I don’t think I even answered him, I was too busy trying to understand what had just happened. How absolutely trippy.
After taking a few minutes in the (gross) Capri’s bathroom, I went back to our table. The quarters game had wound down, and all my friends were finishing their beers. Someone had taken my seat, so I took a seat on Graham’s lap, the way I used to. And that felt… fine, actually. The old ache was finally lifting. I looked from face to face, each one lit by the soft light of Capri’s neon beer signs, and dusty old lamps which hung from the ceiling.
I’d never be able to say that this was an easy year at Harkness. But not everything had gone wrong, and some things had gone very, very right. “What time is it?” I asked suddenly.
Graham lifted his hand to peer at his watch. “Almost eleven.”
“Damn. I have a presentation to give tomorrow. Walk me home?”
“Sure.” Graham gave me a friendly nudge off his lap. “You coming?” he asked Rikker.
And that was trippy, too. Graham never used to acknowledge Rikker in public. That’s why it had taken me so long to figure out they were a couple.
“Think I will,” Rikker said, getting up.
“Night, guys!” I called to the hockey players who were still there.
“Bella! Bella!” Trevi chanted.
A couple of other guys picked up the chant, so I held my hands up to silence them. “Stop already. But will you please beat Harvard this weekend? Because I’m going to be watching.” And not on TV, either. I had the sudden urge to see some hockey games again.
“You bet, lady.” Trevi winked at me from across the room. “Then you’ll come out with us afterward, right?”
“Sure.” This whole being-seen-in-public thing wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
We made our way outside and walked home to the Beaumont gate. Rikker didn’t live in Beaumont, but Graham had a roomy senior single, and it was probably their favorite hook-up spot.
“Goodnight, guys!” I kissed them both on the cheek. I didn’t need to fake any cheer, either. Because there was someone waiting for me in my room. Someone I was very happy to see, especially if he’d removed any of his clothing since the last time I’d seen him.
“Night, sweetie,” Rikker said, giving me a squeeze. “Good to have you back.”
I don’t do mushy, so I slapped him on the ass and gave them both one more wave. Then I let myself into my own entryway, trotting up the steps as fast as I could. At the top, I opened my door to find a shirtless Rafe asleep face-down on my bed, his face buried in the crook of his muscular arm. My bathroom door was standing open. So I tiptoed through to peer at Lianne, who was asleep on her own bed in the exact same position.
In her case, though, an empty plastic wastebasket stood beside her bed. Perhaps Lianne and Rafe had a bit of a rough trip home.
Bummer.
I went back through the bathroom, shutting my door with a soft click. For a moment, I just stood there, admiring Rafe. His face was peaceful, and his back muscles rose and fell as he slept. I just had to touch him. I crawled onto the bed beside him and kissed the back of his neck.
Nothing happened.
“Honey, I’m home,” I whispered. “I always wanted to say that.”
“You did?” he rasped.
“Well, not always. Only now.”
He smiled without opening his eyes.
“There’s a subtext, you know,” I said, peeling off my jacket. “‘Honey, I’m home’ really means, ‘take off your clothes and fuck me.’”
“I never knew that.” Rafe rolled over and stretched his arms above his head.
His position gave me access to his fly, which I unzipped.
“Our project is ready,” he said, rubbing his eyes.
“What project?” I leaned over him and began to kiss the skin just above the waistband of his briefs.
Rafe propped himself up on his elbows and looked down his body at me. “Did you have fun tonight?”
I tugged on his waistband. “I’m trying to right now.”
With a chuckle, Rafe put a warm hand on my hair. “I like what you’re doing, belleza. Just give me a minute to wake up.” He lifted his hips, allowing me to slide his jeans and briefs off.
“Did Lianne puke?” I asked, removing his socks.
“Only twice.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, stretching out on the bed, naked now. “No big deal. I didn’t have to do anything except hold her hair.”
“Aw. You did that for her? I think you deserve a blow job.”