Harris Daisy Bossy and the Brat

Men of Holsum College 5

Bossy and the Brat

Calvin Beaumont is a biology major, lab tech, and resident
advisor—everything everyone expects him to be. There’s only one

problem. He likes boys. In particular, a flirty dance major who was
a freshman on his hall.

It’s sizzling summer at Holsum College, and Tyler Burk isn’t a

freshman anymore. When he notices his hardworking resident
advisor has same-sex feelings, he goads, teases, and tempts Mr.

Bossy into dating on the sly. Cal may not be out, but he’s
domineeringly hot, and Tyler doesn’t mind keeping things

quiet…for a while.

But Calvin has wanted Tyler all year, and their sexting and secret

rendezvous soon blossom into something neither one of them can
control. Can Cal control his secret, as well as his sexy little brat?
Or will he be man enough to admit he’s not the man everyone

thought he was?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary
Length: 36,542 words

BOSSY AND THE BRAT

Men of Holsum College 5

Daisy Harris

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

BOSSY AND THE BRAT
Copyright © 2012 by Daisy Harris
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-237-2

First E-book Publication: August 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
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express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Bossy and the Brat by Daisy
Harris from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
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This is Daisy Harris’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect
Ms. Harris’s right to earn a living from her work.

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DEDICATION

As always, thanks to my awesome writing crew, Annabeth Albert,

Annabelle Blume and Brien Michaels, and a huge thank you to my
darling family who puts up with all the characters vying for attention
inside my brain.

BOSSY AND THE BRAT

Men of Holsum College 5

DAISY HARRIS

Chapter One

Cal peeked out the window. “He should have been back by now.”

He said it to himself as much as to his girlfriend. It was summer
semester and too late for kids to be wandering around campus by
themselves. The campus wasn’t as safe when it was half empty as it
was during the rest of the year.

Nicole stopped her pacing and fisted her hands at her hips.

“Who?”

“That kid from across the hall.” Cal didn’t want to refer to Tyler

by name, since Nicole already thought he spent too much time
worrying over the guy.

“Were you listening to anything I said?” Angrily, Nicole tossed

the fall of her curly hair out of her face. She looked like a warrior
with her flashing eyes. Unfortunately, her favorite enemy of late had
been Cal. He could tell she regretted sticking around campus for the
summer. She’d done so largely because of him, and because both their
parents were going to be visiting from their small town in Kansas in
August.

“I listened.” He struggled to figure out what they’d been talking

about, feeling slightly guilty. He’d thought maybe she’d been talking
about sex. “You were telling me about that book you read.”

Bossy and the Brat

Nicole lifted an eyebrow, her expression impatient. “I was saying,

‘We need to set aside more time for intimacy.’” Her gaze softened
and she moved forward so gently it may as well have been a dance. “I
miss you.” She settled at his side on the bed, her shoulder and arm
pressed up against his.

She smelled good, like burnt caramel and flowers.
But neither her scent nor her curves held much interest for him—

though he wished with every fiber of his being that they did. “I miss
you, too. But I’m so busy with classes and with my job.”

Cal wasn’t resident advisor in Cushman Dorm anymore, but he

was working full time as a tech in Professor Jackson’s molecular
biology lab. Add to that his summer course load and he had a perfect
excuse not to get physical with his girlfriend. “Plus, we agreed to
wait.” He gave her a smile he hoped reassured her more than it did
him.

He and Nicole were both from the same small town. It seemed

like a different country altogether from the liberal campus of Holsum
College. People back home were supposed to wait until marriage to
have sex. At least, girls were.

“Screw waiting.” Nicole shifted around and then threw her leg

across Cal’s lap. She’d always been a staunch feminist. However, Cal
suspected she would have been less likely to offer her virginity if it
wasn’t to a man her family approved of.

She rolled her hips on his lap, pressing her generous breasts

against his chest. Nicole was so beautiful—everything he’d been
raised to think he should want. Educated, sweet, from his hometown
of Olville.

Cal had even managed to get off with her a few times, rubbing

through their clothes. He liked to think she’d enjoyed it, too. But more
and more lately, he hadn’t been able to enjoy their make-out sessions.

“Sweetie, I can’t…” He pressed her off, swiping a kiss across her

shoulder as he set her away. “I think we should—”

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“I’m tired of waiting!” Nicole shifted around to scowl at him. “I

told you, I don’t care if we’re married or not. I don’t even care if
we’re going to get married.”

“It’s only another year until graduation.”
She let out a laugh like a hiss. “That’s ridiculous.”
He reached for her hand, but outside his window, he heard

footsteps. His attention snapped around, and he focused on the
courtyard bathed in safety lights. It was after two in the morning, but
that damned Tyler Burk was trouncing all alone, as if he didn’t have a
care in the world, back to the dorms.

Probably coming home from sucking some guy off—some guy

who didn’t care about him and would probably lead to Tyler moping
around the lawns outside the dorm all week.

“I said, ‘I don’t think I can wait that long.’” Nicole kicked Cal’s

shin. Not hard, but enough for him to know she meant business.

Cal rubbed his shin absentmindedly. “I don’t know what else to

tell you, Nic.” He heard the sound of Tyler opening the door
downstairs. “Hey, I need to talk to this kid.” He nodded to the
hallways outside and made a sympathetic face. “He’s having a tough
time right now.”

It wasn’t really true, and Nicole must have known because she

just rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” Then she shoved him off, always the
more physical of the two of them, and grabbed her bag off the floor
and her car keys off the shelf. “Tell yourself what you want, but as far
as I’m concerned, this relationship is over.”

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think of to say.
She cast him a scowl as she opened the door. “No, you’re not.”

Then Nicole must have seen Tyler standing in the hall outside because
her eyes narrowed. “Have fun with your freshman.”

Cal watched her disappear from his doorway, heard Tyler’s

nervous, “Bye, Nicole,” as she marched down the hall. Her heels
clacked the entire way, as if she were trying to wake Cal’s whole

Bossy and the Brat

dorm with her anger. Cal couldn’t blame her for it. She deserved to be
pissed.

Because he didn’t want her the way he should. Didn’t want any

woman, really. He’d tried to ignore how he felt about men for ages.
But in the sweltering dorms and the green sunshine of summer, he
was finding it harder and harder to deny what he wanted.

“Bye,” he called out as he crossed to the door. Getting in the

doorway allowed him to catch Tyler before the young dance major
went into his own room.

“Hi, Tyler.” Cal told himself he only stopped Tyler because he

was worried about the younger guy’s well-being. Tyler spent all day
as a counselor for a local dance camp and went to the studio to
practice after. That, and he was always falling in and out of
relationships.

Cal’s interest was purely platonic, he told himself. It had nothing

to do with the quick way Tyler smiled and how he blushed a soft
peachy pink whenever he got embarrassed…

“Heya, Dorm Daddy.” Tyler stopped fiddling with the key in his

door and gave Cal a wide smile—all straight white teeth and shining
blue eyes. Tyler had one of those ridiculous haircuts where the bangs
were long and swept across his forehead from somewhere near his
ear. His hair was always damp around his face from sweat or a
shower, and the blond bowl of it hovered over his sharp, almost
pointed chin. He looked both silly and adorable, and Cal wasn’t sure
which aspect of him he liked better.

“Have a nice night?” Cal rounded to the outside of his doorway.
Tyler shrugged, his smiled faltering. “I dunno. Can I talk to you

about something?” That pretty blush rose up on his cheeks and made
his eyes look all the brighter.

Cal understood why men flocked to Tyler. The guy was beautiful.

What he didn’t understand was why Tyler always chose so poorly. All
through his freshman year, Tyler had been pining over one boy or

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another. Though lately, he’d been miserable over one jerk in
particular.

“Sure,” Cal said. “Go ahead.”
“It’s about Hunter.” Tyler bit his lip.
Cal understood why Tyler had opted to talk to him instead of one

of his other friends. From what Cal had overheard in the hallway,
everyone was sick and tired of hearing Tyler moan about Hunter
Ford.

In fact, Cal was tired of hearing about it, too. But he was so

hungry to be close to Tyler he was willing to listen to anything Tyler
had to say. “You want to come in?” Cal nodded toward his room. He
had a hot water pot as well as a toaster oven. But that wasn’t the only
reason he chose to invite kids into his room to talk instead of going to
theirs. Cal hadn’t been allowed into any of the freshmen’s rooms
when he was still their Resident Advisor. Not unless he had reason to
believe they’d hurt themselves or there was some kind of emergency.
And though technically he wasn’t their RA anymore, Cal felt like it
was inappropriate for him to invade their personal space.

“Yeah. That would be great.” Tyler dragged his smartphone out of

his pocket as he pushed past Cal. His jacket brushed Cal’s bare arm,
but Tyler didn’t notice, absorbed as he was with his texts.

Tyler tossed off his jacket and, without ever looking up from his

phone, dropped gracefully onto the bed.

“You want some tea?” Cal crouched at the side of the bed, moving

the jars and cups he had stacked by his water heater. He didn’t have
many home comforts in the dorms, but he was glad that as an RA he’d
been at least trusted with more than the freshmen.

“Yeah, sure. Peppermint?” Tyler thumbed through his screens,

typing. Even ignoring Cal, he looked lovely. Sandy locks flopped
over his eyes, waiting to be brushed aside by an impatient hand. Tyler
rubbed his feet at his opposite heels, flipping off his sneakers. He
looked so perfect on Cal’s grandma’s quilt that Cal almost forgot he
wasn’t supposed to be thinking of Tyler that way.

Bossy and the Brat

“Yeah, I’ve got that kind.” Cal dropped a sachet of tea in a mug

and poured hot water over it. He stirred it twice with his lone spoon
before handing it to Tyler. “Here.”

“Oh, thanks.” Tyler looked up from his phone, his forehead

knitted together in thought. “Can I ask you to read something?” He
held his phone in Cal’s direction.

“I guess.” Cal wasn’t sure how to sit close enough to read the

phone in Tyler’s hand without climbing onto the bed with the boy. So
instead, he opted to sit on his desk chair directly across from him.

“Geez. You don’t make this easy.” Tyler bounded off the bed and

in a quick move slid onto Cal’s lap and tossed an arm around his
shoulder.

“What—” Cal wanted to shift out from under Tyler’s weight, but

the armrests got in his way. That was the second time that night
someone had climbed onto his lap and he didn’t know what to make
of it. Especially since his cock was itching and filling from the press
of Tyler’s ass when it had barely cared for what was between Nicole’s
legs. “You know you can’t sit on me like this, Ty.”

“Oh, stop being a prude. You’re straight anyway.” Tyler rotated

so that his legs hung over the armrest. He was skinny as a rail, but the
move nearly ground off Cal’s balls. “And you’re not my RA
anymore.”

Unperturbed by Cal’s wince, Tyler shoved his phone under Cal’s

nose. “See, here—” He rolled down the screen to the start of a text-
message conversation.

Cal read the bubbles. The first was from Hunter.
U coming to the party tonight?
Yeah! See you there??? Tyler had texted back.
Maybe. Could stand a BJ. U game?
Love to!!!!!
Tyler pulled the phone away from Cal’s face. “So we had a date,

right?” He held his hands wide, as if he couldn’t understand what

Daisy Harris

those brief text messages had meant if not for him and Hunter to
spend a romantic night together.

Cal wasn’t sure whether he felt more disgust or pity. He refused to

consider whether he was also jealous. “Well, it looks like you had a
plan to meet.” He didn’t offer any more feedback. Cal knew Tyler’s
other friends had told him to stop being so easy, to stop falling in love
with any guy who threw him a scrap of affection. If Tyler hadn’t
listened to any of them, he certainly wasn’t going to listen to Cal.

“I know, right? We had a plan.” He scrolled to what Cal assumed

was the next part of the exchange. With a little humph of frustration,
he pushed the phone in Cal’s face.

At party. Where r u??? Tyler had texted.
Sorry. At bar. Maybe tomrrw?
Um, okay…Where? When?
Dunno. Will text. Later.



Cal frowned at the sad little emoticon at the end. Poor Tyler. The

kid was so needy. Cal didn’t get it—he was sweet, athletic, funny
around his friends. Tyler had no reason to sell himself so short. “Ty,”
Cal sighed. He didn’t even know what to say. But he decided to try,
just in case he might be able to get through to the kid. “Why don’t
you find someone else? A real boyfriend?” Cal knew several of
Tyler’s gay friends were paired up in relationships. And maybe it was
Cal’s conservative upbringing, but he thought that was the way things
should be.

At the very least, promiscuity didn’t seem to be making Tyler

happy.

“I have a real boyfriend.” Tyler wrenched around to look in Cal’s

eyes, busting Cal’s nuts again in the process. “Hunter.”

“Watch out.” Cal shifted his hand underneath Tyler’s hip to get

his privates into a more comfortable position. He was unsurprised to
find his cock mostly hard and struggled to get it to an angle where
Tyler wouldn’t feel it.

Bossy and the Brat

“Ooh.” Tyler wiggled, grinding that taut little backside down on

the flesh Cal had just moved. “Is that a stiffy I feel?” He twisted to
reach below them and investigate, but Cal stood up fast enough to
dump Tyler onto the ground.

“You can’t touch me like that, Ty.” Cal ran his hands through the

short scruff of his hair. He paced as far away from Tyler as he could
without seeming too angry. It wasn’t Tyler’s fault that he’d made Cal
uncomfortable. Cal had seen him on the hall all year—hugging and
groping and climbing on top of everyone who’d let him. It was as if
Tyler was just looking for someone who’d hold onto him and not let
go but couldn’t figure out who that person might be.

“Oh, come on.” Tyler hopped off the floor, smacking creases out

of his clothes. He was wearing an armless T-shirt that managed to be
gangster-loose and revealing all at the same time and a pair of
distressed jeans that hugged him from their low-slung hips all the way
to his ankles. And suspenders—because, apparently, the outfit hadn’t
been slutty enough without the suspenders.

At least—Cal mused—a potential lover might have difficulty

getting off Tyler’s pants. “Come on, nothing. You know RAs can’t
date freshmen.”

“I’m not a freshman anymore, remember?” Tyler cocked his head

to the side, flashing him a grin. “And who said anything about
dating?” He must have noticed Cal’s flinch, because he took a slinky
step forward. Whatever energy he’d been pouring into pursuing
Hunter seemed to have redirected itself Cal’s way. And Cal could
understand why Hunter might have run away. Tyler’s eyes were
intense enough to border on obsessed.

“You thinking about taking a swing the other direction?” Tyler

roamed his hands up his sides. The move was teasing, and mocking,
and sexy all at once.

“Tyler, go back to your room.” Cal turned to grab his cup of tea

and also to hide the erection straining the front of his pants. He shifted

Daisy Harris

it furtively and puffed his shirt to mask the outline, though he feared
Tyler knew perfectly well what he was doing.

“Oh, c’mon. I’m just kidding.” Tyler plopped back down on the

bed, picking up his cup and taking another long sip of his tea. He
clearly thought Cal was still solidly heterosexual and not any sort of
threat.

Cal knew that’s how Tyler saw him. Because he’d seen Tyler

around guys he thought were dating options. The funny, outgoing,
sexy version of Tyler Cal saw around the dorms would disappear. In
its place would be a meek, ditzy shell.

“Regardless, I’ve got to get some sleep.” His dick stayed hard no

matter how much Cal tried to relax and let it deflate. He kept his back
to Tyler. “Really, you should get to bed, too.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Tyler rolled up off the bed. “And you didn’t

tell me what you thought of Hunter’s texts. Do you think he’s mad at
me, maybe? I couldn’t figure out what was going on in that last
message.”

He’s not interested in you, you sad, beautiful, crazy kid.
That’s what Cal wanted to say. But he didn’t. Instead, he just

sighed and said, “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll have to ask him
yourself.” He strode over to the door, easing it open as a hint.

“But he never answers his phone,” Tyler whined.
Good God. Cal had no idea how to get through to him. “Are you

really sure you want to be dating this guy?”

Tyler paused at the door, and something like fear flashed in his

eyes. Sadness, too, as if he couldn’t give up his pretend relationship,
no matter how clearly everyone else saw the flaws. “Of course I want
to date him. He’s Hunter Ford.”

Cal knew the guy. His father was a senator and his uncle a vice-

presidential hopeful. Still, he didn’t think his connections were what
drew Tyler to Hunter. “He’s not even that handsome.”

“Oh, my.” Tyler’s interest plucked up again, as swift and jarring

as a swerving truck. “Look at you being all heteroflexible.” He

Bossy and the Brat

walked his fingers up the front of Cal’s shirt, doing his normal teasing
flirt. But Cal couldn’t take any more of it. Not that night. Things were
too close to the surface.

Tyler leaned closer. He smelled like bodywash and musk. For the

first time, Cal noticed that Tyler was taller than him. He must have
grown over the course of the year, because he’d been shorter when
he’d arrived on the hall in September. Patches of stubble were
pushing their way out of his chin and jaw. He seemed more like a
man.

And though it surprised Cal to admit it, that masculinity didn’t

diminish Tyler’s prettiness. It only added to it.

Cal’s pulse beat once, as if his heart had clenched extra hard. He

swallowed against the desire to lean in and cup Tyler’s face, take
possession of that oft-used mouth. Cal said, “Nope. Still totally
hetero.”

He took a half step back into his room and rolled his shoulders in

a shrug.

“Oh, yeah, Mr. Hipster Glasses.” Tyler reached over and tapped

Cal’s frames, right at the bridge of his nose. “Totally straight.”

Cal swiped his glasses off his face, rubbing the lenses clean on his

shirt. If doing so showed off the lower third of his abdomen, Cal
figured Tyler deserved it. Tyler Burk wasn’t the only one who could
be a big fat tease. “In bed, Ty.” He pointed across the hallway to
Tyler’s door.

“You coming with me?” Tyler licked his lips.
The move went straight to Cal’s dick and set up house there—

pumping fluid like thick honey into his cock. “No,” he growled out,
shutting the door.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Two

Tyler sat on his bed, staring at his door. His mental cogs turned a

mile a minute.

Had Calvin Beaumont just flirted with him? For real? Not only

did it seem like Cal had, but maybe Cal had been a little flustered.
Tyler couldn’t decide what was more fascinating—the idea of Cal
being bi or the notion of Cal having actual, regular-person feelings.

All year long, Cal had seemed like a parent—a quiet, nerdy guy

who lived across the hall and was friends with upperclassmen. He had
a girlfriend. Everyone on the hall knew that.

But that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Tyler had had a

girlfriend for a while in high school. Before they’d broken up and
he’d focused exclusively on boys.

Maybe Cal just needed a push, or some help. The guy was plenty

good looking, in a hot-for-teacher sort of way.

Tyler pulled his phone out of his pocket and clicked around until

he got to Cal’s phone number. It was hard to find—Tyler had never
needed to call him before.

He typed in a text.
You awake?
After a moment, Cal’s reply appeared, setting his phone buzzing

in his hand.

Yeah. Why?
Tyler smiled at the screen, wondering if he should call instead of

writing. But he worried Cal would try to get out of a conversation if
he heard Tyler’s voice. So instead he sent another message.

What are you wearing?

Bossy and the Brat

A pause.
Stop it, Ty!
Tyler grinned.
I’m in my underwear.
He skinned off his clothes so he wouldn’t be a liar. Then, standing

mostly naked in the middle of his dorm room, he swiped a hand down
his body. All the while he stared at the screen, waiting with a grin for
Cal to text back. A few seconds billowed, stretching, until almost a
minute passed. Tyler started getting pissed. He hated being ignored.

Suddenly annoyed, he pressed call on Cal’s number then waited

for Cal to pick up the phone.

“Yes?” Cal sounded grumpy and tired.
“Why didn’t you text me back?”
Cal didn’t say anything for so long Tyler wondered if maybe he’d

hung up. Eventually, he groaned. “Because your text was
inappropriate.”

“Why?” Tyler asked. He snickered. “You’re not my RA

anymore.”

“Yeah, but I was.” His voice was rough, and a little sweet. Tyler

had never noticed before how deep and soothing Cal’s voice was. His
accent sounded like wide-open spaces and waist-high grass.

“Can I ask you a question?” Tyler lay back on his bed, still in his

underwear, but no longer wanting to jack off so much as talk.

“Not if it’s about Hunter. No offense, but I can’t handle that right

now.”

