “Text me later.”

“I will.”

And I did. I made a half-hearted effort to resist, but I barely managed to last twenty minutes after leaving his house behind before I pulled up his contact details on my screen and tapped out a message.

And if we were still texting back and forth hours later…no one but the two of us needed to know.

24

I’d never felt more like the odd one out. Here I was, about to take a seat next to the other people watching the training session—other people who had a much more valid reason for being here than I did. It was a big practice today, involving both the first and second teams, on the biggest grass pitch that was available. Everyone wanted to be ready for the cup semi-final.

To my left, Elliot, Leo, Niccolò, and Noah were here for their boyfriends, straddling the benches, deep in discussion about the upcoming semi-final cup match. To my right, there was a group of girls sprawled out across the grass—sisters, friends, and girlfriends of the players. And there I was, in the middle of no man’s land.

It was probably my imagination. No, it was definitely my imagination. I’d trained with this team. Two of the players were my housemates. The team captain lived next door to me. I had just as much right to be here as anyone else.

Even so, I felt weirdly uncomfortable, and I knew why. 

Ander and Elliot knew something had happened between me and Nate. I hadn’t confirmed anything, and they hadn’t even asked, but it was easy enough to guess. How else could I explain the two of us creeping down the stairs like burglars in the early morning?

I’d come prepared today, though. I had my earbuds in and a baseball cap pulled down low over my face, shading my eyes. Greeting the guys with a nod, I sank down onto the bench with my phone already clasped in my hand, ready to provide a distraction.

I kept my gaze averted from the group of girls—or one girl in particular, with long, golden-brown hair. She’d noticed me when I’d walked up, her wide-eyed gaze darting to mine before shifting away again. It was probably a shock to see me here.

Fuck, why was I here?

The players filed out onto the pitch then, and I remembered exactly why. The sexy, dark-haired guy jogging across the grass, his lips curving into a gorgeous smile when he saw me sitting there watching him. When our gazes connected, a jolt went through my body.

I played it cool, of course. When I deemed it safe to take out my earbuds, I got drawn into a discussion with Noah and Elliot about the cup semi-final at the weekend, which was an away game in Cardiff, and gradually relaxed when Elliot acted completely normal around me. But I kept sneaking glances at Nate, my gaze returning to him time and time again.

“Are you coming to the match? We’ve got a block booking in a Premier Inn.”

“Huh?” It took me a second to realise Elliot was talking to me. Ripping my gaze away from the sight of Nate’s thighs flexing as he tackled Levi, I turned to Elliot. “Sorry. I was miles away. Uh. No. I wish I could, because I know the team needs the support, but I’ve got to work at the student union. They have that big beach party night, and it’s all hands on deck.”

“Shame. It won’t be the same without you. Even JJ’s going. You can’t get out of work?”

“No. I really wish I could, but it’s gonna be too busy.” Torturing myself with thoughts of what Nate and I could get up to in a hotel room was not a good idea. “Text me updates if you can. I’ll keep my phone on me, and I won’t be starting work until the match has almost finished, anyway.”

“I will.” Shifting closer, Elliot lowered his voice so he couldn’t be overheard by the others. “Hey. I just wanted to say if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m here. Ander, too.”

“Thanks.” I flashed him a quick smile. We fell silent again, returning our attention to the pitch. As the players took a quick break, Nate jogged over to speak with his sister. I wished he would come over to me, but there was no point in inviting questions. It had been easy when I’d been training with the team and we’d been just friends, but now I was paranoid and second-guessing all our interactions. Probably no one would care, but I didn’t want to make life any harder for him.

When the practice was over, everyone else headed off to cluster outside the changing rooms, waiting for the players. Flipping my cap around so I could catch the sun’s rays on my face, I sprawled out on the grass with my earbuds in, remaining there as the players began exiting the building, people gradually trickling away until I was the only person left. 

A shadow fell over me. Shielding my eyes with my hand, I looked up and smiled.

Nate sank down next to me, dropping his bag and a football next to his feet. He handed me his half-full water bottle, and I handed him one of my earbuds. Leaning over, I picked up the ball, rolling it between my legs, and then back over to Nate. We didn’t speak. There wasn’t any need. 

When our eyes met, we both leaned in, and I lost myself in the slide of his mouth against mine.

This was everything I needed, right here. The sun on my skin, a football at my feet, and the company of the person who was beginning to mean everything to me.

25

The soft thud of the front door closing behind Jonas was still echoing in my ears when I pulled out my phone and typed two words.

Come over.

My heart rate kicked up as I stood in the silent lounge, waiting for a reply from the boy who had become my obsession. What had my life been like before Charlie Brooks had come along with his bright smiles and playful banter, batting his long eyelashes at me one minute, and accusing me of being a mugger the next?

My phone buzzed.

Charlie:

Now?

Me:

Yeah. Jonas has gone to Jada’s. Joe’s here but he won’t come out of his room

Charlie:

I’m on my way

It seemed to take forever for the next text to arrive, but when it did, I sucked in a breath, stepping over to the front door and twisting the lock to open it.

“Hi,” Charlie said.

I wanted to kiss him more than anything. It was almost impossible to resist, especially when he was looking at me like he could read my mind. I was aware that Joe was here, though, and there was a possibility he could come out of his room, even if it was a slim one. “Hi. Come in. Be quiet.”

Charlie flashed me a grin, doing an exaggerated tiptoe movement through the lounge, and I had to bite back my laughter. When we safely reached my room and I’d closed the door behind us, I wasted no time in pressing him up against the wall and kissing him until we both lost our breath.

“What a welcome.” Charlie’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were sparkling as he ran his hands down my back. “I need you to sneak me into your room more often.”

“As much fun as this is, I’m not sure I could handle the pressure of hiding you all the time. Jonas probably suspects something already. Maybe. I don’t know. It might be my paranoia.”

“Yeah.” Something that looked a bit like sadness flickered in Charlie’s gaze, but it was gone before I could make sense of it. His hand landed on my chest, pushing me backwards, and before I knew it, we were on my bed, kissing, and kissing, and kissing.

We took our time peeling off our clothes, moving against each other with slow, lazy rolls of our hips, our mouths never separating for long. Our bodies slid together, our cocks thrusting against each other until Charlie came, and I followed him over the edge soon after.

Later, when we’d cleaned up, I sprawled out on the bed, propped up against the pillows, just enjoying the sight of Charlie in my room.

It was one of the best sights I’d ever seen.

My window was propped open, letting the night air in, and he was seated on the windowsill with one leg drawn up and the other stretched out along the painted wood, wearing one of my hoodies with his shorts. His hair was even messier than usual, and his face was still flushed, despite the cooler breeze.

As he dropped the hoodie strings he’d been playing with, he turned to smile at me. His brows lifted in response to whatever expression my face was making.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just like seeing you in my room.” I crawled across the bed to the window, rising to my knees so I could kiss him.

“I like being in your room.” He twisted around, lowering his legs so I could move in between them, and I pulled him down onto my thighs. His arms wound around my neck, and then we were kissing again.

When we eventually managed to tear ourselves apart, we lay on my bed, talking in soft whispers until our voices grew hoarse.

Charlie stayed with me until the darkness was beginning to give way to the dawn.

Then he left, as quietly as he’d come.

26

“So you’re the infamous Charlie.”

I straightened up from my position crouched on the floor, stacking pint glasses beneath the bar counter, to find a guy with blue hair grinning at me.

“Jonas?” I guessed, and he nodded. “Nice to finally meet you. I owe you a thanks for getting me this job.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that. I was hoping we’d meet before this, but our shifts never seemed to line up.” He paused, gesturing around us, where staff members were decorating the student union for the beach-themed party night. “Not until today. I think they called everyone in. It’s going to be a busy one.”

“Yeah. Hey, are you any good at blowing up inflatables? They want us to put some behind the bar.”

Jonas sighed. “Of course they do. Go on, then. Let’s make this look as tacky as possible.”

I laughed, handing him some of the items that had been piled up on the bar counter, and together, we got to work. When we were finished, the shelves and optics behind the bar were draped with tropical-print flags and several fake palm branches, and an inflatable flamingo and an inflatable pineapple bracketed either end.

“Jerry.” Jonas pointed at the flamingo before turning to jab his finger at the pineapple. “And Bob.”

“Bob the pineapple?”

“Yep.”

“I think he needs sunglasses,” I decided, grabbing one of the pairs of giant sunglasses with garish fluorescent frames that we were apparently supposed to be wearing. We managed to prop the sunglasses on the pineapple and then made the executive decision to “lose” the other pairs so we wouldn’t be forced to wear them.

As the doors opened and students began piling inside, Jonas leaned over to me. “Have you heard from Nate?”

I shook my head. “No, but I’ve been getting regular updates. They’re into extra time now. It’s one-all, so they have to play another thirty minutes because it’s a cup semi-final.”

Jonas winced. “It’s lucky they booked a hotel close to the football ground. They’re gonna be so tired when they’re finished.”

“I know.” Slipping my phone out of my pocket for what was probably the fiftieth time since I’d arrived at work, I scrolled through my message thread with Elliot, who had been texting me regular updates. He’d sent me photos, too, including a zoomed-in action shot of Nate kicking the ball.

“Is that Nate?” Jonas peered over my shoulder.

“Yeah.” Pocketing my phone again, I turned to the front of the bar, taking my first order of the evening. I worked on autopilot, my thoughts a hundred and fifty miles away, with my uni team fighting for their place in the cup final on the pitch, and one particular defender who lived in my head rent-free.

“Nate talks about you a lot, you know,” Jonas murmured when he shuffled past me, measuring shots of vodka from the optics. A wide smile stretched across my face, and something inside me warmed, thinking of the fact that he’d actually spoken about me to his best friend.

Four hours later, I was on my break and finally able to check my phone again. The student union had ended up being so busy that I hadn’t even had a chance to stop and catch my breath, let alone use my phone. Bypassing the messages from Elliot, I hit the notification that told me I had a new message from Nate.

Nate:

Thanks for the good luck message. We won! 2-1! Not sure when you’ll get to see this because I know work will be busy but I’ll speak to you before we go to sleep

I quickly tapped out a reply.

Me:

CONGRATULATIONS! I knew you’d do it! On my break now. It’s been too busy to even check my phone. If you’re already asleep by the time my shift finishes don’t worry. We can make up for it by celebrating after you get back tomorrow. Whenever you’re free. I don’t have any work 

After I’d waited for a couple of minutes with no response, not even a read notification, I switched to Elliot’s messages, catching up with his commentary on everything that had happened in extra time. Levi had scored the winning goal, and from the sound of it, they were now all out celebrating in a pub near their hotel. 

I wished I were there. I wished I were with Nate. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t going to miss the cup final for anything.

Jonas nudged me, jerking his head to the right. “Can you serve the customer at the end of the bar?” 

My brows rose. “That’s Mia’s end. Or are we swapping?” 

“Just do it. Quick.” He nudged me again, and I moved. We were too busy to stand around. 

“What can I get—” The words died in my throat as I took in the person standing across from me, resting his elbows on the bar counter, with tired eyes and a huge smile. “Nate? What— How— What are you doing here?”

His smile widened. “I wanted to celebrate my win.”

“B—but you. Your team. You just left?”

“Yeah. I left as soon as we were finished in the changing rooms. Got in my car and drove straight home, then I came here.”

I wanted to kiss him so badly. Fuck it, you only lived once. Moving to the corner of the bar, I ducked under the flap and beckoned him into the dark corner of the room with me, sliding my mouth across his in a kiss that was far too quick.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I murmured when we parted. 

“How could I celebrate my win without you, Charlie B?” He reached out and squeezed my hand. “What time do you finish your shift? I heard from Ander that your house might be empty, with all your housemates in Cardiff.”

“I’ve got another hour to go. Are you okay with waiting around, or are you too tired? If you wanna nap or anything, I can give you my keys, and you can go and wait in my room.”

His eyes went all soft, and it gave me butterflies. “Thanks, but I’m okay. Get back to work. I’ll be over here waiting.”

“Okay.” After giving him another quick kiss, I ducked back under the bar flap and then poured a pint of Coke with plenty of ice. Sliding it across the bar to Nate, I mouthed, On the house, and he shot me a grateful look. Smiling to myself, I watched him down it as I served a group of guys from the hockey team.

My final hour passed quickly with Nate there, and before I knew it, I was stepping out into the fresh air with Jonas and Nate in tow. I felt for the staff who were working the final hours and had to deal with the aftermath.

Jonas leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “That was a killer shift. I never do more than four hours in one go.”

“Me too. I’m dead on my feet.” Glancing over at Nate, I amended my statement. “Not totally dead. I have some energy reserves left.”

“Energy reserves.” Nate snorted, and Jonas laughed.

