Summertime. And the livin's easy.

It's hot. I'm hot, my skin misting with sweat and threatening more. The air is thin. My breaths feel like they give me half the air I need. It all brings me in and out of a conscious state. One moment, I'm floating in a warm haze as if my bed was the soft sand of the beach, and the next, I'm back to reality, gasping, shaking, my thighs tightening around my hand while I tangle Heath's hair between my fingers.

His head moves as he slides his tongue up and down my seam, then stops to circle my favorite spot. The pleasure rushes through me and I have to stop myself from leaving him bald. I move my hand to grip the sheets instead.

A moan slips slowly from me. My hips grind against him. "Come here," I beg. "I can't do it again like this. I need to feel you."

He hums a no against me. "I'm not done yet."

His fingers trace down my seam and slip inside. His fingers curve up while he flitters his tongue against me. My surprise and moan come out in a singular, "Ooh!"

Talk about an upgrade. I dumped a man who thought oral sex was disgusting, and now I have one who whines if he doesn't get a taste. I let my head fall back and welcome orgasm number two.

The warm sand swallows me, blanketing me heat that rises to my head. My breaths become quicker and quicker as I verge closer. Suddenly he stops, leaving me on edge. I glare at him but my anger fades quickly. He rolls on the condom with impatient speed. I hide my smile the best I can, waiting for what comes next.

He falls forward onto his palms and his hips settle between my thighs in one fluid movement. He looks down at me with a knowing expression. As if doing a dance we've practiced a million times, I lift my knees to tilt my hips toward him and he sinks inside me with no hands.

His presence makes my eyes roll back. My body is sensitive and needy, I feel every inch of him as he stretches me around him. He pushes in deep, adjusts his stance, and pulls my hips toward him to push in a few more sweet inches. When he starts to move, I'm lost again in the heat of summer—breathless, hot, and loving every second.

He fucks me hard. I only hear the slapping sounds when my moans quiet for a breath. Every thrust slides me up on my silken sheets. My head leaves the edge of the bed. Then, my shoulders. "Heath," I moan, "I'm falling."

"I got you."

He has me in more ways than one. My upper back dangles from the mattress while my hips stay firm in his grasp. In my arched position, he hits me in all the right places. Over and over, the pleasure shoots through me. His eager pace and his desperate grip make me so hot. I love when he takes me just how he wants me.

"Oh my god," I whine, gripping his wrists to hold on the best I can. My legs are tense, my pussy tight around him. "Oh my fucking god."

His hand moves from my thigh to my stomach. He rubs his thumb against me in time with his thrusts, making the pleasure burst inside me. I call out loudly, my body shaking with my impending climax. "Come on," he commands with impatience. "Let go."

My body melts for him, and then it hits me. "Ah-ahh!" I come hard. My knees snap together, my body shakes. He goes harder, pulling my hips down to meet his. As it rolls through me, my eyes open to my upside-down world that quakes with every move he makes. "Yes. Yes," I moan as my orgasm continues to wash over me.

He lets out a deep groan and stops, his head falls back like a howling wolf. His hips shudder between my thighs. I feel the relief radiate from him, and in it, I find my own. Like clouds gathering over my imaginary beach, I welcome the cool calm of satiation. Gravity brings me down from my haze with each breath. But then, I realize it's actually bringing me down.

"I'm falling," I try to call Heath's attention back to reality. I reach for his hand. "Heath, I'm—" I slip from him and fall to the floor, landing on my upper back, my knee smacking against my forehead. "Ow!"

He bursts into laughter.

I roll onto my hip and glare at him. He falls to his back and continues to laugh. The glee in his handsome smile makes his eyes squint.

"You're an asshole."

His laughter calms, but that smile remains. "Don't act like I did you a disservice," he says. "Come here."

He sits up and extends a hand toward me. I take it, crawling back onto the bed and onto his lap. I brush his hair back, tilting his head so he looks up at me. "You dropped me on my head, you prick," I tease him, making his smile widen. He's pretty and I'm still drunk on the feeling, still coming down from the hour-long high he just gave me. He looks up at me while he drags his fingers down my back. "Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry," he says in a sexy, growly voice.

I drape my arms over his shoulders, laughing to myself over the smirk on his face. "Thank you." His smile fades when I lean closer and pull his face to mine. Wait.

I catch myself, awkwardly hesitating with my lips a mere inch from his. 

What am I doing? Our contract is very black and white, but this? Whatever this is feels very gray. But, he doesn't care. His smile perks up in a little laugh before he presses me closer to close the distance.

Our lips barely touch before the sound of a door catches my attention. We both look toward the sound. Jeremy's laugh carries from up the hall. "Shit. You have to go," I say in a frantic whisper.

"What?"

"Right now."

Heath rolls his eyes. "The condom's not even off yet."

"Well, take it off and get out." I scramble to gather our clothes, tossing his shirt against his chest. He groans in frustration.

Once I'm redressed, Heath barely has on his pants. "Go out the window."

His eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." I start to open it.

"Oh my god, will you chill?" He pulls my hands away from the latch. "Jer barely talks to the guys anyway—it won't be the end of the world if he finds out. He's not a snitch and even if he was, it's just sex."

"You know it will turn into a thing. And even if he doesn't snitch, he won't let me live it down." I smooth my hair and open the door. "Just stay here and shut up."

