Page 62 of Golden

His arm lifts as though he’s going to embrace me, but he drops it at the last second, and the light and fizzy feeling sours a little.

“Hey,” he says, his pale blue eyes bright. “You just finished practice?”

“Yeah. I need to do some stuff for The Howl. You got lacrosse practice, right?”

He nods. “Yep. Last free weekend before shit gets real.”

I don’t usually get nervous. Speaking in front of people doesn’t faze me and I’m confident enough that I know I can get through most situations, but as I stare at the gorgeous man in front of me, wanting to ask him to spend the weekend with me, I’m pretty sure I might vomit before I get the words out. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“You okay?” Sol asks, his eyes narrowing.

I nod. “Yeah. Practice was rough.”

“Okay,” he says, although he looks skeptical. “Want to catch up later?”

A fine sweat has broken out over my skin and it’s not like I can blame it on the weather. “Erm. I was wondering if, you know, you’d like to do something this weekend?”

Something inside me rolls its eyes, but Sol smiles. Just as my embarrassment starts to lift, however, his smile falters and then it’s gone.

“Shit,” he mutters. “I can’t. I promised to go home this weekend. I always go back the weekend before season starts.”

Fuck. Of course, he does. I paste a smile on my face even though disappointment is coursing through my veins like acid. “No worries.”

Sol looks stricken and I know he’s trying to figure out a way to do both, but I’m not going to let him sacrifice time with his family. I know how much they mean to him.

“Don’t,” I say, gripping the strap of my gym bag so I don’t reach for him. “It’s fine.”

He shakes his head. “I could—”

“No. Go spend time with your family. With Jacey. We can catch up in the week.”

I give him a smile and take a step away, but Sol reaches out and grabs the sleeve of my hoodie.

“Why don’t you come?”

I stare at him, unblinking, even as blood roars in my ears. “Come where?”

He swallows hard. “Come to Portland. Jacey really wants to meet you.”

“Sol—”

“You don’t have to stay over or anything,” he rushes. “Come for the day.”

I press my lips together to stop myself from pointing out that that’s the problem. We’re supposed to be casual. Just hooking up. Going home and meeting each other’s families is anything but casual. I shake away the thought of Sol meeting my folks. They’d adore him.

“Wes?”

I blink, finding Sol staring at me, uncertainty and hope painted on his perfect features. If I say no, it’s going to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt him. But I also don’t want to make it harder when things come to an end. Which they will.

“If you come,” Sol says, closing the gap between us. “I can show you my room and maybe hand in my homework.”

I frown, and it takes me a second to work out what he’s talking about. Oh. Oh. I swallow hard, my dick thickening at the thought of Sol diligently fingering his own ass while he thinks of me. “I’m not sure you can hand that kind of homework in at your parents’ house.”

Sol rolls his eyes. “It’s a big fucking house. Come on, Wes. It’s my last free weekend.”

I heave a sigh. “Fine.”

Any reservations I have pale in the light of Sol’s beaming smile, and I have to take a step back to stop myself from kissing him in the middle of campus.

---