“Want me to go to Jada’s tonight so you two can do whatever it is you do? No, I don’t want details.”

Nate gave his housemate the middle finger. “Hey, dickhead. None of that. Charlie’s housemates are all in Cardiff, so you don’t have to exile yourself.”

“I see.” Jonas paused for a minute. “Mate. You drove back here straight after the match. A match where you played, what was it, half an hour of extra time? It must’ve taken you a while to drive back.”

“It took about three and a half hours, I think. Maybe a bit more.” Nate shrugged as if it were no big deal, and it hit me all over again. He’d played two hours of football, which in itself was exhausting, and then he’d driven approximately a hundred and fifty miles so he could see me, instead of celebrating with the rest of his team.

Jonas’ gaze grew sharp as he eyed Nate. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he remained silent. Maybe it was because I was there. I was about to offer the two of them some privacy when he blinked, his expression smoothing out. “Alright. I’m gonna go and shower this bar off and then pass out in my bed. You two have fun.”

He disappeared with a wave, and I was left alone with Nate. Our eyes met, and he swallowed hard, his throat working. “Let’s go back to yours before I lose what’s left of my control and do something inadvisable to you up against this wall.”

Fucking hell. His words went straight to my dick, and I bit back a groan. “Yeah. Let’s go. Now.”

27

The choice between staying in Cardiff with my teammates or coming home to Charlie had been an easy one in the end. As soon as the final whistle had blown, all I could think of was that I wanted to celebrate the win with him. I wrapped up with the post-match stuff as quickly as I could, showering and changing before most of my teammates had even stripped out of their football kits, and got on the road back to London.

Back to him.

Charlie appeared in his bedroom doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water still beading on his skin. My cock went from half-hard to rock solid as I took in the delicious view in front of me.

“Thanks for waiting. I had to shower the bar off.” He was staring at the floor, and I realised that he was nervous. I was, too, although anticipation overrode my nerves. Climbing to my feet, I walked across the room to him, placing my knuckle under his chin and tilting his head up to mine. Our eyes met.

“Charlie.” I kissed his cheek and then the corner of his mouth. He sighed, relaxing against me, and I stepped closer, brushing a soft kiss over his lips. “Charlie. Do you even know how much I want you?”

His gaze flicked to the tent in my black boxer briefs, which I’d stripped down to while he was in the shower. When his eyes rose to mine, the green had almost been eclipsed by his rapidly expanding pupils. “I might have an idea.”

A smile curved over my lips. “What should we do about it?”

“Hmm. I think we should start with getting naked.” His nerves had faded, overtaken by lust, and fucking hell, he made my dick so hard. 

“Good plan.” I smirked at him as I ran my hand down his torso, stopping at the top of his towel. I lowered my head to lick a droplet of water from his collarbone. “What have you got under this towel?”

He shuddered. “Fuck. Why don’t you have a look and find out for yourself?”

“Yeah?” I murmured against his skin. Taking hold of the towel with both hands, I slowly pulled it away from his body and let it drop to the floor. He stood there, flushed, nude, and hard, and I had never seen anything hotter in my life. “I want to fuck you so badly.”

He inhaled sharply. “That’s what you want?”

“I’m curious about being fucked, but…” Sliding my hands onto the muscles of his gorgeous ass, I palmed his cheeks. “I’ve imagined fucking you so many times. But I’m honestly good with whatever you wanna do. I know I’ll like it all. Whatever you want.”

His hands went to the band of my underwear. Easing it down, he trailed soft kisses down my neck. “I want it both ways. I’ve never done any ass play or anything, but I wanna try it all. Fuck me, Nate. Make me yours.”

“You’re already mine.” I pulled him into me, our mouths meeting, and we stumbled towards the bed, tongues in each other’s mouths as our hands roamed over bare skin. When we fell onto the mattress, Charlie groaned into my throat before pushing himself upright. He looked so hot, all dishevelled and panting.

“I got supplies. I, uh, get tested as regularly as I can but didn’t know what you wanted to do, so I got condoms and this lube that’s meant to be better for ass stuff.”

He was so fucking cute. “You came prepared.”

Shooting me an unimpressed look, he dropped a condom and bottle of lube straight on my chest. “We both knew we’d end up here at some point. I didn’t want to be caught short.”

“Come here.” I shoved the condom and lube aside, pulling him down to me. “I have stuff at my house, too. It’s not just you. And I’ve been tested as well, so I don’t mind what you want to do. Condom might mean less clean-up time, though. I can’t guarantee I won’t pass out as soon as we’re done. Nothing to do with you, it’s just⁠—”

“You’ve had a long day,” he whispered against my mouth. “A very long, very hard day.” When he said those words, he rolled his hips down, making us both gasp as our cocks slid together. “Why don’t you lie back and let me do the work?”

“You’re too fucking good to me. But I want to do this.” I rolled us over so he was on his back, and then I kissed a path down his body, mouthing at his skin, teasing his nipples, licking over the bumps and ridges of his abs while he writhed and moaned beneath me. When I neared his cock, dripping precum all over his belly, I felt for the lube, coating my fingers. His body tensed at the sound of the bottle being uncapped, but I had an idea about how I could make this easier for him, and I hoped it worked. Directing him to put a pillow under his hips, I placed my finger on his perineum, rubbing lightly while I kissed and licked over the very tip of his cock. When he was fully relaxed again, I slid my finger further back. His thighs shifted further apart to accommodate me, and I began to slowly circle his hole while I was still licking the head of his cock.

“Fuck, that’s so good,” he moaned. “Inside. I wanna know how it feels.”

Who was I to deny him? Easing my finger inside his hot, tight hole and beginning to circle it, I lowered my head, taking the tip of his cock fully inside my mouth. When I added my tongue back into the mix, his hips arched upwards, and I took the moment to take his cock deeper as I eased another finger inside along with the first.

I worked him over with two fingers until he was tugging at my hair and begging for another. I was honestly stunned by how well he was taking it, not even flinching when I added a third finger. In fact, he arched into my touch, rolling his hips down against my hand, and I had to release his dick from my mouth and grip my cock tightly while I took deep, measured breaths to calm myself, because it was so fucking hot.

“Do you want another? I’m bigger than this, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

He shook his head. “No. I want your dick. Give it to me.”

“Say please.”

“Fuck you. Get inside me.”

The back and forth between us was helping to distract us both from the nerves that had returned. Carefully removing my fingers, I rolled the condom over my erection before adding a generous coating of lube. “How do you want to do this? Want to go on your stomach? Ride me? Or stay this way?”

“Any. All. Fuck it, let’s start with me on my stomach.” He turned over, and I was treated to the sight of his gorgeous ass flexing, spread wide and ready for me.

“Charlie. You have no idea. No. Idea.” I felt fucking dizzy with lust for this man. As I began to ease inside, smoothing my hand down his back, I had to bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to distract myself from how fucking perfectly he was taking my cock.

“Move. Fuck me,” Charlie begged when I was all the way in, only giving himself about five seconds to adjust, and so I drew backwards before rolling my hips down again, fucking him at a slow, careful pace. Nothing had ever felt as good as the drag of my cock inside him as I thrust in and out, Charlie pushing back against me, our combined pace increasing as our movements grew more confident.

“Harder.” Charlie shifted his hips up, and I adjusted the pillow, pushing it more firmly beneath him, and then I got my hand down between us so I could get a hand on his cock. With my next thrust, he cried out, his body jerking against mine. “Oh, fuck. Do that again. Right there.”

“Yeah?” I thrust in again, and again, and again, until I was fucking him hard and fast, both our moans were constant, and the pillow and my hand were wet with his precum. There was no possible way I could last. I didn’t even have a hope of staving off my orgasm. “Gonna come,” I rasped, and before I could even catch my breath, I was unloading into the condom, my cock pulsing for what felt like an endless amount of time as I shook against Charlie. 

“Fucking hell. You coming inside me. So hot,” he panted. “Let me come all over your abs.”

My few remaining brain cells processed his words. Fuuuck. He was going to mark me with his release.

I pulled out of him and rolled onto my back. Charlie wasted no time in shifting onto my thighs. There was a deep flush on his cheekbones, and his eyes were hazy, the green swallowed by his pupils. Biting down on his lip, he got his hand around his dick and stroked hard and fast until his cock jerked in his grip. His abs contracted as he threw his head back, stripes of cum shooting over my abs and chest. My own cock gave a weak throb at the sight, and if I hadn’t just emptied my balls, I was sure I would have come from that completely fucking erotic sight.

Collapsing onto me, he pressed the side of his face into my throat, his rapid breaths evening out as I stroked up and down his sweaty back. When he began to lazily mouth at my jaw, I tapped his ass lightly with my fingers.

“Shift over a bit so I can get this condom off.”

“Nrgh,” he mumbled, and I laughed through a sudden yawn.

“I don’t think that was English.”

“Tired.” He rolled onto his side, meeting my eyes. “You’re amazing.”

I liked him so, so much.

“You are.” I reached out, rubbing my thumb over the heated skin of his cheekbone. “Best sex I’ve ever had.” It was far too honest for two people who were just supposed to be fucking around, but he had to know just how special he was. 

His cheeks flushed even darker, warming beneath the pad of my thumb. “Me too.” He tugged his lip between his teeth as he trailed his fingers up my abs, smearing his cum around. After a moment, he glanced up at me again. “I discovered something about myself as well. I like having a dick in my ass. A lot. Even the bit at the beginning where you stretched me out. I liked the burn. Fuck, I love dick.”

“My dick,” I growled, suddenly possessive, and his eyes widened. His lips curved upwards.

“Yeah. Your dick.” His fingers moved, and I realised he was using his cum to draw a heart shape on my skin. “Your dick, attached to you, you sexy, possessive fucker.”

“I’m not possessive.” It was a lie. I was…of him. I’d never been this way before.

Flashing me a grin, he drew another heart, but when he started drawing stick figures, I clamped my hand down over his, stilling his motions. “My abs are not a canvas, and your cum is not paint.”

“Says you. Yet I’m here drawing pictures all over you.” He rolled back on top of me again, trapping our hands between us.

“You’re a menace, Charlie B,” I said, lifting my head to kiss the tip of his nose.

“You’re the menace. Remember, you’re an actual criminal. You pickpocketed me and mugged me.”

Giving me no time to respond, he slanted his mouth over mine, and really, that was the best way to shut us both up. My mind drifted as the events of the day caught up with me, and I let myself enjoy the feel of his slow, soft kisses as he pressed me down into the mattress, my body boneless and spent.

Eventually, he rolled off me, carefully cleaned us both up with a damp washcloth, and took care of the condom. By the time he slipped into bed beside me, I was asleep.

28

Skimming through my textbook, I highlighted the passages relevant to my architecture project. I didn’t often sit in the library and work, but late in the evening, it was quiet, and I could work undisturbed. I’d been struggling to focus at home, but maybe here, I’d be able to get this portion of my project finished so my supervisor could look over it and give me her feedback.

And Charlie was here, too. Working a four-hour shift, somewhere on the floor below me. I didn’t plan to disturb him, but I was hoping I’d get a chance to say hi. To do more than say hi, if I was honest. To kiss him, to wrap my arms around him, to press my face into his hair and just breathe him in⁠—

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Thought you’d be at home.”

My head shot up to see Jonas sliding into the unoccupied seat across from mine. 

“Yeah. I have a lot of work to do still for my final project, and with the cup final coming up, I don’t have as much time spare to work as I normally would.”

“And Charlie’s taking up a lot of your time.”

“He’s not taking me away from my coursework,” I growled, and Jonas held his hands up.

“Calm down. I didn’t say he was. I didn’t mean— Ugh,” he huffed. “Look. That was my completely idiotic, roundabout way of saying that I know.”

“Know what?”

“That you’ve caught feelings for Charlie. Strong feelings. And I wondered if maybe that had changed your mind about anything relating to your future and your insistence on only having short-term relationships.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I groaned. Sliding a piece of paper into my textbook to mark my place, I tapped my knuckles on the table. “Listen to me. First of all, what I have with Charlie isn’t even a relationship. Next, let’s not forget I’m going to Plymouth Uni to do my postgrad degree. We’ll be four hours apart, at least, considering it takes so long to get through bloody London, and with Charlie’s jobs and my postgrad commitments, it’s doubtful we’d even get a chance to meet up.”

“So you’ve thought about it.”

“So what if I have? It doesn’t change the facts.”

“If you liked him enough, you’d make it work.”

I shook my head impatiently. “There’s nothing to make work, okay? Just drop it.”

