Incoming Freshman (4 page)

“Afternoon,” Chet corrected. He reached out and grabbed the lube. “Did you go through my things?” Knowing exactly what had been in the drawer with the lube, Chet wavered between embarrassment and fury.

“Sorry,” Bobby mumbled. “My legs were cramping after driving so far. I have massage oil, but I left it in my truck. I’ll buy you another bottle.”

“That’s not the point and you know it.” Chet gestured towards the door. “Don’t read anything into what you found in there.”

Bobby rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. “I meant no harm, I swear it. I was just too tired to go back out to the truck.”

With his lips puffy from sleep, Bobby was a temptation hard to resist. Chet’s anger over the invasion of privacy melted away. “I need you to jump in the shower. We’ve been invited to a barbecue at Demitri Demakis’ house. I thought it’d be a good opportunity for you to meet your potential roommate.”

“I’m up for meeting people, but I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I’d still like to move into BK House.” Chet opened his mouth to protest, but Bobby held his hand up in an effort to silence him. “I won’t go blabbing it around campus. The press didn’t give a shit where I lived for three years. Why do you think they’d care now?”

“Because of what BK is and who you are,” Chet answered. He reached out and wrapped his hand around Bobby’s ankle. “I promise you, I have your best interests at heart.”

“I know.”

“The guy I want you to meet today is a graduate student by the name of Dane Jefferson. He’s gay and he owns his own house. According to Demitri, Dane probably wouldn’t expect much in rent money.” Even as he said the words, Chet could tell they weren’t doing anything to change Bobby’s mind. “Why’re you so adamant about living in BK?”

Bobby readjusted the blankets around his waist. “I read this article in a magazine. It said BK House was a great place for young gay men to get the support they need.” Bobby pressed his palm to his bare chest. “I want that. I wanna know what it feels like to be in an environment where I can talk to people and not be afraid I might out myself. I know you want me locked away where the press won’t find out I like a man’s dick up my ass, but there’s more to me than football. Why can’t you understand that?”

Chet swallowed around the lump in his throat. If he were honest with himself, he knew Bobby was right. He was more than just a football player, but it was this that kept him at arm’s length. Images of Bobby on a bed with another man’s cock buried in his ass didn’t sit well either. Chet had been stupid to think Bobby would reach the age of twenty-two a virgin. Still…

Chet rose and walked towards the door. “I don’t want to hear about all the boys you’ve let fuck you,” he grumbled over his shoulder.

“Not boys, men.”

Chet stopped and turned around.

“Men I thought were like you, but it turned out they were nothing like you. They didn’t care about me or have my best interests at heart. All they wanted was to fuck Bobby Ray Sikes. They didn’t give a shit about Bobby.” Bobby bit his bottom lip and scooted to the edge of the bed. “They weren’t you and they should’ve been.”

Chet started to reach for Bobby but shoved his hands in his pockets instead. “Hop in the shower. We need to be out of here in thirty minutes.”

* * * *

With his knee still bothering him after the long drive, Bobby had opted to rewrap it and wear jeans. As he rode in the passenger seat of Chet’s SUV, he began to regret his decision. “I thought it was supposed to be cooler up here.”

“Normally it is, but Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the rules.” Chet pulled in front of a large house. A small sign by the front step read BK House. “What’re we doing here? I thought we were late to the party thing?”

“I called Aaron, Demitri’s partner, and told him we’d be a little late. I thought you should get a look at BK before you blow Dane off this afternoon.”

“I wouldn’t blow him off anyway. I may be stubborn, but I’m not an asshole,” he mumbled, opening his door.

Chet joined Bobby on the sidewalk leading to the house. “I know you wouldn’t. I just meant you should make an informed decision.”

Although Chet hadn’t mentioned their earlier conversation, Bobby could tell it was still on his mind. It was a good thing, in his opinion. He may not have meant to bring up his past lovers, but he hadn’t missed the expression of jealousy on Chet’s face when he had. Good. How many nights had he sat up wondering if Chet was sleeping beside some guy?

“Charlie and Jack are already at Demitri’s, but Locky, the new guy, agreed to come back to give you a tour.” Chet reached out and rang the doorbell.

“Cool.”

