On Purpose

Chapter 5: Missed Heat

———James———

Thursday, September 26th, 2019

"What is that smell?" Anthony asked suspiciously as we made our way up the stairs of our apartment building. I fought to keep my smile from showing.

"Smells like someone is making spaghetti or something," I replied innocently.

"Not that, I mean—"

Anthony froze mid-sentence as we reached the landing of our apartment floor. Without saying anything, he shucked off his backpack and thrust it at me, not looking or even checking to see if I had caught it. He took off at a sprint down the hall, and I let out a massive laugh before jogging after him.

By the time I made it inside, Anthony had Ben wrapped in a tight hug with his face hidden against his neck. Ben was standing in the kitchen with a huge smile on his face as he gently hugged Anthony back with his hands still covered in oven mitts.

"Nice to see you too, Anthony," Marcus said with a roll of his eyes as he got off the couch. Anthony offered a muffled "fuck you" without looking up.

"Hey," Marcus greeted me with a smile as he approached me.

"Hey," I replied in a breathy voice. As much as I would absolutely make fun of Anthony for his reaction to Loverboy later, Marcus being here, in the flesh, was getting to me, too. I felt dizzy and a little heady from his scent and the absence of the persistent buzzing that had plagued me since Marcus and Ben went back to Mountain Springs.

Marcus closed the gap between us, placing a hand on the back of my neck to pull me down into a kiss. My breath hitched as his lips touched mine, and I couldn't help but smile through it out of sheer giddiness. My lips tingled as he pulled away.

"I missed you," I said softly as I ran my hands down his arms, appreciating the ample muscle he had there.

"I missed you, too," Marcus replied.

"Ant, I am really happy to see you, too, but if you don't let me take the garlic bread out of the oven, it's going to burn," Ben said with a laugh.

"Fuck, I love garlic bread," Anthony mumbled as he reluctantly started to extract himself from Ben.

"Yeah, let Loverboy breathe," I called over to him. Anthony flipped me off.

"You knew. Fuck you for not telling me," he said with a pointed look in my direction.

"So, Loverboy gets a hug and I get a 'fuck you'?" I said with a laugh.

"Yes."

"Typical," Marcus said with a roll of his eyes as he pulled me toward the kitchen.

After dinner, we took Ben and Marcus on a short tour around campus. We didn't stay out late, though, since I had to be up super early for the meet tomorrow. Well, super early might have been an exaggeration, but I had to be there by 9am, which was earlier than I would have liked, especially with Marcus in my bed. I could be patient, though, since I'd have him to myself for the rest of the weekend. I felt a flutter of excited nerves at the thought.

Ben and Anthony disappeared as soon as we got back to the apartment, and it wasn't hard to guess what they were up to by the flush on Ben's face as Anthony pulled him into his room. I packed my game bag and made sure I had everything I needed for tomorrow before Marcus and I settled into bed.

"Thanks for coming to see me swim," I murmured sleepily, snuggling against Marcus' broad chest. I felt a chuckle vibrate through him.

"Of course," he said. "Good night, James."