He folded his arms across his chest, levelling me with a serious look I’d never seen on him before. “Nate. You’re my best friend, and so it’s down to me to give you some tough love here. You’re being wilfully stubborn. Let’s look at your so-called facts from my point of view. It’s crystal clear to me that you and Charlie are in a relationship, no matter what you say. You put more time and effort into him than I’ve ever seen you do with any of your girlfriends. You talk about him all the time. If you’re not talking about him, you’re texting him or meeting up with him. Except, you know, when you’re doing uni stuff and eating or whatever. He. Is. Your. Boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” I knew we both heard the uncertainty in my voice. “Sophie⁠—”

“Sophie loves you. I don’t doubt for a second that she’d want to see you happy, even if it meant you being with someone she was into at one point.”

“Whatever.” Placing my head in my hands, I groaned. “None of this matters, anyway. Charlie doesn’t expect this to go anywhere, either. And need I remind you I’m moving away next month?”

“If you wanted to make it work, you would. Long distance isn’t the end of the world. It’s only for two years. I bet Charlie could arrange his shifts so he could go and visit you at the weekends, and you could always come here.”

“I’m not having Charlie spend his hard-earned money on expensive train tickets just to see me. And it’s two years. In two years, Charlie will be finishing his own degree, and who knows where he’ll go then? I don’t want to hold him back.”

“It sounds like you’re making excuses.”

“I’m not! I’m being realistic!” My fist slammed down on the table before I even realised what I was doing, and I grimaced, glancing around to make sure we were still alone. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t mean to shout at you. I know you’re only trying to help.”

Jonas stared at me with wide eyes. He was probably in shock. I was, too. I’d never raised my voice at him before.

Eventually, he rose to his feet and came to stand next to me. He squeezed my shoulder. “I just want you to be happy, and you and Charlie both light up whenever you talk about each other. And when I saw you together at the student union that night…the way you looked at him…there was no doubt in my mind.”

I swallowed hard. “How did I look at him?”

He gave me a sad smile. “You looked at him the way Jada looked at me when she was falling in love with me.”

“Nate. You didn’t tell me you were here.” The happiness in Charlie’s voice immediately brought a smile to my face.

“Yeah.” I blinked at my laptop screen, my eyes widening when I realised that almost four hours had passed and the section of the library I was seated in had completely emptied out. Pinching my brow, I shook my head. “Sorry. I was working, and I meant to text you to tell you I was here, but I think I lost track of the time.”

“Push your chair back a second.” When I did as he’d asked, he straddled my thighs, stroking his hand through my hair as he studied me intently. “How long have you been here?”

“Nearly four hours.”

His finger gently brushed underneath my eyes. “You need a break.”

“I need to finish this while I’m on a roll. I want to get it sent to my supervisor tonight.”

“Have you eaten or drank anything?” When I shook my head, he frowned. “I’ll be back.” Climbing off me, he dipped down to kiss the top of my head and then disappeared. With a sigh, I returned to my work. I was almost done. Maybe another half an hour, if I was lucky.

Continuing where I’d left off, checking the highlighted sections against my work, I lost track of time again and jumped when a hand appeared in front of my face. I watched as Charlie carefully stacked my project blueprints in a neat pile next to my textbook and then placed a can of Coke Zero and an energy bar in the freed-up space.

“Charlie…”

“You need to look after yourself. Eat and drink that, and when you’re finished, we can go to the snack bar, and I’ll feed you properly, okay?” He stepped away from the table. “I’m finished with my shift, but I have work I can do. When you’re finished, come and get me. I’ll text you when I’ve found a table so you know where I am.”

I was warm all over, so fucking soft for this boy who’d come along and known exactly what I needed. He could read me so well. Maybe better than anyone.

“Okay. But don’t you want to work here? There’s room.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to distract you. I’ll see you when you’re finished.”

I climbed to my feet, shoving my chair back, and stalked over to him, throwing my arms around him and pulling him into me. Breathing him in, I stroked up and down his back over the soft cotton of his T-shirt while he placed featherlight kisses on the side of my face. Drawing back enough to meet his gaze, I smiled. “Thanks. You’re fucking amazing.”

“Shut up. Are you trying to give me a big head? It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Not to me.”

The pleased expression in his eyes made my smile widen, and eventually, he cracked a grin. “Okay. In that case, I’ll accept your thanks.” 

We released each other, and as I watched him walk away, Jonas’ words came back to me.

You’ve caught feelings for Charlie. Strong feelings. You looked at him the way Jada looked at me when she was falling in love with me.

Falling in love.

Love.

29

“This is amazing!” Noah stared around us, wide-eyed. “I can’t believe they arranged to have the cup final at Plymouth Argyle’s ground.”

“Hearing you talk football is still weird.” Elliot shook his head. “But you’re right. I can’t believe we ended up here, either. The last game of the semester, and it’s the actual southern division cup final. The sun’s out, we have the rest of the summer to look forward to, and whether we win or lose today, we made it to the finals.”

Noah grinned. “Yep. Nothing to complain about.”

I listened to their conversation with half an ear as I followed them to the section that had been reserved for LSU supporters. So many students and members of staff had made the trip to Plymouth for this match, and due to the overwhelming interest, the LSU faculty had arranged for several coaches to transport everyone. We’d travelled in a long convoy down the A303, past Stonehenge and then onwards until we reached the port city of Plymouth. 

The team had gone down separately the night before, so I hadn’t seen Nate yet, but we’d texted for hours yesterday, throughout his own coach journey, and then again when he was in the hotel. He was sharing a room with two of his teammates, and after the match, he was booked to stay for an extra two nights so he could meet up with his new postgrad supervisor on Monday and check out his accommodation for the next semester.

That was something I was trying hard not to think about. At least right now, I had something to distract me. Something big.

“What seat number are you? I think this is us.”

Up ahead, I realised that my friends had come to a stop, and I had to dig my heels in to stop myself running into Elliot’s back. We filed into our row, where Niccolò, Leo, Levi’s boyfriend, Asher, and another guy I didn’t recognise were already seated.

“That’s Preston’s boyfriend, Kian,” Elliot whispered to me, following my gaze. “They both went to the same school as Levi, but they were in the year above him. The same age as me.”

I nodded, pulling down the seat of the plastic chair and lowering myself onto it. Now I remembered. I’d seen him around a few times, although I’d never spoken to him.

Twisting around to scan the arriving crowds, I noticed JJ filing in, along with Killian and another two older guys. Elliot was still following my gaze, and when he saw them, he gasped, sinking down into his seat as if it would make him invisible.

“Who are they?”

“Gage, one of the business school lecturers, and Stuart, who’s the head of the entire business school.”

“I guess they came with Killian, or for support, maybe? I guess they all have students playing in the match, don’t they? I’ve seen other lecturers here too.”

Elliot relaxed at my words. “You’re right. Nothing weird about it.” He gave me a wry smile. “Nothing, other than the fact that they’re my lecturers and I’m not used to seeing them in this kind of environment.”

“Probably no weirder than our housemate dating your lecturer,” I pointed out. “You’ve seen him in different environments.”

Elliot shuddered. “Don’t remind me. Oh! Cole! Huxley!” he suddenly called, his attention diverted by two guys making their way along our row, one with dark hair and the other bleached blond.

“That’s your cousin, yeah?”

Elliot nodded. “My cousin and his boyfriend, Huxley. Hux is in a band.”

“I remember. The 2Bit Princes, isn’t it? You dated their drummer at one point, didn’t you?”

“Um…let’s pretend that never happened.”

“What never happened?” I gave him my best clueless look, batting my lashes, and he laughed before turning his attention to the newcomers.

Moving aside so Elliot could greet them, I found myself right on the end of the row, with the stairs on one side and Leo on my other. Leo was quietly engrossed in some kind of game on his phone, and rather than disturb him, I decided to stretch my legs, heading up the concrete steps to the top of our section. I lifted my hand in a wave when I saw Jonas sliding into a seat a couple of rows behind mine, along with another guy and two girls, but I continued on until I reached the top of the stairs.

From my new, higher vantage point, I looked out over the pitch, taking in the stands across from mine. Home Park, Plymouth Argyle FC’s stadium, had a capacity of around eighteen thousand people. Even though there were only a fraction of that number here, the atmosphere was electric. It wasn’t just students and staff from the two respective universities, either. Friends, family, and wider acquaintances were all filtering into the stands, every one of them here to enjoy what would hopefully be a great game of football.

Part of me wished I could be out there on the pitch as part of the team, and another part of me was happy to be here, close to the pitch with my fellow supporters, cheering on the players I’d trained with. The players I’d come to know in those few weeks, and those I already knew. My friends, my housemates, and my…whatever Nate was. Mine.

“Hi, Charlie.”

I turned to see Sophie standing against the wall, giving me a shy, tentative smile. She was wearing an LSU football shirt in the home colours and a small leather bag hooked over her shoulder, holding a pint of what looked like cider in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

“Hi.”

“Listen, I’ve been meaning to speak to you for a while. I wanted to apologise if I made anything awkward between us. I—I don’t know. I felt like there was a bit of a weird atmosphere for a while, and you were purposely avoiding me whenever we ended up in the same place.”

That was true, but not for the reasons she thought. Fuck, there I went feeling bad again. “I was avoiding you a bit,” I admitted. “It wasn’t your fault, though. You don’t have anything to apologise for. It’s all me.”

She blew out a shaky breath. “Okay. Um. Thanks. I want you to know that I don’t fancy you.” As soon as the words came out, she looked horrified, and she threw up her arm, attempting to cover her face with her water bottle. “Bloody hell, I can’t believe I just said that. I meant to word it in a completely different way.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “It’s always so flattering when people tell you they don’t fancy you,” I teased gently.

Lowering her hand, she grimaced at me. Her face was red, but she held my gaze, her lips curving upwards. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Funnily enough, no.”

We both laughed, and although it was still a little awkward, it felt good. Good to be able to talk with her more normally, to move past everything and maybe even become proper friends.

“Do you miss training with the team?” she asked, her gaze going to where some of the Plymouth Uni players were warming up on the sidelines.

“Yeah. It was good, and I wish I could’ve trained with them for longer, but I’m okay. It is what it is, and I don’t mind working. Both my jobs are decent, and the pay isn’t bad. As long as I get to scratch the itch sometimes with the occasional kickaround, I’m all good.”

“I know what you mean. I miss training with my old team sometimes, but I get my fix watching my brother and the other guys. Did you know Nate wanted to be a professional footballer at one point? That was all he talked about as a kid. Funny how things change, isn’t it?” Now we’d passed the initial awkwardness, Sophie was animated, properly smiling and gesturing with her water bottle as she spoke easily about her brother. I soaked it all up like a sponge. 

“Now he’s gonna be a successful architect.”

“Yeah.” She studied me, her brows pulling together. “Are you two friends? Real friends?”

“Yeah…we’re friends. We, uh, got to know each other around the time I started training with the team,” I said cautiously, not wanting to lie to her, but I couldn’t tell her the full truth. Not without having spoken to Nate first.

“That makes sense. I guess he hasn’t spoken to me about you because of…well, you know, everything that happened with us.”

“Yeah.”

She took a sip of her cider. “It’s going to be so weird without him around next year. I can’t believe he’ll be here. We’ve never been so far apart.”

My stomach churned. “Yeah. It’ll be weird.”

“I said I was okay with it, that I was looking forward to having a bit of space without him breathing down my neck, but it’s not like that. He doesn’t even breathe down my neck. He looks out for me because he’s my brother.” Her lip trembled. “Now it’s actually happening, I wish I could change it. I’m going to miss him so much.”

“Shit,” I muttered. My boyfriend’s sister was upset, and I needed to comfort her. Easing the water bottle out of her grip, I curled my arm around her shoulders, giving her a careful side hug.

Wait a minute. Boyfriend? Had I actually just thought that?

I groaned aloud, and Sophie stared up at me, concern creeping into her gaze. Quickly shaking my head, I squeezed her bicep before removing my arm from her shoulders. “Just thinking. You know, we’ll all miss him. But you’ll have us still. The rest of the team. Your friends. I bet Jonas will be looking out for you as well.”

“You’re right.” Some of the sadness disappeared from her voice. “Jonas has already offered to cook for me.”

“There you go. You’re onto a winner, there.” Glancing around us, I noticed that although there were still a few people milling around up here, most had found their seats. “Come on. We’d better sit down. The match is starting soon.”

Together, we made our way down the stairs. When we reached Sophie’s seat, which happened to be in the row directly behind mine, I handed the water bottle back to her and gave her a reassuring smile. “You’re gonna be fine. And our team’s gonna win today.”

“Yep.” She grinned at me. “Thanks, Charlie. For all of that.”

“No problem. See you later, okay?”

When I slid back into the empty seat on the end of my row, everyone having switched places in my absence, I took a moment to soak up the pre-match atmosphere, setting everything else aside so I could throw my entire focus into this match.

Then the teams came out, and the crowd roared.