"Whatever."

I walk out of my room and up the hall, pretending everything is normal. Jeremy and Chet stand in the kitchen smiling about something. "Hey, guys," I greet them. "When did you get back?"

Jeremy looks at me with a sheepish grin. "A while ago. You were too busy getting your back blown out to hear us come in."

Fuck.

"The man had you screaming," he says. "I'm jealous."

Chet waves to remind Jeremy of his presence standing right behind him. "Um, hello?"

"There's no way that's Lenny."

"Definitely not."

"Then who is it? I'd love to meet the sex god."

"It's no—" I stop short when Jeremy brushes past me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just gonna say hi."

"What?! No! Oh my god, stop!" I jump on his back when he reaches my door, as if I could stop his burly mass. "Jeremy, stop it. Don't—"

The door swings open, and there is Heath, caught halfway through putting his shirt back on. My eyes widen and my skin goes cold. Jer's mouth drops open. "Heath?"

He looks between the two of us. "Uh . . . Hey, Jer."

I drop off his back and wish every curse would fall upon them both. My mind races through what every person in our circle will say when he tells them. Jeremy might not be a snitch, but he's a gossipy bitch.

"Well, I gotta run but I'll see you at the bachelor party, right?" Heath asks while walking past him.

"Yeah."

"Cool. See you then. Bye, Chet!"

"Bye, Heath!"

The door closes behind him. They both continue to stare at me.

I press my palm against my forehead. "Don't say it."

"You and Heath are—"

"I said don't say it."

"Oh . . . my God," Jeremy gushes with a wide smile. Just as I expected, he's living for this.

"It's nothing. Just a one-night stand kind of thing."

"A one-night stand on a Wednesday. Cute."

"It's not a thing. Seriously, drop it."

"Wait until the guys hear about this. They are going to lose their shit." He grabs his phone. I yank it from his hands and smack it down against the countertop.

I know he's trying to rile me up, but part of me worries he'll actually do it. I have enough drama lined up this summer. "You're not going to tell anyone."

"I'm not?"

"Honey, be nice," Chet defends me. "She's a busy girl. Let her get it where she can and leave her alone."

Jeremy continues to stare at me. That wicked smile shows all the ways he plans to blackmail me.

"What do you want?" I ask him with a sigh.

"I want to break the lease."

The words take a moment register. My brow tenses in confusion. "What?"

"Do you want to tell her or should I?" Jeremy asks his man.

"Honey . . . I didn't want to do it like this."

Jeremy takes that as a green light and turns around with excitement. "Chet proposed. We're moving in together."

It's too much information for my brain to process at once. "Wait, what? You're moving—you're getting married? He proposed?!"

"Yes."

"I mean, congratulations, but what the hell? When did this happen? Today?"

"Last month," Jeremy says as if I'm the last person to know. Am I the last person to know?

"And you weren't going to tell me?"

He crosses his arms. "You've been running around to a million places every damn second. I've barely talked to you between your class and being Ryan's pet. And Heath's plaything, I see." He cracks a smile again. "Is that where you've been on weekends? Shacking up with your—"

"Don't even go there," I stop him. "You can't break the lease. Even if I wanted to live here on my own, I can't afford this place."

He snorts. "Yes you can. You just have to kiss up to daddy dearest a little more."

Funny how I just had this conversation with Heath and now I'm facing something similar. My family has money. A lot of money. My parents could buy this entire building tomorrow if they were so inclined, but that's not the point.

It's one more thing they get to hold over my head. One more thing I'll feel like I owe them. I owe them for saving me from an orphanage I don't remember, providing me with safety, security, and all the support I would need to achieve everything I have. But they don't see that. It's a line item in a ledger, another tit for tat. But what do I have left to give them?

I sigh. "When are you moving? Where are you moving?"

"Philadelphia. Next month."

"Philadelphia?! Jeremy! What the hell?!"

"I'll be there for the wedding but Vegas can go to hell, and the rest of the stupid wedding parties can fucking choke."

"Seriously? Did you even tell Ryan?" 

"No. We're friends of proximity. Everyone in the group. The minute we all graduate and get married, we'll barely talk," he explains. "Why would I keep hanging out with passive homophobes longer than I have to? They don't even get you and you're only half gay."

"Half—I'm not—what? Ugh, wait a second." I press my palm to my forehead.

"It's time for us to grow up, Teags. This is how life works."

My body is warring between anger and anxiety. "So just like that, you're going to leave me alone?"

"You'll have Heath."

I glare at him. "That's supposed to be a compromise?"

"It's honestly not my problem, Teags. I don't owe anyone my happiness." He is completely right, but I can't help but feel the "anyone" was directed at me. "I'll pay the remainder of the lease so it won't look bad on you, but I'll be out by next month."

He walks away, leaving me with a guilty-looking Chet. "I'm sorry," is all he can say.

The swirl of uncomfortable emotions settles into a sick feeling in my stomach. I watch the two of them grab cardboard boxes from Jeremy's room. I wonder if they have been there for weeks and I didn't notice that either. They slip by me, Chet tossing another look of remorse my way.

The door closes behind them and I don't know what to do with myself. Scream? Cry? Throw up? I wince and pull my bloody fingertip from between my teeth. 

All of the above it is.

_____

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