Jared's Just a Friend Ch. 04

// It's great seeing how much you all are enjoying this series. As always, comments are encouraged and appreciated! We'll be picking up from Josef's perspective in this chapter. //

The heat trailing down my body felt unreal. I was always amazed at how sex with Shawn always felt like the first time every time we did it. Uncovering more of his tan, freckled skin, seeing the searing desire dancing in his brown eyes, and feeling the silky smooth skin of his bubbly ass against my bare skin--sometimes the sights alone were enough to get me close to the edge.

This time was no different, except he was taking his time, plotting a trail of kisses from my neck to my nipples and over my abs until he hovered just above where I wanted those teasing lips most. My eyes were tightly closed as I tried to control the urge to grip those soft brown locks and finally get the release I was aching for. His hands smoothed over my thighs and conjoined next to his lips. My dick twitched at the thought of him taking it in his hands. I knew that the sweet sensation of his warm mouth sinking over the head would follow. Yet, he did none of that; my hips shimmied impatiently.

A moan escaped in my frustration, "Shawn..."

My hand slid down to caress his face, only to find nothing. My brows creased in confusion. Suddenly I became aware that I was dreaming. My eyes snapped open to the sun lightly filtering into the room. But this room looked nothing like my own and I sat up, panicked.

'Did I go home with someone?'

A quick look around and I realized that I was in Jared's room. I sighed in relief and sagged against the pillows. It had taken a while to break that habit. I would never hear the end of it from David after all the work he did to help me get back to some semblance of normal after Shawn. The thought brought my dream back to the forefront. I had been dreaming about one of the last times we'd been together before... Well, before everything went to shit. I hated that I still dreamt of what we had. I hated, even more, the effect that just a fantasy had on my body. My cock throbbed insistently in my sweats. Unthinkingly I reached down to squeeze it, the action only torturing me further. My eyes snapped open once more when I remembered that not only was I in Jared's room, I had insisted on sleeping right beside him last night. Thankfully he wasn't there to witness me having a wet dream. I reached for my phone lying next to his fractured one on the bedside table. The time read 9 in the morning, thankfully not that much later than I usually got up. I got out of bed and stretched--a deep one that drew a groan from my core. My body felt odd at having missed my morning run, but I promised myself I'd stick around in case Jared needed me.

"So much for that," I snorted.

I went down the hall to my room to change into jeans and a shirt before I came back to wait for Jared. I figured he must've had to use the bathroom, but was a little perturbed as to why he didn't wake me up to make the trip easier, but from what I'd seen so far he wasn't the type to ask for help if it wasn't offered. So, I sat at the desk nearest his bed and scrolled on my phone as I waited.

When I looked at the time again I noticed way more time had passed than a quick piss necessitated. I hesitated for a moment as I wondered if it was more than a quick trip before my thoughts flashed the thought of Jared having lost his footing somehow and lying in pain somewhere. There were still people on campus but not many opted to get up before noon with no obligations. I chewed on my bottom lip as I considered he might think I was babying him if I went looking for him. There was no harm in just going to the restroom to see if I passed him though. Besides, after all that morning excitement I needed to pee too.

Although I finally got some form of relief, I started to worry after not seeing him on the way to and from the bathroom. His phone mocked me as I paced the room. I had no idea how I was going to find him. Hell, I didn't even have his number if the damn thing wasn't broken. My phone buzzed in my pocket, jolting me from my reverie.

"Sorry I didn't answer your ft earlier I was asleep -_-" The text from David read, "Jared isn't here tho. Is he okay?"

That was one less place I had to look for him, at least. The trouble is that meant there were a whole lot more places I didn't know where to search now. "He left this morning idk where he is. Just trying to find him"

I watched David's text bubble pop up almost instantly, "Aww you do like him"

My thumbs were flying over the keyboard as I watched him ready his follow-up text, "Stfu I just wanna make sure he's ok"

"LMAO I'm kidding dude relax. Lmk if you need help looking. Or if you find him. Whatever means I get to sleep in more"

I chuckled despite myself, "Yeah ok. Lmk if he calls you tho"

David left a heart reaction on my text, and I knew that meant he'd immediately turned over to go back to sleep. I sat down and wracked my brain to think of where I had seen Jared around when I had been trying to avoid running into him. There were the obvious spots: the cafeteria, on the way to class, and of course the dorms.

'Where did I see him the most?' My brows furrowed in concentration. It came to me almost instantly. I shot towards the door before I paused and remembered to grab his pain medicine on the way out. If something had happened it probably would come in handy.

Although I wasn't a regular due to preferring the solace of my room for studying, I was still familiar with the expansive library on campus. The brick exterior was modest but the big windows covering its face bathed the interior in sunlight. It made the white walls and the tall, dark brown bookshelves glow. A bored attendant sat distracted by her phone at the front desk. She looked up briefly when the door closed behind me. I walked softly to the desk even though it was clear there weren't many occupants around to disturb. She put her phone down and straightened up when I stood before her, a small smile dawning on her face.

"What can I do for you?"