30

I’d never experienced anything like this outside the one Glevum match I’d been lucky enough to attend when I was a kid. The noise from the crowd was immense, despite the fact that the stadium was less than a third full. As the players jogged out of the tunnel and lined up on the pitch, the sound intensified, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My gaze fixed on Nate straight away, standing tall and strong in his blue LSU football kit, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze. He looked so good. 

I knew his full concentration would be on the game, so I wasn’t expecting him to spare a glance in my direction, even though he had a rough idea of the section I’d be seated in. But I was wrong. 

His head turned, just slightly, and I watched, my breath caught in my throat, as he scanned the rows of spectators. When his gaze connected with mine, my heart stuttered, and for a second, it felt like the world stood still, and we were the only two people that existed.

Just a second. A second before the noise filtered back in, Nate had turned his focus back to the pitch, and I was left there with a fucking life-changing epiphany.

I didn’t just like him.

I didn’t just want him to be my boyfriend.

What I felt for him and what I wanted went far deeper than that. So deep, it scared me. Because I knew that everything between us was coming to an end.

I was still reeling when the match began, but I managed to lose myself in the game I loved, where the guy who meant everything to me played his heart out, throwing everything into it. My heart was in my throat every time the ball landed in our end of the pitch, but the defence did a great job of keeping Plymouth from scoring. Whenever Nate touched the ball, I got a bit of a lump in my throat, proud and happy for him, and weirdly emotional.

A cross from Travis to Preston, who launched straight into an overhead kick, sent the ball flying into the top-right corner of the net. The goalie didn’t even stand a chance, and our section of the stadium went wild, jumping up and down, screaming and cheering as the players celebrated on the pitch. It was still early in the game, but we were ahead, and that was the boost we needed.

Plymouth equalised three minutes later, but those of us in the stands kept up the morale for our players, singing and chanting and shouting encouragement. Two minutes before the end of the first half, Ander scored a goal with an amazing header. He raced down the pitch, holding up his hands in a heart shape towards Elliot, who smiled wider than I’d ever seen him before.

Half-time flew by in a blur, and then we were back. Plymouth’s team was just as determined as ours, and their determination paid off with a free kick, followed by a brilliant goal by one of their forwards, right over the outstretched fingertips of our goalie.

2-2.

There were still another twenty-three minutes to go. We could do this.

During a quick break in gameplay when the ref was sorting out a dispute with one of the Plymouth players, the LSU coach conferred with Travis. A minute later, he substituted Damon for Bennett, who blew Niccolò a kiss as he jogged onto the pitch. The Plymouth team also made a substitution, and then the game restarted.

Seven minutes to go.

Six.

Five.

Levi tackled the Plymouth midfielder, booting the ball to Finn, who shot it straight to Liam before anyone could get close. Liam ran to the left, darting out of the way of the defender coming for him, and kicked the ball straight at the goal. The goalie dived for it…and missed.

We were back in the lead. 3-2. The roars were deafening as LSU tasted victory. We just had to hold out for a little longer.

Four minutes to go. The Plymouth team made another substitution, switching out one of their defenders for an additional attacker, throwing everything they had into equalising the score.

Three minutes.

Two.

One.

The assistant ref held up a board indicating there would be two minutes of added time. 

All the players crowded onto our end of the pitch as Plymouth made a last-ditch attempt to score. Then the unthinkable happened. They got a corner kick in the final minute of added time.

They couldn’t score. Not now.

It was like time stood still as their player kicked the ball towards our goal, Plymouth and LSU players all surging to meet it as it curved across the pitch. Then there was Nate. Messy hair curling in the heat, body glistening with sweat, and his football shirt plastered to his chest, he rose above the others, launching himself into the air, and headed the ball away from the goal.

The whistle blew three times, and it was all over.

LSU supporters stormed the field, a mass pitch invasion, and I was swept up with them, running faster and faster until I reached Nate. He didn’t even pause for a second, yanking me into his arms when I reached him, his mouth coming down on mine.

Wrapping my arms even more tightly around him, I kissed him again and again. “So. Fucking. Proud of you.”

“Charlie. Charlie.” He kept saying my name over and over, burying his head in my shoulder, his body trembling with adrenaline.

Drawing apart to take a breath, I met his gaze, his eyes sparkling and his mouth curved into a heart-stopping smile.

“Hi,” I said, the word coming out a little choked. I was fucking overwhelmed by the rush of feelings sweeping over me.

“Hi.” Nate lifted his hand, rubbing his thumb lightly over my jaw. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too. You did it. You won.”

His smile widened before dropping. “Charlie. We kissed.”

Oh, fuck. Fuck. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever be sorry for that. Ever. Maybe no one saw—” He paused, scanning the people around us. “Forget that. People saw, including my sister.” His jaw tightened, but then he sighed heavily and leaned in to kiss the tip of my nose. “Okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s time I told the truth, if you’re okay with that.”

“The truth?”

“The truth. That I have a crush on Charlie Brooks.” He gave me a boyish grin. “I dunno, I was worrying about having to explain things, and I know Sophie will have questions, but I feel so fucking high after winning, and I have you here with me… I feel like I could take anything on.”

I really fucking hoped his positivity was contagious. Despite my fears, I was tired of hiding. I was so proud of him, and I wanted everyone to know. “Yeah. I’m okay with people knowing.” Neither of us mentioned the fact that he was moving away, but maybe for now, we could tell the truth and pretend at the same time. Pretend this didn’t have an expiry date.

“Good.” He brushed a quick kiss over my lips. “Travis is waving at me. I think we have the trophy ceremony now. Don’t worry, okay? We can sort everything else out later.”

“You finally got your trophy.”

He laughed. “I seem to remember you being the trophy-obsessed one. Keep trying. You’ll get one, one day.”

“Wanker. Go on. Go and get your shiny trophy.” Before he could step away, I wrapped my fingers around my wrist, bringing his hand up so I could kiss his knuckles. “I’m seriously proud of you, Nate. You deserve this.”

The smile he gave me was everything.

31

“Igot your text.” Sophie glanced over at the Nissan Micra idling in the car park. “Millie said she’ll give us half an hour. Is that okay?”

When I nodded, she waved at Millie, who beeped the horn in acknowledgement before steering out of the exit.

“They’re all going to get coffee for the drive home, then they’ll come back to pick me up,” she said as we began walking. “Where do you want to go?”

“There’s a big park just down the road. We can go there and talk.” 

The short walk to the park was made in silence, both of us wrapped up in our own thoughts. I wasn’t sure how to begin the conversation, and I wished I’d had time to discuss it with Charlie beforehand, but it hadn’t worked out that way.

I only had time to speak to him briefly before the coaches left, and now I wouldn’t get to see him until Tuesday. After the high of winning the cup, it was a bit of a comedown because not only had Charlie gone, but my entire team was on a coach back to London while I remained in Plymouth.

Speaking of my teammates…the news of the kiss between Charlie and me had spread like wildfire. Some were unsurprised—namely Ander—some were confused, thinking Charlie was dating my sister, but most of them took it in their stride. I guess it wasn’t big news, not when we had so many queer players already. After enduring some good-natured teasing about my “secret romance,” I was left in peace to shower and get out of the stadium. 

My teammates were one thing, but my sister…

“Let’s sit here,” I suggested, indicating towards a grassy bank. When we were both seated, I turned to Sophie. She was already looking at me, hurt clear in her expression.

“Why did you hide it, Nate?”

“Fuck, Soph. I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. Believe it or not, we tried to stay away from each other, but I guess you saw how well that worked out.”

“I understand why you didn’t want to say anything to me because I was into Charlie, but Nate—you two looked really close on the pitch, and I don’t mean physically. It seems like you’ve been together for a while, and that’s what hurts.” Her lip trembled. “I didn’t even have a clue, and you let me say all those things about how I wasn’t over with him, and I just feel like such a fool. If you’d told me you were together, I would’ve dealt with it. I’m not some fragile child you have to shelter from the truth.”

Guilt swamped me. I had no defence. Only the truth, as much of it as I could give her. “I know, and I’m sorry. You have to know, this came out of nowhere for both of us. It started when we both used that app Jonas designed for his project. He messed up the algorithm, and instead of sending us on dates with girls, it sent us on a date with each other. Then it happened a second time. Nothing happened between us then, though. We stayed in touch, and then he started training with the team.” I shrugged, not knowing how to explain. “I don’t know how or why things changed. It was just…different with him. We clicked straight away, and we seem to get each other in a way I’ve never really experienced before.”

Running her fingers along the blades of grass by her knee, she nodded. “Okay. Well…I’m glad you connected with each other. When did you get together? Was it when you told me you were bi? Wait a minute—is that why he said we could only be friends? Or was it—please tell me you weren’t with him when he went on that date with me?” Her eyes widened as her voice dropped to a horrified whisper.

“Soph, no. I’d never do that to you, and neither would Charlie. We kissed that night you saw me in the student union, when you were there celebrating the end of his training. That was the first time anything happened between us, and I felt so fucking guilty I actually ran away from him.”

A surprised laugh burst from her throat, and she clapped her palm over her mouth to stifle the sound. Quickly lowering her hand she stared at me incredulously. “You kissed him and ran away. You. My big brother, who faces everything head-on?”

“I think your opinion of me might be slightly skewed. But yeah, I did, and I’m not proud of it. I had a crisis over it all, and that was around the same time Charlie told you he just wanted to be friends. I had no idea he was meeting you, by the way. I arranged to speak with him myself, to tell him that we needed to go back to being friends. There was no point in us starting anything up. It was too fucking messy.”

“Was it?” Her gaze sharpened as she studied me.

“Yeah. You still liked him, and even if you hadn’t, there’s the whole thing of me moving here.”

“Hmm. That sounds like excuses to me, but anyway. Obviously, you didn’t manage to stay friends, unless snogging your friends in front of everyone is a new way of expressing your friendship.”

“No. We tried, but…yeah. It didn’t work out that way.”

She was silent for a while, idly plucking blades of grass and lining them up on her knee. Eventually, she smiled. “I’m happy for you, just so you know.”

“You are? Even though I hid it from you? Even though you like him, too?”

“That’s old news.” She waved her hand in the air. “I’m over him, and even if I wasn’t, the fact is, he’s into you. Not me. So that’s irrelevant. Yes, it did hurt when I was blindsided by the sight of you kissing him today, but I do understand why you kept it from me. Just…trust me to be able to handle things in the future, okay?”

“You’re the fucking best.” I reached out my arm, tugging her into my side. “I will. I’m gonna miss you so much when I move here.”

Brushing the grass from her knee, she sighed. “Me too. A lot. Although I guess it’ll be even worse for you. You’ll have two people you love who are missing you.”

“I—I don’t love Charlie.” The lie tasted like ash in my mouth.

“Alright.” How did she manage to inject one single word with so much sarcasm?

“We’re not actually together, and the thing we have is going to end when I move to Plymouth. I’m not gonna hold him back, and the whole distance thing⁠—”

My sister shot upright, whacking me around the back of the head. “You’d better not be serious! Don’t even think about splitting up with him. And you do love him, you liar. You seem to forget I’ve known you for nineteen years, and you can’t pull the wool over my eyes. Not now I’ve seen the two of you together. I’m your sister. I know these things. Go and get your boyfriend, tell him you love him, and sort your shit out. No one’s breaking up with anyone.”

“Whoa. Soph.” I stared at her as she came to the end of her rant, her eyes still flashing with fire. “Where did all that come from?”

Her shoulders slumped. “I just want you to be happy, and I don’t want you to fall back into the same old habits. Just because Mum and Dad couldn’t stay together doesn’t mean the same thing will happen to you. We’re not our parents, Nate.”

“What?”

“That’s a big part of why you push people away, you know.”

I stared at her. Fucking hell, was I that easy to read? Gritting my teeth, I conceded her point. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“I know. Sort it out.” Her serious expression eventually relaxed, and she grinned at me. “Is it weird, me giving you advice?”

“Nah. Okay, a bit. But…yeah. I don’t want to lose Charlie, but I don’t want him to have to deal with only seeing me very occasionally for two whole years, especially when he already has to juggle his uni work with two jobs. And I don’t want him to have to feel like he has to spend his money on getting trains down to see me, because I know he wouldn’t let me be the only one travelling. Then there’s the fact that after his degree, which will be the same time I finish my postgrad course, we might want to go in different directions. We might end up at opposite ends of the country.”

“Your worries are valid, but shouldn’t that be up to him to decide? Not just you. Have you even spoken about any of this with him?”

I grimaced. “No. We’ve both been burying our heads in the sand, I think.”

“Of course you have.” She rolled her eyes. “Talk about it. Tell him what you just told me and see what he says.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” Unzipping her bag, she pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen. “We’d better head back. Promise me you’ll talk to Charlie as soon as you can?”

