Zak looks over his shoulder at where she’s already presenting her cleavage to another group of guys a little older than us. “I’m sorry. Were you interested?”
“Not the point.” I take a deep sip of my drink. “Can we leave this now? Let’s go dance or something.”
Alex reaches out and snags my sleeve before I can step away from the bar. “If you want to go and dance, tell us what’s got you down. I haven’t seen you this grumpy in all the time I’ve known you. It’s unsettling.”
“I don’t know, okay?” I snap. “It’s a huge mindfuck. I want him, but I can’t bring myself to chase him. He told me he didn’t have time to hold my hand as I figured shit out, and I told him I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”
Zak shares another annoying-as-fuck look with Alex. “And that’s when he blew you?”
I groan. “Yeah. And then after, he walked off like nothing happened.”
“Is he ghosting you?” Alex asks.
“Fuck knows,” I admit. “I haven’t seen him or messaged him since.”
Zak sighs. “And when did this happen?”
“A week ago.”
Alex shakes his head, his eyebrows raised. “So, you like Wes. Wes likes you. But you’re both stubborn fuckers who won’t talk to each other? Does that sound about right?”
I glare at him. “No. It’s just bad timing.”
“Bad timing?” Zak echoes.
“Yeah.” I pour conviction into my voice as I take a sip of my drink. “Neither of us want anything serious.”
Alex and Zak share another look and this time I slam my drink down on the bar. “Would you two stop doing that? For fucksake.”
“Doing what?” Zak asks. “Calling you out on your bullshit? Sure, neither of you want anything serious, but if that’s the case, why aren’t you making the most out of the situation?”
Alex nods, lifting his glass in Zak’s direction. “Exactly. Instead of avoiding him, you should be using every opportunity to figure shit out.”
“Figure shit out?” I repeat.
“Yeah.” Alex shrugs. “Like whether you like the taste of dick. If you’re a top or a bottom. Whether—”
“Oh, my fucking god, shut up,” I say, holding my hand in front of his face. “Stop. Please.”
“So, why aren’t you?” Zak asks, pinning me with his stare. “What’s stopping you from having fun?”
I frown at the bar, trying to figure out how to word my answer when I’m not even sure of it myself. “It’s just a lot. You know? I think I’m overthinking it.”
“One hundred percent,” Alex agrees. “You might have the whole ‘jock’ thing down, but you’re the most responsible man I know. Stop thinking and start doing. That’s what college is for, right? Go, experiment. Have fun.”
When I breathe out, I feel a little lighter, and the smile I give my friends is genuine. “Thanks. I’ll go see him tomorrow.”
“What about now?” Zak says, glancing at his watch. “It’s only midnight. We could call it.”
“Midnight?” I look between the two of them. “The night’s just getting started.”
Zak wiggles his dark eyebrows. “Exactly. So go start it in a certain swimmer’s dorm.”
My face heats to an unbearable temperature and I down the rest of my drink. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not bailing on Alex’s birthday on the off chance of a hook up.”
Zak snorts. “Because you’ve been in such a funk, you haven’t noticed Alex on his phone all damn night arranging his own late night celebrations.”
“Yeah. I was already going to suggest we call it like twenty minutes ago. Sorry.” Alex grins, not looking sorry at all.