Chapter 15

Myles was moody.

He'd been lovers with Rhyn for two weeks. And somehow he'd fucked up. He had no idea how, but he felt he had.

Rhyn had talked to him every free second, and now he only got one word replies. He had even told him not to worry about taking him to get his car. Myles knew he'd missed something important.

They hadn't had sex since that first night, and Myles had done well about not pushing for it. But this was getting out of hand. What had he done?

He was waiting outside the fine arts building hoping to catch Rhyn before he went with Ryan. He needed to figure out what was going on inside his head before he let him go off with someone else.

He watched the students walk by, some catching his eye. He recognized some, and others recognized him. But none of them were the one he wanted. He could feel their eyes on him as he bounced from foot to foot with nervous energy. He just didn't want to miss Rhyn.

And he didn't. Rhyn came out in the last wave of people. He was talking to some girl about their lecture and was completely oblivious to the goo-goo eyes she was making at him. Leave it to Rhyn to be a numb skull when it came to others.

Myles couldn't take it. He cut through the throng of students until he was right in front of Rhyn. The girl saw him, but his lover paid no attention. He walked straight into the thick chest. Rhyn looked up, an apology on his lips until he saw who it was.

Myles had to take his elbow so he wouldn't walk away. He flashed an apologetic smile to the girl.

"I'm sorry, but I need to steal him for a few moments," he said.

Rhyn tugged on his arm. "No, you don't. Let me go."

Myles got so close to his ear it made Rhyn shiver when he spoke. "I will tell her if you don't hear me out."

Rhyn quit tugging on his arm. It was much easier to go with Myles than to fight him. He would never win anyway. Myles was unbelievably strong when he wanted to be.

He looked at the girl apologetically. "Sorry, Jessica. We'll reschedule your SI session for tomorrow."

Jessica smiled and waved her hands. "No worries. I just need your help editing it all." She waved to them then scurried off.

Rhyn tugged gently on his arm. "Can you let go?"

Myles looked at him. "Will you run away if I do?" The black hair swayed as Rhyn shook his head. Myles dropped his arm. "Why are you avoiding me?"

The shorter guy snorted derisively. "That's the pot calling the kettle black."

"When the hell did I avoid you?" Rhyn shook his head again and looked away. "What the hell are you mad about? If you don't tell me, I can't fix it."

"Do you want me to go with Ryan today?"

"No."

Rhyn turned to him then, an unknown emotion on his face. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

Myles blinked stupidly a couple of times before annoyance settled in. "That's what you're mad about? Because I didn't forbid you from helping a friend pick out a birthday present?" How absurd was this?

"No, because you had nothing to say about me going with someone else who has feelings for me."

It took Myles way too long to understand what Rhyn had just said. When he did, he slapped himself in the face.

"You knew he had feelings for you?" he asked.

"I've known since high school," Rhyn confirmed. Myles focused on him once again, hands going to his hips. "They got drunk one night, and he let it slip. I never told him he said anything."

"Does that story sound familiar to you?" Rhyn glared at him. "You made a point to say that we're not dating. We're basically fuck buddies. I don't have the right to tell you who you can and can't be with."

Rhyn's gaze softened as the words 'fuck buddy' sank into his brain. Lover sounded better. Fuck buddy was too crass, but it was the truth. No matter how many times they had sex or if he wore Myles's clothes, that's all they were until Rhyn asked for more.

Myles watched the disjointed emotions roll over Rhyn's face. He was thinking too much. He could make a rash decision when he did that.

He grabbed Rhyn's hand and pulled him to a secluded area away from prying eyes. He tilted his head up and kissed him. It took a moment, but Rhyn responded. His hands gripped Myles's jacket and hung on for dear life.

As their mouths moved in synchrony, Myles felt Rhyn begin to shake. The weight of his emotions was bearing down on him, and he couldn't control it. The dam was breaking.

Rhyn sagged into Myles, his knees losing all strength. Myles wrapped him up, holding him against him. He took a step forward and pressed Rhyn's back against the brick wall of the building. One hand held him against Myles as the other cradled his face.

They would have continued if a phone hadn't started ringing. Rhyn gasped as he pulled away. He rested his head against Myles's chest as he caught his breath. Only Myles's scent could calm him so he buried his nose in the fabric at the base of his neck.

"It's probably Ryan," he muttered. He lifted his head and searched Myles's face. "If you don't want me to go, I won't."

"You gave him your word," Myles replied. "You don't want to be known as the person who breaks his word, do you?"

"But…"

Myles bent his head and kissed him to silence. He pulled back with a smacking of lips. Rhyn hovered there, waiting for more. Myles pecked his lips once before he straightened.

"He's waiting on you. Go do what you've promised to do. We can talk when you get back," he said.

Rhyn picked at his shirt. "What should I do if he asks?"

"You should be honest if you want." Myles lifted a finger and rubbed at his pouting mouth. "What is it?"

"If we tell Ryan, he'll tell Rhys. i'm not sure I want him to know. I don't know how he'll take it. He's kind of…"

"Protective?" Myles finished. Rhyn nodded. "Do you know why? Rhys wouldn't just tell you who you could and couldn't date."

"I actually don't know. He never told me why he runs people off. He just tells me they're unsavory and not to bother with them."

Myles didn't understand Rhys's reasoning, but he had to have one if he was running off all of his brother's lovers. Rhyn wasn't a bad person, and he didn't trust too many people emotionally. That must have been Rhys's doing too.

Rhyn leaned his head against Myles's chest and let out a shaky sigh. "If you see Rhys, don't say anything. He may already know, but don't volunteer any information. I don't want to end your friendship."

Myles sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Even if it means you can't see me anymore?"

Rhyn's response was to hug Myles tightly, his face pressed into his chest. "I don't want that. Not at all."

Myles tilted his head up and kissed him again. Rhyn pulled him as close as he could. Regretfully, they had to separate.

"Go with Ryan," Myles said. He pushed him back then rubbed his arms. He silenced Rhyn's protests. "No, no. You promised so you have to go."

"When I come back, can we…?"

Myles laughed. "Let's get through this first."

Rhyn kissed him again then pulled out his phone to call Ryan. he walked to the parking lot, turning once to wave goodbye to Myles.

The other man watched him walk away. He had all but confessed his true feelings but didn't want an actual relationship. He understood now why Rhyn was nervous about a relationship with him. If Rhys was running people off for whatever reason, he had to have some understanding Rhyn didn't.

He rubbed the back of his head and let out a gentle curse. He knew Rhys well. If he wanted to know anything, he would find out no matter how hard they tried to hide it. He probably already knew what Rhys's reasoning was, but hearing it was a different thing.

"Geez," he whispered as he headed back to class. "This is not going to end well."

He would work on his projects until Rhyn came bacl. Five hours wasn't a big deal.