Climbing to my feet, I held out my hand, pulling her up to stand next to her. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I kissed the top of her head. “I promise. Love you. Thanks for helping me see sense.”

Hugging me back, she smiled. “Love you, too. That’s what I’m here for.”

32

“Ihave a hypothetical situation, and I could use your advice.”

Ander held up his hand. “Before you tell me what this is all about, is it gonna require the assistance of Sid?”

“Sid,” I muttered, but when Ander continued to look at me expectantly, I sighed in defeat. “Okay. If you really think it’ll help.”

“Sid’s a great therapist.” My housemate made for the stairs, and I followed him up on autopilot, not even realising we were heading for JJ’s bedroom until he was knocking on the door.

“JJ—”

“JJ has custody this week. He’s good for advice, too.” Ander glanced back at me as he pushed the door open. “Mate. We’ve got your back. Don’t look so stressed.”

“Make yourself at home,” JJ said drily when Ander flopped onto his bed. He was leaning back in his desk chair with his feet kicked up on the desk, a music video playing on his open laptop. The sound was muted, and when I took a closer look, I realised the video was playing at half speed. 

“Dance moves,” JJ explained when he caught me staring. “Now, do either of you want to tell me why you’ve invaded my room?”

Ander rolled over onto his back, his head hanging off the edge of the bed. Looking at JJ from his upside-down position, he lifted his hands in the air. “Charlie needs our advice on a hypothetical situation.” He did air quotes with his fingers when he said the final two words. “I thought we could use Sid for moral support.”

They both glanced over at where the giant snail was gliding along the bottom of its enclosure, completely ignoring the humans in the room.

“See? He’s listening,” Ander said, and JJ nodded in agreement. My housemates were weird.

“Okay.” JJ lowered his feet from the desk to the floor, pausing the music video. “Let’s hear it.”

“Yeah. Uh.” Crossing to the wall, I leaned back against it, shoving my hands in the pockets of my shorts. “Hypothetically, if you’d been seeing someone and you’d agreed to keep it casual and end it when he—they were moving away at the end of the semester, what would you do if you caught feelings? Would you keep to the agreement or, I dunno, do something else?”

Ander rolled back over. “We all saw that kiss, so let’s not pretend this is hypothetical.”

“When you say you caught feelings, how deep are we talking?” 

Exhaling heavily, I turned to JJ. “Deep. Deeper than I realised—or maybe I did realise, but I was denying it to myself.”

“We’ve all been there,” Ander reassured me. “Our minds play tricks on us, and we end up doing things like getting a boner from kissing our best friends, not even realising said best friend caused that reaction in us.” JJ and I exchanged glances, and he grinned. “Okay, that one was probably just me. But it’s true. Our brains can convince us of all kinds of shit, no matter how irrational or untrue it actually is.”

“He’s right,” JJ said. “Speaking from my personal experience, if we can apply any of it to your situation, trying to stay away from someone when you want to be together just ends up hurting you both. I wouldn’t recommend it. Even if Killian was moving to—where’s Nate going?—we’d make it work. We love each other, and neither of us would give that up for anything.”

“Plymouth. And yeah. I know. It’s just that we agreed it would be a casual thing between us that would end when he moved away. Then I caught feelings, and—” I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I don’t want to let him go.”

Ander swung himself upright. “Then you don’t let him go.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It can be. Talk to him.”

Me:

How’s it going over there?

Nate:

Okay. Want to talk properly?

Instead of replying, I hit the Video Call button. 

Nate’s face filled the screen, tired but happy to see me. “Hi.”

“Hi. How’s the hotel?”

“Quiet now everyone’s gone. I’m meeting my lecturer and touring my accommodation tomorrow morning, so I was meant to be having an early night. I can’t sleep, though.”

“Me neither.” I rolled onto my side, propping my phone up on my pillow next to me. “Can we talk when you get back?”

He nodded instantly. “I wanted to ask you the same thing. I’ll probably be back late tomorrow, but we can sort it out for Tuesday. Are you working?”

“Nope. I’ve got lectures until three, but I’m free after that, or we can even meet up at lunchtime.”

“We’ll sort it out when I get back.” He smiled at me. Would it ever stop giving me fucking butterflies? “Are you in bed already?”

“Not yet. Just been lying down watching videos on my phone.”

“Speaking of videos, Travis’ girlfriend took a video of the end of the match, and she caught our pitch celebrations. Want me to send it to you?”

“Video evidence of our kiss? Yeah, okay. Send it over. It’s a poor substitute for the real thing, but it’ll do for now.”

Nate’s smile disappeared. “I miss you, Charlie B.”

“I miss you, too. It’s not like…I know we don’t see each other every single day now, but when you’re here, I know we can see each other whenever, even if it’s just a quick passing thing while I’m working or—” I cut myself off when I noticed his downcast expression, suddenly realising what I was saying. “Fuck. Sorry. I don’t…I’m not trying to complain or make you feel bad. When you’ve moved to Plymouth⁠—”

“Hey. I know,” he said softly. “We’ll talk about it when I get back, okay? I’d already planned to.”

“Okay.”

All I could do now was wait and hope we could work something out. I wasn’t ready to give up on Nate Glover.

33

“Last but not least, the library.” Dr. Selena White, my new postgrad supervisor, gestured towards the large building in front of us. “I think we’ve covered… Yes. That concludes our whirlwind campus tour. I know you’ve already been shown around, but I thought it would be prudent to reacquaint yourself with the areas on campus you’ll be using the most.” She quickly flicked through the notepad in her hands and then returned her attention to me. “We’re looking forward to having you join us in September. Now, I believe you have an appointment to view your new accommodation. Do you need directions?”

“I have them on my phone, so I should be okay. Thank you for the refresher tour, though. And thank you for taking the time to meet with me today and going through what I can expect next semester.”

We said our goodbyes, and I opened my maps app, navigating to the flat where I’d be spending the first year of my course. It was only a seven-minute walk from campus, but I wasn’t ready to face it yet, so instead, I turned in the opposite direction, heading towards the city centre. I kept walking until I reached Plymouth Hoe, a huge flat area well above the sea level, with a red-and-white striped lighthouse standing tall at the edge of the open space and a long row of flags dancing in the breeze. Stopping next to the lighthouse, I stared out to sea for a long, long time. Ahead of me, Drake’s Island glimmered green in the sun, surrounded by the deep blue waters of Plymouth Sound. A large ferry skirted it on its way into the port, leaving white-capped waves in its wake. Seagulls circled overhead, ready to dive for any glimpse of potential food.

It was all so beautiful, and yet I felt nothing. I was completely numb.

Closing my eyes, I turned away. It was time to finish what I’d come here for. 

I already had the keys to my new flat so I could move my stuff in at my leisure, and so I let myself inside, entering the lounge I’d been so excited about once upon a time. Original Victorian flooring, a tiled fireplace to the right of a huge bay window, high ceilings flanked by ornate coving, and the whole thing decorated in light, neutral colours. It was gorgeous and exactly what I’d thought I wanted.

I was here, in the place I’d chosen, and I couldn’t breathe.

Dropping my duffel bag, I slid down the wall until I hit the floor, burying my face in my hands as a sob tore from my throat.

Hot, thick tears trickled between my fingers, dropping soundlessly to the varnished pine floorboards.

This wasn’t what I wanted anymore, and I didn’t know what to do.

Eventually, I picked myself up. I had a lot of thinking to do, a lot of arrangements to make, and there were no guarantees. Whatever I did next would be a risk, and all I could do was pray it paid off.

My phone battery was down to two percent by the time I’d finished. I was worried it wouldn’t be enough to book me an earlier train ticket, so I walked to the station. With such short notice, there were no direct trains to London with availability, but I managed to book a train to Bristol that was leaving in seven minutes. The helpful man behind the counter dug out a piece of paper and a pen, and noted down the platform number and time of the train I needed to catch in Bristol that would take me directly to London Paddington. Despite the changes, and the fact that it would take so much longer than a direct train, it was good enough. My decision was made; I just wanted to get back. 

Back to LSU.

Back to Charlie.

34

Pushing open the door to The Game Room, I stared around me. The place was empty. Completely empty. There wasn’t even anyone behind the bar.

Ducking back outside, I carefully read the sign with the opening times. 

Tuesday 4 p.m. - midnight.

It was only three-thirty in the afternoon. I was too early. Nate had arranged to meet me here, but I guess he hadn’t checked the opening times either.

The door was suddenly thrown open. “Charlie Brooks?”

My heart pounding, I stared at the guy who had appeared from nowhere. “Y-yeah?”

He smirked. “You’ll find what you need at the pinball machine.” With that cryptic comment, he turned on his heel and strode away, ducking behind the bar and disappearing through a door marked “staff only.”

Okay. The pinball machine it was.

When I reached it, I found a large manilla folder placed on top. That was strange in itself, but what was even weirder was that my name was written across the front in black marker pen. When I flipped it open, I was confronted with a printed page, the ink slightly smudged. I scanned the words, my eyes widening as I took them in. 

This wasn’t real, was it?

“Charlie.” A firm body pressed up against my back, arms sliding around my waist, and I exhaled properly for the first time since Saturday. Soft lips skimmed over my ear, a huff of warm breath skating over my skin. “I missed you.”

“Nate. What’s this?” My hand shook as I tapped the paper resting on the pinball machine.

“I’ve been thinking. A lot.” Nate’s voice was low and serious.

Twisting around to face him, I slid my arms around his waist. It was so good to see him. To have him here with me. To feel his body against mine, and to know it wasn’t just a dream. He was actually here with me, right now.

I swallowed hard. “What about?”

“My future. What I want in life. You. Me. Us.”

“Yeah? Did you come to any conclusions?” It wasn’t just my hand that was shaking. I couldn’t quite believe the words that I’d seen printed on that piece of paper in solid black ink.

Nate Glover… Master of Architecture… London Southwark University… September…

I needed to hear them for myself.

“I want you to know that despite what it says on the piece of paper you read, there’s no pressure. I did this without any expectations from you. Whatever you decide, it’s okay. We never promised each other anything, and⁠—”

“Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up. I love you, okay? Of course I want—” My voice cracked, and I rubbed my hand across my eyes as my vision blurred. I blinked rapidly, seeing Nate’s jaw drop, his eyes growing wider than I’d ever seen them before. 

“Charlie. Charlie. Do you mean that?”

I hadn’t planned to say it aloud. Not now, and maybe not ever. But he’d heard it, and he hadn’t run away. I had to deal with it. Sliding my arms around him again, I buried my face in the juncture of his neck and shoulder, letting the feel of his warm, solid body ground me. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t say it otherwise.” Lifting my head, I forced myself to meet his gaze. “I love you, Nate.”

“Fuck,” he whispered, his palm going to his mouth. “Fuck.”

“Are you really staying here instead of going to Plymouth?”

Lowering his hand and planting it on the machine next to my side, he stared into my eyes, his gaze molten, making my knees so weak I had to press my body back against the pinball machine to keep myself steady. “Yeah, I am. It has to be approved, but my supervisor doesn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be. I still have to find a place to stay, but I’m not worried about that. If it comes to it, I can crash with Jonas and Jada. This is what I’m doing. The details don’t matter. All that matters is that I’ll be doing my postgrad course right here.”

“Oh,” I breathed. It was one thing to read it, but to hear him confirm it…

“Did you really mean what you said?”

“For fuck’s sake. Yes.” I pulled him closer, placing my mouth to his ear. “I love you, you wanker.”

He chuckled against me. It was a little shaky, and when I drew back, I realised his eyes were as wet as mine. “My pinball prince. My unexpected match. My fucking everything.” He captured my mouth in a soft, slow kiss, and I lost track of time, consumed by the man I loved.

When we parted, I released him so I could rub at my eyes. “Fucking hell. I wasn’t expecting any of this.”

“Me neither. I had it all planned out, and then you came along, and everything changed.”

“Blame Jonas, not me.” If it hadn’t been for him, we wouldn’t be here right now.

“I do, don’t worry.”

We both laughed, and the heavy, emotional atmosphere lightened. I lifted my phone from my pocket and opened my notes app, angling it so he could see my screen. “Look. Just so you know, I was fully prepared to compromise. I had a whole plan for my shifts and putting money aside to get the train to see you. I wasn’t going to give up on us.”

Nate’s lip trembled as he read through the notes I’d stayed up half the night preparing. “You did all this for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck, Charlie. For me?”

“Yeah. You’re worth it,” I said. “I wasn’t gonna lose you without a fight.”

He kissed me again. “There was no fight necessary. Even if the transfer hadn’t worked out, we would have made it work. I want this just as much as you, and I’m not letting you go. You’re mine, and I’m yours. You mean everything to me.”

