Problem with a One Night Stand Ch. 03

For my Snoopy Love! <3

Everyone always warned me that college would fly by, but I didn't realize just how quickly the time passed when I was doing things entirely on my own terms. Working at the consulate was actually an amazing job, and I loved every minute of it. I was the youngest person in the office, and everyone took me under their wing. I found myself being spoiled rotten with home cooked meals and being sent home with various baked goods on a weekly basis. It was a good thing I was working out harder than I ever had in my life to stay in shape.

I always thought I was fit while swimming for all those years, but four weeks on the crew team and my muscles were toned in a way I never imagined was possible for me. It sometimes startled me when I saw my own reflection, which I thought was hilarious. The guys on the team were great, too, and were proving to be great friends. Everyone worked together on the water, but they were also a great team once we were back on campus. They shared notes and textbooks, had study sessions together, and had each other's backs in everything they did. I actually felt like I belonged with them in a way I had never fit in with anyone before. I never really felt welcome even in my own home, and high school was not exactly the best place on earth either. If I hadn't met Jay, I probably would have had a very different experience. He had been a great roommate and an awesome friend, but now he had his own thing going, and I was grateful that I had found this other group to replace him. I saw Jason every now and then, but it wasn't ever as often as I would have liked. He was loving his new fraternity life though, and that made me happy for him. He deserved to have things work out for him. Matt had been by a couple times, and Jason had visited him a dew times, so they were still doing well. The election was only a month away, and the pressure was building for Matt, so he was always on his best behavior out of fear of being exploited in a way that would affect his father's campaign. Luckily, around here, his father was popular among college students, and people tended to want to be Matt's friend rather than catch him in scandalous acts. Either way, when he came to visit, Matt was the picture perfect son and behaved in a meticulous manner. It was a stark contrast to the Matt who used to sneak around Woodbridge Academy with Jason, or the guy who used to smuggle beer into the dorms on a weekly basis.

It happened to be a cool, but sunny, afternoon in the beginning of October, and I was hanging out on the lawn with a girl from my English class, Lindsey, when I spotted Andrew across the quad. It always amazed me how good he looked, even from afar. My heart always sped up in my chest whenever I saw him, and even though I knew it was stupid, I couldn't help but feel all warm inside whenever he was near. There was something about Andrew that I connected with on a deeper level than just the mind blowing sex, and it kind of freaked me out. I had thought I was in love with Adam, but I never felt the way with him that I do with Andrew. It was scary, to be honest. Even sneaking around with him was worth it, as long as it meant I got to be near him. We had finally upgraded to texting to meet up, and every time he sent me a text asking me to join him somewhere, I got this warm feeling inside, and it freaked me out. I didn't know him well enough to really feel invested in the relationship, but there was something more than casual hook ups here, at least for me.

I watched Andrew walk all the way across the quad, stopping to say hi to a couple people as he passed by, always smiling, always kind. I couldn't calm the jealous feeling that crept through me when I saw him stop to talk to one of the older guys from the dorm, and after a moment, sit down to talk more. The one bad thing about the dorms here are that classes are mixed on each floor, and you live in the same building for all four years. That meant that there were guys three years ahead of me also vying for Andrew's attention, since he was without a doubt the hottest guy in the whole building

Andrew and his friend were sitting awfully close, and I glared at them as I watched Andrew throw his head back and laugh at whatever the guy had said. I had seen this guy around a lot, but I had never actually met him. I just know he was also a senior, and quite obviously into Andrew, if his body language proved anything.

"Hello?" Lindsey interrupted my thoughts as she snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Are you even listening?" She asked me. I glanced over at her, wincing when I saw the bemused expression on her face. "You need to stop staring at him all the time. Someone is going to catch on."

"Staring at who?" I played dumb, glancing back across the courtyard, annoyed to see Andrew and sexy senior walking into the dorm together.

"Your RA." She rolled her eyes. "You're so obviously into him."

"I am not." I argued, but even I heard the weakness in my tone. I hadn't admitted to anyone that I was hooking up with Andrew, since this was obviously supposed to be a major secret.

Lindsey gave me a knowing glance. "You clearly have a thing for him. And who can blame you? He's hot!"

