Ari was over it. So over it. He wasn’t even sure why he was there, except that his therapist basically told him he had to go. Well, that and Liam had practically begged him.

Effectively sulking in the kitchen at this point, Ari kicked at the tiled kitchen floor, where he’d retreated to. Aside from Shane, Ari was probably the only gay man at this stupid party anyway, not that it mattered. He wasn’t there for a hookup. He was supposed to be social.

Liam had left him behind what felt like hours ago, and was somewhere drinking and grinding on some girl, no doubt.

Ari grabbed a cup of beer and wandered out into the main room, where the shitty music was pounding from the speakers and the room was dark and packed with people moving to the beat. He took a steadying breath as he stood there, trying to stay out of the way. People brushed past him on their way to beer or the bathroom or the dance floor or God knows where.

He leaned against the wall as he sipped his beer and people-watched for what felt like a long time. Ari didn’t really understand these people, and it overwhelmed him. Outsider. You’ll never fit in. Irritated with the thoughts, he finally drained the cup and was tempted to bail on the party entirely. This time, he heard his therapist’s voice in his head, encouraging him to stick around just a little longer. Sighing, he decided to head back to the kitchen for another drink. When he walked into the kitchen, though, his heart started to pound.

Perched on the kitchen counter, playing on his phone, was Shane.

Well then. Maybe this night would be a little more interesting than planned.

Knowing his life though, it probably wouldn’t be more interesting at all.

Ari took a deep breath and approached him. “Shane, right?” Ari was practically shouting to be heard over the music from the other room. Of course he knew it was Shane, but he didn’t want to come across as overeager. Which, on second thought, was just stupid. Remembering someone’s name was hardly overeager.

Shane looked up from his phone, revealing bright brown eyes ringed in eyeliner. Ari’s stomach did a flip. Eyeliner on guys did things to him. Eyeliner on Shane did a lot of things to him.

“Oh, hey, Ari!” He clicked it off and put it down on the counter. “What’s up?”

Ari shook his head. “Not much.” He raised his cup. “Came in for a refill.”

“Didn’t expect to see you here. Not really the party type, are you?”

Ari refilled his cup. “Not really. Neither are you though, right?”

Shane laughed. “Definitely not.”

They were quiet for a moment, Ari looking into his cup. After a moment, he looked up and took a few steps closer to Shane so he didn’t have to shout any longer.

“I’m glad to see you here, though. I was starting to think I was the only person not into it.”

Shane grinned. “If you’re so miserable, why don’t you take off?”

Ari shrugged. “Promised Liam I’d try to have fun. What about you?”

“Ah. Yeah, me too.” Shane hopped down off of the counter, closing some of the distance between them. His brown eyes were warm and soft and Ari’s stomach gave another little lurch. The blush was rising, his cheeks warming.

Before he had a chance to say anything else, a drunk girl stumbled into the kitchen, followed by two giggling friends. She staggered towards the sink next to Shane.

“’Scuse me,” she slurred before throwing up. Her friends rushed to hold her long hair back, jostling Ari in the process.

Ari lost his balance, his center of gravity thrown off thanks to beer and meds. He felt himself tilt and tried to right himself but couldn’t manage to recover. The next thing he knew, Shane was wearing Ari’s full cup of beer.

The girls didn’t notice or seem to care.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry,” Ari said, backing away.

Shane looked down at his shirt as if he couldn’t believe it. He was soaked, his shirt completely drenched, beer dripping down on to his jeans.

“Oh, God.” Shane looked exhausted suddenly.

“I’m so sorry,” Ari repeated. “Really.” But his gaze traced the way the wet shirt clung to Shane’s body.

Shane shook his head. “Don’t mention it. Not your fault.” He tossed a glare at the girls, but they hadn’t moved. The sounds of retching were just loud enough to be heard over the music.

“Can I get you anything? Some paper towels or something?”

“I just want to go home and change. Man, Ellie was my damn ride, no telling where she is now.”

Ari wasn’t sure if he was being too forward, but he took a risk. “Well, you know my dorm is just a block over. We could go back and grab you a shirt. I bet I have something that will fit. You could even take a shower, if you wanted to.”

Shane sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s probably a good idea. Better than wandering around here soaked, anyway.”

“Yeah.” Ari could not believe what was happening. Shane Beckett was coming back to his room. To change. Just to change.

They left the kitchen, made their way through the crowd to the front door and spilled into the cold night. Ari was freezing, and he could only imagine how Shane was feeling.

“Ugh, this sucks.” Shane rubbed his arms.

“Yeah, I figured you might be cold. But at least it’s close. ”

“Thanks for this,” Shane said.

“Hey, no problem.”

They were quiet for another few seconds, before they both spoke, overlapping one another.

“How’s the ba—”

“What have you been—”

They both stopped, laughing.

“You first,” Ari said.

“I was going to ask what you’ve been up to.”

“Oh, not much. Just got back from Tampa, spent winter break there with my parents. The mental health crisis center reopens next week so I’ll be back to volunteering, taking calls on the hotline. Today, Lee and I played one hell of a video game marathon. That’s about all though. How’s the band?”

