Page 22 of Anchored To You

"Fuck, okay, that came out wrong. That was his idea. Not mine. I don't want to have sex with you. I'm sure you're great in bed. In fact, with a body like yours, I can only imagine how good you fuck. But um, I don't want to have sex with you?"

"Is that a question?" I laugh, tapping the top of the counter. Matteo is not my type, but he's still cute as hell. He's bubbly and has the cutest smile, but he doesn't have those teal eyes that suck me in, or that bratty attitude that I know is just a wall.

“No, it's not a question. It's a statement. Sorry. I might have had a wee bit too much to drink. And again, that was all this guy’s fault,” he says, pointing his finger at Niko.

"Don't blame me," Niko says, slapping Matteo on the shoulder. "I was only trying to help you. From what I've heard, Beck can have sex with someone and not have it mean anything, so I thought that was what you wanted."

"What?" I ask, trying to make sense of what he's saying. "What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing bad. King was telling me about your roommate. How you both hooked up last year and now you guys are roommates. I just assumed you liked to hook up. Which was bad on my part to assume, but I'm just trying to help out my friend." He hiccups loudly, covering his mouth as he looks around. "That was nasty. Sorry," he laughs.

"I don't really hook up," I tell them, not sure why I'm even having this conversation with them. "Yeah, I've done it a few times, but I don't really enjoy it. And if I'm being honest, I really hate what I did to my roommate. He didn't deserve that. He's someone I could have had more than a hookup with."

"Oh my god, tell us more," Matteo says, resting his arms on the counter. "Please."

"Do tell," Niko adds, batting his eyelashes.

Shaking my head, I debate whether ‌I should say anything. Taking them both in, I notice their eyes are a little glazed and they’re constantly giggling. I have a feeling neither of them will remember this conversation tomorrow.

"Fine. So, when I first met him, I was smitten. I actually met him in this spot right here. I was blown away. He was gorgeous, with ‌eyes I wanted to get lost in for days. We talked for a while and it was just so damn easy. And because I didn't want the night to end, we ended up going down to the river for a swim."

"Mmm, hmm, a swimmm," Matteo taunts, smirking at me. “I know what 'swim' means when I hear it.”

I chuckle loudly, rolling my eyes. "No, an actual swim in the river. We went swimming."

"So, you hooked up in the water?" Niko asks, wrinkling his nose. "That doesn't sound very fun."

"Oh my god," I reply, already getting exasperated with both of them. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Yes," they echo.

"Anyway, while we were swimming, we kissed. And it was honestly the best kiss of my life, and I didn't want the night to end. So, it didn't. We had such a fucking good time together. But the next day we exchanged numbers and I swear I wanted to reach out to him but I got buried with school and baseball and I knew if I let myself I would get overwhelmed with him and then I would get kicked out of CU for my grades and I couldn't take that risk."

"You couldn't have sent one tiny text saying, 'hey I like you, but I need to focus on school so this can't happen.' That doesn't sound too complicated or like it would take a lot of time." Matteo says bluntly, not knowing how much I wish I had done that.

"I mean, yes, I should have done that. But I didn't. I fucked that all up. But to be honest, I never thought I was going to see him again, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Until you realized he's now your roommate," Niko says.

I grab two glasses, filling them up with ice and water and handing them over to the guys. "Yeah, I was not expecting that at all."

"And how is that going?" Matteo asks, taking a sip of his drink and closing his eyes. Yeah, I don't think either of them is going to be lasting much longer.

"At first, it was awkward as hell. But now it's okay. We talk sometimes. Hell, he even helps me study now. We hung out together a couple of nights ago, and I probably ruined any chance we might have had of becoming friends."

Niko gulps down his water, slamming the glass onto the surface. "Why?"

"I might have suggested we go back to the river where we first kissed. We both knew what I was suggesting when I brought it up."

"And he turned you down?" Matteo asks, sliding his glass over to me, silently asking for more water.

I refill both of their cups as I blow out a deep breath. "Yeah, he made some excuse. Which is for the best, honestly."

"You know what I think?" Niko replies, burping loudly as he shakes his head. "I swear, I didn't realize drinking made me burp so much. Anyway, I think you should still try to take your shot. Obviously, you regret what happened last year. And from where I'm sitting, it seems like you want to kiss him again, so why not?"

"Because my situation hasn't changed. I still need to focus on school, baseball, and now work. I don't have time for a boyfriend."

"Who said anything about a boyfriend?" Matteo mumbles. "Boyfriends are stupid. Maybe you guys just hook up. Does he hook up?"