"He is." I agreed, shifting my gaze back to Andrew and his friend, who were just about at the entrance to the dorm. I watched sullenly as they went inside together.

"You should tell him that." She pushed. "You obviously want to do him. You should go for it." I didn't bother to confirm or deny it. Lindsey was freakishly intuitive, and I knew she would see right through me. She had been a great friend since we met, fun and playful, with a collection of hobbies that made her stand out from our peers. She was an individual, and I loved having her around. When I looked back at her, she was staring at me, her eyes assessing my every move. I did my best to school my features, but I know that when I think of Andrew, I probably look like a sappy lovesick fool. Her eyes widened, and she gasped and clapped her hands. "Oh my god! You already have!" She exclaimed loudly.

I couldn't answer, knowing I was sworn to secrecy. He didn't want me to tell anyone, and I didn't want to risk him dumping me because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "I have no idea what you're talking about anymore, Linds." I told her. "Come on, let's go back inside." I gathered my stuff and stood, waiting for her to follow me.

"Oh my god, you really are." She laughed, but stood as well, dusting herself off. "You hooked up with him! You're so lucky." I didn't answer again, turning my back and hiding my flaming red face. I hated being called out on things, and I hated lying. "He's so beautiful. What was it like? Was it amazing? What did you do?"

It was obvious Lindsey was never going to back down, so I spun around to keep her quiet. "Okay, fine. We have, but you need to keep quiet about it." I told her, hoping my voice was firm enough to get the point across. "He doesn't want anyone to know so he doesn't get in trouble for hooking up with someone who lives on his floor." I told her before starting to walk towards the door Andrew and his friend had passed through a moment earlier.

"What an asshole!" She exclaimed. "You should not have to be kept a secret."

"I know." I agreed. "But it's not like we are hiding in the closet. He just doesn't want to get in trouble."

"He's a wimp then." She told me. "He should be proud he has you. You're awesome."

"Thanks, Linds." I gave her a smile. "It'll be okay, I have a good feeling that we will make it through and laugh about it later. Eventually, he will want to let people know. Stuff like this can't last forever." I told her as we started our ascent up the stairs. "I mean, look at how things worked out for Jason. It will come to an end, but I may just have to wait a while for him to be ready to see how people take it. I think people would have a bigger issue with the fact that I'm a freshman than the fact I live on his hall. But people date younger or older all the time. It'll be fine, and Andrew will eventually realize that."

"True." She agreed. "Maybe he'll do something big and romantic like Matt did!"

I barked out a laugh, remembering the shock throughout the school when Matt stopped his graduation speak to out himself and his love for Jason in front of hundreds of people. We had told Lindsey the story, and she loved it. She was a sucker for romantic, happy endings. Her optimistic attitude and hopefulness were two of her greatest traits. "I don't think he's that kind of guy. Matt and Jason were a little different than we are. Matt was worried about politics. Andrew doesn't want to lose his job or get in trouble as a senior. He just doesn't want people to know yet, so you seriously can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay, okay." She held her hands up in defense. "I won't tell anyone. I just hope he smartens up soon."

"Me too." I grinned. We had reached the second floor, where she lived. "I'll see you later?"

"I have a study group tonight but let's do breakfast before class tomorrow." We said our goodbyes and hurried down the hall while I took the rest of the stairs two at a time to the third floor. No one seemed to be around, so I went straight to my room and plopped on my bed before taking out my laptop and attempting to do some work. It lasted all of ten minutes before my phone beeped. If nothing else, I had made a lot of friends at college.

I had expected one of the guys from the crew team to be the one texting me, so I was surprised when I saw it was actually Matt who had sent me a message. Matt and I rarely communicate unless Jason is with us, so I was actually kind of shocked. He was just checking to see if I wanted to grab a burger with him and a couple guys he knew, so I figured there was no harm in saying yes. I kind of wondered if he wanted me to help him pick out a gift for Jay or something. It was just so out of character for him. I agreed to meet him at the bar they were meeting at, and changed into something a little nicer than I had been wearing. The bar we were going to wasn't dressy by any means, but I did not want to be dressed like a slob in front of people when out with the son of a presidential candidate, in case there were any photographers trying to catch him doing something scandalous. They would be waiting forever, but that's a different story.

