Problem with a One Night Stand Ch. 02

If there was ever a need for the gym, now would be it. I angrily changed into some gym shorts and a tank top and made my way across campus to the student gym so I could sweat out some annoyance. Being the first day of people moving in, the gym was practically empty, so I was able to jump right onto a treadmill I had decided was my favorite earlier in the week because it had the best view of the weights section. Call me crazy, but I liked a little eye candy while I was running.

Since giving up swimming senior year in high school, I had found solace in just working out. I had always liked swimming, and it was what cemented my friendship with Jay, but it was never a passion. It was just something I did so that I didn't have to play one of the other weird winter sports that my friends were getting into, like squash. Squash wasn't a high school sport. It was something old men did at the country club to waste time. So once I gave up being in the pool and constantly smelling like chlorine, I took up working out for fun. I used to make fun of people like Matt for always working out, but missing leg day now puts me in such a funk it's ridiculous.

As luck would have it, an incredibly handsome guy came in to the gym, breaking my solitude. I kept my gaze on the tv in front of me, but I was perfectly aware of him as he jumped right into a work out. By the time I was done running a few miles on the treadmill, my phone was buzzing in my armband. I went to go check out who it was, but hit the accept button before I even realized it was Adam. The bastard had tried to make contact every now and then over the summer, but he was not my favorite person in the world and I typically tried to avoid him. "Now isn't a good time, Adam." I told him as I slowed down my speed to a walk.

"What are you doing?" He asked, that good old confrontational tone making an appearance in no time flat. Two seconds in and he was attacking me. That had to be a new record.

"I'm at the gym." I told him. "And we have nothing to talk about."

He sighed, huffing the air into the phone so roughly I felt it reverberate through me. "Josh."

"Don't Josh me." I snapped. "Just tell me what you want, Adam."

He was quiet for a moment. "I just wanted to say hi."

I sighed and stopped the treadmill. "Why? What's the point exactly?"

"I don't know. I guess I thought maybe I would come up to Yale and visit you." He offered. "I don't start school for another couple weeks, so I thought we could hang out. You know, for old time's sake."

I scoffed. "You are insane if you think that I'm letting you come up here just so you can fuck me and then leave town. This is over, Adam. You made it perfectly clear that you don't care about me when you tried to fuck my best friend over and frame me for it."

"That's not what I want."

"Then what do you want?" I snapped. "Why do you feel like you have to keep contacting me? Why do you think that I want anything to do with you?" I had jumped off the treadmill and was now pacing behind them, glad that there were only a select few people around to hear the argument I was having. I had never been more thankful for headphones in my life.

"Look, I just thought that maybe we could try to work it out." He said softly. I could practically hear the despair in his voice, and it honestly sent a pang through my heart. I didn't like hearing him so dejected. I would never wish harm on him, but Adam was in my past now. He had hurt me, Jason, Matt... I couldn't let him do it again. I had wasted too much time letting him treat me like shit so that people wouldn't know he was gay, and I couldn't fall into that trap again. No more closet cases. "I miss you, Josh."

I sighed. He always did this. I had relapsed a couple times over the summer when I was home alone all the time, but it always ended the same. He came over, we hooked up, and he left. And I never knew when I would hear from him again. "Adam, I can't do this with you anymore. I don't want this relationship anymore, and I think you need to stop calling me. It's for both of our good." I didn't even give him the chance to answer before I hung up the call. With a sigh, I took my phone out and blocked his number. It was time to end it once and for all. If he couldn't reach me, I couldn't succumb to his charms.

Torn between irritation and sadness—not to mention the loneliness and a stifling fear that I was going to die alone—I shoved my phone back in my arm band and blasted some music while I climbed onto the rowing machine. I needed something to throw my whole body into that I just wouldn't get from running right now. Between all this shit with Adam and Andrew, I was fed up. I eased into the motions, but once I found my groove, I picked up my speed and force and watched the meters rack up on the little screen in front of me while Green Day blasted in my ears. I pulled and pushed until my muscles ached and then started to push harder. With each thrust, everything faded away. All the drama with Adam, the encounter with Andrew that left my self esteem crumbling. Watching Jay and Matt. The stress of dealing with my father. My mother. It was just me and the pile of metal I sat on. By the time I hit 30 minutes and got off the machine, my whole body felt like jelly. I wiped down the machine and made my way to the locker room, ready to call it quits on the day now that I had sufficiently relieved all the tension of the week. At the rate I was going, I could totally replace sex with the gym and probably be totally content.