“Good, good. No big news there. Lined up a decent number of gigs for the spring. The school wants us to play for Springfest in April, so that’s pretty cool. Actually, we’re working on a new album, too, so there’s that.”

“Oh wow, that’s pretty rad. And hey, it’ll give me an excuse to go to Springfest for once.” Ari nudged Shane with his elbow. He had never wanted to go to Springfest, the school’s annual free music festival, but he might just make an exception for Shane.

Shane laughed and nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

Before Ari knew it, they had arrived at the dorm building, and he fumbled to get his wallet out of his pocket so he could wave his badge in front of the card reader. A beep and the door clicked. Ari tugged it open and led Shane inside.

“Ari … that’s not a name you hear every day. Where did you get it?”

This was Ari’s least favorite subject. He groaned internally. “My dad. I’m a junior.”

“So what is Ari short for, anyway?”

Ari shook his head. “Nope, no way. I don’t share that with just anyone.”

A feigned look of hurt crossed Shane’s face. “Oh, wow. One minute you’re offering me your clothes, the next I’m ‘just anyone’?” He pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m wounded, Ari Junior.”

Ari stopped and turned to Shane. “Uh-uh. You don’t get to call me that, either.” He was smiling but he was serious. He hated being called anything other than just Ari.

“What do I have to do to be more than ‘just anyone’? You let your folks call you that? Girlfriends?”

“Folks, yes. Girlfriends, no.” They had made their way to the eighth floor via the elevator, and were standing in front of Ari’s door. Ari slipped a key in the doorknob and opened it.

“Not girlfriends? Why not?”

“Gay,” Ari said and shut the door behind Shane. He didn’t really tell a lot of people, so he wasn’t surprised that Shane didn’t know.

“Oh! Uh, cool. Me too.”

“Yeah, Liam mentioned that.”

“Probably trying to hook us up,” Shane said, laughing.

“Probably,” Ari agreed.

“So boyfriends? Do they get to call you Junior?”

“I don’t know yet. Never had one.” They locked eyes for a moment.

“Wait, what? You’ve never had a boyfriend?”

“It’s really not that serious.” Ari dug through his closet until he unearthed a decidedly clean t-shirt from the back of the rack of shirts hanging up. It had a lightning bolt and a band name emblazoned on the chest, but it was definitely clean and probably Shane’s size.

“How the hell did you make it to senior year of college without having a boyfriend?”

Ari held out the shirt. “I’m a junior. Year, I mean. And I don’t know. I just did. How about you? Got a boyfriend?”

Shane shook his head and peeled the wet shirt off. He dropped it on the floor and Ari was, well, awestruck was a little strong, but all he could think was ‘wow.’ His mouth went dry, and his throat tightened. Lean muscle was Shane’s game, apparently—his arms were strong and his chest was sculpted. He even had abs. Ari wanted to touch him, so he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Thanks for the shirt. No boyfriend. Too busy. I’ve had them before though. Not since, like, freshman year, but still.” Shane tugged the shirt on. “God, that’s so much better.”

Now if we could just get you out of those wet jeans, Ari thought. He didn’t say it out loud though.

“Which desk is yours?”

Ari pointed and Shane sat on the chair in front of it, pulling out his phone. “I’m just going to text Ellie, let her know where I am. Maybe she can pick me up? God, it’s so much warmer in here.”

“There’s snow on the ground out there.”

“Well, that would explain it then.” Shane spun side to side in the chair.

“Hmm.” Ari settled down on his bed, kicking off his shoes and folding his legs in front of him.

“This chair sucks,” Shane announced, standing. “Mind if I join you?”

Ari shook his head and scooted over a little. “Sure.”

Shane sat, closer than expected, and when Ari pulled his attention from Shane’s chest to his face, his breath hitched. Shane held his gaze, eyeliner smudged under his eyes, and after a moment of hesitation, he leaned in. Ari mirrored him, and before he knew it, Shane’s lips were pressed to his own, soft and warm and firm. His mouth opened just a little, and Shane slid his tongue inside, a hand coming to rest on the back of Ari’s neck, pulling him closer.

Ari pressed forward into the kiss, and moved his free hand until it was on Shane’s hip, crawling slowly up until his thumb was brushing the top of his jeans.

A groan rumbled in Shane’s chest, and he rocked forward until they tumbled flat onto the bed, breaking the kiss for a moment.

Ari wasn’t really sure what was happening. Well, okay, he knew what was happening, but his brain could not process it. Shane, the Shane, was crawling on top of him, kissing him breathless, in his own bed. Was this even real life?

When they fell, Ari’s hands landed on Shane’s sides, and he moved them down until he found the hem of the borrowed shirt. He tugged it up until his hands were on Shane’s smooth, bare skin. Short, staccato noises that sounded something like a whimper escaped from Ari. Shane’s erection pressed against his leg. He wondered if Shane could feel his own.

Shane’s ringtone cut through Ari’s lust. Loudly. Once. Twice.

Shane pulled away, leaving Ari cold. “Sorry, shit, sorry. That might be Ellie.”

Ari nodded, but Christ if his cock wasn’t aching.

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