Page 79 of Frat Ghost Wingman

“That’s not entirely my fault. You could’ve grabbed something else.”

“True. You good?”

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect you to eat a cup of noodles off my ass,” I said. “But I’m great. That was amazing.”

“Good.” Zach stood up and I took his offered hand.

“Are you going to get back to studying?”

Zach shrugged. “I’ve studied enough. Let’s get you another shower,” he said, tugging me towards the bathroom. “As much as I like it, I don’t want your bed to smell like noodles for a week.”

I had pretty much only two things on my mind during our shower: the tonguing my hole had received, and if I wanted to tell anyone – namely my parents – about me and Zach.

Should I tell one before the other? How would my mom and dad react?

They’d always seemed liberal, but would it be different that it was me?

Zach squeezed me from behind and my concerns melted away.

For the moment, at least.

CHAPTER 22

ZACHARY

Our parents had planned a dinner, hosted by mine, to welcome us home for the holidays, so we headed straight to my house as soon as we made it to town.

“It always feels like we never left,” Teo mused as we drove past our elementary school.

Even though it had only been a month, I had to agree. “That’s what we get for being born and raised in a small town.”

Teo squeezed my leg. His hand hadn’t left the spot since we left campus and it made me half-hard the entire trip.

I took the right turn onto Lakeshore and– “Jesus, they’re waiting outside?”

Teo slapped my leg and pulled it away. “I texted them when we passed Mark’s house.”

“Zach!” My mom didn’t even let me get out of the car before I was smothered with a hug and a kiss.

My dad was close behind. “Give the boy some space, Bridget.”

Teo’s parents greeted him warmly. They just happened to be a little bit quieter.

While my mom was likely checking to make sure every hair on my head was exactly where it was the last time I visited, I noticed Teo lugging my suitcase out of the trunk and up the freshly shoveled front walkway.

Finally, I was able to break my mom’s stranglehold, give my dad a hug, and make my way out of the frozen wasteland that was winter in Rhode Island and inside the house.

I shook off the chill as the door closed behind all of us and thanked Teo for bringing my bag in. The familiar smell of home greeted me as did our cat, Scooby. Well, not technically a greeting. He watched us from his perch on the kitty crawl walkway I built for him years ago.

Hanging my coat up, I turned to find our parents staring at us. I wondered if they could already tell, but how would they even know?

“Wow, Zach, look at you. You’re as tall as Teo now.” My dad squeezed my shoulder.

Of course they couldn’t tell, but they were all looking at me now. I felt a flush blossom on my cheeks. The attention was slightly uncomfortable. Teo was the star soccer player. I was…just Zach.

“I think you put on some muscle too,” my mom said. “My little arms barely fit around you when we hugged.”

I looked at Teo and he was beaming.