“Come here.” I wrapped my arms around him again, feeling his heart pounding just as hard as mine. He sighed into my hair, pulling me more tightly against him, holding me like he never wanted to let me go.

Eventually, though, we had to drag ourselves away from each other. Nate crouched down next to the pinball machine, shielding his body from my gaze before he straightened up again. “I got you something. Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

“This better not be a trick,” I warned, but I did as he said, letting my eyes fall closed and holding out my cupped hands.

Something cool and solid and heavy was carefully placed into my palms.

“Open your eyes,” Nate breathed.

“What’s this?” I lifted the item, examining it from every angle. 

“Your own trophy.”

“How the fuck did you manage to get this commissioned so quickly? Or did you already have it?”

Nate shook his head. “I got it done this morning at the key place near campus. An extra incentive to get you to stay with me.”

“Wow. Okay. You know I didn’t need any extra incentives, but this…” A huge smile spread across my face, accompanied by an inconvenient lump in my throat, as I took in the details. The gold trophy was shaped like a smartphone, fixed to the top of a little stand. “Charlie + Nate” was engraved on the surface, with the word “Matched” just beneath, and below that, the date of our first meeting, right here in The Game Room. It was perfect.

He laughed. “Now you can stop complaining about not having your own trophy.”

I cleared my throat, willing my voice to stay steady. “What? I’ve never complained. Just for that, you can lose to me right now. Pinball. Best of three.”

“You think you’re gonna win? So deluded, Brooks.”

“Shut it, Glover. I’m the one with the trophy, here. That makes me a winner already.”

35

Iwas aware I hadn’t said those three words back to Charlie. Three words that meant everything but were so fucking hard to say.

They were hard, but Charlie deserved to hear exactly what he meant to me. My mind was still overwhelmed, though, struggling to process everything after my world had turned upside down in the space of a few days.

But I had no doubts about the decision I’d made. Not one. What I had with Charlie was too precious to throw away. He was the only person I’d ever wanted to stay for, and I was going to give everything I had to this relationship.

“Come back to mine?” I murmured in Charlie’s ear, banding my arm around his waist. It was so freeing to be able to touch him and know he was really mine, and we didn’t need to hide anything anymore.

“Wanna be my boyfriend?” I asked before he even had a chance to reply to my first question. 

“Yes, and fuck yes.” He kissed me, then kissed me again, and again. “I can’t believe this. My mugger Stockholm-syndromed me into becoming his boyfriend.”

“Shut it, dickhead.”

“Your compliments could use some work.” Flashing me a grin, he scooped up his trophy and the folder I’d left for him to find. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah. We can go.”

Having my first-ever boyfriend in my bedroom for the first time was an experience I wanted to savour, but as soon as Charlie was standing next to my bed, all I could think about was getting him naked as quickly as possible. 

When our clothes lay discarded on my floor, instantly forgotten, I directed him to lie on my bed and covered him with my body, kissing him down into the mattress.

My lips trailed across his cheekbone and then onto the shell of his ear. “Do you want to fuck me this time?”

His cock jerked against my thigh. “Yeah.”

“How do you want to do it?”

“Like this,” he breathed. “But with me on top of you.”

“Fuck. I want that.” I rolled us over, and let him open me up, so slowly and carefully.

Those three words echoed through my mind, over and over. Even when he eased inside me, filling me like nothing I could have ever imagined, they played on a loop inside my brain.

He made love to me. That was what it was, no matter what either of us said. My words were silent, only spoken inside me, but his were whispered across my chest, pressed into my skin, breathed into my mouth, over and over again until I was lost to it. We moved together, chasing each other towards the edge until I fell without warning, completely obliterated. I was vaguely aware of Charlie thrusting harder and then stilling, but my brain had switched off, finally sinking into blissful oblivion.

Afterwards, I became aware of the wet patch I was lying in. I dragged myself out of bed and then persuaded Charlie to move with promises of a warm shower. We kissed lazily under the spray, washing each other’s bodies, before towelling ourselves off and changing the bedcovers.

Rolling onto my side, I propped myself up on my elbow, meeting Charlie’s green gaze. “I need you to know that I thought about all of this for a long time. I weighed up all the pros and cons of continuing with my original plan and moving to Plymouth or staying here. It wasn’t a snap decision, and I’m not going to change my mind.”

He fumbled for my hand, and when he found it, he brought it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” Holding his gaze, I cupped his cheek. The words that had seemed so hard to speak aloud came out easily. “I love you, Charlie Brooks. I love you so much. I can find another postgrad course, but I can’t find another you.”

36

This news was too important to be shared by text, and I’d already waited too many days to tell them. Hitting the button on my phone, I paced up and down my bedroom as I waited for the video call to connect.

There was a flash of a fence panel, followed by a blinding strip of sunlight, and then Gem and Rocky both appeared on the screen. “Charlie!”

“Hi. How are you two doing? The weather looks good there.”

“Yeah. Rock’s been mowing the lawn for me, and I’ve been pulling up weeds.” Gem flipped the camera around. “What do you think of the new stain we used on the fence panels?”

“It looks good. I miss you guys. Not long until I come home now, and I can help you with whatever still needs doing.” I paused. “How would you feel if I brought an extra person back with me?”

The camera switched back to my siblings, both of them wearing identical expressions of curiosity, and I grinned.

“Bet you ten pounds he’s gonna say it’s Nate,” Rocky stated confidently.

Gem’s brows rose. “Is it Nate?” 

Was I that easy to read? “It is, in fact. I might have a boyfriend, and he might have decided to stay in London instead of moving to Plymouth.”

My words were followed by a flurry of congratulations, and then the questions came. When my phone beeped with the reminder I’d set, I realised we’d been talking for almost an hour.

“I’ve gotta go. I’m meeting some of my friends. I’ll see you next week, okay?”

After I ended the call, I crossed the room to my bedside table, where my little trophy sat next to my lamp so I could see it before I went to sleep. Stroking my finger over the smooth surface, I smiled.

“Over here!”

Bringing my bike to a stop, I dismounted and then wheeled it over to where Ander was waiting under a huge tree.

“Ander? What’s all this about?” I looked around, taking in the piles of bags, bikes, and assorted paraphernalia strewn across the ground. There was even a guitar case propped up against the tree trunk. “Why did Nate make me set a reminder on my phone? Where is he?”

“Surprise!” Ander shouted, spinning me around, and I watched as figures emerged from the tree line, gathering on the large open patch of grass.

“What’s happening?”

“Your boyfriend thought we should all play football for old time’s sake. Like when we were all training together. So we rounded up as many free people from the team as we could get. Nate wanted enough for a proper five-a-side match, and with the help of a few extra volunteers, here we are.”

They’d done this for me?

Fuck. There was a lump in my throat.

Nate reached me first, pulling me into him. I slid my hands up his arms. “Hi, mugger. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

He dipped his head to place a soft kiss just below my ear. “Believe it. They didn’t need much persuading, anyway. Everyone wanted to come, but some of them were working or doing assignments and exam revision. Elliot came through at the last minute—he got his cousin to come, and Ander somehow persuaded JJ to bring Killian.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Apparently, he’s got good ball-handling skills, although I’m honestly not sure which kind of balls he’s referring to.”

I smirked at the sight of Elliot eyeing Killian with caution, but I noticed that they both looked much more relaxed around each other than the times I’d seen them on campus. Here, there was no distinction between student and teacher. Just a group of guys preparing for a kickaround in the park on a sunny afternoon.

“Levi and Preston both wanted to come, but they’re away with their boyfriends, and Travis and Damon both have big projects they have to submit by tomorrow, so Elliot’s gonna play, as well as Cole and Hux. That way, we have ten people, and we can do a five-a-side match,” Ander announced, sidling up next to me and throwing his arm across my shoulders. He pressed his cheek into mine, his face close to Nate’s. “This is cosy, isn’t it?”

“Get away from my boyfriend.” Nate shoved at him, and he smirked. 

“Sorry, Nate. Do you want me to cuddle you?” Before Nate could respond, Ander moved, hugging him from behind.

Used to the antics of my housemate, I sighed as I stepped away from them both. “It’s best to humour him.”

Nate patted Ander’s hands. “Okay. That’s enough now.”

Ander pouted, but he released Nate. “Fine.” Cupping his hands around his mouth, he raised his voice enough to be heard by the group of people milling around. “Let’s get this started. Shirts versus skins. Me and Nate are team captains. Charlie, you’re with me. That way Nate can’t be accused of favouritism.”

Cole raised his hand. “Hux just got a call from the studio, and he had to step away for a minute to sort something out. We need another player.”

“Any volunteers?” Ander scanned the guys seated on the grass before shaking his head. “Never mind. We can do four against four⁠—” 

“I—I’ll do it.”

Ander’s face softened as he took in Leo’s flushed cheeks and shy, hesitant smile. “Are you sure?” When Leo nodded, Ander clapped his hands. “Okay! That makes ten of us. Let’s go!”

When everyone had been split into two teams, Nate and Ander tossed a coin to decide who would be shirts and who would be skins. I ended up on the skins team, which was a shame because I’d been hoping for a chance to ogle my boyfriend’s body. To be fair, he already looked sexy as fuck in his sleeveless T-shirt and shorts, so it was probably for the best. I needed to focus on the game, not Nate’s delicious body.

“Let’s talk tactics.” Ander gathered our team under a tree a little way from the others. “Liam, you and me will attack. Bennett, you’re strongest in defence, so do you want to be the goalie? Then Finn and Charlie can be our attack-defence combo. It’s five-a-side, so we’ll probably all end up doing a bit of everything, but I think that’s the best way to start. We’ve got three unknowns on the other team, and I wanna suss them out before we change anything up.”

I smiled at how seriously he was taking the whole thing, but his enthusiasm was contagious. We were going to win this.

Niccolò, who had been lying in the sun next to Noah with his head on JJ’s thigh, leapt to his feet when we stripped our shirts off. He whistled loudly and jabbed his finger in the direction of his boyfriend. “I love football!”

“Me too.” Noah’s gaze slid down Liam’s body. “Especially right now.”

“You two are so thirsty.” JJ shook his head in mock disappointment. “Nic, I expect it from you, but Noah…”

“As if you weren’t looking at Daddy K like you wanted to eat him.” Niccolò rolled his eyes at his friend. I noticed Killian heave a long-suffering sigh, but the corners of his eyes were crinkling with amusement.

Ander clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, and leaving our spectators to photograph and film our antics, we took our places.

It was probably the most fun I’d ever had playing football. It descended into an uncontrolled mess of illegal moves, cheating, and questionable goals, the sun warming overheated skin even further, and copious amounts of water downed. Then there was the feel of Nate’s body sliding against mine. Obviously, we decided to mark each other. And yes, maybe he tackled me when the ball was nowhere near us so he could grope my body, and no, Killian, kissing the opposition does not mean an automatic red card. I was breathless and laughing and way too hot when Ander declared the game was over, collapsing onto the grass with a groan.

Bottles of water were passed around, and then Huxley brought out his guitar and began to play.

My body cooled as I rested in the shade against the huge tree trunk with Nate’s head in my lap. I threaded my fingers through his hair, stroking gently, and he smiled up at me, his hand coming up to wrap around my forearm.

His thumb slowly rubbed over my skin. “This is nice.”

“Mmm. Thank you for thinking of this.”

“It was partly for selfish reasons. Everyone’s been working so hard and getting stressed about exams and assignments, and I thought it would do us good to have a bit of time away from campus.”

“Yeah.” My fingers slid out of his hair to trace over the lines and curves of his gorgeous face. “This was exactly what we needed.”

“Spare a thought for the lecturers who have to mark all your work.”

I tilted my head towards Killian, who was the most relaxed I’d ever seen him, reclining on the grass with JJ sprawled half on top of him. JJ’s eyes were closed as Killian stroked up and down his back, and I might have been wrong, but it looked like he’d actually fallen asleep.

“At least you get paid for it,” I pointed out, and the corners of Killian’s mouth curved into a hint of a smile.

“There has to be one upside, I suppose.”

My gaze returned to Nate. I love you, he mouthed, and my stomach flipped.

I love you, too, I mouthed back.

We stayed there for hours, basking in the rays of the summer sun as Huxley strummed his guitar.

37

“I’d like to formally offer you a job for the next academic year.” Mrs. H. tapped a biro on the computer monitor. “It’s a continuation of the job you already have, with a slight increase in pay. Are you interested?”

“Yeah. Definitely. Thanks, Mrs. H. That would be great. I like working here.”

She smiled. “You’ve been a model employee as far as I’m concerned. We need more people like you. Reliable, hard-working…well. I’ll say no more. It wouldn’t do you good to get a big head.”

“Ha. Yeah. Thanks. Uh, so what do I need to do?”