Matt was alone at a four top when I got there, so I greeted him and sat down beside him. He let me know that Jay was at a fraternity meeting, and he was bored so he figured he'd hit me up. I have to admit, this was the first time this had ever happened.

"So who's meeting us?" I asked him as I pondered what kind of burger I wanted. This place was known for their large selection, so I could never decide.

"Family friend and some guy he's dating." Matt shrugged. "I've known him forever. Our fathers have known each other forever and are golf buddies. Well, they were until the whole president thing. Now my dad is too busy to do anything."

"Oh, that's cool." I said. "I didn't realize you had your own friends here."

"Yeah, I spent a lot of the summer with him. His family has a house next to ours." He took a sip of his water. "He hung with me and Jay a few times."

My jaw nearly hit the table. He had to be talking about Andrew. Didn't Andrew say that he had a house next door to Matt? I swear we had had that conversation. He had brought it up when we were talking about Jay a few weeks ago. I felt like the walls were closing around me. Andrew was dating someone? He had told me he didn't want me seeing anyone else, so why is he running around? He had never hinted at dating anyone else, and we had been sneaking around for weeks. I felt sick to my stomach. I had wasted time on yet another guy who didn't actually want anything to do with me.

I sat there, listening to Matt talk about the election and what was new with him and Jay, contemplating different ways I could get out of this before Andrew got there with his date. I was silently kicking myself, regretting the fact that I had thought anything would get serious with him. I mean, how dumb was I? How many times do I have to go through the same thing before I realized not to waste time on dumbasses who don't deserve my attention?

"Josh? You okay?" Matt asked me, snapping me back into the present. He was staring at me with concern, and I instantly felt bad for any negative feelings I had ever had towards him. Maybe I once had feelings about Jason, and Matt had won him over, but Matt was a genuinely nice guy. He could have pushed me right out of Jason's life, and instead he welcomed me with open arms, and even invited me to hang out with him today. He was actually a good person, which made me feel even worse. "You look kind of...green."

"I'm okay." I told him, putting the menu back on the table. "Just a little under the weather. I should probably go."

"Yeah, totally." He agreed. "That's fine. I just thought we could hang out a little outside of Jay. I don't really know anything about you, other than what Jason has told me. Maybe we can reschedule?" The look in his eyes was so sincere, I couldn't handle disappointing him. I could absolutely understand why Jason had fallen for him. He was pretty much perfect in every way.

"I can stay." I told him. I felt bad leaving now, for my own selfish reasons. I didn't want Jason thinking I didn't care about his life, and obviously Matt wasn't going anywhere. "Not a problem. Honestly."

Matt gave me a relieved grin. "You sure?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Great!" He picked up his menu again. "So are you seeing anyone? There are so many attractive guys around here, I don't know where I would start."

"Naw." I told him. "No one has really caught my eye." Andrew and I were so good at sneaking around, no one but Lindsey and Barry had even suspected. Jay was so busy with his fraternity and Matt that he hadn't even noticed anything weird. Barry only caught me because I was with him after being fucked within an inch of my life in the library, and I was terrible at hiding things from Lindsey. I wasn't really close enough for anyone else to notice subtle differences in my behavior. No one noticed the blushes when Andrew sent me naughty texts during classes. I'm sure that people who knew me well would notice, but I have gotten so good at keeping people at arm's length over the past 19 years that keeping secrets had become a part of my life.

"That sucks, but maybe you'll meet someone soon." He told me. "You have a lot of really great qualities, and someone will notice that soon."

"Hey, Humps. Sorry we're late." Andrew's voice interrupted our conversation. "Greg needed to stop at the post office."

I did my best not to cringe, but I probably just ended up looking constipated. Matt gave me a weird look but greeted Andrew and his friend anyway. "Not a problem, we just got here ourselves. Hi Greg, I'm Matt, and this is my friend Josh. Jay had a meeting, so I dragged him out instead. Josh, this is my friend Andrew. He's been my neighbor on Nantucket for as long as I can remember."