Tyler smiled at Cal’s bluntness. “Okay, no Hunter talk.” Truth

was, Tyler was tired of thinking about Hunter, too. At least for the
day.

“Okay, then shoot.” Cal made a huffing sound like he was getting

settled on his bed.

Tyler kicked his feet under his covers to do the same.
He thought about how different their rooms were—Cal’s chock-

full of all the paraphernalia students acquired by the time they were in

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the summer between junior and senior year—plates, cups, pieces of
patched-together stereo equipment. Tyler’s room, on the other hand,
was all bed and bookshelves. It was smaller than Cal’s, but the same
industrial beige color. And while Cal had two sliding windows, Tyler
only had one.

“You ever been interested in a man?” Tyler jumped right in with

the question on his mind, eager to learn about the enigma of their
quiet hall boss.

“Ty…” Cal gave him a warning.
“Hey, if you thought I was questioning, you might ask me the

same thing. Isn’t that in the RA handbook or something?” He smiled,
rolling over in his cozy bed. His sheets were flannel. He’d bought
them in a fit of hominess when he’d moved in.

Though the sheets were too warm for summer, he liked how they

felt like something that belonged in a log cabin.

“No, the RA handbook doesn’t advise we try to hit on freshmen.”
“Dude. I’m not a freshman anymore.” Tyler rolled his eyes,

though he knew Cal couldn’t see. “And I’m not hitting on you.” His
hard-on told a different story, but Tyler just palmed it with a good-
natured grip. “Plus—I’m talking about men in general. Or boys, in
general. Never, ever wondered what it would be like? Or maybe
rubbed off with a friend back in junior high?”

Cal exhaled.
Tyler bit his bottom lip. “Ooh, you have, haven’t you?”
“No.” Cal’s answer was too abrupt to be anything but a lie.
“Really?” Tyler squirmed deeper under the covers. He rubbed his

dick in slow drags, starting to really get off on Cal’s reluctance.
“Because I’d think you’d wonder what it would be like if a guy got
you in his mouth. Sucked you so hard you saw stars.”

Cal made a tiny grunt. “Don’t see why it would be any different

than with a girl.”

Tyler smiled. He could hear Cal breathing harder, and the sound

of him shifting in his bed. Still, he kept his voice light and analytical,

Bossy and the Brat

as if they were discussing the weather. “Oh, guys do it way better.”
He arched a little as he rubbed, wondering if he wanted Cal to know
he was masturbating. He didn’t think he did.

“So, um…you’ve had it from girls, too?”
“Yeah, of course.” Tyler had tried for ages to make himself like

girls—gotten hand jobs and his dick sucked. Even tried to have sex.
But that was as far as it went for him. The rest he could handle, but
actual face-to-face fucking had just proven too much female for him
to stay hard. He’d gone out to a club in nearby Boston with a fake ID
the very next day and kissed a burly leather daddy for an hour. “But I
didn’t like it much.”

“Oh.” Cal stumbled over his words. “I’ve never…I mean, not yet.

So it’s not like I know…”

Tyler twisted onto his side, delighted with this insight into Cal’s

love life. He wasn’t normally nosy, but he couldn’t help but wonder.
“Oh. Not even…” He didn’t want to refer to Nicole by name. She
seemed like the type to have Tyler’s nuts for breakfast if she heard
what he was asking.

“No. She’s a nice girl. It isn’t like that.”
“Okay.” Tyler pressed his lips together to avoid laughing. Nicole

didn’t seem like a nice girl to him whatsoever. She seemed like an ass
kicker. But he wasn’t going to tell that to Cal. “I’m rubbing off right
now.”

“Jeez, Ty! I can’t know that.” But oddly, Cal didn’t get off the

phone.

“You want to hear about it?”
There was a silence, long and intriguing enough to distract Tyler

from his half-hearted tug. “Well?”

“I gotta go.” Cal hung up without saying good-bye.
Tyler frowned. “Bye,” he said to the dead line. He considered

marching across the hall and bugging Cal some more, but as he stared
at his door, Tyler realized it would be just too embarrassing. Cal
probably wasn’t even gay.

Daisy Harris

Propping up in bed, Tyler opened his text messages. He thumbed

to the exchange with Hunter earlier, studying it for more meaning.
But no matter how many times he dissected the few abbreviated
words, he couldn’t figure out Hunter’s tone of voice, or his expression
when he’d been typing. All he saw was that Hunter had dismissed
him.

He frowned at the phone, getting annoyed at Hunter all over

again. Tyler wanted to throw some big tantrum until Hunter groveled.
Unfortunately, some tiny voice inside told Tyler that Hunter wouldn’t
grovel.

In fact, Hunter might not notice.
Fuck him.
Tyler punched words into his cell phone.
Y’know what? Fuck you. We’re over!
He stared at the characters, wishing he could make the emotion

behind them real. He wished he could stop caring whether Hunter
gave a shit about him. Hell, Tyler wished he could stop caring
whether anyone gave a shit about him.

In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to hit send.

* * * *

“Man, I need to get laid.” Tyler pulled his phone out of his pocket

to check his messages. He hadn’t gotten any new ones from Hunter
since the night before last.

And annoyingly, Cal had flat-out ignored him ever since they’d

flirted.

Tyler frowned at the screen then shoved his phone back in his

pocket. “With someone who’s not Hunter.”

“And this is news, how?” Andrea keyed in the pass code and

stepped through the door to their dorm. She held it open for Tyler.

“Jeez. I only decided to stop seeing him two days ago.” Tyler

tossed his dance bag into his room, but then slid down to sit on the

Bossy and the Brat

floor outside it. Andrea was cool with him hanging out in her room,
but her space was as tiny as his. It always felt more comfortable to sit
in the brightly lit hallway where they could chat with whoever else
passed. And since they’d just come from Sunday brunch, there was a
pretty good chance someone would show up in the hallway. Maybe
even a certain someone in the form of his enigmatic former RA.

“Well, what’s the problem?” Andrea tossed her backpack into her

room, and the squeak of her bedsprings signaled that she’d hit her
mark. She folded into a cross-legged sit at Tyler’s side, cuddling in
close. “Just go to a party and find someone.”

Tyler scoffed. “It isn’t that easy.” Truth was, he didn’t want just

anyone. He couldn’t get the thought of Cal out of his head. Which
was fucking stupid, since Cal probably wasn’t gay. Well…maybe he
was a little gay. Tyler needed to spend more time with him to find
out. “There aren’t as many parties in the summer. And besides, I do
have standards.”

“Not hardly.” Andrea tickled his side, letting him know she’d

been teasing. “And anyway, isn’t casual hooking up the main benefit
of being gay?” Andrea was always moaning about how hard it was to
have casual sex. She had a thing about wanting one-night stands, but
then ending up dating the guy afterwards.

Tyler had the opposite problem. He found guys he wanted to date

who only wanted one-night stands. “Well, yeah. But I don’t know if I
want Hunter to know, y’know?” Pissed as he was at Hunter, Tyler
didn’t like the idea of burning his bridges with the guy. There weren’t
too many unattached gay guys around for the summer, and Tyler
hated being totally alone.

Andrea twisted around to face him. “Ty, that’s stupid.”
The hall door opened and Cal stepped inside. He must have

caught the tail end of their conversation, because he lifted an eyebrow
behind his chunky tortoiseshell glasses. “What’s stupid?”

Tyler grinned up at him, mentally congratulating himself for his

timing. He patted the ground. “Pop a squat, Hall Daddy.”

Daisy Harris

Cal sighed at the nickname, but slid down the wall on the opposite

side of the hallway from Tyler and Andrea. He rubbed his face as if
he wondered if it was a bad idea to get involved. “So what’s up?”

“She thinks it’s dumb for me to want to go off campus to get

laid.” Tyler watched Cal carefully, hoping to get another flustered rise
out of him, or maybe some hint about Cal’s sexual orientation. Cal
was cute in an understated kind of way. His eyes and hair were a plain
brown color, but his jaw was square as a superhero’s. “Andrea thinks
I should just grab myself some ass right here.” He waited, curious,
watching Cal’s body language.

“Um…” Cal coughed into his fist. He looked crazy uncomfortable

at the topic of conversation, and that made Tyler’s insides pirouette.

“There are so many cute guys here.” Andrea gestured at Cal,

trying to get him to take her side. Clearly, she didn’t understand that
Tyler was only teasing. Yeah, he’d be happy to go into Montpelier
and hook up with a stranger. But his main goal in pushing the topic
was to find out more about Cal.

“Plus, it’s safer!” Andrea worked herself into a lather. She was

cute when she acted like mamma bear. “Everyone’s a friend of a
friend. The guys are all around your age.” She looked at Cal
imploringly. “Ty could meet some psycho. Tell him.”

Cal squirmed a little, rubbing his hands on his knees. But whether

it was because he was excited or embarrassed, Tyler couldn’t tell.
“Well, casual sex is always risky. It’s safer on a lot of levels to wait
until you’re in a committed, monogamous relationship.” He sounded
like he was reciting from the RA manual, or an abstinence-based sex
ed guide.

Tyler and Andrea stared at him for a long moment, completely

confused. Tyler knew his mouth must have been hanging open.

Finally, Andrea broke the silence. “Well, yeah. But assuming he

does plan on having casual sex—”

Bossy and the Brat

“Dude, I’m just gonna bus it to Montpelier.” Tyler pushed the

argument a little further, swiping his hair across his forehead and
giving Cal his best angle. “It’s been ages since I’ve been off campus.”

Andrea slid into the middle of the hall as if she thought being

physically closer to Cal would make him more likely to argue her
point. To Tyler, she said, “Listen. I’m not saying you’re weak or
anything, but it’s not the same as if it was Cal going into a bar. You
could get mugged or something.”

Cal gave a little smile, probably flattered that Andrea thought he

was tough. Sure, Cal was thicker than Tyler and a couple years older.
But with his glasses and his cautious personality, he came off like a
total nerd.

“Well, for one thing, it’s legal for me to go into a bar,” Cal said

reasonably.

“Hey—I’m not going there to drink.”
RAs were required to report underage drinking they heard about.

And even though Cal wasn’t an RA anymore, Tyler wouldn’t put it
past him to say something if he saw Tyler break a rule.

“Night Light is eighteen-and-over on Wednesdays,” Tyler said.

None of Tyler’s friends had cars, so he’d never gone to the gay club
in the nearby city, but he had always been curious.

“Still…” Andrea threw up her hands. “Could you at least ask Tad

and Michael to go with you?”

“Hell, no,” Tyler said, eyeing Cal in a way he hoped wasn’t too

obvious.

Tad and Michael were good guys, but they were a couple and had

been since the first day of freshman orientation. They were
disgustingly, creepily in love. And though Tyler liked each of them
fine in isolation, he found the two of them a bit much when they were
together.

“I could take you,” Cal offered. It was the first thing he’d said in a

while, and his eyes widened as if he were surprised he’d said anything
at all. He rushed to add, “Because, y’know, I have a car.”

Daisy Harris

Tyler pinched his lips so he wouldn’t smile too hard. “Thanks for

the offer, but I wouldn’t want to put you out.” He tossed his hair out
of his face, wanting to make Cal work for it a little. Out of the corner
of his eye, he saw Andrea’s expression shift, as if she’d just realized
Tyler’s game.

She narrowed her eyes, and made a face that said quite clearly,

“You are so gonna get it later.”

But Cal didn’t seem to notice, because he just stood awkwardly,

pulling his giant book bag off the floor. “No, really. It would be fun.”

“Okay, Hall Daddy.” Tyler scooted lower so he could rub Cal’s

foot with the edge of his. He smirked. “It’s a date.”

Cal tensed, dark-brown eyes widening behind his angular glasses

frames.

Tyler wondered when Cal had bought them, and whether his

parents suspected he was gay when he wore them.

“Um, well, not a date.” Cal fumbled with his key in the doorknob.

He didn’t meet Tyler’s eyes. “Just a ride.”

“So, Wednesday?” Now that they’d decided to go together, Tyler

felt a little lurch of panic that Cal might bail out. Wednesday was
midweek, and Tyler didn’t get the sense his former RA did anything
but work and study other than on the weekend.

“Um, sure.” Cal disappeared into his room.
When his door had closed, Andrea leaned in closer to his side.

“What the hell?”

“You heard him. He’s just giving me a ride.” He grinned at his

double entendre. He was extremely proud of his powers of seduction.

Andrea scooted to his side and elbowed him. “Dude, he’s an RA.

You can’t go out with him.”

Tyler shoved her like a sister. He rolled his eyes. “Why does

everyone keep saying that?” He gave her a naughty grin and then
kissed her on the cheek. “The school year’s over, honey. And I’m all
grown up.”

Bossy and the Brat

* * * *

Tyler spent the better part of the week spying.
Whenever he wasn’t at work or at practice, he listened for when

Cal would come home or stalked him on social networking sites. He
even took to leaving his door propped open in an effort to catch Cal
coming to and from his room.

Not that he learned much from his vigils. The guy ate, studied,

and went to his job in the bio lab. He seemed to have broken up with
his girlfriend, because she didn’t come by all week. But other than
that, Tyler couldn’t see any change. As the night they planned to go to
the club neared, Tyler wondered if maybe he’d imagined that hint of
excitement in Cal’s eyes, the nervous way he’d swallowed. Maybe it
really wasn’t a date.

Still, Tyler didn’t plan on giving up so easily. So on Wednesday

evening, Tyler listened for the click of Cal’s door. And when he heard
it open, he bounced up, planning to hit the bathroom at the same time
as his RA.

He tossed off his clothes and grabbed a towel to wrap around his

hips. Then Tyler rushed into the hall and down to the men’s room.

He skidded to a stop when he almost ran into Cal. The guy was

standing outside the shower, clutching his towel and gripping the
shower curtain.

“What the hell, Ty?” Cal smiled. He had really nice lips. “You

almost knocked me over.”

“Oh, sorry.” Tyler fell back a step. He was a little thrown off by

how attractive Cal looked shirtless. His skin was this gorgeous color
halfway between olive and tan. “Uh, I was just thinking I should get
ready.”

Tyler glanced down Cal’s body, unable to stop himself from

scanning from his collarbone to his ankles. Even more unable to stop
his tongue from darting out to wet his suddenly dry lips. Cal was
fucking hot. Muscles carved deeply into his arms and chest. He was

Daisy Harris

almost Tyler’s height but muscular where Tyler was thin, with dark
nipples that stuck out all lickable on his hard body.

“Um…I was gonna take a shower.” Cal turned away, but Tyler

could have sworn he saw the outline of a chubby behind Cal’s towel.

“Yeah. Me, too.” Suddenly embarrassed, Tyler rushed over to the

bathroom stall. “You wanna go first?” Tyler locked the stall door
behind him and concentrated on getting his dick back under control.

“Yes. If that’s okay with you.”
“Sure.” There were three showerheads and more than enough

room for two guys, but there was an unspoken rule on the floor that
people took showers one at a time. That was, unless someone was in a
hurry for class, or they were really close friends. Then the guys would
stand with their backs to each other, scrubbing as fast as humanly
possible.

The water started on Cal’s shower, filling the bathroom with a

dull flapping noise.

Tyler slipped out of the stall. He considered going back to his

room to wait, but decided to hang out. Cal didn’t seem like the type to
spend long washing, and if Tyler stayed he could check out his body
again. So Tyler leaned against the bathroom wall, wishing he’d
brought his phone with him. He wasn’t waiting for any text in
particular. But he’d gotten so used to checking that it was hard to
break the habit.

The door opened, and Tyler looked up, hoping to find someone to

talk to for a few minutes before Cal came out of the shower. But the
guy who walked in was Mitch, the burly asshole from the other end of
the hall.

He looked Tyler over with open amusement. “What the fuck are

you doing skulking in here?” He stepped up to the mirror to prod at a
zit on his chin.

Tyler hung his towel on the hook outside the shower. Fuck if he

was going to let some jerk think he couldn’t get in a shower with

Bossy and the Brat

another man. Just because he was gay didn’t mean he would hump
anything with a dick.

“Just taking a shower, man.” Tyler slid the curtain far enough to

get in. He stepped inside the dark, moist space just in time to see Cal,
impressive dick in hand, arching to spray jizz onto the tiled wall.

“Oh, um…” Tyler spun away. He felt like he’d just fallen face-

first into a porno. It was more jarring than sexy. “Uh, sorry.” He
didn’t want to scurry back into the bathroom and have to face Mitch,
but Tyler didn’t have a choice. He figured Cal was embarrassed as
fuck.

“Um, I’ll use the shower upstairs.” Tyler tucked back the curtain

just far enough to get out and hurried out of the bathroom.

Behind him, he heard Mitch chuckling. “Dude, saw a worm?”
Tyler didn’t answer. His face was hot and red, and he was fighting

a hysterical fit of giggling. The shock faded, and he started to feel less
embarrassed than intrigued.

He had no idea if Cal was masturbating over him, or over his ex-

girlfriend, or whether the guy always jerked it in the shower. But
Tyler chose to believe Cal was rubbing one out because he just
couldn’t stop himself after seeing the glory that was Tyler’s torso.

Yeah. That must be it. Tyler grinned. He was going to have an

awesome night.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Three

Cal was a fucking idiot. He’d thought Tyler would have gone

back to his room after nearly knocking him over. But Cal should have
thought to double-check or even lock the bathroom door. There was
another bathroom upstairs—no one needed to share now that it was
summer.

Now Cal would spend the whole night feeling like a pervert. He

toweled off as fast as he could, and before he could lose his nerve and
spend the rest of the summer hiding, Cal headed to Tyler’s room. He
knocked on the door, but didn’t get an answer. “Ty?” He waited,
wondering if maybe Tyler was upset. Maybe the kid felt molested, or
like Cal had flashed him on purpose.

Of course, Tyler had been the one to interrupt Cal’s shower, so it

hadn’t technically been Cal’s fault.

Cal ducked his head inside. “You in here?” The bed was empty, as

was the room.

“Whatcha doin?” Tyler stepped up behind him, and Cal jumped

out of the way so fast he banged his elbow on the doorframe.

“Damn. You scared me.” Cal rubbed his bruised arm.
Tyler brushed him as he pushed through. He smelled like that

ridiculous bodywash he used, and his hair was dripping water into his
eyes and down his face. When he looked at Cal, a few droplets ran
down his lightly haired chest. Cal wanted nothing more to get on his
knees and lick every one of those droplets clean. “I was just coming
to say, um…”

He wanted to say he was sorry, but was getting hard again. Maybe

it would be best if he just left.

Bossy and the Brat

Ty sat on his bed, treating Cal to a fascinating flash of balls and

cockhead under his towel. “Dude.” He laughed. “No biggie.” He
grabbed a second towel and used it to dry off his floppy locks of hair.

Cal wanted to shove him, kiss him, force him back onto the

mattress and wipe that smirk off his face. But he didn’t dare do any of
those things. “Okay, then. Be ready in five minutes.” He didn’t know
why he needed to get bossy with Tyler, but he did. Tyler was making
him crazy, and angry. And so horny he was surprised he could still
walk.

“Okay, Hall Daddy.” Tyler gave him a flirty little smile. Then, to

Cal’s horror, he winked.

Cal stumbled backward out the door and when he got inside his

own room, he shut the bolt. He shoved his legs into a pair of briefs
and dragged on his jeans.

He shouldn’t have agreed to go out with Tyler.
How was he supposed to resist the guy all night?
Trying to get his mind off his dick, Cal rifled through his drawers.

He didn’t have any gay clothes. Or at least, he didn’t think he did.
None of his shirts were tight or stylish like Tyler’s. Anyway, he
wasn’t sure he wanted to portray himself that way. Cal felt fine about
going to a gay club—he’d been to several parties on campus run by
one GLBT group or another.

But doing something about it? That was a different story. Besides,

the only guy he wanted to do something about it with was Tyler—
who was off-limits.

In the end, he opted for a striped T with a collar. It was more fitted

than most of his other clothes, only because he’d had it since before
he’d filled out.

His nerves wound tight, making his muscles feel like taut,

jangling strings. Cal took a few centering breaths, forcing his mind to
settle. Then he locked up his room and knocked on Tyler’s door.

“You ready?” He dipped his head inside, since Tyler hadn’t closed

the door after Cal left.