I was just splashing some cold water into my face when someone approached behind me. "You row?" A deep voice asked.

"Naw, just letting off some steam." I answered, not bothering to look up. I didn't need to make awkward locker room talk.

"Could have fooled me." The voice continued. I stood straight and looked up into the mirror, shocked to see the reflection of the hottie from before standing behind me. He had a mischievous grin on his face, like the cat that swallowed the canary. "That was some impressive form. And it looked like you were ready to pull the machine right off the base and sail across the floor."

I shrugged. "Just working out." I repeated, turning away.

He quickly jumped around in front of me and I nearly crashed into his chest. "You should come to crew practice tomorrow. See what you're like in the water. Have you ever rowed before?"

"Just what you saw."

"You would be a natural. You should come check it out."

I stared at him for a second. "I don't think so." I told him. "Team sports aren't really my thing."

He nodded. "I get that, but I think you should still come check it out. We need some new blood on the team and I think you would be perfect."

"I've never rowed before."

"You've got the basics." He shrugged. "I saw your form. All we have to do is put you in a boat. Well. Kind of. It would involve some training, but I think we could figure it out. Come on by tomorrow. See what you think."

I stared at him a moment longer. He was even more handsome up close. His perfectly tousled blonde hair didn't even look like he had just been working out, but his skin had a fine sheen of sweat coating the bronzed muscles. He looked like the perfect California beach bum. I certainly wouldn't mind being around him. Maybe topless? "Okay. I'll check it out."

He clapped me on the shoulder. "Yes! It'll be great. We meet at 5:45 at Phelps Gate and jog over to the boat house. You know where that is?" I nodded. "Great! I'll let the guys know you're coming and we'll see what we can do about getting you into it."

"I mean, no promises I'll join or try out or anything, but I'll check it out." I reminded him.

"No problem. There's no pressure or anything. I just figured I would come try and snag you before someone else did."

I had no idea what that meant, so I just nodded. Maybe this was his way of hitting on me. Now that I was close to him, I could tell he was older than I am. At least a junior or senior. Seeing how well that whole Andrew thing went over, I don't think that getting started with ridiculous fantasies was a good idea. "Well, I should take off." I told him. "My friend is doing the long distance thing and had to say goodbye today, so he may need a little friendship to avoid the depression that is likely to set in."

"Bummer." He frowned. "Well, have a good night. I'll see you bright and early." He reached out his hand, so I took it to shake. "I'm Barry, by the way"

"Josh." I returned. "See you around."

I left the locker room and made my way back to my dorm, ready for a nice hot shower. My muscles were aching from the hard work out, but it was enough to make my problems melt away, which was exactly what I needed. The shower did the trick. By the time I was done, I felt like a million bucks. I texted Jay to have him meet me in my room, and he was seriously down there before I even got fully dressed. We plopped down on my bed and just hung out for a while. He was obviously kind of down that Matt had left, but I think he was going to be okay. Jay obviously had nothing to worry about when it came to Matt, and if he did, I would probably castrate Matt for even thinking of hurting him.

"So, how do you feel about a party tonight?" Jay finally asked, after we had been hanging out for a few hours. I was half asleep already, curled in a ball on my bed, while he was sitting on the floor eating a bowl of popcorn and seemingly engrossed in the movie. I should have known better. Jay's mind is always going a million miles a minute. Even when he seems totally at peace, he is actually thinking about ten different things. I had to admire him for that, even though it could be really fucking annoying sometimes.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

He turned to face me. "One of the guys on my floor was telling us about this fraternity party. It's right down the street from here. We should go."

"Why? Are you looking to join a frat?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess it would be fun."

I sat up and looked at him hard, watching him falter under my stare. As soon as he squirmed, I knew he had ulterior motives. "Why, Jay?"

