Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 116254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Breck grinned, the weight of the world finally off his shoulders. “I think that can definitely be arranged.”
— TWENTY-TWO —
4:34 PM
Breck eyed the time on his phone, then tossed it onto his bed and strode to his dresser for a clean change of clothes. Not that he needed them now, they’d be for later. Specifically, tomorrow after waking up again at Kai’s.
Pulling open a drawer, he grabbed a dark yellow tee, a color he’d been told brought out the gold in his eyes, then moved to another drawer and snagged out a pair of boxer briefs. Last on the list, his go-to basketball shorts. He pulled out some navy blues one and slid closed the drawer.
An athlete’s attire. Comfortable, easy, simple.
He strode to his backpack lying beside his phone and shoved his clothes inside. Anything else he’d need to take to Kai’s? He glanced around, a smile curving his lips. It was stupid how much he couldn’t wait to see him again. To meet his eyes. To taste that mouth. Hell, to ask him about his day. And then get busy telling him about his own and how things went with his parents.
He still couldn’t believe how smooth it’d gone, all things considered. After the exchange that followed his initial disclosure, they’d sat down and had lunch. Sure, his parents had still seemed stressed about the Draft, but to their credit, they’d kept their concerns mostly to themselves. He suspected they’d discuss it more in private, and that was fair. He had blindsided them out of nowhere.
What mattered was that they’d not only been accepting, but also supportive of the decision he’d chosen to make. He’d always known his mom just wanted his happiness. She’d told him such more times than he could possibly count. To learn that his dad had truly felt the same way, though? To have finally heard it from the horse’s mouth? It was like some part of him deep inside was finally able to exhale.
And so, for the majority of lunch, they’d talked about a plethora of other things instead. Like more detail about his trip to Hawaii. Updates on his friends and their plans for life after college. Then, of course, a crapton of questions about his move to Ned’s new apartment.
Eventually though, and understandably so, things did circle back to his relationship with Kai. His mom asked how they met—lots of details omitted there—which led to his dad delving even more deeply into Kai’s profession. Kai’s successful, independent career path had absolutely impressed him.
They asked about his age, his schooling, his family. Then they asked how Kai felt about Breck’s aspirations for the NBA. Thankfully, now that he and Kai had worked things out, the answer to that question had been easy to give. In truth, just voicing it aloud had bumped his optimism to a whole new level. Not just about their relationship, but his future as a whole.
This new lease on life had him happier than he’d been in ages. But it also had him invigorated—to the point that it was affecting his libido. Ergo, one of the multitude of reasons his ass was so eager to get back to Kai’s.
Pun intended. In the biggest fucking way.
Tamping a grin, he grabbed his backpack off the bed, then ducked into the bathroom to snag his toothbrush. Back in the hall, he made his way toward the stairs. Already, he could hear his homies’ banter down in the TV room, their animated voices carrying through the house as they duked it out on Mario Kart.
“Oh, no— I’m in the thick of it— Oh, fuck—”
“Motherfucker. Who did that?”
“Shiiit.... Squid don’t mean a thing…”
“Gah! No! Fuck! Hit by lightning!”
“Goddamn it! Who did that?”
“Drift king, baby. I’m the drift fuckin’ king…”
Breck’s lips twitched as he hit the first floor, the mere tone in each guy’s voice making them easy to decipher. Charlie: stressed out and panicking. Reggie: pissed. Jegs: cool and collected, like a little bitch.
Still, Breck could relate to each one’s attitude. He’d been entrenched in the exact same game twenty minutes ago when the four of them had gone balls to the wall in a Mario Kart tournament. They’d enticed him into it as soon as he’d walked in the door, a feat that wasn’t too difficult considering the high-as-a-kite mood he’d been in. He’d just slam-dunked it with his parents, after all, and was officially riding the I’m-finally-fucking-free soul train.
In other words, his happy ass had been on cloud fucking nine.
Besides, he’d had some time to kill since Kai was teaching classes until five o’clock. He was due for a carefree, non-alcohol-related hangout with his basketball homies. It hadn’t hurt that Mario Kart was one of his favorite games.
And yet, during the expanse of those two ball-busting hours, as he won some and lost some and laughed alongside his tightest three fraternity brothers, the right time never arose to tell them about him and Kai. The setting just hadn’t felt right, barely a break between races to take a piss let alone formulate a whole ‘hey, guess what?’ So, he’d put it on hold for another time. Not that he didn’t want to tell them, because he totally did. Now that he’d gotten the sweet taste of secret-free existence, he wasn’t ever going back. If not today, then absolutely tomorrow. One way or another, they’d know soon enough.