Daisy Harris

“Yeah.” Tyler messed with his hair in the mirror, tossing his head

to the side and swiping his fingers through his bangs. “Just about.”
His jeans were skintight and hung so low that Cal could see the upper
part of his ass. Unlike some guys around campus who wore their low-
slung jeans under their bottoms so you saw a bunch of underwear,
Tyler’s jeans revealed only a smooth stretch of peachy skin. Cal
wondered if he was going commando.

“Let me grab a jacket.” Tyler rotated. His shirt was cropped high

enough to show the lower part of his abdomen.

Cal looked for a delicate trail above Tyler’s buttoned fly—he was

going to make Tyler change if he saw one. But Tyler didn’t have
enough body hair for any to show above his pants.

“You ready?” Tyler slung a shiny black jacket over his ensemble,

making Cal feel like an old man in the process. Ty looked like
glamour and possibility. So gorgeous it was like Cal was looking
directly into the sun.

“Sure.” Cal checked his back pocket for his wallet and keys.
God. He couldn’t believe he was going through with this…“Let’s

go.” He stepped into the hallway then strode down the stairs and out
the door.

“Where you parked?” Tyler strutted next to him through the

courtyard outside Cushman I, II, and III. A path led from the three
dorms over to a crosswalk on East Street.

“Way past the minimart.” Even in the summer, parking was at a

premium on the surrounding streets, and the only way to get a spot
within a half mile of the dorms was to park when everyone was at
class or work.

“Jeez, you should have told me. I would have worn different

shoes.”

Cal had the strongest urge to slap his butt. He fisted his hand in an

effort to stop himself. “Sorry, Your Highness.”

Bossy and the Brat

“I should grab a snack when we go by the store.” Tyler wiggled as

he walked, and Cal was almost certain he was doing it on purpose—
rubbing Cal’s nose in how good Tyler looked. The brat.

And now Cal couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more

than rub his nose into that place at the back of Tyler’s jeans where the
round swells of his bottom dipped in the center.

“Sure.” Cal cleared his throat, and shook his head to clear his

mind. The minimart loomed straight ahead, its lights bright across the
parking lot. The surrounding area was darker by comparison, and Cal
could make out the figures standing outside, probably waiting to ask
an older student to buy them beer.

Tyler jogged up the steps ahead of Cal, his sexy, lithe body

bouncing and flexing in front of Cal’s face. He grabbed an energy
drink and a banana from the basket beside the register and set down a
credit card.

The store employee looked past Tyler at Cal. “Anything for you?”

It made Cal wonder if the wizened old man thought he and Tyler were
a couple—and if so, whether he thought their relationship was
disgusting. But after a moment’s reflection, he realized he’d just seen
the two of them walk in together.

“Uh, no. Nothing for me.”
The guy at the register nodded benignly and ran Tyler’s card.
Cal led Tyler into the floodlit parking lot, then to the darker streets

beyond. “I’m over here.” He gestured to a side street where his gold
sedan was wedged between a truck and an ancient Volvo. Neither had
a car alarm, thank God, so Cal wouldn’t have to worry about setting
one off nudging a bumper as he pulled out.

“Nice car.” Tyler’s smile was sarcastic.
Cal’s Dodge had blankets covering the seats and air fresheners

hanging on the rearview mirror to battle the stench of gas that snuck
in from the motor. He’d driven it all the way from Kansas and had to
replace several parts along the way.

Daisy Harris

“Anyone ever tell you you’re spoiled?” Cal dropped into his seat

and leaned across to unlock Tyler’s door.

Tyler sat gingerly in the passenger side. His nose wrinkled, and

his body tensed as if he was trying not to touch anything. “No one
who mattered.”

Cal chuckled. “Brat.” He patted Tyler’s leg. He’d meant it to be

friendly, but when his fingers closed around the supple muscle it was
all Cal could do not to keep touching and feeling, stroking his fingers
up the crease where Tyler’s thigh met those tightly clad hips.

He snatched his hand away. Cal rolled down his window before

starting the car. “You probably want to crack your side, too.” Pine-
scented freshener or no, Cal’s car smelled like ass with the windows
closed.

“Good call.” Tyler cranked the handle, dropping the window a

few inches from the top. “Dude. I can’t believe this car still runs.”

“Shut up.” Cal smiled. Then he slowly eased backward until he

just barely jarred the car behind him. Rotating the steering wheel as
far as it would go, he pulled forward until he met the car at his front.

Cal continued for several rotations of the wheel, easing forward

and back, until he had enough of an angle from the curb to pull out of
the parking space.

“Wow.” Tyler chuckled. “You didn’t even look. That was like,

ninja parking.”

Cal’s face heated under Tyler’s flattery. “After pulling in and out

of a spot like that a hundred times, you learn to feel it.” Cal darted a
grin Tyler’s direction. “Eyes can deceive you.”

He hoped he didn’t imagine the way Tyler’s cheeks darkened, or

the way he nibbled on his bottom lip. God—Tyler was beautiful. Male
or female, it didn’t matter, because he was gorgeous.

“They teach you that in your RA workshops?”
Cal frowned. He knew Tyler was just teasing with his normal

snotty comments. But he hated that Ty had brought up the thing
between them that set down the biggest barrier. Sure—Cal’s family

Bossy and the Brat

was conservative as all get-out. But that was a distant and abstract
issue.

More importantly, Cal had been Tyler’s RA. And relationships

between RAs and students could lose an RA their job. Of course,
former RAs didn’t fall under that umbrella. But Cal still wasn’t
comfortable with the idea.

“No,” was all he replied. Cal hoped Tyler would get the hint and

not bring up his former position again.

“Geez, sorry.” Tyler huffed out an annoyed breath. After a

moment of pouting, he said, “So, seriously…”

Cal cringed.
“Are you into dudes or not?” Streetlights illuminated Tyler’s face

in rushing flashes.

“It doesn’t matter if I am.”
Tyler swiveled in his seat so he could look at Cal better. He tilted

his head inquisitively. “What do you mean?”

Cal shrugged, wondering if he should have brought it up. But they

had twenty minutes together in his box of a car, and he didn’t see the
point in lying. “I mean, even if I did like men in that way, I could
never…” He took one hand off the steering wheel to scrub at his face.
“I could have sex with a man, but where would it lead? I can’t marry
a guy.”

“This is Vermont, dude. When last I checked, you can marry a

man if you want.” Tyler tossed his head again, making sure his bangs
were perfect. Cal wondered if he did that when he was nervous. “And
anyway, who says you have to be planning to get married to have a
little fun?”

“Oh, like how much fun you have?” Cal snapped his gaze around

before returning his eyes to the road. “Does it make you happy, going
with so many guys?” He felt a lurch of anger, completely out of
proportion considering he and Tyler were only friends.

Tyler settled farther back in his seat, his expression unreadable. “I

don’t sleep around that much.”

Daisy Harris

Cal’s gut twisted with guilt. “I didn’t mean—”
“Yeah, you did.” Tyler crossed his arms. “And it’s none of your

business who I sleep with.”

“You’re right.” Cal gripped the steering wheel. The thought of

Hunter between Ty’s legs or bending him over some convenient
surface made Cal’s muscles bunch and his heart ache. But now that
he’d pictured one image, he couldn’t help imagining others. “You’re
right, it’s none of my business.”

Tyler’s foot bobbed, knocking a steady beat on the door’s plastic

panel. “I don’t see why you had to turn this shit around on me
anyway.”

The turnoff to Montpelier appeared on the right, and Cal pulled

off the highway. He didn’t want their conversation to end on these
terms. At a stoplight, he turned to Tyler and said what was eating a
hole in his mind. “Yes, I do like men that way.”

“Oh.” Tyler blinked—pale lashes fanning over blue eyes. His

cheeks were slightly rounded with baby fat, but high and strong. He
smiled, and Cal felt like the sky was clearing. “Well, no wonder
you’re always so uptight.”

Cal swore the kid wanted to annoy him. “Smart-ass.” He pulled

forward at a green light, urging the car to drive. In a moment of
nerves, he added, “Listen, please don’t tell anyone about this. I’m
not—”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Tyler’s voice was different than normal, with

none of his usual snottiness. He gazed out past the windshield with a
thoughtful expression. “I’m not going to out you, man.”

“Thank you.” Maybe Cal shouldn’t have told him, but he was glad

that he had.

He pulled to a stop a block away from the dance club. There was a

line of kids outside, all looking as free as Tyler and maybe even
younger. It made Cal feel old, and plain, and more than a little scared.
“Listen, maybe you should just go in on your own.”

And that’s when Tyler leaned across the seats and kissed him.

Bossy and the Brat

Chapter Four

It was just a brush of lips. Gentle and tasting like toothpaste, but it

was enough to make Cal feel like he was going to rip out of his skin.
He jerked his head away. “What are you doing?” Cal scrubbed hands
through his hair. “We can’t.”

Tyler’s forehead puckered, as if he was trying to figure out what

Cal meant. “Of course we can.” Slowly, Tyler ran a fingertip up Cal’s
arm.

“But…” He struggled to think of a reason to argue when all he

could see was Tyler’s bright blue eyes, and his nose was filled with
sandalwood and man. The street was empty. They weren’t on campus.

Cal couldn’t resist one kiss. He grabbed Tyler’s shoulders and

yanked him close, sealing their mouths together. Cal used his teeth
and rough licks of his tongue. He tasted every corner of Tyler’s
mouth, wondering if he could ever stop.

Tyler gasped, shocking Cal out of his furious passion. Cal

released his shoulders, setting him back a few inches, trying to get his
body and mind back under control.

“Dude.” Tyler leaned back against the far side of the car. He

smiled, his eyes soft and teasing. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked
me?”

Cal fisted the steering wheel, straightening his arms in frustration.

“We should go into the club.”

But Tyler shook his head and eased closer. He cupped Cal’s

cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He kissed Cal’s other cheek and
then nibbled down to the curve of his jaw.

Daisy Harris

Cal couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. And when, with a slow,

measured touch, Tyler roamed his fingers down the indent of Cal’s
chest, Cal arched up off the seat and groaned.

Warmth pooled low on his body, so hot Cal wondered if he could

come just from Ty’s fingertips. He thrust up again, unable to stop
himself, even if it was wrong. They’d already started, already crossed
that mile-deep chasm. And Ty was kissing his neck, toying with his
belt buckle, pressing against his side.

“I wanted to tell you.” Cal knew he didn’t have a choice but to

give in. “So badly.” He wove his fingers into the silky hair at the back
of Tyler’s neck. Cal bent his head to Tyler’s, smelling his bodywash
and his sweet skin underneath. “God, I’ve wanted to for so long.” He
tugged Ty’s head back and kissed him, tasted the mint on his lips. Cal
kissed him like he should have the first time, slowly and carefully.

When Tyler unhitched his belt, Cal didn’t stop him. When his

hand searched lower, into Cal’s briefs and the crinkly hair below, Cal
only sucked in a breath and offered up his hips.

“Is this okay?” Tyler’s fingertips found Cal’s cockhead. He

stroked the tip, slippery with pre-cum, and eased lower to the tight
skin of Cal’s shaft. Ty’s hand was shameless, but his eyes were wide
with concern. “Good, right?”

“God, how could you think anything else?” Cal kissed the words

from his mouth, and wrapped his arms around Ty as best he could in
the awkward front seat. He reached for Ty’s jeans, wanting to touch
him back, but Ty pushed his hand away.

“No. Me first.” Ty scooted back in his seat. He bent forward,

lowering his face to Cal’s groin, fingers widening the opening of
Cal’s pants.

Ty wrapped his mouth around Cal’s cock.
Cal feathered Ty’s hair, rubbed his back, tried to reach that

seductive curve of his ass. He wished he had more stamina or they
had more room. But Ty had been right on the phone—Cal couldn’t
imagine a girl sucking him like Tyler did.

Bossy and the Brat

He took Cal deep, so far his nose huffed warm breaths through

Cal’s pelt. Ty used his hand to keep Cal steady, his fingers cuffing
him in a loose O at the base. And the whole time, Ty bobbed up and
down in firm strokes. He moaned, as if Cal tasted like ambrosia.

“Oh, God, Ty. I want…” Cal didn’t know how to explain. He

wished he could reverse their roles and show Tyler with his mouth
and his fingers how much he wanted him. But Cal’s orgasm circled
his belly, boiled in his sack. His cock became tender and trembling
with a million nerve endings.

Tyler’s free hand fumbled with the front of his ridiculously tight

jeans and Cal wished even harder he could help. But Tyler must have
managed to get his dick free, because he made a sound like a
strangled whimper and sucked all the harder. His cheeks hollowed
and his hair brushed wildly on Cal’s fingers.

“I’m going to…” Cal felt like he was always meant to be here—

holding Tyler’s head, watching him pleasure himself and Cal at the
same time. Even with his desperation, his quivering thighs and
gasping breaths, Cal felt right. Perfect. Like he’d reached a place he’d
never thought he could go. “I…”

Tyler whined and panted, never releasing Cal even once Cal

spurted deep into his throat. Cal felt him swallowing, the undulations
setting off more explosions. They wrung Cal deep, all the way past
his balls to darker parts where he’d never expected to want a man’s
touch. Ty showed him all of it in that long flash of pleasure.

“Ty…” Cal petted Tyler’s head, easing him off.
When Tyler rose enough for Cal to kiss him, Cal saw moisture in

Ty’s eyes. The dampness matched the stream on Ty’s chin.

“You really like me?” Ty asked. He looked so different from

normal in that moment. Young and open and needing something Cal
didn’t know if he could give.

And though Cal had admitted it before, this time if he said it, it

would be a promise. An agreement to fundamentally shift things Cal
hadn’t planned on changing. But he couldn’t say no to Tyler. Not

Daisy Harris

when Ty watched him with hope and need. Not with Cal’s seed
smeared across his lips.

“I like you so much.” Cal brushed a thumb across Ty’s mouth,

and then kissed him. He tasted his essence covering the flavor of
Tyler’s lips. He tasted the future—a little unknown, and slightly
bitter. But something he needed more than he needed to breathe.

“Wow,” Ty answered.
“You don’t need to say it back.” Cal pressed his forehead against

Tyler’s, rubbing together their sweat. “It’s not like you’ve known for
long.”

Ty pecked another kiss onto Cal’s lips. “Nah. I like you, too. Just

hadn’t really thought you liked me back.” He pulled back far enough
to get at his pants and started looking around for a tissue. “You got
any, um…” Tyler blushed, the pink on his cheeks visible even in the
soft blue light from the parking lot.

“Sure.” Cal opened the glove box, securing it so it wouldn’t fall

out altogether, and pulled out a packet of Kleenex he kept on hand for
when he had allergies. “Here.” He pulled out a sheet and was about to
hand it to Ty, but at the last minute, he changed his mind. Cal bent
over and ran the paper over Ty’s hands and his belly, cleaning him up.

“I could do that.” Tyler reached to snatch the remaining papers

from Cal’s hand, but Cal held them out of reach as best he could in
the close cabin of the Dodge.

“Nah. I want to do it.” Cal could have licked that blush right off

Tyler’s cheeks. “There. All clean.” He wadded up the papers and
tucked them into a plastic bag he kept hanging by the window handle
in the back. His car was gross enough without garbage littering the
floors.

“I still have jizz all over my jeans.” Tyler chuckled, this time

succeeding in grabbing the pouch out of Cal’s hand. He snatched out
another tissue and used it in a vain attempt to dry a wet spot by his
knee.

Bossy and the Brat

“Well, whose fault is that?” Cal started the engine. But before

pulling out, he asked, “Did you want to go inside? We can if you
want.” Cal didn’t really want to go into the dance club. Especially
since he didn’t want anyone but Tyler.

“Nah.” Tyler nodded in the direction of the disco. He chuckled.

“Those kids look really young. I’d feel like the old guy at the club.”

“Yeah.” He backed out of the space and pulled onto the dark

streets of Montpelier. “And I’d feel like a child molester.” It was
funny, because Cal was only twenty-one, but the eighteen-year-olds in
line looked like they were just out of high school. Funny how much
difference a few years made.

“So. What happens when we get back?” Tyler leaned back,

watching the city lights fading as they pulled onto the highway. His
fingers eased their way carefully across the armrest.

Cal laid his hand palm-up on that velvet divide. The space in the

car had felt like nothing when Tyler was lying across it to get Cal’s
cock in his mouth. But now that they were done with their orgasms, it
felt wider.

He would have known how to cross it with Nicole. With her, he

never would have gotten to kissing without plodding, step by step,
over the wide space between friends and lovers. But with Tyler, he’d
skipped several steps—leapt from little more than acquaintances to
sex partners. He didn’t know how to find the middle ground.

“Well, we can’t be together publicly.” Cal eased his hand farther

over, until it met the crawl of Tyler’s fingers. “But I want to be with
you. Can you wait, maybe until fall? When we’re not living in the
dorm anymore?” It was only another month and a half.

“Wait?” Tyler’s voice cracked with sarcasm. “What is this, the

olden days or something? Like I said, I’m not going to out you. But
can’t we see each other and not tell anyone?” He shrugged his
shoulders, looking relaxed and amused and like someone whose worst
worry was a badly turned spin at a dance recital.

Daisy Harris

Cal wanted to agree with his attitude. To act like what they were

doing was fine and normal, and only needed to be kept quiet for a
little while.

Of course, Cal would have to keep it quiet from some people

much longer. He couldn’t imagine telling his parents.

But his parents lived in an alternate universe from his own. They

weren’t online, didn’t follow him on social networking sites. They
didn’t call other than on holidays. It was almost as if they didn’t want
to know what he was doing. Other than the visit they planned at the
end of the summer, he wouldn’t be seeing them again until Christmas.

“It’s not as easy for me as for you.” Cal latched on to something

he could use to protect himself. “I was your RA.”

“Pfft.” Tyler waved his hand. “That was a month ago.”
Cal raised his hand in an attempt to shut Tyler up. “I don’t want

people to know, all right?”

“Geez, no one has to.” Tyler slouched on his side of the car. He

lifted the shoulder closer to Cal, as if he were protecting himself
against some imagined attack. “We can just be together in private.”
His stiff posture didn’t hide the hunger in his voice. Tyler needed
something—probably something other than sex.

Cal was powerless not to give it to him. “We can.” He grabbed

Tyler’s arm from where it was crossed over his chest and pulled his
hand over, until their fingers were woven again. It felt amazing just to
feel their palms pressed close, the tickle of Tyler’s digits in the soft
dips between Cal’s fingers.

“But I need you not to be with anyone else.” That much, Cal

knew. He couldn’t think of Tyler as his—with sex or without—if
Tyler was still hooking up with other guys.

“Um…yeah, I guess that’s okay.”
“If you don’t want to—”
“No.” Tyler pulled Cal’s hand protectively into the cradle of his

own. “No, I want to. Just…we’ll be making out and stuff, right?” He

Bossy and the Brat

rubbed his hands on his thighs, fidgeting in his seat as if he was hard
all over again.

Cal bit his lip. He wasn’t much older than Tyler, but he felt like

his sexual control was already miles ahead. If nothing else, he’d been
raised with the idea that restraint was a cornerstone of life. That a man
couldn’t be a man without it. But looking at Tyler with his low-slung
jeans and his provocative haircut, Cal realized—Tyler didn’t
understand about delayed gratification.

“No. We won’t be making out. Or stuff.” He watched, peeking to

the seat next to him as he drove, gauging Tyler’s reaction. If Ty had
slumped in disgust, Cal would have backed down in a minute. Tyler
was too much of a temptation to avoid for long.

But Tyler didn’t lose interest. Instead, he wiggled in his seat,

those fitful hands scrubbing all the more mercilessly on his thighs.
“Aw, man,” he whined. But there was a hint of a smile on his lips. “I
can’t wait that long.”

Oh, God. Cal felt his own cock filling. Just the idea of Tyler hot

and hard and waiting for him made Cal crazy. But, used to containing
his desires deep inside where no one could touch them, he let that
warmth fill his belly. He absorbed Tyler’s attraction, drinking it like
liquor. It made him so giddy he felt light-headed. “Yes, you can.” Cal
touched Tyler’s thigh, feeling the jump of muscles underneath.

He squeezed, measuring the resistance. “You’ll wait all the way

until September.”

“No.” Tyler shook his head, his eyes wide with something like

fear. But it wasn’t just that—his gaze was bright and shining. Excited.
“I can still jerk off, right?”

