"Oh? There it is. What are you gonna do now? Punch me again?"
My fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. But the second I moved, Braden grabbed my wrist and pinned it against the wall beside my head.
"Don't," he warned, voice low and dangerous. "You already got your free shot earlier. Try that shit again, and I won't be so nice."
I glared up at him, breathing hard. Our faces were way too close. I could see the split in his lip, the bruise forming under his eye. Guilt twisted in my stomach again, but I shoved it down.
"You started this," I hissed. "You kissed me first."
Braden's eyes darkened. "And you kissed me back."
The words hit like a slap. I opened my mouth to deny it, but nothing came out. Because he was right. I did kiss him back. I let him pull me in. I let his tongue in my mouth while my dick got hard against him.
Braden noticed my silence. His smirk returned, slower this time.
"Yeah… that's what I thought."
He leaned in even closer, his breath brushing my lips.
"So what now, Zack? You gonna keep pretending you hate it? Or are you finally gonna admit that you like it?
My heart slammed against my ribs. Part of me wanted to shove him away. But the other part was curious
fuck you, I said,
trying to sound convincing.
Braden's smirk deepened. "Liar."
He shifted his weight, pressing one thigh between my legs. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough that I could feel the solid muscle against me. My breath hitched.
"See?" he whispered, voice low and rough. "Your body doesn't lie, Zack. Even if your mouth does."
My face burned with shame and anger. "Shut the fuck up," I yelled
. " Make me," he said, his blue eyes staring into mines
I swallowed hard. My dick was already half-hard in my shorts. There was no hiding it. Not from him.
Braden noticed. Of course he did.
He let out a low chuckle.
As one of his hands went around my waist, for a moment, I couldn't hear anything aside from his breathing. His face was so close to mine, our lips barely apart, as Braden looked like he was about to go in for a kiss, the door knocked
We both froze.
The sound came from the door, sharp and insistent.
"Braden? I got the first aid kit
Luke, I said, voice shaking
Shit Braden cursed under his breath, his forehead dropping against mine for a split second. His hand was still gripping my waist like he didn't want to let go.
"Fuck," he whispered.
I shoved him back hard, panic flooding my system. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it was going to explode. I quickly adjusted my shorts, trying to hide how obviously turned on I still was.
"Fuckkkkkk… what the fuck…"
"Calm down," Braden said, sounding way too confident. "Just follow my lead."
He walked over to the door and opened it.
"Hey, what took you so long—" Luke started, then froze the second he saw me standing inside. His expression dropped instantly. "Why the hell is he here?" His eyes landed on Braden's busted lip and black eye. "Fuck— did he hit you again?!"
"Calm down," Braden said smoothly. "He just came over to say he's sorry."
"What?" Luke looked completely confused.
"Yeah," Braden continued, shooting me a sharp look. "He realized what he did was wrong and wanted to fix everything. Also said he didn't want to lose his best friend. Right, Zack?"
I swallowed hard. "…Yeah."
I took a deep breath and walked toward Luke. "I'm really sorry, Luke. I never meant to hurt you or anyone. I was just angry and said shit in the heat of the moment. I promise you I will never repeat that word or any other word that might hurt you."
Luke stared at me for about five long seconds.
"Aahhhh, what the hell… okay, okay. I forgive you, asshole," he finally said, waving me off. "Don't ever pull that sappy shit again. I'm not used to you like this. Fuck, I want to throw up." He made exaggerated gagging sounds.
I let out a relieved laugh and pulled him into a full hug. "Don't ever say you don't wanna be my friend again. That shit scared the hell out of me."
"Zack… Zack—" Luke tapped my back rapidly. "Something is poking me, and I don't like it."
The second he said it, I remembered.
Fuck.
I was still hard.
I shoved Luke off me instantly. "Sorry, bro!"
"Just normal male bullshit," I muttered, quickly pulling my shirt down over my shorts.
Braden burst out laughing, holding his stomach like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
Luke looked at me with pure disgust. "Dude… what the actual fuck is wrong with you today?"
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
Fuck. I hate my life.