Chapter 2 Nate

I looked my best friend in the eyes and lied. I’d told him that I didn’t really think about who I wanted to be mated with, but the truth of the matter was I actively tried NOT to think about who I wanted to be mated with. For a magnitude of reasons. One, it was impossible. Key the term ‘mate’ as in sex…as in breed. Two, they liked someone else. And three, they were my best friend. It placed the fear of God into me, but I couldn’t help the way my body reacted to him.

I didn’t understand how he managed to touch me so freely and unaffected when the inside of my body was like a whirlwind–screaming for more at every glance. I told myself it was just…admiration, or a silly thing that would pass, but it had been years and I still worshiped the ground he walked on. I still reacted when we play wrestled; getting firm in the front of my pants–not that he’d noticed, thankfully. I still had those dreams about him where I woke up wet and sweaty. And I still found myself fantasizing about what his kiss might taste like.

After our little rump on the floor, surrounded by crushed potato chips, I ended up taking a shower. A very cold shower. Meanwhile, Devon ate the chips from the floor like a total pig, and returned to studying. The fact that he could focus right now was beyond me. And as much as I hated to say it, it was telling.

Around Devon my mind got all cloudy, like I couldn’t comprehend my own thoughts, but he could not only function normally but study.

Meanwhile, I found my mind tapped around what just happened. The feel of his strong body as he pressed me down onto the floor; the sweet musk of his sweat, and the feel of his hot breath so close to my lips. It felt wrong–weird even–to masturbate over my best friend while I was in the shower we shared, but I couldn’t help myself as I reached down and stroked.

I had to get my release somehow.

“Hey, did you want some pizza?” I heard Devon ask through the bathroom door.

Despite his words being crystal clear, I found myself gasping. “What?”

To my horror, he opened the door.

The moment I heard that doorknob turn, my eyes beaded from my head, and I spun around to face my erect shaft toward the shower wall. “What the fuck, Devon?!” I screeched. “I’m showering!”

“Relax.” He laughed. “I’ve seen you naked before.”

My blood was racing–silently begging him to come closer. “I’m, uh. I’m busy!”

“Oh, you’re jacking off?” he asked casually.

I looked back at him. I tried to look pissed off, but he was…shirtless. And though he had his hand down his pants and was scratching his balls, he looked sexy as he leaned against the wood of the doorway. Muscular. “Trying to, yeah,” was all I could manage to respond.

“You want me to get you some porn or something?”

I wanted him to slowly strip off his pants, step closer, turn me around and take my virginity in the shower. That’s what I really wanted. I mean he was standing right here with his hand on his crotch for fucks sake. I tried to remember that his comfortability around me was likely because he didn’t feel the same way. He didn’t see this as anything gay or weird, just two guys naked in the bathroom as one scratches himself. Apparently.

“Uh, no. Thank you.”

“Oh okay, well, have fun,” he said, going to close the door. Then he paused. “Do you want me to get you a snack or something?”

I looked at him with furrowed brows. “No, thanks,” I said, though my stomach grumbled at the thought. It was weird that he knew I’d be hungry before I did, but I guessed we were just that close…close enough to predict each other like that. “Actually, can you make me a snack for when I’m out?” I asked him, hopefully.

“Sure, what do you want?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. Well, I did know I wanted to sink my teeth into him.

“Grilled cheese?” he asked.

“Nah, I had that yesterday.”

“Cereal?”

“Hmm. No. I want something dry, not wet.”

“Uh…..” He stared at me. “Sausage sandwich?”

“Do we have those little frankfurts?” I wondered.

“I’ll check.”

“Thank you.”

“No! Only beef sausages,” he told me, and then he stuck his head around the open door, into the bathroom. “I can grill them.”

“Okay, yeah, that sounds good.”

Apparently when he was searching in our kitchen he’d found himself a little snack. He was eating a chocolate bar as he nodded. “Alright, I’ll start cooking in ten minutes, so hurry up.” Then he turned to walk away, hesitated, and looked back at me again. He was so comfortable, I almost forgot I was technically naked–even if I was turned away and cupping myself. “You want a bite?” he asked me.

I looked at his face, then his body, and chewed on my lip. Yes, I definitely did want a bite, but not just of the chocolate that was half eaten already. “Sure,” I said.

He walked closer and offered the chocolate toward me. I looked at him as I took it into my mouth and closed my lips around it, and bit slowly. Chewing for a moment, my cheeks felt hot and I turned away a bit more. Then I felt him smack my wet ass in a locker room kind of way, but still the motion had me grunt.