Cal rounded onto the street by the dorms and thought about it. He

wasn’t in any position to tell Ty what to do. But he was having such
fun watching Ty squirm. “How about this—you wait until I tell you
it’s okay?”

Daisy Harris

Tyler licked his lips. He settled back into his seat. Cal wondered if

Tyler noticed he was cuffing Cal’s thumb and rubbing up and down.
“Um…I guess. But how long?”

“I guess we’ll see.” Cal tried to sound disinterested as he pulled to

a stop. He knew he wouldn’t be able to park anywhere near Cushman
I, II and III, but he didn’t want Tyler to come for the ride as he wove
in and out of neighborhood streets. “If you’re good, I’ll let you get off
sooner.” He smiled at the indignant look on Tyler’s face. He wasn’t
sure anyone had ever told Tyler “no.”

“What if I just go ahead and do it when I feel like it?” Tyler’s

pointed chin jutted forward. It was the picture of rebellious
indifference. But Tyler gave himself away with his searching eyes. He
wanted this.

“Well, then I’ll be disappointed.” Cal watched the emotion play

across Ty’s face.

Ty swallowed, but then looked away as if he were unhappy. So

Cal added, “And I’ll have to punish you.”

“Hm?” Ty twisted his mouth into a small grin. Clearly, that was

what he’d been wanting Cal to say. “And how would you do that?”

In that respect, Cal had no idea. He felt like he’d reached the end

of his creativity. He’d played the stern master but had no idea what
lovers did for punishment. He thought back to the few beatings he’d
gotten as a kid. There was nothing sensual there. And though he knew
full well that sadomasochism was a popular kink, even among
students, he didn’t think he could ever be interested in hurting
someone for pleasure. Not even if the receiver enjoyed it.

“I’ll have to think about that.” Cal gave his best answer. Mostly,

he just wanted Ty thinking of him—whether he touched himself or
not. Because Cal knew he’d be thinking of Ty with every waking
breath. “But I promise you, it will be severe.”

Okay, now he was really pushing it, as Cal had no idea what he’d

use to back up his threat. But the way Tyler batted his eyes and tilted
his head was all the encouragement Cal needed. His fingers twitched,

Bossy and the Brat

wanting to reach across and grab Tyler’s neck to drag him in for a
kiss. But they were on campus, in the jagged line that delineated
where they could be together and where they couldn’t. So Cal
scorched him with his eyes, since he couldn’t with his lips. “You
won’t touch yourself tonight, will you?”

Slowly, Ty shook his head. His eyes were wide and transfixed, his

mouth slack and wet. Cal saw a hint of his semen on Ty’s chin and it
made his cock pulse.

“No, I promise.”
“Good boy.” Cal rubbed his thumb over Tyler’s palm quickly, but

then gestured for him to get out of the car.

“Text you later?” Ty asked, his head ducking in the cabin and his

ass sticking out the door.

“Sure.” Cal smiled gently. He started the engine. Then, hoping

their game would keep them tethered until he was ready for the next
step, he pulled away from the curb.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Five

Tyler managed twenty-four hours without obsessing. But by

Thursday evening, he was back to checking his messages every five
minutes. He wondered if he’d cream himself in his sleep if he didn’t
jerk off soon. And, though he’d sworn he would let Cal make the first
move, he couldn’t wait another second.

U home? he texted.
Time passed and nothing appeared on Tyler’s screen. With a huff

of frustration, he carried his toothbrush to the bathroom and loaded it
up with toothpaste. He scrubbed his mouth, his eyes on his phone’s
screen in case Cal replied. He’d only just spit in the sink and rinsed
when the answer came.

No, not yet.
Tyler smiled. He wondered how far away Cal was and if he

should start walking his direction. Already, he wanted to run right out
of the dorm and go searching for him. Maybe they could hook up
again, as long as they weren’t in the dorms.

So he texted, Where r u?
Right away, Cal answered.
Stopping at the lab. Be home later. What do u need?
Tyler frowned at the phone. Sure, they’d only separated a day

earlier, but he missed Cal already. Missed his nearness, his searching
eyes. He wanted more of his adoration, his attention.

I’m horny.
He bit his lip, his gaze rapt on the screen. He wanted Cal to tell

him to do something—touch himself, or not touch himself. Sit on his
fingers and wait for Cal to come home and fuck him.

Bossy and the Brat

Naughty boy.
Tyler waited, desperate for more. But Cal didn’t seem to want to

say anything else. Well, screw him. Tyler went into the bathroom stall
and shoved his jeans to his knees. Then he rubbed his cock to fully
hard. He angled his phone camera and lifted his shirt and shot a
picture of his belly down over his dick. Then he selected the
messaging option and sent the picture to Cal’s phone.

For a second, Tyler held his breath. He stood with his pants down

and his dick hard, waiting for Cal’s reply.

Go to bed, Ty.
Ty shivered, tears itching his eyes. He dragged his pants up as fast

as he dared given the state of his cock. He should have jacked off, just
to prove to himself that Cal didn’t give a shit and that Tyler could do
whatever he wanted. But right when he was pushing out of the
bathroom, he heard the buzz of his phone signaling that he’d gotten a
text. Tyler swiped his thumb across the screen.

Don’t you dare.
That brief, curt message sent a bolt of desire through his body so

fast that Tyler felt dizzy. He grinned, feeling like he was floating the
whole time he shucked off his clothes and got under his covers. Tyler
had just shoved his books into a makeshift pile and shut off his light
when he got another message.

And next time, show me your ass.
Tyler’s face flushed bright at Cal’s request, and his dick went hard

as diamonds. But Tyler didn’t touch it. He only humped softly into his
mattress.

* * * *

Cal peered at the agar plate before setting it back in its tray in the

incubator. He didn’t have a reason to check on the samples, but he’d
known if he went back to the dorms he would have been knocking on
Tyler’s door in a second. Or texting him to come over.

Daisy Harris

No matter what else happened, Cal didn’t want to hook up with

him on campus. Everyone knew everything about everyone else in the
dorms, and as careful as he and Tyler would try to be, someone would
find out.

It wasn’t just that, though. Cal was honestly conflicted. He

believed wholeheartedly in the rule against RAs sleeping with
freshmen.

No. They’d just have to wait.
He glanced again at the cell phone he’d set on the counter, seeing

if Tyler had sent another message. Maybe that picture Cal had asked
for. But unfortunately, Tyler hadn’t replied.

Cal stared around the lab, trying to figure out something else to

do. The shelves gleamed and the floors shone from whoever had
cleaned up at the end of the day. The room smelled like bleach
fighting an overgrowth of musty bacteria. Or musty yeast, to be more
precise, since their lab studied Saccharomyces life cycles.

A buzzer went off on one of the incubators, and Cal perked up at

the thought of having something to do to make his detour to the labs
worthwhile. He checked the schedule on the lab computer and saw
that some of the plates on Raj’s samples needed to be reupped with
nutrient solution.

He knew Raj would get there soon and do the task, but Cal typed

Raj’s number into the phone.

Raj picked up after a couple rings, sounding harried. “Yeah? I’m

on my way into the lab. What are you calling for so late?”

Cal twisted to get into the refrigerator and keyed in his pass code

to open the door. “I’m here already. I can handle feeding your
babies.”

A little breath on the other side of the line said that Raj was

relieved. “Thanks, man. I’ve got at least three more hours to go on
this assignment I’ve got to hand in tomorrow.”

Bossy and the Brat

“No worries. I got it.” Cal squeezed the dropper to suction the

right nutrients then dripped the correct amount in each of the plates.
“Man, you gotta get more sleep.”

Raj snorted. “Yeah, I’ll work on that. You, too, right?”
Cal smiled. “Yeah. I’ll try.” He hung up the phone and scrawled

the feeding into a schedule hanging on a clipboard on the side of the
incubator. Then, knowing there was nothing else he could do to avoid
going back to the dorms, he patted his pocket for his car keys and
headed for the door.

As he was pressing the panic bar to leave the building, Cal

checked his phone one more time.

No. No more messages from Tyler. He’d have to make do with

the ones he’d already gotten. And though they were mostly Tyler
whining, each little beg tickled Cal’s ego and got him just a little bit
happier.

He paused under a streetlight and clicked on Tyler’s picture. The

picture of his dick, to be precise.

It was pretty, and Cal grinned at it like an idiot. He would have

been just as content with a picture of Tyler’s face. But his cock was
nice to have as well. It was cut, a creamy color like Tyler’s normal
skin, but darker near the base. About halfway up the color changed to
pink along the line of Tyler’s circumcision scar. He got more purple
at the helmet, and Cal imagined a shiny dewdrop might have been
gracing the very tip.

God, Cal couldn’t wait to taste him, to lick the slippery pre-cum

off him and stroke along Tyler’s shaft.

Cal opened his car door and slid into his seat. He started the

engine, but then grabbed his phone and, unable to resist, he sent a
text.

Hey, r u awake still?
He turned the key in the ignition and set his phone down on the

passenger-side seat. But it buzzed right away, so he picked it up.

Yep. Wassup?

Daisy Harris

Cal grinned at the message. He thought about calling, but it

seemed too risky. If he heard Tyler’s voice, he’d want to see Tyler in
person. So instead, he pounded another message into his phone.

Sorry I didn’t text all day.
He’d thought about it every hour, wanting to make some kind of

connection. But he’d been too scared of getting caught.

No worries.
Tyler’s text was casual, though Cal knew Tyler had probably

wondered why Cal hadn’t been in contact.

Cal thought for a second, wondered what he could give Tyler that

would make him happy.

You can jerk off if you want.
He double, and then triple, checked to make sure he’d addressed

the note to Tyler and not someone else, and then hit send. Cal hoped
that giving Tyler permission to come wouldn’t ruin the tension
between them. But the truth was, Cal seldom went more than a day
without getting off. He didn’t think it fair to expect that from Tyler—
no matter how much fun it had been to tease him just an hour before.

You want me to?
Cal could practically hear the smirk in Tyler’s reply and see the

way he’d bat his eyelashes. In a rush of horniness, Cal unfastened his
pants.

Yeah. Do it for me.
He wrapped his fingers around his dick, holding his phone in his

free hand. Cal hoped he could text with just his left thumb, because he
didn’t think he could let go of his cock.

I have to take my clothes off…
Cal imagined the striptease Tyler would put on for him, his little

smile when he bent over to take his ridiculously tight pants off his
ankles.

All of them? Cal asked.
Yeah. I’m totally naked. In bed.

Bossy and the Brat

His pulse sped up, and Cal dragged his hand up his shaft to the tip.

He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, especially since he and Tyler
could take their time. There was no risk with this—not like if they
hooked up in person—only sexy little notes that made Cal’s head spin
and his dick tingle.

I’m doing it, too, he texted.
He paused for a second, wondering if he should hit send. But in

the end, it was too exciting not to.

Getting naked, or jerking off? Tyler asked.
Cal snickered.
The second.
LOL
Rolling his eyes, Cal composed another message.
Shut up and tell me what ur doing.
He hoped Tyler wouldn’t be hurt or thrown out of the moment.

Honestly, Cal had never sexted with anyone in his life. He didn’t even
know for sure how it was supposed to work.

I want ur cock in my mouth.
Cal arched off the seat, pushing his dick through his hand. He

imagined he was pressing his cap through Tyler’s parted lips.

Fuck. Me, too, Cal replied. And I want to do u, too.
He sent it, but wasn’t sure Tyler would catch his meaning. He’d

meant he wanted to suck Tyler off, but didn’t feel comfortable typing
that into his phone.

I’m so hard for u.
Cal’s mouth opened on a groan, and he jerked faster. He could

imagine Tyler’s touch and his breaths. He thought about switching
screens to look at Tyler’s cock, but didn’t want to miss it the second
Tyler said something else filthy.

Me, too. So fucking hard. As if to prove his point, Cal’s dick

stiffened further, loading up with cum. His eyes squinted, trying to
close. But Cal forced them open to watch his phone.

U close? I wanna shoot so bad.

Daisy Harris

Yeah. He struggled to maneuver his phone in his sweaty hand.
You’ll think of me, right?
Cal’s brow wrinkled. God—how could Tyler imagine he’d think

of anything else?

Think of u all fucking day.
He closed his eyes, gripping his phone like he was stroking

Tyler’s cock. And Cal let go. He rubbed up over his slippery cap,
shaking because it felt so amazing. He kept his palm over the tip
when he came, so he wouldn’t spray all over his shirt or his car. He
felt the vibration in his hand—Tyler sending another message—and it
only served to make his dick spasm again, orgasm clutching low on
his body and making him quake.

Cal huffed one breath, then a second. He licked his lips, trying to

get his body back under control. Panting, he checked his messages.

I’m gonna…
He grinned at the phone, knowing Tyler had shot only a second

after he did. It was stupid to think it meant anything that they came
together. But it still made his insides feel shivery. Cal grabbed for
some tissues. But finding that his packet was all used up from the
previous night, he used a sweatshirt he’d left in the back of his car.

When his hands were clean, he looked for another message, but

didn’t find any. Cal wondered if it was his turn to say something. Or
what a person normally texted at the end of a mutual masturbation
session. But if he knew one thing about Tyler it was that the guy hated
being blown off. And Cal had to say something.

Wow.
He sent it. Then wondered if he should have added more.
You’re cool, right? Tyler’s message conveyed every bit of his

insecurity.

Yeah, Cal texted. Was great.
He sent the message, but hot on its heels, composed another.
Y’know, it’s fine if we text.
Really? Tyler had added a little emoticon happy face at the end.

Bossy and the Brat

Sure.
Cal wondered if it was really a good idea to open up the

floodgates of unlimited texting. Tyler would probably abuse it, and it
would make it all the harder for Cal to resist the guy. But Cal was
flying so high on endorphins that he didn’t care.

Cool. I’ll text you in the morning.
He smiled at Tyler’s message.
Good night.
Cal wanted to add a term of endearment, but thought it would be

too much. So he just hit send.

Good night.
It was only two words, but they made Cal smile so wide his face

hurt.

* * * *

When Tyler woke up, he checked his phone. He shouldn’t have

expected a message from Cal—the guy probably wasn’t even awake
yet—but he did. He frowned at the screen, checking the time.

It was 8:45 a.m. and camp started in fifteen minutes, so he jumped

out of bed, pulled a towel off his hook, and rushed to the showers.
Between seven and nine, a line sometimes developed, but he was glad
to find the bathroom empty. Tyler wasn’t in the mood to get joined by
Mitch from the other side of the hall, and he knew Mitch had a similar
schedule to him on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They’d fought
over showers plenty.

Tyler set his phone on the sink, hoping it wouldn’t slide toward

the drain if someone came to wash his hands. Then he stepped over a
slick spot on the floor and into the shower.

He twisted the handle and was happy to feel that the water was

warm already. Tyler scrubbed and rinsed, the whole time worrying
Mitch or someone else would come into the bathroom and grab his
phone. He should have left the stupid thing in his room.

Daisy Harris

But when he stepped out of the shower and toweled off, the

bathroom was still empty. Tyler figured everyone had headed to class
or work already. Still, he resolved not to leave his phone in the
bathroom again.

Tyler had always been a bit addicted to the thing—and that was

before it had become his lifeline to Cal. Now, if it got broken or lost,
he really would be out of contact with his proto-boyfriend.

And that would massively suck.
He checked his telephone for messages, even though his hands

were still wet. Though Tyler had gotten daily updates from several
Yahoo groups, no message from Cal had appeared during the three
minutes he’d been in the shower.

Yeah. Definitely leave it in my room next time.
Tyler padded back to his room and got dressed. He was running

late, but he stomped by Cal’s room extra loudly, and then doubled
back to Cal’s door and listened through the wood. He could have
sworn he heard Cal breathing inside. And the idea that Cal would
know he was there but not answer the door made Tyler feel like such
an idiot that he stalked to the end of the hall and pushed out into the
sunny stairwell.

They didn’t have a real relationship.
Tyler jogged down the stairs. But right when he reached the outer

door to the building, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Good morning.
Tyler sighed. The day outside was bright, but all he wanted to do

was climb back up to Cal’s room and get naked. They could spend the
morning stretching out, as they hadn’t been able to in the car the one
time they’d hooked up.

Can I come up? Tyler typed into his phone. He could be late for

work, just this once.

Cal didn’t answer right away, long enough that Tyler felt weird

standing at the bottom of the stairs. He pushed out into the leafy
courtyard, then peered up at Cal’s window, waiting.

Bossy and the Brat

No. Sorry.
The text message wasn’t a surprise, but it still stung. Tyler slipped

his phone into his backpack so he wouldn’t check it every thirty
seconds as he walked. But right when he was about to leave, he saw
the curtains of Cal’s room open. Cal appeared in the slip of darkness
between the shades, his face severe in the shadows. But when his eyes
met Tyler’s, he smiled—bright white teeth stark against his pale olive
skin.

Tyler tried to smile back as he waved. But he swiveled to walk to

class before Cal could see his effort. This was hard, this dating but
not. Thrilling, but also annoying. Like a shiny apple just out of reach.

He jogged to cross the street. Tyler planned to wait until he’d

gotten to work to start texting again, but only got up onto the curb
before his phone was in his hands and he was typing furiously.

U could have come out and said good morning.
Sure, it was whiny, but Tyler knew he was right. Cal didn’t have

to flat-out ignore him just because they couldn’t openly date. It was
like he was losing a friend and getting a text partner in return.

His phone buzzed. Tyler pushed it in his pocket, not wanting to be

hanging on Cal’s every text like an idiot. He marched past the Student
Union and across the lawns along South Street. He’d almost made it
to Hartford Hall, where the day camp started, before he caved and dug
out his phone. He read the message while opening the door.

Ty—It’s dangerous. Please don’t be mad?
Tyler shook his head at his phone. It was like their sexy exchange

the night before hadn’t happened. In fact, if the messages weren’t still
on his phone, Tyler might have thought he’d imagined the whole
thing.

“Hey, kid.”
Tyler jumped, pulling his phone to his chest guiltily. He hadn’t

seen Hunter creeping up behind him. He forced a laugh as he shoved
his phone inside his backpack. “Hey, Hunter.”

Daisy Harris

“What you doing after class?” Hunter walked alongside him,

heading to his summer seminar. This very path was how the two of
them had started getting closer in the first place. Sure, they knew each
other from parties. But they’d eventually hooked up because they kept
running into one another in Hartford the three mornings a week
Hunter had class.

Man, how Tyler had looked forward to those chance meetings.

But as he looked at Hunter, he didn’t feel any sense of loss that they
wouldn’t be making out any longer. Sure, Hunter was tall and
graceful. He always wore pressed cotton shirts. But Tyler had to face
facts. Hunter had never treated him well. “Um, I’ve got some stuff to
do.” Tyler shifted awkwardly. He’d never told Hunter no. Not once in
their knowing each other. And he’d been sucking Hunter off, without
Hunter ever doing it in return, for months.

“No shit.” Hunter leaned back on his heels and flipped his blond

fall of hair out of his eyes. He watched Tyler like a hawk. “So I
guess—”

“Yeah, um…” Tyler felt a weird twist of pride. It felt good, after

all the time he’d spent chasing Hunter all over campus, to know he
was free. “I met someone.” He smiled at his lie. But it was too sweet
and delicious not to rub it in Hunter’s face. “We’re dating.”

Hunter cocked his head, his eyes bright and piercing. “Really?

Who?” There was a challenge there, hard and cold. Making Tyler feel
like a bit of dirt on Hunter’s shoe.

Tyler was good at a lot of things, but lying wasn’t one of them.

His cheeks heated, and he lowered his gaze. “Oh, I met him at a club
the other night. You wouldn’t know him.” That sounded realistic. And
it was sort of true. Crap. Tyler shouldn’t have said anything about
having a boyfriend.

It had seemed so academic and prudish to worry about him and

Cal dating. But Hunter was one of the few people on campus who
might use his knowledge to fuck someone over. For all Tyler knew, it

Bossy and the Brat

really could make Cal look bad to be dating a kid who’d been on his
freshman hall.

“Huh.” Hunter took a step closer. He seemed to have noticed

Tyler was uncomfortable and took pleasure in making him squirm.
“At that club in Montpelier? You dating a high school kid?” The
curve of his lip was slow and cruel.

