Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Again, I’m so aware of all of the eyes surrounding me. We’re in a campus gym, and I’m certain there must be people on the far side of the gym glancing over at us, wondering what is going on.
But Roman doesn’t seem to give a fuck.
He holds me from behind, and his hands roam below my shirt, stroking over my lower back.
“I’m here,” he says, and I can feel his breath near my ear from behind.
I swallow, shaking my head.
And I start talking, then suddenly spill everything to him.
I tell him about what happened with my former friend, and everything that fucker said in the article about me.
Roman doesn’t say much.
He still lets me talk while he keeps his hands moving in a steady, calming pattern on my back like it’s something he’s been naturally doing for years. I know he’s only doing it for the goddamn regulation of my nervous system, but he’s still touching me, and it feels really fucking good, so I’m not going to stop him.
He’s wearing one of his fitted white T-shirts, and as usual, his biceps fill out the short sleeves like they’re straining the fabric.
The beads of his black bracelet move gently as he reaches up with his free hand to push a stray piece of my hair to one side.
“Thank you,” I finally say after I’ve said more about the situation than I ever wanted to.
Roman nods at me. “Not a problem.”
He drags the hand on my back lower, squeezing my hip before he backs away, releasing me. His hair is a little longer now on top, falling in a perfect swoop over his head.
“It’s nice when I can actually fucking see you,” I tell him. “Instead of you just being a shadow, or a text message.”
“You trying to be my friend now?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow.
“I can be friends with anyone. Try me.”
A tiny smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, and I love that I got some reaction out of him. “Let me clean off that bag,” he says. “Not going to leave it bloody for the next poor fuck who comes to punch this thing.”
I exhale and finally turn my body around, leaning on the wall and looking out at the rest of the gym. It’s not a very busy time of day, and if the people on the treadmills across the room were watching us, they don’t seem to be doing it now.
Every time I’ve been worried about negative attention so far at Crimson, it hasn’t come.
After that guy at the party, everyone else has been shockingly normal.
Refreshing.
Roman grabs a handful of sanitizing wipes and alcohol spray, cleaning off the punching bag.
He beckons me to the restrooms afterward, where he hauls open the first aid kit on the wall and cleans up my wounds for the second time in weeks.
“Need to piss,” I tell him after he bandages me up.
“Go.”
He just stands there silently with his arms crossed.
I wait for him to leave or turn away, but he doesn’t, so I pull my cock out and use the urinal. I glance over, looking him up and down. It’s making me hard, which makes it difficult to control.
“Going to come hold my dick while I piss, too?”
“Quiet.”
“I’m just really, really scared that some attacker might come assault me while I’m in here,” I tell him. “Your hand on my cock would be such good security.”
His expression is like stone, even while I attempt to lighten the mood and joke around.
I will try to win as many smiles and laughs from you as I possibly can.
Even if you act like carved stone when I talk about my dick.
I wash my hands and we head out onto the quad.
“What else did you have planned today?” he asks me.
“I brought a picnic blanket and my lunch in my backpack. Was going to go find a place on the quad to eat. I wanted today to be nice, and now I guess it’s kind of fucked up.”
He shakes his head. “The day is fine. Let’s go.”
He walks with me out onto the crisscrossing pathways along the grass. The leaves on the trees are starting to go gold, red, and orange now, and the canopy above the quad is beautiful. I walk with him down one of the long paths. I still feel like I have an emotional hangover, but he doesn’t seem to be judging me for going into full freak-out mode in the gym.
I don’t know if I’m ever going to see the unhinged, violent streak I saw in Roman that first night at the party.
Why is he so good at physically overpowering people?
Good with first aid, too… and absolutely covered in tattoos even at his young age?
Roman isn’t telling me everything.
And I’m going to fucking figure out what he’s hiding, because nothing else about him makes any sense.