“Are we early?” Matt asked as we walked into the Kappa house living room.
“It’s invite-only tonight.”
The crowd was small. Only a few dozen people milled around the room. The music wasn’t loud, and no one was dancing. A far cry from the usual ragers Kappa hosted.
“Want to check out the kitchen?”
I nodded and fell into step behind him.
A group of our teammates stood in the corner with red cups in their hands.
“The twins finally show up.” Cooper, our team captain, held out his fist for us to bump.
“Nah, man. They’re the dream team.” Hayes saluted us with his cup.
“How’s the swill tonight?” Matt asked.
“Pathetic.” Adams made a face. “Like drinking beer-flavored water.”
“Gross.”
“Did you see Zoey tonight?” Davis, or Big D as we called him, asked.
Matt motioned to the door as the guys started talking about which girls they thought were hottest. I nodded, and we headed toward the living room.
“Jax, my man.”
I turned. Elio stood a few feet away. We’d had a bunch of classes together over the years and were casual friends. The only time we hung out was at parties, but that was how all my non-team friendships worked.
“Want to come upstairs and have some fun?” he asked.
Matt and I glanced at each other.
“Sure.”
Elio grinned and motioned for us to follow him. He led us up to the third floor, then into his room.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” He flopped down onto one of the bean bag chairs in the middle of the floor.
“Hey,” the other people in the room chorused as we squished onto a bean bag chair, which was the only free space in the room.
“Hey,” we greeted.
“Watch it.” Matt slid off the chair and gave me a little shove.
“Not my fault your ass is too big to fit on here.”
Matt smirked. “I’m not the one with the huge ass.”
“He’s right. Your ass is way bigger,” Aspyn said, her voice filled with longing.
“It really is,” Paichynce and her twin sister, Paizleigh, said together.
“Life of a catcher. I basically spend twenty hours a week doing squats.”
Matt settled on the floor and shot me a pleading look.
I blew him a kiss.
“Asshole,” he muttered.
“Those baby blues don’t work on me.” I patted his head. “You can go ahead and get comfy down there.”
He slapped my hand away.
“You two are like an old married couple.” Brendan looked between us.
“We get that a lot,” we said together.
The girls dissolved into giggles. Elio reached behind his chair and pulled out a half-full bottle of rum.
“How about we play a game?” he suggested.
“What do you have in mind?” Brendan asked.
“Never Have I Ever?”
I eyed the bottle. It wouldn’t go far split seven ways.
“We can’t get shit-faced, so we’ll do half shots.” He put the bottle on the floor in front of him. “Grab the cups off the table.”
Brendan picked up a stack of tiny red Solo cups. He took one, then handed the stack to Aspyn.
When we all had a ridiculously small cup, Elio passed the bottle around. We filled our cups to the halfway point, using about a third of what was left in the bottle.
“I’ll go first.” Elio saluted us with his tiny cup. “Never have I ever had a threesome.”
Matt took his shot, a smirk on his face as everyone but me gaped at him. I’d heard the story about how two girls had gone down on him freshman year dozens of times. When people asked, he didn’t give many details, but he’d told me that the experience had been awkward and weird, and he had no desire to ever do it again.
“Seriously?” Elio asked enviously.
He nodded and grabbed the bottle to refill his cup.
“I’ll go next,” Aspyn said. “Never have I ever lied about being a virgin.”
The twins giggled and took their shots. After a pause, I did too.
“Wait, what?” Matt turned to me. “How did I not know this?”
“It’s never come up.” I filled my cup and handed the bottle to Brendan so he could pass it to the twins.
“My turn.” Paichynce looked around the room. “Never have I ever woken up next to a stranger.”
No one moved.
“Never have I ever done butt stuff,” Paizleigh said.
I took my drink, and so did Elio.
“Does that count?” Aspyn asked me. “I mean, isn’t pretty much everything you do butt stuff?”
“I also like playing with dicks.” I filled my cup.
“Who doesn’t?” Paizleigh said.
“Right?” Paichynce held her cup out for her sister to clink.
“Never have I ever given someone a fake name,” Brendan said.
The girls all drank.
Matt waited as they refilled their cups. “Never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex.”
Everyone but Matt shot back their drinks.
“Seriously?” Matt looked between Brendan and Elio. “I knew about this one.” He hooked his thumb at me. “But you guys too?”
Elio shrugged. “Spin the bottle.”
“Same.” Brendan took the bottle from Paichynce and refilled his cup.
“Bonus round.” Aspyn sat up straighter, her eyes sparkling.
“Bonus round?” Matt and I said together.
“Yup.” She looked between us. “I dare you to kiss each other.”
“But we’re playing never have I ever…” Matt said.
“I know. But if you do it, you get to take a full shot.”