“Come here and fill in this form. It’s the same contract you filled in last year, so if none of your details have changed, you can go ahead and digitally sign it. You’ll receive notifications of your shifts the same way as usual when the new academic year begins in September.”

“Okay. Thank you.” When she slid her chair out of the way, I read through the form and digitally signed it. 

“You’re welcome. Now, go and enjoy the rest of your final shift before the summer.”

“I will.” Flashing her a grin, I returned to the cart I’d been stacking with books. I couldn’t believe how well everything was working out. My boss at the student union had already offered me shifts for next semester, so I was sorted for employment. My exams were finished, my assignments had been handed in, and after this final hour was up, I’d be free to enjoy the summer with Nate.

Making my way up to the fourth floor, I shoved my earbuds in and cranked up the volume on my music player. Leaving my trolley against the wall, I picked up an armful of books, dipping into the stacks so I could return them to their rightful places on the shelves. 

Arms came around my waist from behind, and I relaxed against my boyfriend’s chest. Easing one of my earbuds out of my ear, he placed a soft kiss to the side of my throat.

I sighed. “Mmm. Hi.”

“Hi.” His lips curved against my skin. “I’m done. My final project’s been submitted, and that’s it. My life as an undergraduate student at LSU is over.”

I piled my remaining books on the shelf in front of me and turned around in Nate’s grip. Pressing him into the shelves behind him, I brought my mouth down on his. He opened for me, his tongue sliding against mine as we kissed, slow and deep, until we were both breathless.

“I fucking love kissing you, Charlie B.” Cupping my face, he kissed me again, slowly grinding his hips into mine. “Feel what you do to me.”

“Same,” I breathed. “I really wish we were alone.”

“We will be.” Disentangling us, he exhaled heavily. “Okay. We’ll make the most of that later. For now, let me help you stack these books.”

“Have a good summer!” Ander shouted out of the window as he and Elliot drove out of the student car park. I waved until they couldn’t be seen anymore, and then turned to Nate, wrapping my arms around him. 

“It’s weird that nearly everyone’s leaving.” 

He kissed the side of my head as he rubbed my back. “I know, but they’ll all be back in September, and so will we.”

“You don’t have any regrets about staying here for your master’s, do you?”

“No. None. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I get to have my boyfriend, my sister, and my best mate close to me, and I get to spend my free time with you.”

“When you put it that way…” I angled my head for a kiss.

Nate leaned into it for a few seconds before he ducked away from me, grabbing my hand as he led me towards his car. “Hold that thought. Before we pick up my sister and drive her to my dad’s, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? What is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

“Obviously.” I rolled my eyes, and he swatted my ass. When I gave him a warning glare, he laughed. 

“Don’t give me that look. Come on. Get in the car, and I can show you. You’ve definitely got all your stuff?”

Opening the passenger door, I nodded. “I think so. All the important things, anyway. I’ve got stuff at home, too, if there’s anything I’ve forgotten.” 

We slid inside the car, and Nate started up the engine. Instead of heading towards Sophie’s accommodation, he turned right out of the car park, directing the car down a side road. After just a couple of minutes of driving, he turned into a narrow alleyway that opened up into a small parking area in front of a tall, multi-storey red brick building. Slotting his car into one of the free spaces, he switched off the engine.

“We need to get out for a minute.”

Intrigued, I followed him down the side of the building. He stopped at a door with a keypad next to it and punched in a code. Inside, we entered a lift that took us up to the sixth floor. 

Nate came to a stop outside a plain white door with a small metal plate with the number 603 screwed into the wood “Here we are.” Fishing out his keys from his pocket, he opened the door. “My new apartment.”

“You found somewhere!”

“Yeah. Thanks to my supervisor. She lives on the third floor. It’s not technically a student flat, but they have a deal with the uni to give cheaper rates. It’s only a six-minute walk from campus, and look.” Toeing off his shoes, he moved to the window and tapped the glass. “I get a great view of the Shard.”

I stared around the open-plan lounge and kitchen, taking it all in. The space was painted in an off-white, with wooden floors, soft rugs, and a huge window letting in the afternoon sunlight. It was decorated simply with natural wood and leather furnishings. A blank canvas, ready for Nate.

I loved it.

Curious, I took off my own shoes, leaving them on the rack by the front door, and checked out the other rooms. There was a small bathroom with a walk-in shower—big enough for two people, I noted—a small storage cupboard, and a bedroom with a huge bed surrounded by an iron frame. The bed was already covered with a duvet and pillows, even though the rest of the flat was undecorated.

Nate came up next to me, sliding his arm around my waist. “Did you notice how I got the bed ready, even though I haven’t moved anything else in yet?”

“Mmm. I might have noticed that. How long before we have to pick Sophie up?”

“About an hour. Enough time to make a start on the list of all the things I want to do to you in this bed.”

“You actually have a list?” 

“Not written down, but it’s all up here.” He tapped his head. Twisting to face me, he ran his hand down my torso, curling his fingers around the hem of my T-shirt. “So many things I want to do to you, and I want you to do to me. It might take a long time.”

My breath hitched. “How long?”

Lifting my T-shirt over my head, he dropped it to the floor. “Years.”

I tugged his T-shirt off, palming his pecs. “Years?”

“Yeah.” Lowering himself into a crouch, he slid his hands up my thighs, leaning in to nuzzle at my hardening cock. “Years and years.”

“Fuuuck, Nate.”

“No objections?” He smirked up at me as he pulled my shorts and underwear down.

“Nope. None.” My hands landed in his hair, trying to direct his head forwards to my erection. He teased me by swirling his tongue around the head, licking up a bead of precum, before he pulled away. When he climbed to his feet, he grinned at my noise of protest. Bastard.

“Something the matter?”

“Yeah. You’re neglecting my dick.”

“What about you? You’re neglecting mine.” He gestured to the tent in his shorts, and my mouth watered. He was right. I needed that in my mouth, now.

Dropping down, I got the rest of his clothes off in about five seconds and wasted no time in taking his cock down my throat.

“Fucking hell.” He collapsed back against the wall, and I went with him, sucking him down with expert skill level. We’d done this enough times by now that I knew exactly what he liked. 

A hand landed on my head, stilling my movements. I stared up at Nate through watering eyes to find him looking down at me with a conflicted gaze. Easing his dick from my mouth, I lightly stroked him up and down as I cleared my throat. “What’s up?”

He shook his head. “I wish we had more time. I love it when you suck my dick, but… Fuck. It’s stupid.” 

Rising to my feet, I cupped his nape, bringing our foreheads together. “Tell me.”

“I kind of pictured our first-ever time in this bedroom with me inside you, and there’s not enough time for us to go twice before we have to leave. Told you it was stupid. It’s not like it should matter. We’ll have plenty of time to do everything in all the positions.”

“Nate, that isn’t stupid. Get on the bed. How do you want me?”

“Ride me, cowboy style.” 

I laughed. “Guess I’d better saddle up, partner.” I tipped an imaginary cowboy hat.

“Okay, this is going from hot to not.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” We grinned at each other, and then I grabbed his arm, dragging him over to the bed. “Bet I can get you back in the mood if you lie down.”

His humour died away as he lay back on the bed, and what a sight he was. Stretched out fully nude, showing all those sculpted muscles and that hard dick, glistening with precum and my saliva…he was so fucking hot.

“Volcano levels,” I murmured to myself.

“Huh?”

“You. You’re volcano-level hot.”

His eyes darkened. “So are you, Charlie. Come here.”

I detoured to his bedside table before climbing onto the bed, and as I’d hoped, he’d stocked up with supplies. I counted six bottles of lube, two boxes of condoms, and a few other items that looked very interesting…

Grabbing the closest lube, I paused. “Condoms or bare? If we have enough time for clean-up, I vote for bare.”

“Bare. We’ll make time.”

“Mmm. Okay.” I closed the drawer and climbed on the bed, straddling his thighs. “You know how you fucked me this morning? I think if we take it slow and use enough lube, you can go in with no prep. Wanna try it?”

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Yes.”

While Nate liberally coated his cock with lube I spared a few moments to spread some lube around my hole, dipping my fingers inside. When everything was covered in a slick warmth, I rose above him and reached around behind me, holding his dick in place. Taking deep, even breaths, I began to lower myself down, easing him inside me at a glacial pace. As I took him deeper, breathing through it, my thighs shaking with the effort of taking it so slowly, the initial burn faded to a more pleasurable stretch.

“You feel so good,” Nate rasped, his hands spreading my cheeks as he palmed my ass. “You took my cock, balls deep, just like that. You’re fucking incredible.”

“Mmm.” I remained still, getting used to the feel of him inside me and allowing my thighs a minute to recover before I put them to work again. “Fuck. You feel even bigger than normal.”

A satisfied smile curved over his lips, and that cocky look did things to my dick. I fisted it as I straddled his body, watching my precum drip onto his torso. The sight was so fucking hot, and it seemed as if Nate agreed because he groaned out a whole string of swear words, staring at my erection with a heavy-lidded gaze, his pupils blown wide.

“Ride me, Charlie.”

I began to move, rolling my hips as he held me. His hips came up to meet mine, and we got into a rhythm, fucking harder as I opened up for him. I bore down on him, changing the angle just a bit, and—fuck. Yes. 

“Fuuuuck. That’s it.” My prostate was being stimulated so fucking perfectly, I barely even needed to touch my dick. It was a sensory overload—Nate fucking into me, his body so hot and hard beneath mine, his cock filling me so completely, touching the nerve endings inside me that sent jolts of pleasure through my body. My dick was dripping, throbbing in my hand as I stroked myself in time with the thrust of our hips. 

My climax tore through me, my cum shooting across Nate’s torso, all the way up to his face. I jerked and shook, gasping through it, my mind blanking out as white burst behind my eyelids.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Nate thrust upwards, making me cry out at the sudden overstimulation, and then he lifted me up and off him, pushing me down onto the bed on my back. Leaning over me, he stroked his cock hard and fast, and I closed my eyes as he marked me with his release. Hot stripes of cum hit my face, and I slid out my tongue, so greedy for his taste.

A finger stroked across my cheek.

“Open up,” Nate said in a low, hoarse voice, and when I did, he smeared his release over my lips before dipping his finger into my mouth. “You’re a fucking miracle, Charlie Brooks. How did I get so lucky?”

“I’m the lucky one. Nate Glover loves me.”

I felt him shift next to me, the mattress dipping, and then soft lips were on mine. “I do. I really, really do.”

38

GRADUATION—ONE MONTH LATER

Jada held up her phone. “We need a photo of you and Jonas together.”

“Yeah, we do.” I slung my arm around my best friend as we posed in our graduation caps and gowns. When Jada had snapped several pictures, Sophie and my dad took her place, brandishing their own phones.

“Proud of you,” my dad said when Jonas stepped aside to speak to his own family. “First one in the family to graduate. Lemme take a photo of you with Soph.”

I posed with my sister until my dad gave us a thumbs-up and lowered his phone, and then we talked a passer-by into taking a couple of photos of the three of us.

“Dad’s right. You should be proud of yourself.” Sophie rose onto her toes to kiss my cheek. “You did it. My brother is now officially a postgrad student. I’m so glad you’re still going to be at LSU in September.”

“Me too. I promise not to cramp your style or interfere unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

She laughed. “Good. There might not be anything to worry about on that front, anyway. You know Pete?”

My radar immediately started pinging. “Pete? Daisy’s brother? The Pete that went to our school and now goes to LSU? My football teammate Pete?”

“Yeah.” A shy smile tugged at her lips. “Um. The first weekend we were back at home for the summer holidays, when you were staying with Charlie and his family, I went to a BBQ at Daisy’s house. We started talking, and, I don’t know, we seemed to click. I’d never really spoken to him properly before. Not a one-on-one, serious conversation, anyway. He was just Daisy’s annoying twin brother.”

Pete. I didn’t know him all that well. He was the same age as Sophie, so we’d never really interacted at school, and he’d been on LSU’s second team until recently, when he’d been promoted to the first team. But we’d been in the same orbit for a good few years now, and I knew he was a decent guy. 

“Supports Glevum, too,” my dad interjected with an exaggerated wink, and yeah, if he had Dad’s blessing, then I had nothing to worry about.

“You’re together, then?”

Sophie nodded. “It’s going that way. We’re taking it slow. I don’t want to upset Daisy or make her feel like she’s caught in the middle.”

“I know that feeling,” I muttered, and Sophie and my dad both laughed. My dad had heard a very condensed, highly edited version of the whole Charlie saga, and to say the man had found it amusing was an understatement. He’d taken my bisexuality in stride, and as with Pete, his main concern had been the football team Charlie supported. Thank you, Glevum FC, for bringing families together. And to Jordan Emery and Theo Lewin for normalising queer relationships for people like my dad, who pretty much lived in a heteronormative world with his exclusively straight friends, their social lives revolving around their football team. When Emery and Lewin had been outed, it had sent shock waves throughout the Premier League and the wider football community, but Glevum’s supporters had rallied round them. Now, to the majority of Glevum fans, they were just another football couple, albeit one with a massive amount of media attention.