But Tyler was just glad he’d come to a conclusion that didn’t

implicate Cal. “Uh, yeah.” He laughed, but it came out high pitched
and nervous. “He’s eighteen, I swear.” Tyler was pretty sure that
couldn’t come back to bite him in the butt…

“I bet.” Hunter’s assessing gaze scored him deep and made Tyler

think that Hunter knew some secret he shouldn’t.

It made Tyler nervous as hell. “Yeah…” Tyler panicked, trying to

come up with ways to lead Hunter down a road that couldn’t possibly
implicate Cal. “He’s short, but he’s got this really long hair. And
super blue eyes.”

Hunter crossed his arms and leaned against the wall—pressed and

perfect and in no way freaking out. “You sure about that?”

Tyler could tell he was testing but couldn’t seem to form a

coherent reply. “Um, I gotta get to work.” He backed up another step,
his back slapping the wall as he spun around his backpack.

“Say hi to your boyfriend for me,” Hunter called.
But Tyler couldn’t bring himself to answer because he worried the

truth would be written all over his face.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Six

Trays clattered and conversations roared in the high-ceilinged

room. The Student Union’s walls were sheer glass, allowing
expansive views of the college’s manicured grounds. Unfortunately,
without anything soft to buffer the noise, it sounded like the inside of
a bus station.

“So, did you finish that algorithm for class?” Cal’s friend Raj sat

next to him, digging out his notebook computer. They shared a
seminar in informatics and modeling, though Raj was by far the better
student. “I wasn’t sure what Campbell wanted us to do with that last
variable.” Without waiting for Cal’s answer, he flipped on the screen
and rotated the computer so Cal could see his work.

“I haven’t started it yet.” Cal was lying, but he couldn’t focus on

what Raj was showing him, because he’d just caught sight of Nicole
carrying a tray.

Next to her, a guy hovered. He was a punk—with visible tattoos

on his arms and a hoop hanging from a spacer in each ear. More emo
than anarchist, probably, but still completely not acceptable for her.
And the guy bounced along next to Nicole, obviously trying to
impress her with a story.

Her sly smile said that she was enjoying whatever it was that he’d

said. Or maybe she was just glad to be getting some attention.

Cal pushed up from the table, quickly crossing to Nicole and the

punk. “Hey, Nic.” He stood to his full height so he could look down
his nose.

Bossy and the Brat

“Oh, hi, Cal.” Nicole copied him, leaning back on her heels and

tilting up her chin. She grabbed the hand of the guy at her side. “This
is Danny.”

The guy cleared his throat. “Dan.” He held out his hand. And

though he was calf eyed for Nicole, he squeezed Cal’s hand extra hard
on a shake.

“Nice meeting you.” Cal forced himself not to roll his fingers to

recover from the handshake.

Dan slid his chin forward as if he were grinding his teeth.
“We’re going to go sit down.” Nicole stepped around Cal’s side,

dragging her little prize along with her. But Cal stopped her with a
hand on her shoulder.

“Can I talk to you a minute?” He didn’t look Danny’s way, not

wanting to see anger or maybe even contempt. Cal didn’t grudge
Nicole keeping her options open. It wasn’t like Cal and she were
engaged. Still, he didn’t like the look of the guy.

“I guess.” Nicole let go of Danny’s hand but flashed Danny a shy

smile. “Be back in a sec.”

“C’mon.” Cal touched her arm, urging her all the way to the edge

of the snack bar. He would have liked to go outside, but the doors
were downstairs, and he knew Nicole wouldn’t follow that far. Not
with her little boy toy waiting.

“What’s the problem?” Nicole spun to glare at him. Her eyes

darted to the table where her lunch date was sitting, making it clear
that she knew exactly what Cal’s problem was.

Cal looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing with that

guy?”

Nicole blinked. “Having lunch. What does it look like we’re

doing?”

“He doesn’t think it’s just lunch.” Cal knew perfectly well that

Danny was interested in Nicole romantically. Nicole was gorgeous.
Half the men in school wanted her.

Daisy Harris

She tossed her hair back and crossed her arms. “He asked if I

wanted to grab lunch after chemistry this morning. If you must know,
he’s been asking for a while. I finally said yes today.” Nicole stepped
her feet apart, raring for a fight.

But Cal wasn’t going to give her one. She’d come to her senses

without his pushing. “I bet your mother will love him,” he said wryly.
Nicole’s mother was a force of nature. Just as strong as her daughter,
and twice as opinionated. “Do you think she’ll roast him before eating
him alive?”

Nicole shoved his shoulder. “I can handle my mother.” Then she

took a long breath, staring over at the punk. “And you have no right to
tell me what to do.”

She was right about that, but Cal still reached for her arm. “Oh,

c’mon, Nic.”

Nicole stepped away. “No. Seriously. We haven’t been anything

more than friends for a long time.” She blinked quickly, betraying one
of her rare emotional moments. But weakness wasn’t Nicole’s strong
suit, because she wiped her eyes and shoved Cal as she pushed past
him and back to her date.

“You’re right,” Cal mumbled under his breath. Even before they’d

broken up, he really hadn’t acted like a boyfriend to Nicole in some
time. Not since their first year at Holsum together, when he’d been so
excited by freedom and randy on hormones that she seemed like the
answer to everything he wanted. Before he’d realized what he wanted
was Tyler.

Definitely before he’d heard the sound of Tyler’s voice through

the phone, whispering terrifying, wonderful things.

Blood rushed south in his body, and Cal breathed hard through his

nose to stop its descent. He forced the phone call to the back of his
mind and stalked over to his seat. It was none of his business who
Nicole was dating, but he couldn’t help feeling protective.

It had nothing to do with wanting her to act as his cover when his

parents visited, Cal told himself.

Bossy and the Brat

He buried his attention back in his food.
A hand came down on his back—the touch firm, but gentle. Ty’s

smell carried over the muddled aromas of the student union—the
aggressive sandalwood of a freshman’s scented bodywash.

“Hey, Dorm Daddy.” Tyler rubbed his back quickly, but didn’t

stop as he walked past. He carried a tray in one hand, gesturing to a
friend Andrea with the other.

Tyler smiled as he talked, all energy and light eyes. And even

though he was addressing Andrea, saying something Cal couldn’t
hear over the snack bar din, he glanced back Cal’s way and winked.

With a sigh like a growl, Cal tossed his leg over the bench, and

resumed his seat at the lunch table. God, he wished he could follow
Tyler across the room, go sit with him and his friend.

He settled back into eating, trying not to look Tyler’s way, or

Nicole’s.

“Don’t you have to get to the lab?” Raj typed on his netbook, not

looking up. The guy was always doing schoolwork. Cal had never
seen him take a break for longer than it took to watch a movie or open
a soda.

“Nah. I was thinking of getting more food.” He picked at the cold

French fries on his plate, staring across the room at where Tyler was
talking with broad and animated movements.

He flirted with Andrea outrageously, wrapping his arm around her

shoulder, brushing her hair out of her face. She had to know Tyler
was joking. He was touchy with everyone. But it still made Cal angry
that Tyler’s ebullient energy was being poured her way and not his.

“So, you mad about Nicole?” Raj asked. He still appeared to be

looking at his computer screen, though Cal knew he was darting
nervous glances his way.

“Nah, not really.” He made a concerted effort not to check the

table where Nicole was sitting with the punky kid. “We’ve been on
the outs for a while.”

Daisy Harris

“Yeah, I figured,” Raj said. He always seemed distracted, but

never missed a thing. “You got someone else, too?” he asked
nonchalantly.

Unfortunately, his question fell right when Cal’s attention was

focused on the pink stretch of Tyler’s mouth. The way Tyler’s tongue
poked out, just the tiniest bit, before he’d say something to make
Andrea throw her head back in laughter.

“No, not really,” Cal lied.
“Isn’t that one of the kids from your dorm?” Raj pressed his

netbook a couple inches to the side, following the trajectory of Cal’s
gaze.

“Oh, yeah.” Cal spun his attention back to his plate, and when the

rubbery fries were too unappetizing to look at, he focused on Raj’s
screen. “Yeah, he was one of my freshmen.”

“Uh huh.” Raj didn’t stop watching Tyler, so long that Cal didn’t

have any choice but to look up and watch along with him. “He’s
um…y’know…” Raj shrugged and did something with his hand. A
gesture that somehow made it clear the word he didn’t know how to
say out loud. “Right?”

“Gay?” Cal offered. He didn’t think Raj had any problems with

kids who were gay, though he didn’t know for sure, since they mostly
talked about classes and cars.

“Uh, yeah. That.” Raj watched Tyler with fascination.
“Yeah, he is.” Cal didn’t know what he would do if Raj made

some kind of asshole remark about Tyler’s sexuality.

“Bet he gets a lot of action.”
Cal whipped his head around fast enough to get whiplash.

“What?”

Raj dragged his computer squarely in front of his seat and started

typing again. “It’s easier for those guys. They all want the same
thing.”

Cal had no idea what Raj was talking about, and he wanted to

smack Raj for insinuating that Tyler was some kind of boy whore. But

Bossy and the Brat

out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter Ford making his way
across the food court.

Damn. He’d forgotten there were only a few places to eat on

campus in the summer. Why the hell was Hunter eating at the Student
Union instead of at the fancier café down on Main Street?

The only possible reason was he was trying to get back with

Tyler.

Cal watched as Hunter neared Tyler’s table. Don’t stop. Don’t

stop. But despite Cal’s mental chanting, Hunter paused at Tyler’s
side.

He stood so close Tyler had to crane his neck to talk to him. Even

from his distance, Cal saw Tyler’s nervous movements, his mouth
running a mile a minute, Hunter’s obnoxious smirk.

Cal watched as Hunter’s presence stole Tyler’s smile. He wished

he could walk over and tell Hunter to leave Tyler the fuck alone,
but…he just couldn’t.

“Hey, I’m gonna head off.” Cal grabbed his book bag off the

ground and picked up his tray. “Library later?”

“I’ve got practice. But I should be there by eight.” Raj played in a

jazz band, the only activity he did that wasn’t directly related to
completing multiple advanced degrees and then working in
biomedical research.

“See you then.” Cal bussed his plates and silverware into the bins

and then set his tray on top of the trash cans. Cal cast a final glance at
Tyler’s table. He wanted to launch across the room and strangle
Hunter for daring to look at what was his. But, knowing he wouldn’t
have the balls to do any such thing, he strode away from his table and
jogged down the stairs.

* * * *

Cal hated kids who texted in class, but desperate times called for

desperate measures. He furtively checked his phone under his desk.

Daisy Harris

Tyler hadn’t messaged him since before lunch, and Cal’s two-

hour genomics class dragged as he wondered what Tyler was doing.

Where are you? He typed into the phone. But Cal didn’t click

send, because his note sounded too lame. Instead he reconsidered,
thought about what Tyler might like to hear.

I miss you.
That sounded better. Cal smiled at his screen while sending the

message into the ether.

Tyler didn’t respond right away, which made sense, because he

was probably just finishing dance practice. So Cal set his phone on
the corner of his desk and tried to listen to the professor at the front of
the room droning on about pleiotropy. He’d missed some notes while
he was pondering how to word his love text, so Cal hurried to scrawl
down everything on the overhead before the professor flipped to the
next PowerPoint slide.

His phone vibrated, the sound of it cutting through the silence of

the room. Cal snatched it off the table and closed his hands around it
to numb the noise. Next to him, a girl lifted an eyebrow.

Cal rolled his eyes at her—she was always staring at her phone in

class and had no room to judge.

Miss you, too.
The message was short, but enough to quell Cal’s nerves.
I want a picture of you. Send one?
He felt awkward at the thought of seeing Tyler smiling at him

from his phone right in the middle of class, but Cal was desperate. He
considered taking Tyler out of town over the weekend. Maybe they
could drive down to the river and make out. Just kiss and fondle each
other for hours in Cal’s smelly car.

What part of me?
Cal smiled. He could just picture Tyler’s bratty little smirk.

Maybe Tyler was in his room, getting naked, just trying to figure out
what part of his anatomy Cal wanted to see next. Cal shifted in his
seat to give more room to his growing cock.

Bossy and the Brat

Your face. Cal frowned at the message. It looked too short, and

not at all sexy. So he added, Then we’ll talk about other parts.

He didn’t risk setting his phone on his desk again for fear that it

would vibrate onto the floor and get picked up by the busybody sitting
next to him. So he palmed it in his lap with one hand while he took
notes with the other. When he felt that telltale buzz in his hand it was
as if it were vibrating right on the tip of his dick.

After a few more texts with Tyler, Cal might have to change his

ringtones so he didn’t constantly throw wood.

Trying not to grin like an idiot, Cal dipped his head to look at the

phone’s screen. The picture Tyler sent was adorable—taken from
overhead with Tyler looking up slyly into the camera. It was exactly
the way Cal imagined Tyler might smile at him if Tyler were on his
knees.

I’m so glad I have you, Cal typed. But like before, he paused

before sending. Tyler might think Cal was lovesick and weird if he
sent it. But it was true—Tyler had released something inside him he’d
never felt before. Or at least, never allowed himself to feel. And yes,
there would be milestones and hurdles, and Cal wasn’t sure how far
he ever wanted to take being open about being with a man.

But none of that mattered, because Cal had been alone in that part

of himself for so long. It felt amazing just to have someone to be
honest with, even to love a little. Even if Tyler didn’t love him back.

So Cal sent it. Screw it. What was the point of having a boyfriend

if he couldn’t tell the guy he liked him? But hot on the heels of his
sweet message, Cal sent another.

What about the other picture I asked for last night?
He sent it before he could lose his nerve. Then, a flush climbing

his chest and his cock pounding behind his zipper, Cal put away his
phone. He only had another twenty minutes in class, and if Tyler sent
a picture of his actual ass Cal might have to leave class with a wet
spot on the front of his khakis.

Daisy Harris

His brain spun images of what sort of picture Tyler might send.

Most likely Tyler would twist around and shoot his crease at such an
awkward angle that Cal would hardly know what he was looking at.

Cal would still like the picture, though. He bet it would be just as

cute as the shot of Tyler’s face. It would be awkward and funny and
Cal would keep it forever to remember their early days as a couple.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Tyler would send something more

risky, though. Maybe pulling a cheek to the side to expose a tuft of
hair, or the darker skin of his crack.

Letting out a shaky breath, Cal crossed his legs. Yeah, it pinched

his hard-on, but that was a good thing, because he needed to get his
mind out of the gutter and back to class. Or at least back to a place
where he might go soft sometime in the next decade.

The professor raised his voice, snapping Cal’s attention. “I have a

plane to catch this afternoon, so we’ll wrap this up early today.”

Cal had wanted to get out of class before he and Tyler started

texting, but at that moment he really wished the professor would go
on a bit longer. Preferably about something extremely unappetizing—
like mold spores, or anaerobic bacteria. If he stood up right then, Cal
would be walking out of class with his hard-on pointing the way.

“Make sure to finish the problems for chapters twenty-eight and

twenty-nine before your discussion groups this week.” Professor
Jackson turned off his computer and started shuffling his papers.

All around Cal, kids stood from their desks, tucking notebooks

into their backpacks. But Cal curled forward over his spiral binder as
if some aspect of the class notes was so fascinating he needed to
scribble out more details. He hoped no one noticed that he didn’t get
up for a while.

Unfortunately, Raj wove through the desks from his spot at the

front of the class. And no matter how firmly Cal kept his attention on
his class notes, Raj didn’t stop coming until he stood by Cal’s desk.
“Hey, you going to the lab? I need a ride.” He leaned over to see what
Cal was writing.

Bossy and the Brat

“The fuck, man?” Cal slapped his binder closed. He hadn’t been

writing anything incriminating, but he still felt invaded. “Nosey,
much?”

“Sorry. Geez.” Raj backed up, rolling his eyes like he thought Cal

was nuts. “Didn’t know you’d be writing something personal.” He
tilted his head, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Wait—you do
have another girl already, right?” Raj chuckled into his hand, like he
was either embarrassed or impressed. Cal hoped it was the latter. “I
won’t say anything to Nicole. I can see why you wouldn’t want her to
know.”

Cal dropped his notebook into his backpack. Then he fished his

phone out of his pocket and tossed it in, too. “Yeah. I appreciate that,
man.” Cal didn’t see the problem with letting Raj draw his own
conclusions. Especially once his phone started buzzing again, the
sound of it emanating from his open backpack until Cal zipped it
closed.

“Wow. Impatient girl, huh?” Raj rolled his shoulders, as if it were

of no consequence to him whether Cal had a new girlfriend. But Cal
knew Raj was a little jealous. The guy never seemed to have a
girlfriend. Come to think of it, Cal didn’t know if he ever even
hooked up.

“You know how girls get.” Cal smiled, trying to pretend that the

text was of no consequence. Inside, he wondered if Tyler would be
pissed. “Clingy.”

Raj mumbled some kind of witty retort, but Cal couldn’t hear it,

since his phone was buzzing again, and all he could think of was
Tyler and how Hunter had been hovering at lunch.

* * * *

Tyler was pissed. It was one thing for Cal to go hours without

texting but something else altogether for him to stop texting

Daisy Harris

immediately after Tyler had sent the most illicit picture of his entire
life.

He sat on his bed, pretending to read, but he left his door propped

open in order to hear when Cal came home.

It was half past eight—not that Tyler was counting—when he

heard footsteps in the hall and the sound of Cal’s voice. He got off the
bed and eased to the door.

Cal’s voice mingled with another guy’s. Tyler peeked outside and

saw Cal disappear into his room with a guy Tyler had seen around the
dorm sometimes. One of Cal’s friends.

He sighed and flopped back onto his bed. Tyler looked at the

ceiling for a second, wondering if he should watch a movie or
something, but he was too keyed up. So instead, he lay out his yoga
mat on the floor and folded into a stretch. He lifted up again, reaching
to the ceiling before starting his normal routine. There wasn’t enough
room next to his bed to get in any kind of workout, but he’d
developed a system of sorts—stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, and leg
lifts that made him feel like he’d gotten out some of his nerves.

Sure, he had dance practice four days a week. But that never felt

like enough. After a few hours, Tyler would be keyed up enough he
needed to stretch again.

He sat, pointing his toes in front of him, and grasped his feet. It

was hard to do with a chubby still full and sensitive between his legs.
But the more he tried to focus on stretching, the more his mind
wandered back to Cal, and the angrier he got.

Between the nonstop hard-on and the lack of phone contact, Tyler

was losing his mind. He should have just jerked off. Maybe twice.

Tyler heard noise in the hall—a door opening, men talking. He

hopped up from the floor and hid behind his door to listen.

“See you later,” Cal’s friend said.
“Maybe. I was only going to stop in at ten to send in a report.” Cal

sounded tired.

Bossy and the Brat

Tyler slipped the door closed and composed himself for a minute.

He had a feeling that if he waited a text would arrive any second. But
he didn’t want to give Cal the chance. He refused to spend even
another second trying to suss out whatever the hell signals Cal was
sending him through the phone.

He looked both ways to make sure no one was in the hallway, and

crossed to Cal’s door and knocked. The wood felt rough and itchy
under his fingers. It made Tyler wonder if it was a mistake. But the
door opened, robbing Tyler of the chance to leave.

“Ty?” Cal stared at him wide eyed. There was a split second

where Tyler could have sworn Cal was going to slam the door in his
face. But then he grabbed Tyler’s arm and pulled him inside. “What
are you doing?” He closed the door hard enough the entire hall had
probably heard it slam.

“Geez.” Tyler rubbed his arm where Cal had grabbed him. He had

no idea what his issue was. What, he wasn’t allowed to knock on
Cal’s door now? “Y’know, I come over here all the time. You don’t
need to act like a freak.” He walked a few paces across Cal’s room,
having a hard time meeting Cal’s eyes. It was weird seeing him three
days later, after they’d texted so intensely. Tyler wondered whether
he’d imagined everything they’d said and done.

“Sure, you come over. But not since…” Cal stepped up behind

him. He touched Tyler’s arm, as if he was apologizing for the bruise.
He whispered, “God, not when I want you so much.”

Tyler shuddered. He could feel Cal’s warmth against his back.

They were alone and closer than they’d been since they’d made out in
the front seat of Cal’s car.

“I missed you,” Tyler said honestly. He was surprised he could

miss someone so much after so little time—when they’d just started
dating. But he did. He wanted Cal as a real boyfriend, not just a plan
for later. “Why didn’t you answer my text?” He felt his face heat.