Chet glanced down. “Are you limping?”

Fuck
. Bobby shrugged. “You drive from Arkansas to Idaho and see if you aren’t sore.”

“No thanks. Any more than a couple hours and I go into some kinda trance.” He grinned. “I still can’t believe you didn’t get a hotel room along the way.” Chet’s hand went to the small of Bobby Ray’s back and he almost melted right there on the stoop.

Before Bobby Ray could fully enjoy the moment, the front door opened.
Damn.
“Hello,” he said automatically.

The handsome man smiled and held out his hand. “You must be Bobby Ray. Locky Regent.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bobby replied, shaking Locky’s hand.

Locky nodded in Chet’s direction. “Good to see you again.”

“You, too,” Chet said.

Locky ushered them into the house and closed the door. “We finally got the a/c fixed, but I think it’s going to take a while for the house to cool down to where it should be.” Locky gestured towards the large open room. “Obviously, this is the living room,” he said, beginning the tour.

Bobby followed Locky around the house while Chet watched the end of the baseball game he’d started at home. “How many guys live here?”

“We have twenty-two, including you. There were a lot of freshmen requesting placement at BK this year, but we just don’t have the room.”

“You mean there’s a waiting list or something?” Bobby had waited until the last possible moment to make the call to Coach Nelson about transferring. He hated the thought that he’d jumped to the front of the list because of who he was.

Locky chuckled. “Yep, but Demitri’s come up with a solution.” He led Bobby into a huge room. “This is our newest addition. It’s a place for residents and non-residents to gather and hang out.”

Bobby liked that idea. “So you don’t have to live here to come by?”

“Right. Demitri’s been talking to one of BK’s biggest supporters, Tony Bianchi, about building another house on the other side of campus, but until then, he wanted a refuge for students to get away to if they needed.”

Bobby nodded. “I imagine that magazine article brought a lot of attention to BK. I know this place is one of the reasons I wanted to transfer.” He looked around the room. There were several groupings of over-stuffed furniture, a huge television mounted on the wall and a small kitchenette in the far corner. “Looks nice.”

“We think so.” Locky gestured to a door. “That’s the study room. There are desks and computers in there in case you need the quiet. All courtesy of Tony Bianchi.”

BK House was everything Bobby had hoped for and more. Unfortunately, the guilt started to set in as they wound up the tour. Before they arrived back in the living room, Bobby stopped walking and cleared his throat. “If I do what Coach Sloan wants and move in with this Dane guy, would I still be able to come here if I wanted?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you’ll be able to move one of those incoming freshmen up on the list?”

“Yep.” Locky put a hand on Bobby’s shoulder. “Charlie explained your situation to me, and I think we can work around it. I can’t promise the press won’t find out you’re coming here on occasion, but I’ll do my best to make sure the residents understand the importance of discretion.”

“Thanks.” Although he still needed to meet Dane, Bobby felt much better about his options. Knowing he could enjoy the camaraderie BK had to offer was the most important thing. It also might help get him back in Chet’s good graces. “Can I let you know this evening?”

Locky smiled. “Sure. That sounds fair.”

* * * *

Chet pulled away from BK and back onto the street. “So what’d you think?”

“I like it. Locky’s nice.” Bobby glanced at Chet. “He made me feel welcome.”

Just how welcome
, Chet wondered to himself. As soon as Bobby disappeared down the hall with Locky, Chet fought the urge to run after them. Maybe it was their earlier conversation, but since learning Bobby had a thing for older men instead of guys his own age, Chet doubted he’d ever feel comfortable having Bobby around his single friends. “So you like Locky?”

“Yeah, like I told you, he’s nice.” Bobby reached over and punched Chet playfully on the arm. “Jealous?”

“Maybe. Although I know I have no right to be,” Chet admitted.

“Well don’t be. I didn’t transfer my senior year to pick up on Locky.” Bobby was silent for a moment before slapping the seat beside him. “Shit. Are you already involved with someone?”

“No.” The elephant in the front seat was suddenly too big to handle. Chet had done everything he could to get Bobby out of his system, but if it hadn’t happened in three years with several states between them, he doubted it was possible.

