Caleb
I rested my arm along the back of the booth seat and I reached over to squeeze Jenson's shoulder. He glanced up at me, a light blush on his cheeks as he smiled wearily.
Sighing, I leaned down to run my nose along his, before pulling back to refocus my attention on the chatter around the table.
I felt Jenson lean into my side and I squeezed his shoulder a little tighter.
He seemed ... distracted. Something was taking his attention.
And it had happened right about the time he'd taken a call from that Katie girl yesterday.
What was her deal anyway? She must have known that Jenson was seeing someone. I mean, Jenson would have told her about me ... wouldn't he?
I glanced at the guy sitting to my right. Although his eyes were on Finn who was sitting across the table from him, Jenson's mind was somewhere else.
Thinking about a certain waitress, maybe?
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from growling. Of course he wasn't thinking about her. He was only on the phone for a couple of minutes.
He was with me, anyway.
What the fuck is wrong with you? Get a grip, man.
Sighing, I ran my free hand down my face and tried to concentrate on what Finn was saying.
A sharp jab to my ribs caught my attention and I turned my head to the left to see Asher grinning from his seat next to me, his green eyes twinkling in the false overhead lighting of the diner.
He motioned with his head to Jenson, his grin getting impossibly wider.
"So, how's it going with you two? Gonna let Jenson go any time soon?" Asher chuckled as he popped a fry into his mouth.
My arm tightened around Jenson's shoulder, drawing him closer.
No, I didn't want to let him go. Ever again.
Forcing a smile on my face, I reached over to grab my drink off of the table and shook my head. "Nah. Think I'll keep him."
Asher laughed as I took a sip and placed the glass back on the table. Oliver was sitting opposite Asher, both of them squashed at the end of the booth we were crammed into.
He looked over at Oliver, and then reached across the table to offer Oliver one of his fries, a heated look passing between the two of them as Oliver opened his mouth.
My eyes were drawn to Jenson once again, but he seemed completely oblivious to what his best friend was doing. Instead, he was jabbing his fries with his fork, and chatting with Finn.
Leaning over, I buried my nose in his thick dark hair, taking a deep breath, before kissing his head.
He smelled good.
So good.
Why did I have to say goodbye to him again in a couple of days?
Looking over at Asher and Oliver, at the way they were gazing at each other, a sharp pang squeezed my chest and I averted my eyes to my plate and the half eaten cheeseburger.
Why couldn't Jenson and I live in the same place like Asher and Oliver? Or even go to the same college? Be with each other all the time? Maybe I should look at transferring to California ...or see if I can do my courses online or long-distance or something.
That way, I could see Jenson every day. Sleep with him every night. Feel his touch, his lips, his love from where he'd be ... right next to me.
Where he belonged.
I glanced back over at him, while he shoved a forkful of fries into his mouth.
Fuck.
What I wouldn't do to have him all to myself all day, every day. Forever.
"How's it going over at Columbia?" I glanced up to see Finn smiling at me from across the table. "A lot of extra work and stuff?"
I smiled back, dropping my hand to Jenson's lap so I could squeeze his knee. From the corner of my eye, I could see him jump a little in his seat and I hid a smirk.
"Sure is," I replied, reaching for my half eaten cheeseburger with my free hand. "There's a lot more work than there was at high school."
"Fuck yeah," Mason grumbled in agreement from his seat next to Finn. "College is killing me already. All I seem to do is fucking work."
Finn grinned and elbowed his side. "Need to pay attention for a change?"
"Told him he needs to get his head out of his ass and into gear." Jenson laughed.
"Like you can fucking talk." Mason frowned as he threw a fry at Jenson. "You couldn't wait to get out of high school."
"Nah, just couldn't wait to get away from you."
"You followed me to California!" Mason grinned as he cocked a brow.
"What are you talking about, man? You followed me!"
Jenson laughed as Mason threw a couple more fries his way. My hand squeezed Jenson's knee a little harder and he laughed harder, squirming in his seat. I could feel his eyes on me, but I kept my gaze on Finn as he tossed a couple of fries at Mason.