He’d taken that picture and sent it off so fast, Tyler hadn’t thought

about the consequences. He hadn’t considered whether it might have

Daisy Harris

been too much, or that maybe Cal hadn’t been serious. God, a person
sends a picture of his ass-crack off into the universe, he expects a
damn reaction.

“I didn’t look at it.” Cal leaned forward to rest his chin on Tyler’s

shoulder. His chest was firm against Tyler’s back. His breath was
warm, and his arms came up to circle Tyler’s chest.

“Really?” Tyler turned around, dislodging Cal’s hands in the

process. He watched Cal’s face, making sure Cal wasn’t laughing at
him. “You didn’t?”

Cal’s smile was nothing but honest. “Raj caught me after my six

thirty, and he’s been with me ever since.” Something flickered in his
dark gaze. Some tell of embarrassment. But Tyler couldn’t tell if it
was over the text-message conversation or something to do with Raj.

“Well, you don’t have to look at it.” Tyler scanned the room,

looking for Cal’s cell phone. Maybe if he could get to it, he could
delete the picture. Honestly, he’d been nuts to send the thing. Hadn’t
his parents always taught him not to send people naked pictures of
himself?

“In fact, do you mind if I delete it? It wasn’t my best angle.” He

said it as offhand as he could, even as he spied Cal’s bag on the floor.

“No way.” Cal laughed. But then he followed Tyler’s line of sight

to his backpack. “I want to.”

There was a moment where they both feigned not giving a shit,

staring at each other and pretending not to glance at the backpack. But
then, with a wicked gleam in his eyes, Cal dove for the bag.

Tyler lunged at the same time. Shoving Cal out of the way, he

caught one arm strap.

But Cal grabbed the other strap and leapt onto the bed. He yanked

the backpack as he went, and Tyler got dragged along with it so that
he landed with his torso on the mattress and his legs hanging over.

Cal, on the other hand, twisted up to sitting. “Wow. This must be

good.” He unzipped his bag and shoved his arm inside. He looked

Bossy and the Brat

excited and happy, but that didn’t stop Tyler’s guts from turning
inside out.

“No. It’s totally not.” Tyler climbed up the bed and onto Cal. He

closed his hand over the cell phone in Cal’s hand. But he didn’t
manage to pull it out of Cal’s grip, because their eyes met, and
suddenly, Tyler couldn’t breathe.

Cal was so handsome—his features perfect and his lips full and

soft. And his glasses were fogged up from their fight. He smiled, and
it felt like sunshine.

“I won’t look if you don’t want me to.” Cal let go of the phone,

and his eyes were full of teasing. “I just wanted to see you.”

Tyler tried to pull in a breath, but he couldn’t. He’d thought he

didn’t have enough of Cal, but now it felt like it was too much. Like
Cal’s body and his affection might overwhelm him if Tyler saw it
full-on. He wondered if he had ever had an actual boyfriend. Because
Cal felt more real than anything he’d had before.

He pressed his mouth to Cal’s lips. And that soft, supple skin

moving against his made Tyler feel like he was flying. He let go of
the phone and let it clatter to the floor.

Tyler twined their fingers together. “Then see me,” he told Cal.

“I’m right here.”

The air between them crackled. He could tell Cal wasn’t sure. And

he knew Cal hadn’t wanted to make out in the dorms. But it was only
the once. “We can go off campus next time.”

“Ty,” Cal breathed. He seemed to consider what to do next very

carefully, fiddling his teeth over his bottom lip. But in the end, he
tugged Tyler closer, until they were hip to hip and mouth to mouth. “I
wish I could resist you.”

“Yeah? I’m glad you can’t.” Tyler arched so they rubbed together.

He knew Cal could feel his hard-on through his jeans.

“Brat.” Cal closed his eyes and gasped, so Tyler guessed that was

an agreement.

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“You gonna kiss me more?” Tyler tilted his head to bring their

mouths closer. He could feel Cal’s assent in how his shoulders
splayed back, his hips loosened, and his lips parted on a huff of air.

“Damn you.” Cal sealed their mouths, taking control of their kiss.

He tasted like coffee, but as he moved his mouth in slow, deliberate
brushes, that flavor gave way to the salty maleness underneath.

Cal’s tongue slid against his, rough and slow. Tyler matched him

for pace. Normally, he would have kissed faster, or harder. But it was
so amazing feeling Cal’s reluctance melt away. Cal wrapped a hand
around the back of Tyler’s neck, and another hand at his hip, and
ground him in close.

He smelled rich and spicy, his clothes fragrant from his day. There

were too many of them, so Tyler dragged Cal’s shirt over his head.
Then he pulled off his own. He pressed their skin together, warm and
a little damp from sweat. So alive it almost hurt.

“You don’t have any self-control at all, do you?” Cal smiled

before bending to kiss Tyler’s collarbone, then his pec. He moaned
softly on his way lower.

“No. Not my strong suit.” Tyler thrust his hips forward in

offering. He rubbed the back of Cal’s head, trying to urge without
grabbing. Not that Cal had much hair he could have fisted anyway.

“Naughty.” Roughly, Cal unfastened his belt and pants. With hard

hands, he pulled both down so that Tyler’s cock bounced up, slapping
his belly. Cal smirked at it. “What do we have here?”

“Oh, c’mon.” Tyler’s dick was rigid and the skin was so tight that

he felt like it might burst at the seams. Tyler bucked in the general
direction of Cal’s mouth, but only managed to paint pre-cum across
his cheek. “C’mon. Suck it already.”

Cal wrapped his fingers around Tyler’s base, squeezing with a

firm, mind-blowing pressure that almost made Tyler come right there.
“So impatient.” He tsked, but then swiped his tongue over Tyler’s
head.

Bossy and the Brat

“Hells, yeah, I am.” Tyler sandwiched Cal’s head between his

hands and tried to position him to the right spot, but Cal swatted him
off.

“Flip over, I want to try something.” Cal backed up, letting go of

Tyler’s cock.

The lack of pressure, the empty air was almost enough to make

Tyler cry. He thrust his hips forward, starting to pant. “I’m cool with
bottoming, but please get me off first.”

Cal grabbed his hips and wrenched him onto his knees. “Stay

quiet, okay?” Cal pinched his ass. “You’ll get to come in a sec.”

Tyler whimpered. He felt so needy he wondered if he could

orgasm just from the stroke of Cal’s hand down his spine, the feel of
Cal’s body lining up behind him, the slap of Cal’s dick on his
tailbone. “Oh, fuck.”

“I don’t think we’re going to do that,” Cal said reasonably. There

was a wet, licking sound, as if he was laving his fingers, and then
those digits were against Tyler’s hole, pressing for entry.

“Maybe start with one…” His breath rushed out as two—it must

have been two—of Cal’s fingertips forced past his rim. They scorched
him, damp and rough, dragging his sensitive flesh as Cal pulled
slowly out.

That pain lent a sweet edge to Tyler’s pleasure, somehow trailed

all that stiff frustration back from his dick to span from his ass to his
belly. His erection pulsed, like he was coming already, but didn’t
spill.

“Um. I bought something earlier.” Cal pulled off, his voice rising

in pitch like he was nervous.

“Oh, really?” Tyler looked over his shoulder, his hands still

splayed, open palmed, on the bed. He watched Cal go over to a
drawer and reach inside.

His expression, when he started fiddling open a plastic bottle of

lube, was one of lust-drowned amazement. “You are so beautiful.”

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Cal ran a reverent hand over Tyler’s ass cheek. “I can’t believe you
want me.”

Tyler closed his eyes. His dick pounded in a dull ache, and

orgasm twisted his nuts. He’d never gotten blue balls before—had
never had a reason to stop when he was close to coming. But he
wondered if that was going to happen. But right when he thought he
couldn’t take it anymore and he would just have to grab his dick and
be done with it, Cal’s slippery fingers found his crease, and then his
rim. Cal didn’t take heed this time, either, pressing in two fingers
instead of one, twisting them before Tyler had time to recover.

But Tyler was so far gone, he didn’t care. He arched his back,

urging Cal wordlessly to seek out that spot deep inside. Cal must
know about prostates, right? He might have been a virgin and all, but
he was also a biology major.

“Tell me when I get there.” Cal tilted his angle, and Tyler didn’t

have to tell him, because he bit his lip against a yowl. Cal pressed
hard, rubbing and stroking so that Tyler thought it would be too
much, but then it wasn’t enough. And even before the idea could fully
form to grab his cock, he was shooting—onto Cal’s sheets, the
pillows, Tyler’s chest. His dick fountained in empty air, but that was
okay because he was so full, so good…until it was too much, and he
fell forward onto the bed.

Cal followed him down and curled around him. Then Cal’s hands

were on his shoulders, his face, and Cal rained kisses on his neck. His
breath felt like heaven. “I don’t deserve you, my pretty prince.”

Tyler blinked, trying not to smile too hard at Cal’s nickname. He

wiggled in Cal’s grip to show his approval. “You’re right. You
don’t,” he taunted. Oh, Tyler couldn’t wait until they didn’t have to be
quiet, until Cal could answer his needling comments with a firm swat
to the ass.

“I should take you over my knee,” Cal smiled under his ear.
“I thought you wanted me over your dick.” Tyler craned his neck

around to kiss Cal’s pursed lips.

Bossy and the Brat

Cal’s cock poked him in the hip—hard and insistent. But to

Tyler’s amazement, Cal didn’t thrust or grind. He just pressed along
Tyler’s body with constant pressure, so contained Tyler wondered
what it might take to make Cal lose his mind.

“You want to fuck me?”
“No.” Cal nuzzled Tyler’s shoulder, then higher to right behind

his ear. He stroked the tendrils of sweaty hair away from Tyler’s face.
“But I will, someday.”

Tyler grinned, pushing back into Cal’s hips. “Does someday have

a time line or a date I can set on my calendar?”

Cal reached down and pinched Tyler’s butt. “I should make you

wait until the end of the summer.”

“Oh, c’mon.” Tyler twisted around in Cal’s arms and palmed his

cock. It was hard under Cal’s jeans, a smooth ridge under his zipper.
Tyler squeezed it and kneaded, hoping to convince Cal to experiment
sooner rather than later. In a way, he liked the torture. But he also
liked seeing if he could give Cal a push.

“Hell, no.” Cal rolled on top of him, snatching Tyler’s hand off

his groin and pinning it right by Tyler’s neck. He ground his clothed
dick against Tyler’s hips. And even though he’d just come, Tyler’s
cock started to plump. “But I would like to get off now.” Cal snaked
his hand between them to open his pants.

Tyler guessed that he was going to ask for a blow job, but when

Cal’s dick pressed against Tyler’s, Cal let out a low groan and bucked
them together.

“Found something else you like, huh?” Tyler fed his hand

between their bodies, grasping Cal’s heat against his and tugging
them both in tandem.

Cal panted, his eyes pressed closed. “Uhghn.” He jerked into

Tyler’s hand, urging Tyler faster.

But since he was feeling a lot less needy than Cal at that moment,

Tyler slowed down his strokes and took his time. Loosening his grip,
Tyler teased along their lengths, smiling when Cal swerved his

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thrusts, trying to get more friction. Cal’s dick was gorgeous—thick
and cut, filling Tyler’s hand perfectly. And his abs were tight and firm
and stroked Tyler’s knuckles every time Cal bucked.

“You want more?” Tyler stopped what he was doing to play under

Cal’s tip, petting out pre-cum with his fingertip and slicking it over
them both. The skin there was so smooth and tender. He couldn’t stop
doing it again and again.

“Please.” Cal lifted up farther on his straightened arms and peered

between their bodies to where Tyler was playing with their cocks.

“Not too proud to beg, huh?” Tyler hadn’t been with that many

guys, but acting like they didn’t give a shit seemed to be a pretty
common habit.

But Cal didn’t seem to feel that way, because he looked straight

into Tyler’s eyes and asked, “With you? Never.”

Tyler’s insides melted into goo, while his outsides—or one part of

his outsides in particular—lit up like fireworks ready to go off for a
second time. He rubbed their cocks together, faster and harder. Tyler
could tell from Cal’s stiffness and the tortured look on his face that he
was a second from going off, but he was trying to wait—giving Tyler
a chance to catch up.

Cal pushed Tyler’s hand away, and took up the rub himself. He

twisted and urged, breathing hot and fast in Tyler’s ear. “Tell me what
you want, my prince. Whatever you like.”

“I…” Tyler’s back arched, and his ass tightened. It felt like Cal’s

fingers were still inside. He tried to keep quiet while his dick filled
and shot, only to fill again. His cum coated Cal’s hand and a second
later he felt the answering pulse of Cal’s cock. It beat like a drum
against his own, demanding yet sweet. And Cal shot high enough it
landed on Tyler’s chest, and his neck. God—Cal must have waited,
too, not getting off when he’d told Tyler he couldn’t.

The thought melted any part of Tyler’s insides that had still been

solid.

Bossy and the Brat

“Ah, Ty.” Cal fell onto him, smooshing their cum together. Then,

as if he’d just realized what he’d done, he chuckled and lifted off just
far enough to roll onto his side. “You are amazing.” Cal smiled and
craned his head up to kiss Tyler’s lips.

Tyler smiled right back. “You—”
A knock sounded at the door, and Cal’s eyes widened with panic.

“Shit.” Cal bolted off the bed, dragging clothes on without even
cleaning off his cum. With a terrified expression, he goggled at Tyler.
“What the fuck are you waiting for? Get dressed.”

“I am!” Tyler rubbed a tissue over his belly and pushed his legs

into his pants. Then he pulled a shirt over his head. Looking down, he
realized it had been one of Cal’s shirts that had been hanging over the
chair. He smiled at his mistake.

“It’s not funny.” Cal threw Tyler’s shirt at him.
Yeah, I guess not.
Tyler pulled on his shirt and rushed to straighten his hair. He

watched Cal and saw how the man he’d been holding a split second
earlier fixed his face like a stranger.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Seven

Cal palmed the handle. “Hello?” he asked the door.
“Hey, Cal. It’s me.” The voice belonged to Nicole. “Can I come

in?”

“Sure, give me just a sec.” Cal surveyed the room, making sure

the bed didn’t look too disheveled and that he’d hidden the lube back
in the drawer.

Tyler was standing there, still flushed, but with his lips drawn in a

tight line. He looked like he could have been exercising. Yeah, Cal
could always say he’d just gotten back from ballet practice.

He nodded once to Tyler, letting him know he was going to open

the door. When Ty shrugged in response, he pulled it open. “Hi,
Nicole.”

She stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips and her

expression sharp. Nicole looked past Cal and into the room at Tyler.
“Oh, hey.” She didn’t seem to suspect anything, because she trounced
into Cal’s room and sat down on his desk chair. “How’ve you been?”
Nicole bent at the waist and leafed through his tea bags.

“Oh, fine.” Cal darted a nervous glance at Tyler, hoping he’d take

the hint to leave. “Just busy.”

But for some reason, Tyler didn’t go. He widened his eyes, and

then rolled them, obviously trying to communicate, but Cal couldn’t
understand what he was trying to say.

“I texted before I came over. You didn’t see?” Nicole unwrapped

her tea bag and looked for a cup.

“No, sorry. I didn’t get it.” Cal glanced around the room for his

phone, and the beginnings of worry only had time to form in his

Bossy and the Brat

throat when he noticed Nicole’s gaze and how it had fallen on Cal’s
cell phone, right under her chair.

“Yeah, right.” She reached under her chair to fish out the phone.

“We’ll see about that—”

“Nope!” Tyler dove to the floor and snatched the phone out from

under Nicole’s legs. His voice rising in panic, he chirped, “That one’s
mine.” He tucked it into his back pocket, though he kept his head
down so his floppy bangs covered his face. “Actually, I’ve gotta go.”
Tyler crossed to the door in a couple swift steps. “See ya later,
Nicole.”

He looked up for a split second, long enough for Cal to see pain

flash in his eyes. “Later, Cal.”

Cal wanted to tell him to stop, to not delete the pictures and words

they’d sent to each other. He didn’t want his phone back without the
shot of Tyler’s grinning face.

But he was too scared to say anything other than, “Bye, Tyler,”

and watch as Tyler slipped out his door.

* * * *

The ass-crack picture Tyler deleted right away.
He debated the others, staring at their conversations from every

imaginable angle—trying to figure out the truth. He’d given so much
in those exchanges. Hell, it felt like he’d given everything. And what
had Cal really given back?

When Cal’s knock sounded, Tyler looked up as if from a trance.
“Ty?” Cal’s voice came through the door.
“Yeah.” He hopped off the bed. “Come in.”
Cal opened the door, but stood outside, framed by the light from

the hallway. “I can’t.”

“Why?” Tyler palmed Cal’s phone.

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“I’m not allowed to.” Cal darted his gaze inside at Tyler’s bed.

Then he looked at the floor. In a whisper, Cal asked, “You know I
want to, though, right?” He added a little chuckle of tease at the end.

Tyler didn’t want to hear it. “I take it you came for your phone.”

He stood back far enough Cal wouldn’t be able to reach him without
crossing the threshold.

Cal stayed poised in the doorway. He stared at the phone in

Tyler’s hand. “Yeah. Could I have it back?”

“Sure.” Tyler raised it to his face and thumbed to their text

message exchanges. He felt like he was dying inside, but he just
couldn’t stop himself. Cal was being so careful. So cautious with
everything but Tyler’s heart.

Tyler found the pictures he’d sent Cal, and he deleted them. Then,

in a fit of frustration, he clicked over to the whole thread of their
conversation for the past week. He swiped his fingertip across to
highlight it in red.

Then he tapped delete.
He didn’t meet Cal’s eyes as he held out the phone. And Tyler

reached only far enough so Cal would have to bend to get in the door.
So he’d have to break one of his carefully drawn rules.

“I loved those pictures,” Cal said, his lips a hard line. He took one

step into Tyler’s room and grabbed the phone out of Tyler’s hand.

The bat of his hand hurt like a slap.
“They weren’t safe.” Tyler lifted his chin. He hated Cal at that

moment, because he wanted to have it both ways. Risky and safe, gay
and straight. And he wasn’t going to get to blame Tyler when it all
went to shit.

“That wasn’t your choice.” Cal snapped his gaze down the hall to

where someone must have come out of his or her room.

“Yeah?” Tyler took another step forward so that he and Cal were

closer. He smiled ruefully when Cal took a step back. “Well, tough
shit. You can’t keep me at arm’s length and pretend it’s fine.”

Bossy and the Brat

Cal’s eyes flared with anger. “Every guy you date keeps you at

arm’s length, Ty. Fuck—I swear that’s what you want from a guy.”
He rubbed a hand over his scruff of hair.

Tyler felt his bottom lip tremble. “Yeah, maybe other guys did.”

Shit—Tyler hated admitting it to himself, but Cal was right. Every
guy he’d ever been with had kept him on the side one way or another.
But with Cal it hurt in a way it hadn’t before. “But I didn’t expect you
to.”

Cal opened his mouth, his expression softening like he was going

to apologize. But Tyler shut the door in his face.

Daisy Harris

Chapter Eight

“What’s up? You looked upset.” Nicole glanced up at Cal when

he walked in. “You get it back?”

Cal had spun a story about how he and Tyler had the same phone,

which he was pretty sure Nicole had only pretended to believe. “No.
I’m good.” His insides felt tied in a knot and a burning, clawing ache
had set up residence in his throat. Cal wanted to go back to Tyler’s
room and beg his forgiveness. But he didn’t know if he could.

Nicole’s gaze was steady and intense. “This is about Tyler, right?”
Cal folded onto the bed. “Sort of,” he hedged. “But what did you

come over to talk about?”

A breeze blew in his open window, sending bits of grass that had

been cut that day floating inside. Cal sniffed back the immediate
reaction of his allergies. Already his eyes itched.

“I bet it’s more than sort of.” Nicole tossed her hair out of her

face. It was funny how she did that—at once similar and completely
different from how Ty whipped his locks around. On Nicole, it was a
statement of power.

When Tyler flipped his hair, it was completely different. He asked

with his eyes and his smile. He begged for attention with every
practiced swipe of his hand across his brow.

“It’s nothing.” Cal took off his glasses to rub at his itchy eyes. He

opened his drawer to see if he had any allergy medicine left. When he
found the last blister pack of his antihistamines, he stomped across the
room to make himself a cup of tea.

