Chapter 42 : Something Reckless
STEPHEN’S POV
I didn’t realize how hard I was breathing until I was halfway down the stairs. The dorm hallway felt too small, loud and fucking suffocating.
Leave it in the past.
The words replayed in my head like a bad chorus I couldn’t shut off. I shoved the exit door open and stepped outside, cold air slapping me across the face. It should’ve helped but it didn’t.
I liked it.
That was the part that wrecked me.
It was not that he was confused, or the stupid girlfriend, it was not even the image crap. It was the ‘he liked it’ part.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because if he had hated it and it had been a mistake, I could’ve swallowed my pride and moved on and told myself I imagined the spark and I read too much into the way his hands had tightened in my shirt.
But he liked it and he still chose to walk away.
I paced across the courtyard, anger buzzing under my skin like electricity with nowhere to go. I hated that I had let him see how much it affected me and that he looked almost relieved when I said I’d heard him.
As if shutting it down was easier andI was just some chapter he could close.
“Stephen?”
I stiffened.
Tory was leaning against the brick wall near the pathway, phone in hand, dark jacket thrown over one shoulder like he didn’t care about the cold. He looked exactly like his Instagram posts which were effortless, confident, with his sharp jawline and that permanent smirk that suggested he knew something everyone else didn’t.
He straightened when he saw my expression. “Damn,” he said. “Who died?”
“Not now, Tory.”
He ignored that completely and walked closer. “You look like you’re about to punch someone.”
“Maybe I am.”
His eyes flicked over my shoulder toward the dorm building. “Marcus?” I didn’t answer. Tory’s lips twitched slightly. “I’m guessing that’s a yes.”
“It’s nothing,” I muttered.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. I wasn’t about to unpack Hayden’s bullshit in the middle of the courtyard and especially not with Marcus’s friend.
Tory tilted his head. “You wanna sit?”
“I’m fine.” I said, pacing up and down the courtyard.
“You’re pacing like a psycho.”
I shot him a glare.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Relax.” His eyes dragged slowly down my body and back up again. “You’re too hot to look that stressed.”
Despite everything, I let out a short, humorless laugh. “You’re unbelievable.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
There it was…..the shift. The energy is changing. Tory stepped into the space between distraction and temptation like he owned it.
“You’ve been quiet on Instagram,” he added casually. “No replies to my DMs. I was starting to think you lost interest.”
“I didn’t.”
“Good.” His gaze sharpened slightly. “Because I definitely didn’t.”
I studied him for a second.
Tory was easy. He flirted so easily like some who do it as easy as breathing. He chose charm instead with no hesitation and no what does this mean about me spirals.
“You’re staring,” he said softly.
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
“Well that's a dangerous habit.” he smirked.
“Shut up.”
He grinned.
The tension in my chest loosened just a bit.
“You know,” Tory said, stepping closer, lowering his voice, “I meant what I said the other night.”
“Which part?”
“That you looked good at the game. But you always do.” His fingers brushed lightly against my sleeve, deliberate but not overbearing. “It’s distracting.”
“You flirt with everyone like this?”
“No.” He held my gaze. “Just the ones I want.”
My stomach twisted. I hesitated, then said it. “You do know Marcus and I are… hooking up.”
Tory didn’t even blink. “I know.”
“And?”
“And nothing…….”
I frowned. “You’re his friend.”
“So?”
“So doesn’t that bother you?”
Tory shrugged, like we were discussing the weather. “Marcus hooks up with half the campus. He doesn’t do exclusivity.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
He stepped even closer, close enough that I could feel his body heat through my hoodie. “Does it bother you?”
I held his stare. “It’s not about me.”
“It kinda is.” His voice dipped lower. “Because the only reason you’re bringing it up is if you’re worried.”
“About what?”
“About whether I care if I could fuck my friend’s side pieces.” The corner of his mouth curved. “I don’t.”
The simplicity of that hit was different. He just I don’t care.
“You’re serious?” I asked.
“Very.”
He reached up and brushed his thumb lightly along my jawline as his fingers moved down to my chest. “If I want you, I’m not gonna let some casual thing stop me.”
My pulse jumped, but I didn’t step back.
This was easy.
He wanted me.
“You’re intense tonight,” Tory murmured.
“It has been a long day.”
“Wanna make it better?” He looked at me with eyes filled with lust. Like he could blow me off in this courtyard.
For a split second, Hayden’s face flashed in my mind. The way his voice cracked when he admitted he liked kissing me. The way he looked like he was fighting himself.
I care about you but not enough to ruin my reputation.
I pushed the thought away. “You’re bold,” I said instead.
“Confidence looks good on me.”
“Or stupidity.”
He laughed. “Maybe, but you haven’t walked away yet. So it tells me that you also want your brains fucked out.”
He wasn’t wrong. I was still here while his fingers played on my chest and hair.
“Marcus won’t care?” I asked again, quieter this time.
Tory’s eyes flickered with amusement. “Are you asking because you’re worried about him… or because you’re hoping I’ll say I don’t care about you being with him?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you meant.”
I exhaled slowly.
He leaned in just enough that his lips were near my ear. “I don’t care about Marcus,” he whispered. “And I definitely don’t care if you’ve fucked someone else. I want you to fuck me.” The words hit sharper than they should’ve. He pulled back slightly, studying me. “You look like you’re trying to forget someone.”
I stiffened. “I’m not.”
“Sure.” he smirked.
His fingers slid from my arm down to my hand, lacing briefly before I could overthink it. “You’re overthinking again,” he said softly. “Stop doing that.”
“And do what?”
“Have fun.”
That’s what this was supposed to be, right?
Tory’s thumb brushed over my knuckles. “You’re ridiculously attractive when you’re angry, by the way.”
“That should be concerning.”
"Well it's the truth.” I studied him again, really looking.
Tory didn’t hesitate or apologize for wanting something. He didn’t shrink himself to make anyone else comfortable.
He saw what he liked and reached for it.
“You’re trouble,” I said quietly.
He smiled. “Only if you want me to be.”
For the first time since I stormed out, the anger dulled into something else. Something reckless.
Hayden wanted to leave it in the past.
It was fine.
Maybe I should stop waiting around to be someone’s secret.
I pulled him closer and he smirked like he had gotten what he wanted. “Lets go have fun.”