Chapter 84 Aslan
Aslan
“You sure you don’t want us to pay for your trip? My parents were so disappointed you weren’t coming… They love you.” James insisted again, pouting dramatically.
I laughed and shook my head. “They love that I keep you out of trouble. They think I’m the responsible one…”
“Riiight… If only they knew that Mr. goodie-two-shoes here has a boyfriend and a secret crush on his arch-nemesis…”
I grabbed the pillow beside me and threw it straight at his face. “I don’t. Thank you very much. That’s a story of the past.”
“Yeah? That’s why you talked to Mr. Halt about helping Garrett get a possible second spot on the team?” James shot me a knowing look.
“I just thought he deserved it too,” I said, shrugging. “And I can’t help thinking he’s under a lot of pressure from his father…”
“Yeah, yeah…” He rolled his eyes. “And that’s why you keep flinching every time Trisha comes bragging about their night together, or their holiday plans, or their romantic getaway.”
“C’mon, you can’t handle that either,” I muttered. “And I don’t care about their sex life.”
“Aha…” He leaned back with a smug expression. “True, I want to puke my guts out every time she makes out with him in front of us, but honey… I think it’s your sex life you don’t care about.”
“What the hell do you mean? My sex life is fine,” I snapped.
“Aslan, you told me you guys haven’t even fucked yet.” James raised an eyebrow.
“We’re just taking it slow,” I answered defensively.
The truth was I was irritated because he wasn’t wrong.
Aitor was a beautiful, incredibly giving lover, and I had absolutely no problem getting hard with him. Being with him felt easy and warm and exciting in all the ways that mattered. Still, sometimes I caught myself wishing he didn’t always take the lead.
There was something about telling someone exactly what I wanted—how, when, where—that turned me on in a way nothing ever had before.
Before or after… him.
Garrett.
The comparison made me feel like an asshole. It wasn’t fair to Aitor, who was incredible, passionate, intense, and sexy as fuck. But ever since those two times I’d ordered Garrett to his knees and told him what to do—made him submit while I fucked his mouth—nothing had ever felt quite that electric again.
When I confessed that part to James, he nearly had a seizure.
“Garrett? That Garrett?” he shouted, pacing around the room like a lunatic for a good ten minutes before stopping dramatically in front of me. “Okay, let me get this straight. Garr gave you a taste of Rocky Road, and now you can’t go back to vanilla, but Aitor—thoughtful, sweet Aitor—probably thinks you’re not into exotic flavors, so he’s sticking to the classics without realizing those don’t wake up your taste buds... Did I get it right?”
“I’m a lemon ice cream guy,” I muttered, rubbing my face. “But I guess that’s about it.” “Lemon… It figures… Sour as hell.” He face-palmed.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I ignored the smart remark.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “This is a really complicated problem. Wait—here’s a crazy idea. Talk to your boyfriend.”
As brilliant as that suggestion was, there was absolutely no way I was bringing it up.
The few times I had tried being a little rougher or even initiating things myself, Aitor had immediately taken it as a playful challenge to “tame” me again and take back control.
“I guess you might both be dominant,” James said with a shrug. “Sooner or later it’s gonna bother you.”
The truth was that it already did.
Just not enough to make what we had any less incredible. Or at least that was what I kept telling myself.
The days that followed were intense but strangely good. Aitor and I spent every spare moment together, studying, training, or simply collapsing next to each other after long days. While everyone else at Crownwell was obsessing over the upcoming Canada trip, we were looking forward to something completely different.
Home.
My home.
I couldn’t wait to introduce him to my mom and to Kate. They were going to love him. Everyone did.
“You’re gonna freeze your elegant musician ass off in Maine,” I warned him one night while we were sitting on my bed going through winter plans.
Aitor smiled slowly. “Don’t worry, I’ll trade the blazers for a fluffy robe and fuzzy slippers while I look at all your baby pictures. Hear every cute thing you did as a toddler.”
I snorted. “Ha-ha. Very funny. There’ll be absolutely none of that.”
“We’ll see…” he said, clearly amused. “Your mom seems like someone who could be bribed.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Oh, you wouldn’t have to bribe her…”
He raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“Me,” I said, pointing at my chest. “You’d have to bribe me.”
“I’m serious. It’ll be a little cold when we make snowmen, cut our own Christmas tree… Bring boots!”
“We are really cutting that tree, aren’t we?” He hugged me.
“Oh, yeah. We’ll go caroling too.”
Aitor blinked slowly. “You people really commit to the holiday spirit.”
“It’s a whole thing.”
He laughed and leaned closer. “Well, then… maybe I should bring my violin. Imagine the carolers’ faces.”
“Deal,” I said immediately.
From the doorway, James suddenly appeared like an evil little gremlin. “You know… I could totally crash your Christmas for a weekend.”
“Over my dead body,” Aitor replied instantly.
James gasped in mock offense while I burst out laughing.
All the excitement—the planning, Kate’s nonstop messages, James pestering us for updates, and the thought of going home—made the endless workload easier to deal with. Even Garrett’s cold distance and angry glares felt easier to ignore when everything else in my life seemed to be moving forward.
Or at least forward enough.
One evening after a particularly brutal day, I had been riding for over an hour before finally deciding to call it. My legs were sore, my arms felt like lead, and the cold air was starting to bite through my jacket. Aitor was coming to the field to pick me up for a small outing he was very mysterious about. It was Saturday night, and James had a date over, so it worked fine.
I had just finished leading my horse back toward the stables when Garrett stepped into the field. Right after everyone else was gone.
I didn't expect him today. He’d been gone every Saturday for weeks. But with our finals so close, most students had stayed at Crownwell preparing for the final stretch before the break.
He walked in with his usual horse and hostile demeanor. As we crossed paths, his eyes slid over me with that familiar sharp look.
“Did you forget to bring your shadow?” he asked casually. “Shocking.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wait… I think Trisha might’ve fallen off your neck on the way here.”
Garrett smirked.
“At least I’m not taking her home for the holidays,” he said. “Family bonding and shit.”
I turned around, amused. “Yes, you are. She’s told us all. Just like every other family bonding moment you two have apparently had for weeks.”
I walked past him and kept going.
“No,” Garrett said behind me, his voice suddenly sharper. “I didn’t bring her home. My mother did.”
I stopped and glanced back at him.
“Oh?” I said lightly. “Is your mother fucking her at night too? Because Trisha has quite the stories.”
I started walking again.
“You know she doesn’t do it for me, lion,” Garrett said, his voice low behind me. “Just like Aitor doesn’t do it for you.”
I stopped again.
Slowly, I turned around.
“Then who the hell does it for you, Garrett?”
Garrett walked toward me so slowly that, for a second, it almost unsettled me. I froze in place, caught in those piercing, dangerous eyes and too fucking curious about his answer to keep walking.
He stopped an inch from my face, his breath warm against my skin as his hand lifted, fingers barely brushing along my jaw.
“Tell me you feel nothing for Aitor,” he murmured softly,
“and I’ll answer your question… lion.”