“Relax. I’m teasing.” I settle onto the floor and then realize I haven’t turned out the light so I jump up. Pausing at the switch, I glance at her. “Ready for bed?”

I don’t miss the way she takes me in; her lips are her giveaway. They quiver just the tiniest bit when she’s turned on. A fun little fact I plan on keeping in my pocket for later.

I flick off the light at her slight nod, and we’re enveloped in darkness. Neither of us says a word as I lie back on the floor and stare up at the ceiling.

We may be six feet away from one another, mostly clothed with zero chance of anything happening between us, but my body is blind to the situation and one hundred percent ready to go.

I contemplate jerking off to her snoring, but it doesn’t come. She’s as wide awake as I am.

“Well, this is awkward,” she says finally.

We both break out into laughter that helps break some of the tension. My dick and I make an executive decision to put me out of my misery, and I jump to my feet. “I’m gonna crash in Joel’s room. He’s at Katrina’s tonight.”

Jerking off in your buddy’s room… so not cool, but this situation calls for unconventional solutions.

“Wait, don’t go. This is stupid. Get in the bed. I trust you.”

I pause with my pillow tucked under my arm. Chloe has her reasons for keeping this thing platonic, which I respect, but our agreement is starting to feel like the longest foreplay ever. We’ve only hung outside of class a few times, and I’m positive I’m using some sort of Guinness-level super strength to remind myself why we’re not really dating.

Chloe pulls back the covers in invitation. I try not to look at her bare legs, I really do. I slide onto the opposite side of the bed and lay back. Aaaand I’m never falling asleep. She smells like chlorine and the sun and hot summer days.

She rolls on her side facing me. “Tell me about your brother.”

Nothing deflates a penis like the mention of another dude—especially one related to you.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

“He’s a senior in high school. Plays hockey, pretty good, too. I think he has a chance to play college level and maybe beyond if he sticks with it.”

“That’s cool. You guys are close?”

“We were. Our dad passed right after my senior year of high school. I came to Valley and sort of left him and my mom to deal with shit on their own. I know that’s awful. I was just trying to deal in my own way and being at Valley partying and playing basketball gave me something to focus on.”

“That had to have been hard.”