THE HOUSEMATE | ✓

14

New's pov-

There was no doubt about it.

Tay Holmes was officially avoiding me again.

I was around the house most of the following day since I only had two lectures, but he never showed up, even though I hung around in the communal areas late into the evening.

The day after that was the same. He was gone when I got up and didn’t appear again. I replayed Wednesday night over and over in my mind, but every time, I came to the same conclusion. He regretted the kiss. And why wouldn’t he? The most likely reason for it happening in the first place was that it had been a moment of drunken curiosity.

He wasn’t even the first straight boy who’d kissed me out of curiosity.

I should have regretted it too. Not the kiss itself—but after everything that had happened in the past with Max and the football team, the last thing I wanted was to be caught in another situation with a boy who was either in denial or wanted to use me as an experiment.

I told myself this, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Tay. The way he kissed… I’d never been kissed that way before. I wanted it to happen again, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

“New? Shot?” Mix's voice startled me out of my thoughts. I accepted the tiny glass from his outstretched hand, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

Tonight, we were going to Revolve, the gay club. I had my doubts about whether Tay would even show, but I pushed those thoughts from my mind.

Tonight was about having a good time in a place where I was completely free to be myself, where I could dance and maybe even flirt with other men without any worries in the back of my mind.

“No Tay?” I asked casually, before tipping my glass up. I grimaced at the sour taste of the alcohol as it burned its way through my body.

Mix's brow furrowed. “I haven’t seen him today…maybe he changed his mind.” He held up the bottle. “Another?”

“Why not.” Holding out my shot glass, I watched as he filled it to the brim with clear liquid. “I haven’t seen him around at all since Wednesday.”

I kept my voice light, but Mix's frown deepened. “I haven’t seen him around much either, other than at football yesterday, but I didn’t get to speak to him. Last time I spoke to him properly was, uh—” He cleared his throat as Earth jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. “—Wednesday night.”

“When you ran out of the kitchen and he followed you, or so I heard. Anything you wanna share?” Earth interjected with a smirk on his face.

“Earth,” Mix hissed. “It’s none of our business.”

“Nothing of note to share,” I said, my cheeks heating. Downing my shot, I changed the subject. “Where is this club, anyway? Close?”

“It’s in Soho,” Mix informed me.

He frowned, tugging his phone from his pocket. “The Uber’s due in five minutes, and we’re meeting Joss and the other guys out front. Are we sure Tay isn’t— Hey, man!”

I spun around at Mix's greeting to see Tay standing in the doorway. He was casual in jeans and a black T-shirt, but his hair was styled in an artful mess, and there was a resolute expression on his face.

“Everyone is ready to go?” His gaze flicked from Earth to Mix, and he pointedly didn’t look at me.

Okay, I could take a hint.

I made sure I went last when we headed outside, where Joss and his friends were already waiting alongside the cabs. There were seven of us in total, so it meant that there’d be four of us in one of the cabs. Since Tay was ignoring me, I stepped around him, greeting Joss. “Can I?” I pointed to the Uber his friends were getting into.