“There.” He clears his throat. “Wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I wave a hand toward my erection. “Poor choice of words.”
“Look, we match.” As I climb onto the bed, he flips the covers back to prove he really is naked. And we really do match.
His body is warm as I curl up with him and chuckle into his shoulder. “Still no sex.”
“Hmm …” He turns a little so our faces are close. “Well, look at that.”
“What?”
“This is another first for me, I guess. Sleeping together with no sex. Well, sober at least.”
“Wow. You’re so inexperienced.”
He smiles and brushes a kiss over my lips. I want more. Sweet Jesus, I want so much more. Being in his arms is already hard enough, and if we manage to get through the night without getting each other off, it will be a miracle.
“So … the Vermont game,” he says.
And there goes my boner. I can’t help the way Morris slips into my head, but I don’t want him to have any room between me and Foster.
“What about it?”
“You’re coming to watch, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
He’s quiet for a moment, and I’m sure that’s not all he has on his mind. “What if I wanted my prize to be for you to tell me what really happened between you and Morris?”
My whole body stiffens. Well, except for one organ that’s checked completely out of this conversation. “I-I told you.”
“Then why do I feel like it’s not everything? You tense whenever he’s mentioned.”
“He’s not a nice person.”
“Zach, I’m going crazy over here. My imagination is getting to the point where it’s probably worse than what happened. There’s every chance I’ll see him next weekend and beat him into the ice.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I don’t want to do that. I didn’t plan to last time. We weren’t even together then, but the second I pictured him shoving you, I saw red.”
“You’re adorably protective.” I snuggle in closer, trying to stop the mad way my heart is hammering. I did tell Foster what happened. For the most part. But the truth is something I haven’t shared with anyone, not even Seth. I’d promised myself if he tried it again, I’d go straight to the dean, but he never did.
Foster suddenly shakes his head. “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, and if you say that’s all that happened, I believe you.”
I bite my lip. “If that’s all that happened, are you going to be okay to play next weekend?”
“Fuck, I don’t know.” He suddenly lets go of me and sits up. “I can’t shake the feeling that I want to kill the guy.”
I curl up into a ball and lean back against the metal bed frame. Foster’s already made a big enough mistake when it comes to hockey, and like I said to Seth, I never, ever want to get in the way of everything he’s worked so hard for.
“I want you to make me a promise.”
He spins to face me. “What?”
“I can’t tell you until you promise. You have to trust me, like I’ll be trusting you to keep your word.”
His whole face scrunches as he scowls. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.”
“That’s the deal.”
Our eyes clash, and I force myself to hold his stare and not back down, no matter how my insides are twisting over each other. I swallow. I wait. The tension stretches so thin I’m about to give in.
Foster lets out a long sigh and shifts back so he’s sitting next to me. “I’m not gonna like this am I?”
“No. But it’s probably not as bad as you think.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
I laugh and reach for his hand before linking our fingers together. “Promise if I tell you, you won’t go after him.”
“You’re killing me.”
“No, I’m trusting you.”
He thinks for a moment. “I … promise.”
Okay, now comes the hard part. “You already know about the bullying. That was probably the worst part because it went on all year.” I swallow back the lump that’s trying to form. “I don’t talk about why though because I’ve put it behind me and it makes me feel like I’m rehashing drama.”
“I need you to get to the point a bit faster. Please.” His tone feels as strangled as my gut does.
“Okay, yes, fine.” I go to play with my glasses then remember they’re in Seth’s room. “I went to a party with Seth at the start of our junior—well, my senior, I guess—year.” Foster’s hand tightens in mine but thankfully he doesn’t interrupt. “Seth was talking to a girl, and I went to grab a drink to try and enjoy the night when Morris found me in a hall. There were people around, so I wasn’t worried, and at first, he was only talking. It was sort of weird and about random things, and I didn’t know what was happening. I don’t know if you know this, but I kind of suck at social cues?”