“You just going to give away all my booze?” Elio glanced at her.
“You know it.” She gave him a sweet smile.
“Fine.” He turned back to us.
The twins had also perked up and were staring at us with open hunger in their eyes.
I turned to Matt to tell him that this was a dumb idea, but the challenge in his eyes stopped me before the words formed.
Matt and I might be best friends, but I was also a healthy twenty-one-year-old gay man with eyes. He was ridiculously hot. I’d managed to keep him in the friend zone for the past three years by not thinking about him as anything other than my bestie.
“You want to?” I asked as he dropped his gaze to my lips.
“Why not?” He lifted his eyes. “Afraid I’ll be better than you?”
“Fuck no.” I put my tiny cup on the floor. “Bring it.”
Matt placed his cup next to mine, then leaned in.
His kiss was brief and chaste.
“No fair. That wasn’t a real kiss.” Aspyn grabbed the bottle and held it on her lap. “No shots until you do it right.”
Matt got up on his knees so he was taller than me, then hooked his hand around the back of my neck and tugged me toward him. The force of the move surprised me, and I had to grab his thighs to stop from crashing into him.
This time, when his lips met mine, the kiss was slow and soft. The contrast between the rough way he was handling me and the sweetness of his kiss was disorienting, and I didn’t respond for a few seconds.
Matt parted his lips and brushed my bottom lip with his tongue. My entire body came alive.
Fuck.
This is Matt, your straight bestie.
I repeated that over and over like a mantra as he angled his face and deepened the kiss.
Goddamn, he felt good. His lips were soft but firm, his kiss commanding but still sweet. His stubble scraped across my skin, and the heat from his hand on my neck seeped into me.
I gripped his thighs hard. Not because I was in danger of falling but because my palms itched to run all over his big, beautiful body.
Matt sighed against my lips. The sweet slide of his tongue against mine sent shockwaves of desire and awareness through me.
He moaned low and soft, the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.
My dick was rock hard, and my heart pounded as he gently bit my lip.
Holy goddamn shit.
This is Matt, your STRAIGHT bestie.
“Wow.”
A voice penetrated the little haze I’d fallen into, and Matt pulled away.
“Wow,” Aspyn repeated and held the bottle out to us. “That was so hot.”
“Yeah,” the twins chorused.
“Fuck, I think we’re all a little gay after that.” Elio glanced at Brendan, who nodded.
Matt took the bottle and lifted it to his lips. “Told you I’d be better than you.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to remind him which of us had moaned, but I held back. Instead, I took the bottle from him. I didn’t want to embarrass him, but more than that, I wanted to keep that little moan just between us.
“You were passable.” I took a big swig.
“Passable?” Matt grabbed the bottle out of my hand. “Do-over. Then I can prove I’m better.”
“Obviously, I’m better if you can’t get enough of me,” I said sweetly, falling back into the role of best friend.
The kiss had been a dare and nothing more. Matt might have enjoyed it, but it would never mean anything.
I’d always hated the stereotype that gay guys couldn’t have straight friends they were attracted to. My best friend from high school was straight and hot as fuck, and there’d never been any weirdness between us.
Same with Matt. He might be my type, but he was off-limits.
“You wish,” he scoffed and pulled one of the flasks out of his pocket.
“Dude, you’ve been holding out.” Elio held his hand out for the bottle.
Matt passed it to him, then returned his gaze to mine. “This flask says I kiss better than you.”
“How are we supposed to judge that? We’re just going to pick ourselves. It’s a guaranteed stalemate.”
“We let the girls decide.” He glanced at them. “You in?”
The twins nodded eagerly.
“Hell yeah.” Aspyn fanned herself. “Watching two hot guys make out is my kryptonite.”
“Same,” the twins said.
“You’re insane,” I said when Matt turned back to me.
“It’s okay if you want to back out.” He smirked. “Better to concede than to lose.”
“This is the weirdest game of gay chicken ever.” Brendan looked between us.
“Is it gay chicken when one of them is actually gay?” Elio asked.
“Totally counts.” Matt waved dismissively, his eyes bright with both challenge and adrenaline.
Matt was the most competitive fucker I’d ever met, which was one of the reasons we got along so well. We could turn anything into a contest.
Including kissing, it would seem.
“Fine. But I’m not holding back,” I warned.
“Do your worst.” Matt licked his bottom lip, leaving behind an irresistible shine.
This time I was the one who grabbed him behind the neck, dragged him forward, and smashed our mouths together.
He gasped, fisting my shirt.
I cupped his chin and angled his face. The moan he let out went straight to my already rock-hard dick. Thank fuck my pants were tight enough that the bulge wouldn’t be noticeable unless someone got up close and personal with it.
I didn’t bother repeating my little mantra and threw everything I had into the kiss until it was a battle of teeth and tongues and lips.
