uffocating pressure of the gym. After the media interviews wrapped up, they both headed out to

ght didn't me

best friend Mase chatting about an upcoming exam while Sienna sat closely beside him. She was scrolling through her phone, occasionally leaning over to show Xavier a photo or

ess rhythm against the floor. His mind kept drifting

live in the campus dorms; he lived in a small, cramped apartment off campus. It wasn't much just a worn-down place with thin walls and a kitchen barely big en

d the extra money he desperately tried to scrape together to send back home to his mom. The parlor was dark, smelling strongly of rubbing alcohol, green soap, and fresh i

down a station or prepped a stencil, the ghost of a memory the slick friction of a we

ll, the distractions

nto the sleek entryway table. Sienna walked in behind him, tossing her designer bag

le pulling at her lips. "I feel like I

utomatically finding her waist. "Yeah.

off it," she whispered, leaning

miliar, safe routine of his relationship. He wanted to prove to himself that his life was still exactly under his contro

hind his eyelids filled with the image of Kael looking down at him through hooded, lust-filled eyes under the steaming shower. He co

itched, his body goi

brow furrowing with a mix of confusion and growing

face, his heart hammering in a completely wrong way. "I can't. My head is just...

her face before she sighed, rolling over to her si

aching with a mixture of guilt and absolute disaster. Kael Donovan wa

s trying to run from

y. He needed a release. He needed something fast, mindless, and simple, the exact kind of casual, no-strings hookup he alwa

e eye of a handsome guy sitting a few stools down. The guy had dark hair, an easy smile, and made it completely clear he was interested. They exchan

ut, the guy pulled Kael against the wall

t Kael wanted. It wa

ntirely wrong. Kael closed his eyes, trying to force himself into the moment, but all he could taste was the phantom memory of Xavier's fierc

ainst Kael's zipper, but Kael gently but firmly gr

ured, looking up, c

n. He felt like an absolute idiot. "Look, man... I'm sorry. I thought I was do

dead serious. He gathered his jacket from the fl

ng Kael entirely alone in th

this. He hated being tied down by thoughts, he hated being complicated, and most of all, he hated that Xavier Reyes