Andrew hadn't even noticed that I was there, but once his eyes fell on me, his face blanched and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. Good. "Hi. Nice to meet you both." I told them as politely as I could manage. The entire exchange was awkward and tense, and Matt and Greg looked confused, while I did my best to play it off. Greg offered me his hand, so I shook it in greeting, and went to do the same to Andrew. His grip on my hand was unnecessarily tight, almost as if he was trying to give me a warning. He had nothing to worry about. I wasn't about to out him in front of people, even though I did want to give him a swift kick in the balls for this.

"Nice to meet you." Andrew returned tightly.

"Don't you know him?" Greg asked. "He lives on your floor." He glanced at me. 'You live on the 3rd floor of Coolidge, right? I'm pretty sure I've seen you around."

"Yes." It was all I could manage to get out. The tension in my shoulders was nearly crippling.

"I guess I just haven't seen you since the start of the year." Andrew laughed nervously. "You must be adjusting well."

"No surprise there." Matt grinned. "Josh is probably the most well-adjusted person I have ever met." I flushed at his words. "Anyway, sit down. The food here is great. Jay and I usually come here whenever I'm in town."

"Yeah, I've been here many times." Andrew agreed, settling into the chair Greg had pulled out for him, conveniently right across from me. His eyes caught mine as he sat back, his expression unreadable. I hope he's freaking out. Asshole deserves to feel on edge. The only reason I wasn't going to out him was because it made me look like a pathetic kid for letting him hide me, or no one would believe it, since we had so carefully crafted this relationship.

Dinner was good enough, although sufficiently awkward. I kept to myself as much as possible, really only speaking when I had to. Greg had his arm around the back of Andrew's chair pretty much the entire meal, and he did nothing to stop it. I couldn't help but wonder if he was enjoying flaunting this in my face. I figured he had to be, because otherwise he would have stopped it by now. Instead, he barely looked at me through the whole meal. He had to know he was wrong. The Andrew I had gotten to know was much kinder than this.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me." I said abruptly, and moving quickly to the bathroom. I had to get away from that table, where all my hopes and dreams for the year were effectively being squashed with every minute that passed. I couldn't handle it any longer. When would I find a guy who was kind enough to not dick me over completely?

The sanctity of the bathroom gave me the space I needed to finally catch my breath. I would give it a moment, and then escape. I had told Matt I wasn't feeling well before, so it would be easy to play off. The last thing I wanted was to continue sitting here with Andrew and Greg flaunting themselves in my face. What the fuck was their problem, anyway? Who needed to touch so much during dinner? I was annoyed. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into my bed, forget this day ever happened, and try to find someone worth my time. Starting tomorrow.

After a moment, I took a deep breath, and went back to the table. "Sorry, guys, I have to head out." I told them. I handed a $20 to Matt. "I'll see you later." I told him. He gave me a knowing glance and nodded. "Nice to meet you both." I said to Andrew and Greg, playing the perfect secret lover card, and turned on my heel to leave. I couldn't get out of there fast enough, and booked it straight to my room. Slamming the door behind me, I let out an exasperated sigh and threw myself onto my bed. How many more men like Andrew was I going to go through before I found someone good for me? I was so tired of it. Everything with Adam had left me feeling pretty down about myself, but it didn't even touch how I felt now. Andrew had been perfect for me. We never ran out of things to talk about, the sex was amazing, he was kind and funny, never put me down. Why did he have to be a jerk too? He was the worst kind of jerk, too, the kind that is a jerk disguised as a nice guy. How was it possible that I was smart enough to go to Yale, but not smart enough to figure out when someone is an asshole?

Deciding that I had completely given up on getting anything done today, I forced myself to get up and get changed into something to wear for bed. I brought my laptop into my bed with me, opting to close out the paper I had been working on and open a new browser window instead. Maybe there would be some interesting guys on Grindr. It was time to start actually meeting people. I set up a new profile and started to flip through guys, but of course, there wasn't a single guy that I saw that I would even consider. I already knew what I wanted. Go figure he didn't want me in return. I opened a new window and searched for the LGBTQ club on campus instead. Maybe they would have some events instead. I probably had a better chance of finding someone more to my liking that way. I didn't really want to hook up with random guys from New Haven. I wanted someone who wanted something more from me than my ability to suck a cock. Although, I did do that pretty well. I chuckled at my own thoughts and kept browsing.