Matt shifted closer, trying to use his slightly higher position to take control. I didn’t let him.
We continued to battle it out, the kiss hot and hard and messy. My entire body was tight with desire as pleasure and need flowed through my veins.
I loved it when a guy was aggressive and gave as good as he got. But I also loved that moment when they finally gave in and let me take over.
Matt’s mouth was hungry against mine, and the little moans falling from his lips spurred me on.
At that moment, I didn’t give a fuck that he was my best friend or he was straight. This was the only time I’d ever get to kiss him like this, and I was going to enjoy it.
I slid one hand into Matt’s hair, gripped it tight, and tugged his head back the slightest bit.
I felt the moment he gave in and surrendered control. His mouth went pliant under mine, and he sucked on my tongue.
I kissed him for a few more seconds, not wanting the moment to end.
“Jax totally won.”
Rather than pull away, I pressed one last kiss against Matt’s mouth, then let him go.
His eyes fluttered open, and he stared at me. He was breathing as heavily as I was, and his cheeks were flushed pink. But it was the glassy, faraway look in his eyes that went straight to my dick and my ego.
I’d done that.
“Jax definitely won,” one of the twins said.
Matt blinked.
“Told ya I’m better.” I grabbed the flask.
“You’ve had more practice kissing guys. But I’ll concede. No wonder you get all the ass you want.”
I grinned and unscrewed the cap. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He rolled his eyes.
I drank down several long swallows.
“What’s in there?” Elio asked.
“Rum,” we said together.
“Careful,” Brendan said. “Otherwise, your BFF will have to carry your ass out of here.”
“Not likely.” I smirked and took one last swallow.
“He’s Canadian.” Matt took the half-empty flask back.
“So?” The twins exchanged a look.
“I’m used to Canadian beer. It’s a hell of a lot stronger than the stuff you have here.”
“He can drink anyone under the table.” Matt leaned one arm against the bean bag. His elbow brushed my leg, and the little jolt of… something that sparked between us was not only annoying but also unwelcome.
Time to go back into BFF mode and forget all about the kiss that should never have happened.
“Is Canadian rum stronger?” Aspyn asked.
“No, but my tolerance is super high. Half a flask and a few shots will barely get me tipsy.”
“Doesn’t hurt you’re a giant,” Brendan said, envy coloring his voice.
“Awww, don’t feel bad.” Paizleigh batted her lashes at him. “Some girls are into pocket-sized guys.”
He tossed an empty plastic shot glass at her. “Fuck you. I’m not pocket sized. They’re just giants.”
Matt and I grinned.
We were nearly identical when it came to our builds. Only my ass was bigger, and his arms were thicker. We both stood at six one and clocked in at around two hundred twenty pounds.
Elio was maybe five eleven, and Brendan was closer to five ten, and both were lanky. Not exactly short, but they did look tiny compared to us.
“Next round?” Aspyn asked.
“Sure,” a few voices chorused.
Matt and I both nodded.
“You and your better half can just go ahead and use your rum,” Elio said sweetly, clutching his bottle in his hand.
Matt saluted him with the flask and shot me a grin. “You got it.”
My lips still tingled from the kiss, and I cursed my treacherous dick as it twitched in my too-tight pants.
Not only was I in danger of getting a permanent zipper imprint on it, but I also needed to remind it that Matt was our friend and friends were off limits.
We might have shared the best kiss of my life, but that was where it ended.
And I was okay with that. Mostly.
Matt elbowed me in the thigh, bringing my attention back to the game.
“You’ve never posted a thirst trap?”
“Huh?”
“Have you seen your Insta? You’re thirsty as fuck.”
“Not as thirsty as you.”
“Not my fault I’m in better shape.”
“Tell that to your flat ass.”
“Pitchers don’t need big asses. And at least I can wear pants without looking like I sat on a beehive.”
“You’re jealous. Admit it.”
“You wish.” He punched me in the shoulder.
“Totally jelly.” I snatched the flask from him and took a swig.
“Do you guys even like each other?” Paizleigh asked. “You never stop arguing.”
“We’re not arguing. We’re bantering.” Matt swiped the flask out of my hand. “And I love this asshole. He’s like a brother to me.”
“Yeah, I love him almost as much as my actual brothers.”
“Almost?” He shot me fake puppy dog eyes. “You wound me.”
“Maybe I’d love you more if you didn’t steal my shit.”
“It’s pronounced borrow.”
“Usually, people get permission when they borrow stuff.”
“I have blanket permission to borrow any of your shit.” He winked. “Because you wuv me.”
“That baby talk is fucking creepy, dude.”
“Aww, is Jaxy uncomfy?” He batted his eyelashes at me.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the group. “Who’s up?”