"You gotta work hard to be a coach in any kind of sports team, you know." Finn jabbed Mason's ribs with his fork. "Ask Dylan's coach. He'll tell you."
From what Jenson had told me, Dylan was the only one of his friends to consider going pro. Jenson told me what an awesome football player Dylan had been in high school.
During their final game, the talent scouts had been falling over each other to get him and Asher signed up. Dylan snapped up the offer and was training for tryouts of a major team while he was studying.
It sounded like a lot of hard work.
Asher ... well, it was right after their last game that Asher took a bad beating from his father that landed him in hospital, starting the series of events that led us to here.
Right now.
My hand squeezed Jenson's knee once more as I remembered that, if it wasn't for Asher reaching out to me in desperation to convince me to look up Oliver, I would never have met Jenson.
Well, maybe we would have ... several years down the line ... when we were both unhappily married to other people ...
Maybe our paths would have crossed if Asher and Oliver stayed together.
"Can't believe Dylan's going to be a pro footballer." Oliver sounded in awe of his friend. "I mean, I always knew he was fucking awesome at football, just didn't think he'd make a career out of it." He took a bite of his mac and cheese and smiled at Asher.
"Kinda makes you wonder what the rest of us will do with our lives." Finn chewed a couple more fries, then threw his last one at Mason, who grunted and elbowed Finn in the ribs.
"We could all be millionaires." I shrugged as I took a huge bite of the cheeseburger.
"Easy for you to say," Jenson muttered. "Your family is already rich."
I gave my man a sideways glance, only to see his face stretched in a bright smile, his eyes twinkling, his nose scrunched.
Fuck.
Without thinking, I dropped my cheeseburger on the plate as my hands reached up to cup his face and I brought his lips to mine in a quick kiss. I was pretty sure I heard the guys around the table groaning, but their noise didn't really register as I pulled back, the taste of Jenson still on my lips.
He was staring back at me, his mouth open, his dark eyes wide.
"Get a fucking room, you two," Mason laughed, before I felt a fry smack my cheek.
Breaking eye contact with Jenson, I turned my head to glare at Mason, but found it hard to keep the smile off of my face when I saw him laughing.
Asher threw a piece of lettuce at Mason. "These two guys haven't seen each other for months. Give them a fucking break. They gotta make up for lost time. Even if they have to do it while we're trying to eat."
Oliver laughed while Mason groaned and rolled his eyes.
Another pang squeezed my chest and I took a deep breath to stop the sudden tears that were burning my eyes.
Fuck.
Asher was right.
Jenson and I hadn't seen each other for months. And it would be another few weeks before I got to see him again for Christmas break.
Two days.
Two more days ... that was all the time I had with Jenson before we went back to college.
Shit.
"How's your job going?" Oliver glanced over at Jenson while taking a sip of his coke.
Jenson shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I got a call from Katie yesterday. She's one of the waitresses at the diner."
One of the waitresses? There were more than one?
"Called me up, wanting to know what I was up to. I kind of think she might be a bit lonely." Jenson sighed. "Maybe I should make a bit more of an effort to talk to her. I mean, I don't even know her last name."
Oliver laughed. "Since when do you care about girls' last names? You never did before-" He stopped and glanced over at me, his blue eyes wide. He cleared his throat, then turned his attention to Jenson. "I mean, you never bothered with getting to know girls before."
Gritting my teeth, I managed a weak smile at Oliver. I knew what he was saying. Jenson had been popular with the girls at high school ... even slept with a few of them.
But he'd never settled with any of them. He had told me it was because he had always known he preferred guys to girls, but had never told anyone how he really felt.
He didn't like girls now, did he?
Glancing over at Jenson as he finished off his fries, his dark hair falling across his forehead, his dark eyes concentrating on what he was doing, I was reminded yet again of how handsome he was. He could have any guy, or girl, he wanted.
Even Katie.
My jaw clenched harder.
Jenson belonged to me. And he knew it ... didn't he?
Reaching over to run my hand through his hair, I grinned as he scrunched his nose at me.
Maybe I needed to remind him who he belonged to.