“Gotta keep your strength up,” he teased. “Go hard. Think of Nancy.”

“Screw you!” I replied as left, leaving the door ajar.

He laughed.

Fuck, I wanted to fuck him.

*****

We had next period together, which would have been great, if stupid Amelia wasn’t in our class. This meant that I had to spend a whole hour listening to Devon pining over that bitch. Okay, maybe she wasn’t a “bitch” per se, but she also wasn’t overly nice to people she deemed less than. Then again, Devon wasn’t overly nice to people he deemed unworthy either, so really, the best way to describe her was a female version of him.

       But that wasn’t a good thing.

       One Devon was enough. We didn’t need a female version.

       Nonetheless, the pair were a match made in heaven. Or hell. And yeah, as much as I loathed it, the wolf gods would probably pair them together and make them mates.

       “Hey, I didn’t know she was friends with Natalie,” said Devon.

       I was halfway through cutting open a frog, but glanced up at him. “What?”

       Devon gestured with a head nod in Amelia’s direction.

       I followed his gaze to see Amelia and Natalie as they laughed and joked around with the dead frog. My eyebrows furrowed. I knew that everyone had their own grieving process, but it seemed a little distasteful given the frog’s blood was still fresh on their gloves.

       “Damn she’s hot,” Dev murmured near my ear.

       I rolled my eyes. “Or a serial killer in the making,” I mumbled.

       “That would be hot, too,” he replied in a low tone.

Of course he’d say that. He found unhinged women and blood-play sexy. At least, in theory anyway. I was pretty sure if she actually committed murder he’d throw up on the closet person. But yeah, whenever Dev watched TV shows he always found himself drawn to the most villainous, crazy female leads.

“Most of the girls in here are crying or grossed out,” said Dev, “but not her.”

“Because she’s a sadist,” I murmured.

“Ask out Nat,” Dev told me.

Now I looked at him. “What?”

“Ask her out,” he repeated.

“Why?”

“Because your names match and she’s had a crush on you since, like, 7th grade dude.” His arm met my shoulder, gripping hard. “Then we can double date. You and Nat and me and Amelia. It’s literally perfect.”

I eyed the girls again. Nat was cute, I supposed. Tanned, curly hair, hazel eyes. She was skinny and a little lanky, but cute in a girly ‘plain jane’ kind of way. I liked her glasses, but still I found myself leaning closer to Dev and mumbling near his ear, “She’s not exactly my type.”

“Come on, dude! She’s cute,” he insisted, “and I hear she fucks on the first date.”

I continued cutting open the frog. Somehow the guts spilling out seemed reflective of how I was feeling on the inside right now.

“Please?” Devon begged. “I’ll do anything you want.”

I turned toward him. “Anything?”

“Anything,” he repeated in a pleading tone. “Just be my wingman this one time and ask out Nat, setting up a double date somewhere chill–like at the movies or something.”

I looked at that pleading look in his dark eyes before I turned back toward the girls and sighed. Apparently, the expression on my face answered for me because Devon already cheered in celebration. He grabbed my face and sloppily kissed my cheek, messing my hair afterward.

Granted, the promise of anything sounded nice.

With that, I hopped down from my chair–it was one of those high up wooden bar stools. I pushed it underneath the lab desk before I grabbed my pen from behind my ear. Sticking out my tongue, I wrote a note that said, ‘movies?’ And then I tore it from my notebook, made it into a messy ball, and tossed it onto Nat’s desk. It hit Amelia’s arm, but Nat picked it up first. She seemed confused as she stared at it, and then she looked back toward me, so I mouthed, ‘read’ and pointed toward Amelia, who was also looking at me.

Nat’s eyes were wide as she opened the letter with furrowed brows and then she blushed, looking over at me. I gestured as if to say ‘you two,’ and then pointed toward myself and Dev. Nat leaned over, talking to Amelia for a moment. She looked at us, whispering to Nat for a second, before she turned back to me and nodded.

“Yes!” Devon discreetly cheered, making a little fist pump motion “I love you, dude.”

I looked at the girls with an exhale as he continued bouncing around in celebration. I knew they’d say yes–there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, which meant that soon I’d be going on a double date with my best friend of whom I was secretly in love with. It was going to be an interesting night, that was for sure. I guessed that there were worse scenarios, like, at least I was technically going on a date with him. It just wasn’t us that would be dating….

“I love you too,” I murmured, though the words were barely audible.