College senior Jake Mallory cares more about his reputation as a former high school jock turned party animal than his grade point average. His time in class is spent counting down to the weekend, when he'll hit the gay club scene with his roommate Holly, who doubles as his designated driver. To celebrate being back at school after summer break, Jake parties so hard, he wakes up Sunday morning with blurred memories of the past two days. Worse than his hangover, though, is the fact that he can’t find his iPhone. Holly's best friend Evan Williams is a grade A nerd, complete with slicked-back hair and thick, dorky glasses. Jake can't stand Evan on principle, though it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that Evan has a major crush on Jake. No matter how mean Jake is to him, Evan just won't take a hint. He might even know something about the missing phone, but Jake won't give him the time of day to hear what he has to say. When Jake logs into the cloud online to access his homework, he finds photos uploaded from his phone that he doesn’t remember taking over the weekend. In them is a hot, sexy guy he hooked up with in the back seat of Holly’s car. Soon he realizes the guy must have his phone, and has begun taking explicit photos with it as if to tease Jake. Holly knows who the guy is but she isn't telling, so Jake begs her to arrange a meeting. He wants his phone back, but more than that, he wants a chance to take things further with the hot stranger. She agrees to throw a house party and invite the guy over. At first, Jake is pissed when he doesn’t show up. Jake doesn't even know who he is. But as the night progresses, he gets his phone back ... and so much more.

Head in the Cloud

Jake leaned down to rest his forehead against Evan’s. “Let her find her own man. I got the one I want right here.”


As they kissed, Jake felt Evan’s mouth pull into a silly grin against his own.


The next morning, Jake awoke sore but sober. Before he opened his eyes, he felt the warmth of Evan’s body pillowed against his, and he snuggled deeper beneath the covers to hold onto the moment as long as he could. But his bladder had other plans, and after only a minute or two of listening to Evan’s soft snores, Jake had to relieve himself.


In the bathroom he splashed water on his face and chest, then ran his damp hands through his disheveled hair. His eyes didn’t look nearly as bloodshot as they should’ve, but he could almost feel the ghostly remnants of Holly’s house party music mix pounding deep in the base of his skull. Coffee would wake him up a little, he decided. Maybe grab a piece of toast to settle his stomach, then he’d rejoin Evan in bed.


Chapter 20