He sighed. "ugh. Fine. The fraternity having the party is the same one that Matt is a legacy for and will be joining at Brown. I thought maybe I could join too and we could have something in common."

"I don't think Matt will care if you're in the same fraternity as him." I told him. "You guys are in love. What difference does a boys club make?" He looked down at the ground for a moment, staring at the carpet so hard he probably could have burned a hole in it with the intense focus from his eyes. The internal war within him was so ridiculous that I finally caved. "If you want to go, I'll go with you." I told him with a sigh. I watched as he pulled a complete 180 and spun around, jumping on the bed with me and wrapping me up in a hug.

"Thank you!!" He exclaimed. "We'll have fun, I promise." He climbed off of me. "Be ready in ten minutes." He demanded before he ran out of the room. I sighed again and climbed off the bed, wandering over to my closet and trying to decide what to wear. I figured if we were going to a fraternity party, I might as well look the part, and settled on a dark pair of jeans and a polo shirt. I left my hair messy, since I was never going to willingly look that douchey just for a party. Years of getting dressed up and paraded around like my dad's puppet had been enough for me. I went out the way I wanted to.

By the time Jay got back down to my room, we were ready to take off. We had barely made it out onto Park Street when we heard the bass thumping a few houses down from where we stood. You could see the green and pink lights flashing from where we stood. I had never imagined this is what I would be doing with my first real night of college. Gay kids and fraternities don't exactly mix. At least not in the movies I had seen. Jay was excited though, and that was enough to make me want to go through with it.

As soon as we walked through the door, anonymous hands had shoved red solo cups full of jungle juice into our hands. Jay was swooped off by some kid he had apparently already met, and I was left to navigate the party on my own. I sighed and walked around, trying to find a group of people I thought might be to my liking, but instead, all I found was a lot of girls who were eying me like a piece of meat. This is why this would never be my scene. The hypermasculinity of it all made me so uncomfortable. I was never one to be ashamed of my sexuality, but this was enough to make me want to hide it. I had visions of freshman year all over again, when I was first shoved in lockers by the bigger guys just because I had different preferences than they did. The irony that I lost my virginity to one of my biggest tormentors wasn't lost on me, either.

I felt a strong grip on my arm as I passed by a dark hallway at the edge of the dance floor. I was dragged down the hall into a dark nook where I couldn't even see the dance floor, and I doubt anyone could see me. I was pushed up against a wall by a strong hand on my shoulder, and a familiar scent filled my nostrils. Andrew.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me, close enough that I could smell the vodka on his breath. "You shouldn't be here."

"What is your problem?" I asked him, shoving him off of me. A glance around made me realize we were under a set of stairs. It was actually kind of cozy, and the sound didn't travel down here so well, despite the fact that it felt like the whole house was shaking.

"Why did you come?" He muttered, running his hands through his hair and stepping away from me. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

I sighed. I had had my share of ridiculous men for one day. For one lifetime, actually. "Andrew." I told him, making my tone as soft and non-threatening as I could in the middle of a party. "I'm not here to torture you. I'm not here because Brian sent me. I'm here because my friend wants to join this house and I came along for the party." I took a sip of my drink to prove my point. "Now, can we please stop this bullshit? I'm really getting tired of your confrontations, and it's only been one day."

I watched as the fight left him. He placed his hand on the wall behind me and had his other on my hip from where he had pushed me against the wall. "I don't know what's wrong with me." He admitted. "I had a great night with you. I was really looking forward to seeing you again. I guess I kind of let our one night play into more in my mind. You were just so fun, even though I can tell you have some baggage."

"We all have baggage." I told him gently. "And we did have a lot of fun." I winked at him in the darkness. I could tell from his grin that he definitely saw it.

"What the fuck am I going to do with you tempting me all year?" He asked, tightening his grip on my side.