"Hi, I'm looking for someone that might be here. He's a bit shorter than me, maybe up to my shoulders? He's pretty pale, with dark hair, and blue eyes. Probably, well, definitely, came in on crutches."

The smile widened. "Oh, you're looking for Jared?"

"Yeah, is he here?" Part of me wanted to ask how she knew him. Despite myself, I felt a small flare of jealousy kick up.

"Well... He seemed like he wanted to be alone, but yeah, he's here." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder with a nod, "Just go straight til you reach the windows at the back, he's sitting there."

I thanked her and then walked in the direction she'd pointed. The only sounds I could hear were my shoes on the carpet and the faint hum of the ventilation system. I spotted Jared's unruly head of hair as I neared. It was dipped as he poured over the book in his lap. He had his injured ankle propped up on one of the wooden chairs he'd dragged over from a desk. His crutches leaned against the window behind him. Although he'd somehow managed to get sweatpants over his cast, he was still wearing the tank top he'd worn to bed with a jacket thrown over it. I couldn't admire the peek at so much of his exposed neck and collar for long before his bright eyes shot in my direction once he noticed me walking up. His gaze dipped briefly before he turned away, blushing. I looked down, wondering if I had put on a dirty shirt, but saw nothing of concern. I shrugged it off, coming closer to ease into the twin armchair at his side. He cleared his throat and lay the open book facedown on the table next to him, but wouldn't meet look me in the eyes.

"Hey, you okay?"

He met my gaze briefly at the sound of my voice but quickly looked away. "Yeah, yeah, I'm all good. What-uh, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I woke up and you were gone and I don't have any way to reach you. I figured something must've happened..." My voice trailed off as I heard how overprotective I was sounding. "That, y'know, maybe you got hurt... or lost, or something..." I rubbed my neck and stared at the floor. I was starting to think I overreacted.

'He's a grown man, Josef, he can take care of himself.' I chided myself inwardly.

To my surprise, I heard a chuckle come from his direction. I looked up to see him smiling at me. It wasn't one of the small, restrained smiles I noticed he'd tend to give people. Instead, it showed his neat, gleaming teeth and crinkled his eyes. The sun backlit him, softening the messy waves of his hair, making his smile glow brighter. That clench from early came back as I took in the beauty of the man in front of me.

"It sounds like you were really worried about me."

"I mean, yeah, you didn't even take your medicine with you," I blustered. I pulled the bottle from my pocket and handed it to him.

His eyes darted away again as he stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "Oh, yeah, I guess I was kinda in a rush. Just needed some fresh air."

Mine narrowed in suspicion. "What do you mean in a rush?"

"Well, I don't mean in a rush, it just slipped my mind. I wasn't gonna stay here long anyway, but..." He flashed the book from earlier. "I got caught up reading this." He laughed weakly.

There was something he wasn't telling me.

"Dude, what's-" I watched his eyes dart up from the floor to mine before lowering again, with mine following--darting away again once he realized I was looking at him. My eyebrows raised as I realized he hadn't been looking at my shirt, but instead at my pants.

'Oh fuck.' My mind raced to my dream from earlier. 'Did he see me hard?'

My cheeks warmed. Part of me was mortified at the thought, knowing it was from dreaming of my ex, while another, cockier part relished the idea of Jared getting to see what I was packing.

'Did he like what he saw?'

I leaned closer until my elbows were nearly rubbing his. He didn't flinch away but still kept his eyes on the ground. The submissiveness of it brought some of that earlier aching back. But, I was resolved to smooth things over, even if I also wanted to lean closer and voice my question.

"Okay," I blew out. "You saw me all boned up, didn't you?"

His face twisted into one of incredulity. "Boned up? What're you, 12?"

"I didn't know how else to say it," I leaned back with a laugh. "Morning wood sounds a little outdated, don't you think?"

It had the effect I wanted of making him laugh and relax in his chair. Still, I couldn't help but test the waters a little.

"So, the majesty of me in all my glory made you run for the hills, huh? I don't think I've ever gotten that reaction."

"Yeah, it was just too much to handle. I had to go be among the common folk again, your majesty." He shot back.

"Too much to handle? Glad you think it's impressive." I said with a wink.

The bright blush that had been fading came back at those words.

'So he did like what he saw!'

Before I could stop it, a smirk came across my face. Bolstered, I charged on, "You don't have to wait for me to be asleep to get another peek, y'know. All you have to do is ask."

His mouth opened and closed as his cheeks flushed further. After a moment, he simply glared at me before turning and grabbing his crutches in a huff. He struggled to his feet, with me right behind him with my hands at the ready. He glanced at my stance before finally meeting my gaze. A smile tugged at his lips even as I watched him try to contain it.

"I guess I should say thanks for worrying about me. My ankle was starting to hurt from the trip over."

"Yeah, of course. I promised to help you. That includes stalking you to give you pills." I joked.

He laughed, favoring me with another of his genuine smiles. And at that moment I realized I wasn't going to be able to keep things platonic with Jared. Not with the way my heart fluttered at just a smile.