Nicole reached over and socked him in the arm. “So what’s with

you and the freshman?”

Bossy and the Brat

“He’s not a freshman anymore,” Cal snapped.
He didn’t want to lie to Nicole. He was too upset about what had

happened—practically wanting to stomp across the hall and pound on
Tyler’s door and even push his way inside. “I can’t talk to you about
this.” Cal wished he could. When it came down to it, Nicole was his
best friend. He knew she was angry with him, and she had every right
to be. But he wasn’t sure what he would do without her in his life.

“About how you’re in love with him?”
Cal stopped short. Another gust of wind blew in from outside, and

he coughed into his fist. “What? I don’t…I mean, I’m not…”

Nicole raised her sculpted eyebrows. “You think I didn’t know?”
His skin burned, searing under the surface. Cal wondered how

she’d guessed, if others knew. Maybe even his parents had been
aware of his browser history. God—maybe they had just never
confronted him about being gay. “No,” he admitted. “I didn’t think
you did.”

She crossed her arms and shook her head. “How could I not? You

were always waiting for him, talking about him. Didn’t you make him
a compilation CD?”

Cal closed his eyes. He hadn’t realized how bad his crush was

back then and had only meant the gift as a birthday present. Still, he’d
waited until no one was around to give it to Ty. Cal still remembered
the confused expression on Ty’s face as he looked at the plastic CD
cover in his hand.

“Yeah. That was pretty embarrassing.”
“So what, you’re going to date him now?”
“Shush,” Cal hissed. They were alone, but he still worried if they

said it aloud something would be set free he wasn’t ready to face.
“No.” Even as he said it, Cal wondered what he was doing with Ty if
he wasn’t planning to be with him as a boyfriend.

Nicole scowled. “Jerk.”
“What the heck, Nic?” He popped the antihistamine onto his

tongue and washed it down with scalding water. Cal winced as it

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burned his throat. “You think I’m going to just go ahead and tell
everyone? My parents?”

“Eventually? Yeah. I’m going to have to tell my mom I’m dating

Danny.”

“You’re what?” Cal poked his tea bag so green tea puffed through

the water. “When did this happen?”

Nicole gave him an enigmatic smile. Wow—he hadn’t seen that

look on her face in ages. Not since their freshman year when they’d
started dating.

Cal was surprised at how guilty that smile made him feel. Nicole

should have been grinning that way all along. Not stuck with a guy
who didn’t even want her.

He was an asshole.
“Well, we met up again at dinner, and he told me he was really

happy I’d decided to hang out, and…” Her cheeks darkened, and she
looked away, embarrassed.

Cal couldn’t help but smile for her. “And he kissed you?”
She giggled. “More than kissed.” Her smirk was wicked and

knowing.

“Geez, Nic. You just started going out with the guy.” Cal didn’t

have any room to pass judgment, but he was a little worried for her.
He hoped she hadn’t slept with Danny just to fulfill her curiosity.

“I didn’t have sex with him.” Nicole balled up a piece of paper

and threw it at Cal’s head.

“Oh.” Okay, Cal had clearly missed something. He stared at her,

confused but not sure he wanted to know.

Nicole blushed deeper. “He kissed me.” She smirked and wiggled

in her seat as if she couldn’t stop herself from saying the next thing
she was thinking. In a rush, she added, “I’m just not telling you
where.”

“Wha…” Cal looked from her face down to how she was

squirming in her seat, and his eyes popped wide. “Oh. Um…wow.”
He wasn’t quite sure what one said when his ex-girlfriend told him

Bossy and the Brat

she’d just gotten head from a guy with too many piercings. But Cal
was happy for Nicole, and even more embarrassed he’d strung her
along.

Sure, Cal might have eventually had sex with her. But no matter

how much he liked her as a person, Cal knew he’d never have been
able to give her that. “I guess I’m glad for you.”

Nicole took another sip of her tea, grinning over the lip of the cup

like a cat who’d swallowed a canary.

“Wow,” he said again, stunned.
“Oh, yeah.” She downed the rest of her tea and then poured some

more hot water over the tea bag. Nicole crossed one leg over the other
and pinned him with a hard stare. “And believe me when I tell you—
that boy has won me over. So, yeah. I’m going to date him and tell
my mom we’re dating when she comes out to visit.”

“That’s not the same thing.” Cal crossed the room so he’d be out

of arm’s reach in case she tried to hit him again. Nic looked pretty
mellow, but he knew from experience that she could lash out with a
kick when he least expected it. “He’s a little punky, not—”

“He has tattoos and piercings, and you know that’s not really the

issue.” She glared at her teacup, as if it were her drink’s fault that her
parents were so conservative. “You know they expect me to marry
someone from back home.” Her expression darkened. “They want me
to marry you.”

“Maybe they’ll be cool, Nic…” He tried to take her hand, but she

twisted away.

“It’s crazy. Should you and I get married, have a fake relationship

just to make our parents happy?” Nicole set down her cup so she
could wave her hands around as she talked. “Are we both supposed to
see the people we’re actually attracted to on the side?”

“You’re not attracted to me?” Cal didn’t know why the idea hurt

his feelings, but it did.

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“I really tried, Cal.” Nicole’s lip quirked up in the corner. Her

eyes sparkled like she was laughing at him. “You’re hot, but I…Well,
you always seemed not entirely there.”

“Wow.” Cal had never considered that his secret might have been

anything but hidden. He wondered again if his parents suspected. No.
That was impossible. Gay people were outside their radar.

“If you want him, you can’t keep it a secret.” Nicole took her

shoes off and put her feet up on his desk. She pulled out her phone
and looked at it, probably checking for a text from Danny.

“I gotta go talk to him.” Cal got off the bed. “How much trouble

can I get in? I’m not even his RA anymore.”

Nicole thumbed her cell phone, not getting up. “Good idea. Hey,

do you want me to leave? Give you your room back?” She didn’t
seem in any rush to leave, though. In fact, Nicole got out of his chair
and sank onto his bed, making herself comfortable.

“Why’d you come over, anyway?” he asked. Cal didn’t imagine

she’d come all the way from her house just to brag about her new
boyfriend.

“Oh, Danny had some work to do in the computer lab. I didn’t

want to go all the way home since we’re going to his friend’s house to
watch a movie after.”

Cal considered whether to ask her to leave, but it seemed stupid—

and also unsafe if she hadn’t driven. “Yeah, you can hang out.” He
went to the door and grabbed the handle.

“You got condoms? Lube?” Nicole asked.
“Nic!” Cal picked up the wad of paper she’d thrown at him and

tossed it right back at her. He grimaced. “I don’t need you to know
about stuff like that.”

She chuckled, still thumbing around on her phone. “I’m just

thinking about your safety and comfort, babe.” She looked up from
her phone, grinning. “Or Tyler’s comfort, maybe?”

Cal grabbed his sweatshirt that was hanging on a hook by the door

and threw it at her. “I’m not talking about this with you.” Though

Bossy and the Brat

even as he said it, Cal realized how glad he was to have her back as a
friend.

“Whatever.” She waved him away. “Don’t come home until

you’ve won back your boy.”

* * * *

You around? Tyler texted.
Yeah, Hunter replied.
Wanna meet up?
Sure, cool.
See ya in 10, outside Hartford.
Tyler slid his phone into his back pocket as he crossed East Street.

The campus was dark, and despite how hot the day had been, the air
was chilly. But Tyler hadn’t thought to bring a sweatshirt, so he just
shoved his hands into his pockets.

He needed a rebound so badly he could taste it. And he didn’t

even care that Hunter wasn’t a particularly attentive hook-up partner.
Or that he’d probably blow Tyler off as soon as Tyler was done.

Or not blow Tyler off, Tyler thought sarcastically.
Hunter was a known entity. He wasn’t going to try to convince

Tyler that what they had was anything more than it was. Two guys
getting their rocks off.

That’s all Tyler wanted, anyway. The rest was stupid, and he

never should have thought he wanted a boyfriend. Dating and love
were for older guys—who knew what they wanted and who they
were, and who were too old to have sex anymore anyway.

Tyler was young and hot and could probably even get Hunter to

suck him off if he wanted.

Yeah, he was going to do that. He could be as cold and obnoxious

as Hunter was.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and Tyler pulled it out. If it was

Hunter cancelling, he was totally going to hitch a ride into Montpelier

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and pick up a stranger at the club. Hell, he didn’t even have to go
inside. There were probably plenty of guys hanging out in line or in
the alley who would be happy to take Tyler up on what he was
offering.

Tyler glanced at his screen and saw a message from Cal.
Hey, Ty. I’m in ur room. Where are u?
He rolled his eyes at the message. What? Like he was supposed to

wait around for Cal to get his head out of his ass? To deign to step
foot in Tyler’s dorm room in case one of the three students left on the
entire floor were to see him?

Not. Home.
In a fit of temper, he added, Not coming home tonight, so don’t

wait 4 me.

After he sent it, Tyler felt a little mean. But he was going to have

to get over that feeling if he wanted to act like guys like Hunter. Why
should Tyler always be the nice guy? The doormat? Cal should try
waiting around.

His phone buzzed in his hand.
I want to see you.
Tyler scowled at the message. He’d arrived outside Hartford, but

Hunter wasn’t there yet. So Tyler stood under the safety light, leaned
with his back to the wall, and stared at the screen. Then he switched
his phone into camera mode. Tyler held up his middle finger and shot
a picture of it.

He checked to make sure it looked how he wanted, and then hit

send.

“Hey, look what we have here.”
Tyler twisted in the direction of the voice. At first, he couldn’t

figure out who it was, because he was in a lighted area and the voice
had come from a shadowed part of the building. But then a group of
three guys walked around the corner. One wore a baseball cap and a
wife beater, and the other two had on T-shirts with the sleeves cut out.

Bossy and the Brat

All three had on jeans so baggy they looked like they were going to
fall off.

They looked like they could have been in college—or maybe a

year or two out. But Tyler had never seen any of them around campus
and had the distinct impression they lived in one of the nearby towns.

“Nice phone.” The one with the cap nodded in the direction of

Tyler’s hand. He didn’t move out of the darkness fully. Probably
because he was worried about security cameras.

“Um, thanks.” Tyler rushed to get it in his pocket. He backed up a

step, trying to figure out the best way to get out of there. The wall
scraped his back, and he mentally calculated the distance from
Hartford back to his dorm. But he didn’t want to run. He knew that
would make them chase.

The leader smirked, his face predatory and eyes cold. “Lemme

see, man.” He took a step forward, then a couple more. He crossed
into the circle of light where Tyler was standing and got up close
enough to be in Tyler’s face. “C’mon, you little queer.” He reached
into Tyler’s pocket for his phone, and it was all Tyler could do not to
scream as he felt the guy’s rough hand dive into his pocket.

“Hey, Chuck, you said I could get this one,” the leader’s friend

called from his spot ten feet away.

“Fuck you.” The guy, who must have been Chuck, dragged

Tyler’s phone out. Then, smiling, he shoved Tyler into the wall.

The blow knocked the wind out of him, and his head clocked

against the bricks.

Hunter chose that moment to appear around the edge of the

building. “What?” He blinked, taking in the scene of Tyler up against
the wall and the three thugs standing aggressively in front of him.
And though it happened so fast Tyler almost wasn’t sure if he saw it,
in that split second, Hunter looked terrified.

“Um…What the fuck?” Hunter folded his arms, as if he were

trying to look tough, but Tyler could tell he was shaking like a leaf.

Daisy Harris

Chuck must have noticed, too, because he snickered. “Ooh, is this

your boyfriend?” He took a step in Hunter’s direction. Chuck glanced
down Hunter’s body, taking in his clothes. “Wow, you college boys
are all pretty as girls, aren’t you?”

Hunter paled until his skin looked waxy. He swallowed, frozen in

the spot.

But behind Chuck, the two other guys were glancing at each other

nervously. “Hey, Chuck, we should bail.” The two of them were thick
as twin boulders, but it wasn’t three guys picking on one anymore. As
terrified at Hunter looked, he and Tyler did make two.

Tyler stepped away from the wall. He thought about whether to

speak, or if he should let the reality of the situation sink in for Chuck.

But the guy didn’t look reasonable. His eyes were bloodshot, and

he was hunched forward as if crazed by some inner demon. Or maybe
he was just high. He didn’t seem to be able to take his eyes off
Hunter. Probably because anyone could tell Hunter was made of
money.

A siren sounded in the distance. It was faint and probably didn’t

have anything to do with the guys bullying him and Hunter, but
Chuck’s sidekicks looked for police cars. “Dude, man. We gotta go!”
They started backing away.

But Chuck wasn’t backing down. He reached out and shoved

Hunter’s shoulder. “I’m not done with this one yet.”

Tyler felt sorry for Hunter—which was an entirely strange feeling.

The guy ducked his head, his arms wrapped around himself. It was so
different than his normal, confident persona that it was jarring.

“Hey!” A voice called over to them from across the field. It was

dark that direction, but the sound of the sirens seemed to be getting
closer.

Chuck’s pals got even twitchier. They glanced back and forth

between them, eyes locked in silent communication.

“What the fuck are you doing?” The voice called over again. It

was low and soothing, and very mature, with a hint of country accent.

Bossy and the Brat

Since Cal was standing in the shadows, Chuck and the other guys

had no way to know he wasn’t a teacher or part of campus security.

“Dude, we’re going.” Chuck’s friends started walking in the

opposite direction from Cal. And Chuck, after a few more inquisitive
stares at Hunter, spat out, “See you around, fags.”

Tyler wanted to ask for his cell phone back, but he was too

shaken. So he nodded like an idiot and stared at the ground. He felt
like a coward. But when he checked Hunter’s expression, Tyler knew
he looked better than Hunter did.

He waited until Chuck and the other guys were out of earshot

before asking, “Hey, you okay?” Tyler tried to reach for Hunter’s
arm, but Hunter snatched it away.

“I’m fucking fine.” Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed and there was

dampness in the corners of his eyes, but he yanked up his collar and
tilted his head back far enough to look down his nose. “Geez, you
sure picked a good place to meet up.”

“I didn’t know.” He didn’t understand why Hunter was trying to

be a douche, but Tyler let it go. The confrontation had been enough to
shake anyone.

“Hey, you guys all right?” Cal ran up to them from out of the

shadows. He was wearing the same striped shirt he had earlier and a
pair of cut-off jean shorts. The siren sounded closer as he approached,
and that’s when Tyler noticed the cell phone in Cal’s hand.

“Yeah.” Tyler cleared his throat. He wiped his face and tried to

straighten out his clothes and seem like he hadn’t been ready to piss
himself only a few seconds earlier. “Asshole took my phone, though.”

Crap, after all the effort Tyler had put into guarding the thing over

the past few days. Now he’d have no way to talk to Cal even if he
wanted to.

“That sucks.” Cal clicked something on his phone, and the sirens

stopped. He held up his device. “Siren app. I always figured it would
come in handy.”

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Tyler grinned, and then he couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Oh,

my God. That’s awesome.” He stepped over to Cal. “But how’d you
know where I was?”

Cal frowned. It was obvious he was pissed, since he kept glaring

at Hunter and then scowling at Tyler. “The picture you sent had the
location embedded. I saw you on Google Earth.”

“Dude.” Tyler tried to keep the smile on his face, but he was

shrinking under Cal’s anger. “Saved by technology.” He wanted to
touch Cal so badly, and maybe to apologize. But Tyler hesitated,
knowing that Cal didn’t want to be seen together in public.

“Y’know, I think I’m gonna take off,” Hunter called over to them.

The way he said it was snotty and superior, but his eyes looked
haunted. Tyler almost wanted to go with him just to make sure he was
all right. But he knew that big, bad Hunter Ford—with his powerful
family connections and impeccable looks—would never admit to
needing help. At least not from Tyler.

“Yeah, I’m gonna head home, too,” Tyler said. He looked at Cal

inquisitively, hoping to get a sense of what Cal was thinking, whether
he’d be mad for long.

“College drama,” Hunter said, in his typical bored drawl. “I think

I’ll order in instead.”

Tyler was pretty sure Hunter was going to drink beer with his

buddies and watch a movie. Not find someone to hook up with on the
Internet like he’d said. “Yeah, me, too,” he lied.

But Cal took that moment to reach out and grab his hand. It was

dark, and Hunter was already walking away, but it was still a bold
move.

“What’s your deal?” Tyler tugged his hand away, confused. Sure,

he wanted to hook up with Cal. Adrenaline was surging through his
body like an electric current, making him feel like he could crawl
right out of his clothes and fuck. But hand holding?

“My deal is that I want to take you home and give you your

punishment.” Cal snatched Tyler’s wrist and dragged him closer. He

Bossy and the Brat

looked at Tyler’s mouth, and then whispered, almost against his lips,
“We need to report your phone stolen and shut off your plan. And
then, you are so gonna get it, young man.”

* * * *

Tyler leaned against the wall. It was cool and smooth and felt like

home.

“You sure you don’t want to report it to the police?” Cal asked.

He wove his fingers again with Tyler’s. They sat side-by-side, legs
and arms touching. It was so weird, this newfound closeness. Tyler
hadn’t had enough time to suss out what it meant.

“No. I’ll think about it more tomorrow, but I don’t really think it’s

worth it. I was due for an upgrade anyway.” He rubbed his thumb
along Cal’s, wondering what happened next. “So, are you going to tell
me we’re going public now or something?”

Cal shifted next to him, then pressed up to stand. He held a hand

out for Tyler. “C’mon,” he said gently. “I need to talk to you.”

“Um. Okay…” Tyler was a little nervous, but he let Cal pull him

up to standing. “My room or yours?”

“Yours.” Cal leaned in closer. Then he said in Tyler’s ear, “Get in

there and take off your clothes.”

Tyler’s pulse sped up, and his body reared to life. “Okay.”
He felt Cal behind him. Cal’s eyes, his attention. It was almost too

much, this one-on-one closeness. And when Tyler got into his room—
a place he’d never brought a man before—he got nervous.
“Um…y’know, we don’t have to do it in here. Your room’s fine—”

Cal pressed a finger to Tyler’s lips. “Sh.” Then he glanced over

Tyler’s body. With a twist of his lip, Cal said, “Strip.”

“Are you going to, too?” Tyler pulled his shirt off and unfastened

his pants.

Cal just crossed his arms impatiently. “Your underwear, too.” He

stood there fully clothed.

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“Um…okay.” Tyler shucked off his briefs and stepped out of

them. He smiled coyly. “What do you want?”

Cal reached down to his ass, and to Tyler’s surprise, he gave it a

firm swat. Hard enough to sting.

“Hey!” He rubbed the sore spot on his butt.
“Didn’t we have an agreement?” Cal asked.
Tyler blushed. He hesitated a second before asking, “An

agreement about what?”

Another swat—which Cal managed to land right on the same spot

as the first. “You agreed not to go with any other men when we were
together.” Swat.

This time, Tyler winced. “I thought—”
“And you were not to get off unless I told you it was okay.”
Cal’s calm words made him feel crazy. So hot that Tyler wanted

to rip off Cal’s clothes, get on his knees, and suck him off.

He wanted to say he was sorry, but he couldn’t force out the

words.

“I thought we’d broken up,” Tyler argued.
“We’re not breaking up.” Cal cupped his cheek, looked into his

eyes. He smiled, like warmth, and sunshine, and home. “You’re mine,
you little brat.” He smacked Tyler’s rump again, and this time it really
did hurt.

“Ow.” Tyler twisted out of reach.
“And you’re always going to be mine.” Cal grabbed his hand and

wove their fingers together. He looked deep into Tyler’s eyes.
“Right?”

Tyler’s mouth went dry and he felt like his heart had expanded too

big for his ribcage. He had to lick his lips a few times before he could
force out the words, “Yeah. I am.”

Slowly, Cal smiled. “Hm.” He stepped back, looking Tyler over.

“I think you should turn around and put your hands on the bed.”

Bossy and the Brat

“Maybe I should explain a few things to you…” Tyler didn’t want

Cal to just pound him with no preparation, no matter how sexy the
idea of it sounded.

Cal pulled off his glasses. He advanced a step, smirking. “You

know, I do have Internet.” He may have blushed. Just a little. “And
you know how much I enjoy doing research.”

Tyler’s belly filled with fire. “Um…okay then.” Feeling more

than a little trepidation, he turned around. Then Tyler bent so he
rested his palms on the flannel sheets.

