In my opinion, that’s why those people were always so attracted to him. Not in a romantic way, but the way a flower brings in the bees. No. Wrong analogy. The people who once went out of their way to mess with Huff aren’t bees. Zombies looking for fresh brains? No, that’s not right either.
What I’m trying to say is that there are empty souls in this world, and they’re always jealous of people like Huff. But there he was, walking around all the time, wondering what was wrong with him. I told him over and over again that he wasn’t the one who was broken. It was them. And until he understood that, things weren’t going to change.
That’s why I never saw him as more than a friend. Not because I didn’t think he was good looking—because he always has been—or that I didn’t love him. Huff wasn’t ready for a serious relationship with anyone. He needed time to grow up and find himself. To become a man he could be proud of.
I just never expected it to happen like this.
I mean, I’ve seen some weird stuff in my life—like the time my friend Sara didn’t have money for tickets to see The Killers and told me she was going to win some on the radio in one of those giveaways. She dialed up and won. Just like that. But this thing that happened to Huff is not that. Or is it?
I’ve been going around and around in my head for days, and I can’t explain any of it. Some people are born with the uncanny ability to bend the universe to their will. What Huff has is a whole other ballgame, like he’s evolved to some new level and the rest of us humans haven’t caught up yet.
All I can say is that overnight, he changed. First, the fat melted off his body. Not that he was fat—maybe a little doughy around the middle, though I never said anything to him. Who am I to judge? I eat one cookie and my ass grows two sizes. But all that baby fat of his was gone.
I could tell he’d been trying to get in shape recently. The first day he got here on campus, I noticed his shoulders were broader, and his arms looked toner. Definitely some muscle tone happening.
But after that horrible night with Blake, I swear, it was like his body just popped. Instant puberty. How’s that possible? How? I don’t know.
But the biggest change of all happened inside him. All of a sudden, he saw what I saw all along: a really smart, kind, strong guy. The best.
Over the last week, though, he just kept getting bigger. More ripped. Whatever was in that water worries me.
Is it safe?
Will he get hurt?
I can’t stand thinking about it, because now I’m really falling for Huff despite not wanting to. He’s not going to be able to keep this thing a secret forever—lifting busses, hearing people a mile away, moving through space with his mind? This is some crazy shit. And he’s going to need someone to be there for him. That person is me. But how do I be his best friend and his girlfriend? I don’t know. But I want to figure it out.
“Huff!” I jump from my bed and rush toward him, throwing my arms around his neck. “I don’t know how you got here, but please don’t ever leave me again.”
He holds me tight. “I love you. I don’t even need to hear it back. Because it won’t change how I feel.”
“I love you, too. It feels so good to finally say it out loud.” I push my mouth to his. His warm lips feel like everything that’s been missing from my life. Lust. Need. Acceptance. Unconditional love.
Huff pulls back and stares down at me; his full lips are glossy and shimmery pink from my lipstick.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I say. “It’s crazy.”
He flashes one of his newer smiles. It’s one part cocky, one part mischief. “It’s crazy not to do it.”
I know he’s right. I’m an idiot if I think I’m going to be able to keep my hands off him any longer. He’s been completely overrunning my dreams—kissing, showers, him stripping me naked and doing so many dirty hot things to me with his insanely huge cock. It was embarrassing to spend my nights with him, seeing us have such hard steamy sex, and then try to look him in the eyes the next day. Especially because I thought he wasn’t interested. “We’re just friends,” he reminded me every chance he got. So I put any thoughts of him and me out of my mind. I wasn’t about to ruin our friendship for something he didn’t want.
Then the evening before the football game, I closed my eyes for five minutes and nodded off. Huff had me pinned on the bed and was going down on me. I came so hard and felt so fulfilled by our intimacy that I wanted to cry when I woke up to an empty bed. I knew I needed him in my life as more than a friend. It wasn’t just about the dreams, but how we felt together in them. Like, we were meant to be together. Free to be ourselves. The love. I’ve never felt more loved by anyone.