He found a shady spot to park two houses down from Demitri’s and pulled up to the kerb. Shutting the engine off, Chet unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face Bobby. “I can’t coach you at practice and fuck you at night. It’s not right. It’s not who I am. I’m not saying I don’t want you because I think we both know that’d be a damn lie, but my job means a lot to me.” Chet reached out and cupped Bobby’s face. “But the future you’ve worked so hard for means more and I can’t take the risk.”

Bobby’s eyes drifted shut as he turned his head to place a kiss on Chet’s palm. “What if I didn’t play ball? Would you still feel the same way?”

“If you’re asking whether my feelings would be the same if you weren’t the Bobby Ray Sikes every pro scout’s been following for years, the answer would be yes. But you’re not that person, Bobby. You have a gift, and I can’t let my feelings get in the way of what you were born to do.” Although Chet was confident in his own feelings, Bobby was still young. He had a lot of living to do before he’d be ready to make a life-altering decision like the one he seemed to be contemplating. He dropped his hand and pulled the key from the ignition.

“I’m glad you and every other football fan in the nation have my future all mapped out for me. Otherwise I might be stuck doing what I want to do instead of what I’m supposed to do.”

It was remarks like that that reminded Chet of Bobby’s youth. He was grateful when he saw another car pull up behind him. “Locky’s here. We’d better drop this for now and join the party.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Bobby mumbled as he opened the door.

* * * *

After a short introduction, Bobby took a seat next to Dane in the shade. He gestured to the open book on Dane’s lap. “What’re you reading?”

Dane held up his book. “Ancient Native Tribes of the Southeast United States. My professor,
Magnus
Sofokleous, wrote
it.”

Bobby couldn’t imagine bringing a boring book to a barbecue. He wondered just how much Dane really wanted to be there. “Not to sound stupid or anything, but is that archaeology?”

Dane pushed his small horn-rimmed glasses up and shook his head. “Actually, it’s anthropology, the study of humans and how they developed over time. Archaeology is the study of material artefacts.”

“Oh, okay.” Bobby nodded. “I’m working towards a degree in social work. Some people say it’s an easy degree, but I like the courses. I figure if I can help people and enjoy doing it, I’m ahead of the game.”

Dane looked at Bobby over his glasses for a moment. “Yeah, I can see you doing that.” He marked his place then shut his book and set it carefully in the leather messenger bag beside his chair. “As you can tell, I’m not real comfortable with people. When I was eight my mom signed me up for soccer. I guess she thought I’d come out of my shell if I was part of a team, but it didn’t really work. I like to play, and I guess I’m pretty good at it, but I do it more for physical exercise than anything else. ‘Course now I have a pool, so I just stick to swimming most days.” Dane blushed. “Sorry. I guess you didn’t ask me about soccer, did you?”

Although Dane was obviously intelligent, Bobby got the idea he was more than a little socially awkward. “That’s okay. It’s all part of getting to know someone.”

“Yeah.” Dane looked around before leaning in to whisper, “Not many people take the time to get to know me. It seems I’m not smart enough to hang with the intellectuals and not tough enough to hang with the jocks.” He shrugged. “But that’s okay. I learned at an early age to entertain myself.” He reached down and tapped the messenger bag. “That’s why I bring books everywhere I go.”

Bobby rubbed his jaw. Dane was a puzzle he might enjoy figuring out. “So are you looking for a roommate?”

“Looking? No. But I wouldn’t mind sharing the house with someone. It’s way too big for one person anyway.” Dane pushed up his glasses again. “Oh, unless you’re afraid of dogs. My parents bought me a German shepherd for a graduation present. Ares is supposed to be a guard dog, but he’s a big softy.”

“I like dogs.” Bobby also found he quite liked Dane, despite his quirks. He almost hated to bring up how much living at Dane’s house was going to cost him, but it would be the deciding factor.

“Then we’re good,” Dane said.

“Well, we still need to talk about the money. I get a small housing allowance from my scholarship and my mom tries to send me what she can each month, but I have to be honest, it isn’t much.”

Dane waved his hand. “The money’s not important, so whatever your scholarship pays is fine with me.”

Satisfied he could afford the change in housing, Bobby stuck out his hand. “Then if you’ll have me, I’d love to be your new roomy.”