"Give in?" I teased, taking my hand and running it over the top of his jeans and under his shirt. I felt his stomach quiver as I ran my fingers over his tight abs. He was built like a god, and I just wanted to get my hands all over him again. The sizzle and spark I had felt the other day was back, just from these simple touches. I dropped my empty cup on the floor and wrapped my other hand around his neck, tugging his face closer to mine. His breath hitched as heat sizzled between us, and the music in the background faded away. "Come home with me." I told him, letting my fingers drift down to the bulge in his pants, lightly dragging my finger nail over his zipper.

Andrew's grip on my tightened, and he closed his eyes tight, obviously trying to fight the carnal urges racing through him. I could feel his cock hardening in his jeans, so there was no denying he was aroused. "I can't." He murmured, breathing rapidly but not stepping away from me.

"Why not?" I was disappointed to say the least. I thought for sure he would be tempted enough to cave. I was making it my mission to get to know this man better. I had this inexplicable idea that there was more to Andrew than met the eye, and I wanted to peel back all his layers until I figured out who he was. There was no denying we had chemistry, and he was beyond hot. I wanted him. I nuzzled my face up against his neck, nipping at the skin gently before soothing it over with slow drags of my tongue. He tasted like sweat and vodka, and I could practically feel the hesitancy radiating off of him. I felt bad for teasing him, but he wasn't pushing me away, so I figured I would take my chances on him.

He took a deep breath and moved closer, pushing his lower half into my hand. "Because."

"That's not a reason." I told him as I trailed my lips over his jaw until I reached the corner of his mouth. It was all it took for him to cave, and he wrapped his arms around me as he crashed his mouth to mine. The groan that he let out was enough to shoot sparks of heat straight to my groin, and I eagerly tugged him closer as his tongue invaded my mouth. I could feel all the stress and anxiety of this whole week leave my body, and let my eyes close tightly as I just relished in the feel of his hard body pressed against me.

I don't even know how long we stood here making out under that staircase, but I didn't care. Something about kissing Andrew made me feel complete, like all the other crap in my life didn't matter, and all I needed to worry about was his tongue moving against mine. His hands were tangled in my hair, holding my mouth hostage as he pressed his groin against mine. He was hard, and it thrilled me to know that all it took was a few moments of kissing me o make him turn to steel. He was hot, so hot. I wanted more. "Come back to the dorm with me." I told him, pressing my forehead against his as I caught my breath.

"You know I can't." He murmured, brushing his mouth against mine. "People can't know about this, and going back there will definitely be a problem."

"So what do you suggest?"

He sighed and pushed back from me. "I can't do this. I have too much going for me to hook up with a freshman. It doesn't matter how much I want to. I can't risk people finding out about you. If you wan to keep it a secret, we could maybe get a hotel room sometime. Have some fun when we need release."

I swear, my heart stopped beating in my chest as I processed his words. "You're ashamed."

"Wouldn't you be?" He scoffed. "I'm a senior. I can't be involved with a freshman. People would laugh. No one would ever take me seriously again."

I glared at him in silence. Another asshole. I really know how to pick them. "Fuck you." I finally told him, pushing back off the wall and storming away from him. The dance floor was packed by now, and getting away from that dark little nook where my fantasies of the past week were about to come true was a lot easier sad than done. I glanced around for Jay as I pushed through the crowd. I finally found him in a back room, talking to a couple guys. He smiled as I approached, and the warm, friendly face was just what I need. "Hey." He greeted me, stepping away from the group.

"Hey, I'm going to head out." I told him.

He frowned. "We've only been here an hour."

"I know, I'm just really tired and have a thing to do in the morning." I didn't want to tell him about the crew thing until I knew what I thought about it. "Let's hang out tomorrow."

He assessed me quietly for a minute before he gave me a small nod. "I'll text you tomorrow afternoon." I went to walk away. "Josh." He called after me, so I turned back. "If you need to talk about anything, you know you can come to me, right?"

"I know. Everything is fine." I grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I pushed my way back through the crowd until I got to the front door. The hot August hair smacked me in the face as I made my way back down the stairs and across the short spanse of lawn that surrounded the house. It took all of three minutes to get back to my dorm room, and ten before I was all the way in my bed. Of course, now that I was in bed, my mind wasn't ready for me to fall asleep. I clicked on the tv and decided to get lost in a mind numbing movie to distract myself.