Page 105 of Golden

It’s the first time I’ve managed to get outside all night, and as the cool night air hits me, I exhale with a groan.

“I can’t believe we did it,” Sol mutters as he shrugs off his jacket and unfastens his bowtie. He pauses in the unbuttoning of his shirt and looks at me, raising an eyebrow. “Are you pouting right now?”

“No.” I frown at him, dragging my attention away from the burgundy strip hanging loose around his neck.

Sol grins and takes my hand, tugging me toward the path.

“Tonight was pretty incredible,” I admit. “It felt surreal. It still does.”

The wind picks up, tossing the fairy lights wrapped amongst the trees and sending shadows dancing across the common. Laughter and voices carry from the hall, but too far away to make out what anyone’s saying.

I slow my pace, pulling at Sol’s hand until he comes to a stop. He turns, his brow creased in question, and I pull him into my arms, burying my face in his neck and breathing him in. “Thank you.”

His arms slide under my blazer, circling my waist and holding me tight. “For what?”

“Do you want a list?”

Pushing back enough that he can look up at me, he frowns. “Is there enough for a list?”

“Thank you for forgiving me,” I say, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Thank you for not giving up on us, when you should have run as fast as possible in the opposite direction.” I kiss him again. “Thank you for buying me.” He laughs and I kiss him again. “Thank you for having the courage to be with me in front of everyone.” I kiss him again, but this time I don’t pull away.

Sol tastes like champagne, and as the world fades around us and my head begins to feel fuzzy, I wonder whether it would be possible to get drunk from his kisses.

“Come on,” he says, pulling back. “I know somewhere we can do that without freezing our nuts off, and we can be naked.”

Laughing, I shake my head and let him lead me toward the Den, which looks ominously dark in the distance. Most of the Wolves were at the fundraiser, so should be back by now.

“Will they be okay?” I ask, my eyes trained on the dark windows as we reach the path.

Sol looks at me over his shoulder. “Who? The Wolves? Because I’m bi?”

I nod.

He shrugs. “I honestly think they’ll be cool with it. But if they’re not, they can fuck off. I’ve only got three months left here and I plan on spending it acing my classes, kicking ass at lacrosse and having you inside me.”

My heart throbs in sync with my dick. “Not at the same time, I hope.”

Sol’s eyes crinkle as he laughs, dropping my hand so he can open the door. “That would certainly be a challenge.”

Voices sound from the living room, and I realize there are people hanging out with the fireplace lit and curtains drawn, which explains the dark exterior. We don’t linger, however, heading straight upstairs toward Sol’s attic room.

“Is it weird I’ve never been in your room?” I ask as we climb yet another flight of stairs.

Sol shrugs. “Considering your general disdain for all things frat, I’d say not.”

I open my mouth to dispute his accusation, but he’s right, and he knows it, so I settle for a silent scowl instead. By the time we reach his room, I’ve shed my blazer, the chill of outside a distant memory.

“Ready?” Sol says, pulling his key from his pocket.

I raise my eyebrows. “Do I need to prepare? Fuck. What’s in there?”

Sol shakes his head and opens the door, flicking on a lamp near his desk. It’s exactly as I imagined, although bigger. Other than the abandoned textbooks and papers scattered alongside his laptop on the desk, everything is neat and tidy. A hamper of dirty washing is overflowing in the corner, but other than that, it’s not bad at all.

Bypassing the trophies for lacrosse, I hone in on the medical textbooks on his desk. “Are these for your course?” I ask, poking at an open page displaying the inner workings of a forearm.

“No,” Sol says, hanging his jacket over the back of the chair. “I’m going to do one year internship while I apply to a DPT program.”

My eyebrows raise. “Wow. So, you’ll be Doctor Brooker?”

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