“Where is Charlie, anyway?” Sophie asked.

“He was going to find his brother and sister because they were sitting in a different section at the graduation ceremony. I didn’t realise the Southbank Centre was so big. That hall they held the ceremony in…bloody hell.” Even the foyer area we were in was huge, packed full of people.

“I know.” She glanced back at the doors that led into the hall. “It was like a West End theatre or something.”

“Yeah, and there were a lot of people in there, so it might take them a while to make it out. He should be back soon, though. He’s been gone for a while.”

Sophie’s gaze caught on something over my shoulder. “Any minute now.” The back of my neck prickled in awareness, and when I turned around, Charlie was there, beaming at me, with his siblings right behind him.

I pulled him into my arms, kissing his smiling mouth. When we drew apart, he shook his head, still beaming at me, and it warmed me all over. 

“How is it you look so hot—” Cutting himself off, he eyed my dad cautiously, his cheeks flushing beneath his tan. “How is it you look so handsome in that gown and cap?”

My dad smirked at him. “No need to censor yourself on my behalf. Takes after his old man, doesn’t he? I was very hot, back in the day.”

“Dad!” Sophie shoved his arm. “Stop traumatising your only daughter!”

“And your son,” I said with a grimace.

“Hey, now. Your dad’s a bit of a silver fox,” my traitorous boyfriend said, accompanied by nods of agreement from his brother and sister.

This line of conversation needed to end right now, and it was up to me to change the subject. “We haven’t done introductions yet. Gem, Rocky, this is my sister, Sophie, and my dad, Tim.”

They spent a few moments greeting each other, and I took the chance to wrap Charlie in my arms again, kissing the tip of his nose. He placed his mouth to my ear, speaking in a low, sultry voice. “If you wear this outfit when we go to bed tonight, I’ll make it worth your while.”

An intriguing scenario played through my mind, but… “This is hired. I can’t send it back with cum stains.”

Charlie buried his laughter in my throat. “I’ll be careful. I have an idea about a graduation ceremony with a difference.”

“I bet you do. Tell me about it later, preferably when we’re far away from anyone we’re related to.”

“I will.” He kissed my neck and then raised his head. “I’m really proud of you, Nate. When I saw you up there on the stage today, getting your degree from the vice chancellor, I just…I dunno. I felt so proud. You’re amazing.”

The love and sincerity radiating from him made my stomach do somersaults.

“I love you so much,” I murmured. 

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.”

A loud groan came from behind Charlie. “Please, stop. This is nauseating. Gem, remind me to never fall in love.” Rocky pretended to throw up, and Charlie punched him in the arm.

Gem ignored them both, turning her attention to me. “Congratulations, Nate.”

“Thanks for coming down for it.” The fact that both of Charlie’s siblings had made the trip to London just for my graduation meant a lot to me. Charlie had been my boyfriend for a relatively short time, yet his siblings had recognised the deep connection we had as soon as I’d met them in person, and they’d reacted accordingly, making me feel like part of their family from the very beginning. 

“It’s our pleasure. It’s the school holidays; we get free accommodation at Charlie’s student house and a couple of nights in our capital city. Why wouldn’t we come?” She smiled at me and added, “But the main reason for us coming was to see you graduate. You’re a part of the family now, and we support our family.”

“On that note, I think it’s time to celebrate.” My dad glanced at his watch. “Jonas and his parents are supposed to be meeting us at the restaurant at two, aren’t they?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We’d better go.”

“Wait. I want to get a photo of you and Charlie. Please?” Gem shot us a pleading look, and there was no way I was going to say no. Of course I wanted a photo with my boyfriend at my graduation ceremony.

Arms around each other, we smiled for the camera, and then I pulled out my own phone and took several selfies of the two of us. I sent one to Jonas with the message, You kicked this whole thing off with your app. Forever grateful.

“Alright. Everyone ready?” My dad glanced around our small group, and at our nods, he began to make his way towards the exit doors.

We left the Southbank Centre behind and stepped into the sunshine.

EPILOGUE

FIVE YEARS LATER

At the sound of the key in the lock, I jumped to my feet, attempting a casual pose next to the bookcase in the lounge. It clearly wasn’t casual enough because Charlie’s brows flew up when he took me in, and then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What?”

“What, what?”

“Why are you standing there like that?”

Time to distract him. Striding forwards, I wrapped my arms around him, kissing all over his face until he was laughing breathlessly and trying to shove my face away. 

“I want to know how it went today.” I did have a secret I was keeping from him, and I wanted to share it, but truthfully, this was more important. Much more important. It was the reason we’d moved to this three-bedroom apartment in the town of Cheltenham. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

He rested his head on my shoulder. “Mmm. Really good. Tiring, but I’ll get used to it. All day, I kept thinking it was a mistake, that they’d meant for the job to go to someone else.”

“No, Charlie.” I stroked my hands down his back. “You got that job because of your skill. You were meant for this.”

“It’s just…to actually be employed as an assistant physio for Glevum, only a year after I got my master’s in physiotherapy… I can’t believe they picked me out of all the people who applied. I bet there were loads of people with way more experience than me.”

“They wanted you, though. That’s why you’re there.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “It blows my mind. Maybe one day, I’ll see it as normal, but today isn’t that day.”

“You’re where you’re supposed to be,” I reassured him, and he held me tighter.

“How was your day?”

“Same old, same old.” I hesitated for a second, not wanting to steal Charlie’s thunder, but I knew he wouldn’t be happy later if I delayed my own news. “Except my boss told me today that I’m going to be taking the lead on the new housing estate project.”

“Really?” His wide green eyes met mine. “That’s amazing. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Downplaying it, I shrugged. “Yeah, well…this branch of the firm is new, and I was in the right place at the right time. It all worked out for the best because if you hadn’t applied for this job, I’d probably still be in the London office, assisting on whatever architectural projects get thrown my way. Not that I didn’t enjoy it all, but now…”

“You get to lead,” Charlie finished. “This is huge. We need to tell our families.”

“We need to tell them how your first day went before anything else. I bet Rocky’s been blowing up your phone, asking if you got to see Jordan Emery and Theo Lewin or Jude Nielson.”

His lips skimmed over my jaw. “Mmm, but I’d rather put that off and celebrate with you now.”

Remembering my original task, I pulled away from him. “I want to show you something.”

He grinned at me. “I knew you were hiding something from me.”

“Don’t get too excited,” I warned him as he followed me down into the basement. Our apartment was on the ground floor, with a tiny walled garden. When we’d had our second viewing, we’d explored the door leading off from the kitchen and discovered it connected to a basement room that the previous owners had used to store junk.

Not anymore, though.

When I flicked on the lights, Charlie’s audible gasp echoed around the concrete walls. “Is this⁠—?”

“Our own version of The Game Room. That pinball machine there—” I pointed at the machine I’d paid an astronomical sum to restore. “—is the same one we first played on.”

“You sentimental bastard,” he choked out, his eyes filling with tears. “Nate. Nate. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I wanted to surprise the love of my life with something significant to our relationship.”

“You surprised me, alright. Nothing will ever be able to top this.” Swiping his hand across his eyes, he pulled me into him. “I love you more than anything. Anything ever. You’re everything to me. Everything. I need you to know that. No matter what. Even if we lost everything else. As long as we’re together, everything else is a bonus.”

“I feel the same. It’s you and me, Charlie B. We were matched for a reason, and I’m never going to let you go.”

His eyes met mine, his gaze resolute. “Never.”

“Never,” I said.

THE END

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for reading Charlie and Nate’s story! This concludes the LSU series, but it’s not the end! Expect to see these guys making appearances in future books…

In the meantime, are you interested in reading more from some of the other characters in the series? Check out the following:

Collided (Cole & Huxley) - prequel

Blindsided (Liam & Noah)

Sidelined (Ander & Elliot)

Ignited (JJ & Killian)

Tempted (Bennett & Niccolò) - novella

Dared (Finn & Leo)

Unwrapped (Ryan & Sam) - spinoff festive novella

Other related books (all standalones, not part of the LSU series):

Cross the Line (Kian & Preston) - novella

Savage Rivals (Asher & Levi)

Reckless (Jordan Emery & Theo Lewin of Glevum FC)

Heatwave (Travis & Kira) - M/F short story

Snowbound (Damon & Flick) - M/F short story (available on Patreon)

If you want to know what else is coming up, sign up to my newsletter for updates or come and find me on Facebook, Instagram, or Patreon. Check out all my links at https://linktr.ee/authorbeccasteele

Becca xoxo

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I can’t believe we’ve come to the end of the LSU series! It’s a bittersweet feeling—sad knowing that it’s over, but happy that our guys got the HEAs they deserved.

The idea for this series first began back in early 2021, when I was invited to write an enemies to lovers short story. That short story, Blindsided, eventually became a novel in its own right. It was planned as a standalone, and I never imagined that we’d end up with a whole series.

But here we are. We’ve had football players. Dancers. Professors. Musicians. Gamers. A snail. Enemies. Friends. Secret relationships. So much denial. And love. All the love.

The idea for Matched was sparked in November 2022 when I saw the music video for Stacy’s Brother by Mad Tsai (hence the song’s appearance on the playlist). I knew I wanted to have something involving a character being into a football player who had a sister, but I had no idea what was actually going to happen until I sat down to write Charlie and Nate’s story. As usual, they ran the show, and I was just along for the ride. I’m so happy that they got their well-deserved HEA, and we got to close out the series with Nate’s graduation.

Will there be more from LSU? Well…Charlie’s brother, Rocky, may be pestering me for a story, so we will see… And this isn’t the last we’ve seen of our guys. Expect to see them making appearances in future books!

Now, I need to thank everyone who made this book possible. Claudia, Jenny, Jodi, Amy, C—your support, feedback and general awesomeness helped shape this book into what it was. Ivy, without our sprint sessions this book would still be incomplete.

To all the Patreon readers, my blogger and ARC teams, TAA, and the book community—I have so much love and appreciation for all the support, reads, reviews, recommendations, promo, edits etc. It means a lot!

And as always, a huge thanks to Sandra and Rumi for helping me to get Matched into a publishable state! You are the true heroes of this story.

Finally, and most importantly, thank you so much for taking the time to read Charlie and Nate’s story. I hope they made you as happy as they made me.

Becca xoxo

ALSO BY BECCA STEELE

LSU Series

(M/M college romance)

Collided

Blindsided

Sidelined

Unwrapped (festive spin-off novella)*

Ignited

Tempted (novella)

Dared

Matched

Gods of Hatherley Hall Series

(M/F academy romance)

Cruel Crypts

Wicked Waters

Sinful Storms

The Four Series

(M/F college suspense romance)

The Lies We Tell

The Secrets We Hide

The Havoc We Wreak

A Cavendish Christmas (festive short story)*

The Fight In Us

The Bonds We Break

The Darkness In You

Alstone High Standalones

(new adult high school romance)

Trick Me Twice (M/F)

Cross the Line (M/M)

In a Week (M/F short story)*

Savage Rivals (M/M)

London Players Series

(M/F rugby romance)

The Offer

London Suits Series

(M/F office romance)

The Deal

The Truce

The Wish (festive short story)*

Other Standalones

Offside Play (M/M hockey x soccer romance)

Cirque des Masques (M/M dark circus romance)

Reckless (M/M soccer romance)

Mayhem (M/F Four series dark spinoff)*

Heatwave (M/F summer short story)*

After Dark (MMM Cirque des Masques short spinoff)*

Boneyard Kings Series (with C. Lymari)

(MFMM why-choose college suspense romance)

Merciless Kings

Vicious Queen

Ruthless Kingdom

Blackwell Lake Series (with C. Lymari)

(MMMF why-choose college suspense romance)

Beneath the Surface

Box Sets

Caiden & Winter trilogy (M/F)

(The Four series books 1-3)

*starred books (plus bonus scenes) are available as free downloads from https://authorbeccasteele.com

**Key: M/F = Male/Female romance | M/M = Male/Male romance | why-choose = one woman & 3 men romance (also known as reverse harem)

Within Becca’s why-choose books, MFMM indicates that all men have a relationship with the woman, but do not interact with each other physically or romantically. MMMF indicates that all parties interact physically and romantically

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Becca Steele is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of new adult romance from contemporary to dark. Her books have been translated into multiple languages.

Becca resides in the south of England with her family. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, gaming, or curating yet another Spotify playlist.

Join Becca’s Facebook reader group Becca’s Book Bar, sign up to her mailing list, check out her Patreon, or find her via the following links: