Reaching for the Stars

Chapter 08: One-Night Stand, or Not

(Revised 03/08/2022)

Ooh, contradictions!

Warning: This chapter contains NSFW themes.

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Tom glanced at his phone again. It was five minutes to 20 and Kevin was nowhere to be seen.

He pocketed his phone back into his jacket and leant on the wall behind him. The library was still open, but he didn't want to be inside where Kevin might think that he wasn't coming. He looked at the night sky, the moon a crescent above the buildings. They were close to winter.

Truthfully, he had a dilemma about this. On one hand, he really wanted to try this new thing, going out with someone who might actually return his feelings. On the other hand, he was super cautious and confused; he didn't know Kevin at all and didn't know if he could do this. Their first two meetings were... let's just say they hadn't really been pleasant.

There was also another hand, though. Maybe he was a bit kind of sort of looking forward to... having his first experience with... having sex.

Fuck it, Kevin was hot and he was sexually attracted to him, okay?

Although, based on their previous meetings, the red wolf was someone he preferred to not have anything to do with. He was brash, instinct-based, and overall acted like a jerk. Though, this morning was... how could he say it, weird. The red wolf outright asked him out, drunk he might be, but still, he was straightforward about it.

He said what again? Tom was cute?

The grey wolf almost flustered at the mere thought of it.

What if he were really drunk this morning and decided that tonight wasn't worth it? What if he weren't coming?

Tom's ears drooped; he wouldn't be surprised. He set his expectations low anyway. Maybe they'd hang out tonight, maybe go to a pub, drink, flirt, maaaybe have sex, then go home. And they would forget this night as if it never happened. His anxiety was barking at him to go back to his dorm, but the wolf was too upset to care. Work hadn't really been enjoyable today.

He crossed his hands above his chest as the cold autumn breeze swept past him. Looking at the road again, this time he saw someone was walking towards him.

"Hey, cute stuff." Kevin approached him, stepping up the stairs. Good thing he was sober enough to wear proper attire tonight, a pair of jeans and a casual, thank gods not very tight grey t-shirt with an unzipped black jacket. "I wasn't long, was I?"

Tom stared at him and frowned.

"Stare at me all you want, or you wanna touch me?" The red wolf said, snickering.

The grey wolf, though, was having none of it. He looked away in exasperation and let out a sigh. "You know what? I reckon I just go back to my dorm and forget about tonight, ya?" He turned around and started walking away. No way was he having that Kevin tonight.

Kevin caught his hand before he could walk away. "Fuck, Tom, wait—"

Tom sighed and turned around, crossing his arms. "You know, Kev? Let's just be honest, okay." Thanks to Kevin's height, he needed to take several steps back to be able to see the red wolf right in the eyes. "You were honest this morning, I really appreciate that. But I know you were drunk, so my appreciation faltered a bit, but still, I appreciate that."

Kevin looked at him, this time with a more serious expression. Tom looked away from the bigger wolf's intense gaze.

"But, you know, I have this... ability to read people easily, and I can tell that you're just a jerk who's looking for a one-night stand, someone to shag. There's nothing wrong with that, but we're incompatible. And there's also one more thing,"