Crushing my mouth against his, I swallowed him in a heated kiss, my fingers curling into the front of his jacket, my tongue slipping inside him. The chaos in my soul quieted. With a groan, I thrust my swelling cock against his. It felt like a lifetime since I’d had him.
“Greyson Moore. What the hell is going on here?” Ella’s voice clapped through the air.
“Oh, my God.” Tiffany gasped.
With my heart seizing, I freed Malik and stepped back, my lips tingling and pulse returning to thunder in my ears. Holy fuck, what had I done? “Um, ah, um…” I stared at Ella, who glared back at me, gripping her purse bag so tightly her knuckles turned white. My attention drew to Tiffany, her fingers covering her mouth and eyes wide, with her phone in one hand and purse bag on the ground next to her.
“Are you gay, Greyson? Is that why your father is running around New York City practically begging women to date you?” Ella snarled.
“N-no, I’m, uh, I think I’m bisexual.” Did it really fucking matter right now? I peeked at Malik, blinking at me.
“Are you in love with him? What the hell is going on? I thought you two were—” Ella made air quotes with her fingers “—Best friends.” With a scoff, she said, “More likeboyfriends.” She stomped toward me, dropping the bag at her side. “Or are you fuck buddies?”
“I don’t, um…” I shifted my gaze to Malik.Say something, please.
Tramping closer to me, she jabbed her finger into my chest. “You’re paying for dinner, Greyson. I’ll have a great time with Tiffany, and I’ll send you the bill. You can Zelle me.” With a harrumph, she twisted on her heels and trudged away, grabbing Tiffany by the elbow. “Have a great life sucking cock, Greyson, because no girl in New York City will associate with you after I tell them about this.” She stormed off with Tiffany in tow.
“Holy fucking shit, Grey.” Malik came to life and grabbed my shoulder. “Babe, are you okay?” His forehead wrinkled as he swept his gaze across me.
Babe…Oh, fuck. I crumpled in his arms as my eyes stung, and my throat closed. I was ruined. She would tell my father about this. As my breath hitched, a sob ripped from my throat, and a hot tear tumbled onto his shoulder. I hooked my arms around his waist.
“Hey, I’ve got you, baby. Don’t worry about a thing.” He tightened his hold on me, pressing a soft kiss in my hair and skimming his hand along my back. “We’ll get through this, no matter what happens.”
My heart swirled with emotion. He deserved better than what I’d given him. “Malik?” I lifted my head and gazed deeply into his dark eyes, so full of concern for me. “I love you, Malik. Like, really love you.” I sniffled. There was no other explanation for my behavior today, for risking it all to keep him.
His eyes widened and grew glassy. “I love you, too, Grey. Holy shit, do I love you.” With the corners of his lips curling, he cupped my cheek and pressed a toe-curling kiss on my mouth. It seemed full of everything he’d held back since the frat party. As the kiss broke, he said, “Just to clarify, you didn’t mean you loved me as a friend, right?”
“God no.” With a shake of my head, I forced a smile. “I love you as a boyfriend. As a partner, as a lover.Mylover.” With a soft snort, I said, “There was nomanafter it and never will be again.”
“Goddamn, this feels good. This is right, Grey. We were always destined for this. Do you believe me?” His gaze darted between my eyes as he brushed the wetness from my cheeks with his thumb.
“Yes, I believe you.” How could I have missed it before? I’d been too scared. I bit the side of my lip. “Can we go home? I want to maybe just grab a pizza and cuddle on the couch or in my bed, and I don’t know?—”
“Reconnect?” He pressed a lingering kiss against my lips.
“Yes, reconnect.” As I stepped back, I swiped the wetness from my eyes and breathed in deeply. I would turn my phone off after paying the bill for Ella and Tiffany’s dinner, so no one could disturb us. Fuck it, buying her dinner was the least I could do after I’d deceived her, and I didn’t want to hear from my father tonight. For this one night, I wanted peace with the man I loved.
“Come on, give me the keys to your car and let me drive you home.” He snatched my hand and strolled with me down the sidewalk and toward the parking garage.
It felt wonderful to hold hands with him in public, not as friends, but as boyfriends. The world should know that he was mine, and I was his. But first, I’d have to face the consequences of my actions.
After arriving home,I followed Malik into the house, and we shrugged out of our jackets, hanging them on the chair backs at the dinette. The drive home had been quiet. We’d said all we needed to at the shopping mall.
“Where’s Tex?” I hadn’t seen his enormous truck out front, and it wasn’t in the garage. I stepped to the refrigerator. “Beer?” We deserved a reward after the day of bullshit.
“Yes, please.” Malik sighed. “Tex went out with his tutor again. He texted me while we were at the purse shop.” He stood with his ass against the kitchen island counter. “Grey, do you really think Ella will tell your father about us?”
I handed him a can of beer and snicked mine open. “Yes. Well, I think she’ll tell her father, and he’ll tell mine.” I took a sip of beer. “Question is, when will I get a nasty phone call from my dad?” As nausea balled in my gut, I rounded the sectional and dropped onto the corner.
“I’m so sorry, Grey.” He sank in beside me. “I’ll tell my parents about us before Christmas, so they’ll know.” He uncurled an arm behind my shoulders on the couch cushions. “It’s time I came out to them too.”
“Yeah…” He’d have it easy. Me? Not so much. I drank more beer and leaned into his side. “I’m afraid, Malik. I’m not sure what he’ll do, but I think it’ll be severe.” My head swam with possibilities. Would he force me to go to Harvard? Would he outright disown me? But I was his only child.
“What about your mom? You never talk about her.” He wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders. “Maybe she’d be an ally for you.”
Laughing a scoff, I said, “I barely know her. I’m sure she’ll side with whatever Dad wants.” I took a few gulps of beer. I’d need another one.
“Okay, but you have Julie. Maybe you should call her first thing in the morning and see if she can help calm your dad.” He brushed his fingers in a circle along my shoulder.