Behind him, Cal dropped to his knees. He palmed Tyler’s butt

cheeks, fingers roaming over the side that was hot and sore. He pulled
Tyler wide, massaging, but revealing. And after a long moment that
seemed to stretch for an eternity, he leaned in and licked Tyler right
under the tailbone.

The move was enough to make Tyler arch, twisting to beg for

more. He’d always loved it when guys played with his ass before they
fucked him. He was just about to ask Cal to go back to his room and
grab the lube when Cal let him go.

“Stay right there, okay?” Cal pinched his butt right at the

lowermost curve.

“Okay,” Tyler breathed. Cal was going to go get supplies, Tyler

just knew it. His dick beat hard and thick, hanging between his legs.

But Cal didn’t leave like Tyler was expecting. Instead, he was

messing with something behind him in the room.

“What’re you doing?” Tyler looked over his shoulder and saw Cal

plucking the laces out of his sneakers. “You going to tie me up with
shoelaces?” That seemed pretty crazy, and he was about to suggest
something more useful, like a tie or a belt, but Cal crawled on his
knees up behind him and cupped Tyler’s balls.

Tyler fell face-first onto the bed, moaning.
“I’m going to tie you up…” Cal ran a thumb along Tyler’s taint

then the seam between his nuts. “But not your hands.”

Daisy Harris

Before Tyler could wonder or protest, Cal bent to kiss his cheek.

And in a quick move of hands, he wrapped the shoelace over Tyler’s
cock and under his balls and laced it into a quick knot. He eased it just
slightly tighter, squeezing so his dick felt full and heavy and his balls
twisted to just the right tension. “Wow, that’s goo—”

Cal landed a firm swat on his ass cheek.
Tyler thrust forward in response, trying to get his dick up against

the bed. But the move only worked to make the bonds feel tighter. Cal
had left his hands and feet free—hell, his whole body. But he’d
trapped that one part of him.

“Not too tight?” Cal ran a fingertip over the taut, hairy skin of his

sack, causing Tyler to shiver. It had never felt that intense before—
someone stroking his balls. Tyler wondered if he could get off from
that alone.

Not likely, he realized. Cal was probably planning on torturing

him for quite some time. “No. Not too tight.” Tyler tried to wiggle,
though it seemed pointless since Cal was running the show. “But
really. I can get hard again in like fifteen minutes. And you can fuck
me if you want. Just…let me get off first, okay?” He chanced a peek
over his shoulder and found Cal smirking.

Cal ran his fingertip over the pucker of Tyler’s asshole. But the

move was obviously just a tease. “You know you don’t get to.”

The words shot a thrill of want through him so hard his dick

jumped within its shoelace prison. “Oh, c’mon.” He pumped back in
Cal’s direction, hoping to coax Cal into giving him what he wanted.

Instead, Cal hooked a finger under the base of his knot and gave

Tyler’s cock and balls a tug. “You’re only making this harder on
yourself.” But he softened his words by pressing a kiss to Tyler’s
tailbone. “But, no. I’m going to get off now. Not you.”

Cal stood and walked around to get on the bed. He came to kneel

in front of Tyler and unfastened his pants just enough to get out his
cock.

Bossy and the Brat

Tyler groaned at the sight of it. It smelled musky and was hard

and jutting forward. Cal lifted Tyler under the chin and urged him to
wrap his lips around that luscious length. Tyler’s own cock lurched.
He sucked Cal deep, keeping both his hands on the mattress for
leverage. Meanwhile, Tyler pumped his dick into air, occasionally
catching a rough drag of flannel across his damp head. But Cal didn’t
let him move any closer to the bed.

Instead, Cal eased forward on his knees, pushing his dick to the

back of Tyler’s throat where he filled Tyler’s mouth with bitter-salt
flavor and a stretch of silky skin. Cal advanced until Tyler had no
choice but to rise up onto his knees, and he had to grab the base of
Cal’s cock to steady himself.

“I’m going to come in your mouth.” Cal petted his head, stroked

his cheek. His cock was hard and demanding, but his voice was low
and sweet. And even though Tyler’s dick felt ready to burst from the
pressure, he whimpered, wanting Cal to give him all of it. To use his
mouth and his throat. And hopefully, afterward, his ass. God, he
didn’t care if he came, so long as Cal kept him in this perfect place
where Tyler was his everything.

“Open wider, my prince.” Cal rubbed his jaw, urging Tyler to

relax. Then he pressed another half inch forward, and, as if it were the
most effortless thing in the world, Cal pulsed cum into Tyler’s mouth.

Tyler struggled to swallow, and Cal pulled back far enough to let

him get some of that thick sauce down, before pumping deep into his
own juices.

In its bindings, his dick throbbed. Tyler started to get scared that

he’d get hurt—not be able to come later, be stuck with that yawning
pit of ache all night. Right when his breaths picked up and he started
to panic, Cal pulled out of his mouth and reached down his body.

“You’re okay,” he whispered in Tyler’s ear. He petted softly over

Tyler’s cock. Even the tiniest touch burned like pain and pleasure
mixed together. And Cal must have known it, because he stroked

Daisy Harris

Tyler’s cheek and looked into his eyes. “I want you to come while
I’m fucking you. Can you wait?”

Tyler shivered. He didn’t know. Didn’t think he could handle

being the one to make the decision…He stared at Cal, wide eyed,
hoping Cal would understand.

Cal pulled Tyler to standing. “Here.” He got on his knees.
Tyler hoped Cal would suck him, but Cal didn’t. Instead, he ran

his fingertip under the binding on Tyler’s balls. There was enough
space for his finger. It wasn’t so tight Tyler would lose circulation.

So Cal stood up. His gaze kind, he said, “Let’s take a quick

shower. I want to wash you.” He ran his touch over Tyler’s arm, up
his neck, down his back. So much attention…

“Yeah,” Tyler said. Yes, he wanted all of it. Anything and

everything. “I can do it.” And he realized in that moment that he
could. The ache was bearable—good even. He could wait for what
came next. “But can we go now?”

Cal kissed his nose. “Yeah.” He grabbed a towel off a hook and

wrapped it around Tyler’s shoulders. “Let’s go take that shower.”

Bossy and the Brat

Chapter Nine

Cal rubbed the soap in his hands, getting his palms slick and

sudsy. Then he stroked a long pass down Tyler’s body.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Tyler stepped his feet farther apart. He was

positioned under the showerhead with the water sluicing down his
back. He hadn’t said anything since the bedroom except curses and
begging, and Cal was getting off on it so much he was almost fully
hard all over again.

“Just let me get you cleaned up.” Cal stroked between Tyler’s

legs, making sure to just clean his balls and his groin—never touching
Tyler’s dick.

When he wrapped his hands around Tyler’s thigh, Ty bucked

forward in desperation. “C’mon. I can’t wait…Please?”

Cal smiled. He could have gone on with soap and water and gentle

touching all night, but he knew Tyler really couldn’t take it much
longer. “Okay. Let me just wash your backside first.” He soaped his
hands and ran his fingers up between Tyler’s cheeks. When he
reached the ring of his pucker, Tyler whimpered.

He arched his back, hands pressed to the wall and ass sticking out

toward Cal’s groin.

The move almost forced Cal’s finger inside, but he pulled away at

the last second. He didn’t think it was a good idea to get soap in there.
“Okay, okay.” Cal scrubbed water into Tyler’s crack, washing away
the slippery suds. Then, turning Tyler in his arms, Cal leaned in to
kiss him.

The nearness pressed Tyler’s erection flat against Cal’s belly. It

felt so hard Cal could hardly believe Tyler wasn’t coming. But the

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way Tyler bounced on the balls of his feet and hung his mouth open
told Cal Tyler was flying on want.

And Cal was doing his job just right.
“Let’s go back to your room, sweetie.” Cal brushed a kiss across

Ty’s mouth. Then he wove their hands together and led him out of the
shower stall. Cal wrapped a towel around Tyler’s waist as well as his
own, and then made sure to walk ahead of him in the hallway on the
off chance someone happened to run into them.

He opened Tyler’s door and let them inside before removing both

their towels.

“Cal, I need…” Tyler’s eyes were wide and desperate. The top of

his cock was flushed almost purple.

“I know.” Cal touched the tip of Ty’s cock, and smoothed the pre-

cum around his crown. He grinned at how Tyler shuddered. “Come
over here.” Cal sat on the bed, leaning back to recline. He urged Tyler
to kneel across his hips. “Stay up like that.”

He reached to the side of the bed where he’d stashed a condom

and lube. And Cal hurried to get them both on his cock before Tyler
broke down completely.

When Cal was ready, he wrapped his hands around Tyler’s hips

and maneuvered him so he was poised on Cal’s tip.

Ty looked beautiful, his cock straining and his forehead crinkled

with desire.

“Sit on me, okay?” Cal wasn’t sure how things were supposed to

work at this point, so he didn’t push. Instead, he let Tyler take the lead
as, with a deep breath and a nod, Tyler pressed down onto the head of
Cal’s dick.

“Oh, God.” Tyler paused, with just the cap inside. His dick

bobbed desperately between his legs. “It’s too much. I can’t…”

Cal understood. He reached under Tyler’s balls to ease off the

shoelace. The nylon was loose from the shower and Cal gently
worked it over Tyler’s sack, and then off his cock.

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101

“Fuck, fuck…” If anything, Tyler seemed all the closer to coming.

He sank down on Cal’s dick, and it was so tight and hot that Cal was
glad he’d come once already.

“You’re doing so good.” Cal couldn’t resist pumping, just

slightly. He wanted to let Tyler lead—to control the depth and speed
of penetration, but Cal couldn’t stop himself from rubbing into that
good, sweet friction. Panting, he asked, “You’re gonna wait until I
come inside you, okay?”

Tyler shook, his face screwed up in what looked like the most

amazing agony ever. “I can’t…” He lifted off a few inches, and with
delicious pressure, slid back down. “It’s too good.”

Cal led him by the waist and fucked up into him—not too hard or

too fast, just a slow, twisting grind. “You can’t touch yourself until
I’m done.” He knew he was pushing it, maybe even a little too far.

But Tyler arched his back, leaning to grab Cal’s thighs behind

him. Damn, he was flexible. “What if I come just from you fucking
me?” He panted a breath between every word.

“Oh, fuck.” Cal bucked harder, his hips snapping up off the

mattress. “I forgot you could do that.”

“Oh, yeah.” Tyler fucked him back, bouncing up and down on

Cal’s body.

The thought of fucking the cum right out of Tyler was so hot and

tempting that Cal needed to be in more control. “Here.” He wrapped
an arm around Tyler’s shoulder and pulled him down close.

Then Cal rolled them over to get Tyler on his back.
Ty’s eyes fluttered closed, like he’d never been happier in his life.

And Cal felt like the greatest hero in the world for putting that look on
his face.

“Hey, can we…” Cal shifted Tyler’s legs up so that he was bent

almost in half with his knees by his shoulders. The position raised his
ass off the bed, and Cal reveled in the feeling of screwing his dick
into that tight, vulnerable hole.

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“Are you kidding?” Ty gave him a bratty grin. He shifted his legs

higher, so his calves reached right past his head. Then Tyler pointed
his toes. The move of it gripping Cal’s dick like a clenched fist.

Tyler winked. “I’ve been in ballet since I was ten.”
“Oh, my fuck.” Cal reared back and gripped Ty’s legs right

behind the knees. He used the leverage to fuck harder, boring into
Tyler’s opening fast and hard and like he could knock the cum right
out of Tyler’s balls.

It felt amazing, but nowhere as amazing as the sight of Tyler

arching, his face red and his hands fisting the sheets.

“Oh, please, please, please, I gotta, please…” He kept whimpering

and begging, and Cal slammed a jagged tempo of thrusts until Tyler
went rigid, his mouth opening wide on a shout. With Cal’s next thrust,
Tyler shot a ribbon of cum across his chest. Then another flying at his
chin.

Cal slammed into him again, earning another spray that coated

both of their chests.

“Ach. Wait…” Tyler shivered, and this time Cal could tell that it

wasn’t in pleasure. His entire body twitched like he was so sensitive
he couldn’t handle even one more stroke.

So Cal pulled out, dragged off the condom. He fell into Tyler’s

waiting arms and fucked into the slippery coating on his washboard
abs.

“Oh, my God, you were so worth waiting for,” Tyler whispered in

his ear.

And that’s when Cal’s dick went stiff and tingly and his balls

tucked up close. He dragged along Tyler’s body, shuddering out his
climax and letting Tyler hold him tight.

Cal took in Tyler’s smell, his lithe body. “I don’t know what took

me so long.” He kissed Tyler’s neck. “Because I’ve been in love with
you forever.” He spoke into the dark sheets behind Tyler’s ear,
because Cal knew he couldn’t admit as much to Tyler’s face. “Since

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103

the first second I saw you walking into the hall. I wanted to touch you
and hold you…”

“Shhh…” Tyler stroked a hand up and down his back, easing Cal

down. “S’okay. I was a freshman.” Then Tyler squirmed a little,
rubbing their juices together in a slinky dance. “And I probably
wouldn’t have been ready then anyway.”

“You ready now?” Cal asked before he could stop himself. He

didn’t want to have to keep Tyler at arm’s length, to deal with the
kind of drama Tyler always seemed to develop around guys. He
pushed up far enough to look into Tyler’s eyes. “I can’t be casual, Ty.
It’s not in my blood.”

Tyler gave him a huge grin. “I know, stupid.” He wiggled some

more, and Cal could feel that he was getting hard again. “That’s why I
love you so much.”

Cal bent to kiss him, tasting Tyler’s bruised lips, the sensuous

drag of his tongue. Then he pulled up far enough to say, “I need you
to promise me one more thing, though.”

“Why do I get the sense I’m not going to like this?”
Cal snickered. “No more wandering around campus at all hours

until the school year starts back up, okay?”

Tyler wound his legs around Cal’s back and ground upward into

his belly. “Why would I do that?” He nibbled up the side of Cal’s
neck. Then Tyler whispered in Cal’s ear, “I have everything I want
right here.”

* * * *

“Maybe we should go to the diner out by the highway.” Cal pulled

the skin on his cheek taut so he could shave the curve of his jaw
without getting nicked. “It could be my treat.”

Tyler drew the shower curtain to the side and ducked out his head.

He was wet, and the sound of the slapping water filled the bathroom,
but Tyler shouted over it. “No fucking way.” He didn’t seem too

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angry though, since he stuck out his tongue. “If we’re together, it’s
fine for us to be seen having breakfast.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “It’s not
even a walk of shame, since we live across the hall from each other.”

Cal chuckled under his breath. “Fine, fine. But I don’t know if I

want to be all holding hands or anything.” He needed to plan ahead
how they’d act in public, since Cal didn’t want to accidentally hurt
Tyler’s feelings.

“Oh, really?” Tyler called from inside the shower. “I thought you

were going to bend me over the table and take me in front of the
kitchen staff.”

Just then, the door to the bathrooms opened and Mitchell Edwards

walked in wearing a dirty T-shirt, ragged boxers, and looking
thoroughly hungover. Cal was glad he wasn’t an RA anymore and it
was no longer his problem if the guy got drunk.

“G’morning, Mitch.” Cal set his razor back with his bathroom

supplies and then called in to Tyler. “Hey, how much longer are you
going to be?”

“Few more minutes. Wanna join me?”
Cal felt his face heat. Sure, he’d taken a shower with Tyler the

night before, but they’d been wrapped up in an elaborate sex game.
He didn’t think he could handle casually showering together on a day-
to-day basis.

“Hoping to get laid?” Mitch called into the shower.
Cal could tell the guy only barely stopped himself from saying

something pejorative. Early in the school year, Cal had sat Mitch
down on several occasions to explain to him how antigay slurs and
bullying would not be tolerated on the hall.

“I am, in fact,” Tyler called from inside the shower. Then he

pulled the curtain just enough to get his head in sight. He looked Cal
over lasciviously. “You coming, hon?”

Cal wanted to smack Tyler’s firm little ass for putting him on the

spot like that, but he figured that was exactly why Tyler had done it.

Oh, well. I guess Mitch is going to find out sometime soon.

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“Sure.” Cal hung his towel on the hook outside. Then he shot

Mitchel a hard look over his shoulder. “You don’t mind, right? We
may be in here a while.”

Mitch mumbled something awkward, staring at his shoes. Cal

knew he’d embarrassed the guy, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel
guilty. Mitch had been baiting Tyler all year. The kid deserved to be
put in his place.

Cal climbed into the shower and started the nozzle across from

where Tyler was washing off. But Tyler was up against his back in a
second, rubbing a hard-on between Cal’s legs, and wrapping his arms
around Cal’s shoulders. He smelled like fresh, clean man and cheap
body spray.

“I’m not really going to make out with you in the shower, Ty.” He

smiled as he rubbed the soap between his hands. Cal was starting to
understand how fun it was that Tyler was constantly horny. It was
such a thrill to dangle what Ty wanted out of reach.

“Maybe after? But before breakfast?”
Cal laughed. “We’d have to take another shower, then.” But the

idea was pretty appealing, especially since Cal’s body was starting to
respond to Tyler’s closeness.

“So?” Tyler humped his erection into Cal’s thigh. “I don’t think

Mitch is ever going to come into this bathroom again.”

“Fine.” Cal shook his head. He didn’t have supplies or anything,

but he could at least let Tyler get off. “Turn around and put your
hands on the tiles.”

Tyler did as told, stepping his feet apart. Cal had only meant to

finger him a little bit, maybe using some conditioner. But Tyler
looked so sexy all waiting with his ass sticking out that Cal couldn’t
help himself. “Wait here.”

Quick as he could, Cal grabbed his towel and strode down the hall

to Tyler’s room. It only took him a second to grab what he needed.
And then he was back in the showers where Tyler was still standing—
cock hard, ass out, hands right where Cal had told him to put them.

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“Oh, my God, you’re amazing.”
Tyler only wiggled a bit. “C’mon.” He was as impatient as ever.

But Cal figured it made sense. He’d only let Tyler get off the once the
night before.

“Okay, hon.” Cal rolled on the condom, lubed up his fingers, and

pressed them inside Tyler’s body.

“Ah.” Tyler winced a little.
“Too much?” They’d already done it just last night, so Cal

wondered if it was too soon to go again. Maybe they should go back
to Ty’s room and suck each other off.

“Yeah,” Tyler whimpered. “But I still want it.” He cocked his

head around for a kiss, and Cal pressed their mouths together.

Cal positioned his cock with one hand while palming Tyler’s

erection with the other. He pushed inside, trying to control his speed.
But it was hard to do on the wet ground standing up. And he could tell
he’d gone too fast when Tyler let out a high-pitched gasp.

He listened to the sound of Tyler panting, felt the smooth clench

of him on his dick. And a strange, heady power filled him. Cal wanted
more of the feeling—wanted to make Tyler gasp and beg and
whimper. Wanted to fuck his horny little prince so hard and long that
Tyler couldn’t take even one more touch.

“God, feels so big.” Tyler backed up, sliding onto him. He knew

exactly how to make Cal feel like a million bucks.

“Yeah?” Cal bucked forward, angling upward. Then he did it

again in a series of rough strokes. “You should rub it. Show me how
much you like getting fucked.”

“Oh, thank you.” Tyler reached between his legs and started

jerking in quick pulls.

Cal didn’t give him a chance to get ahead or even catch up,

because he kept up a series of fast, hard thrusts, each one designed to
knock the breath right out of Tyler’s lungs.

Tyler shook, his hand a blur. Cal was tempted to tell him to stop,

to not let him get off until Cal was good and ready. But they really

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didn’t have time. So he just watched, punishing Tyler’s sweet little
ass with his thrusts while Tyler shivered and shot.

As soon as Tyler was done, he pulled off Cal’s cock, twisted

around and dropped to his knees.

“Sorry. I can’t take it anymore.” He pulled off the condom and,

grabbing the soap off the floor, used the suds to start working Cal’s
dick in firm, slippery strokes.

“It’s okay.” Cal looked down into Tyler’s grinning face, loving

the sight of him on his knees. The hand job felt amazing, but he
wanted more. “Hey, let me rinse.” He stepped over to the fall of water
and washed the suds from his groin. Then turning, he grabbed Tyler
by the hair and pulled his face toward his dick. “Suck me off, now.”

Tyler’s eyes went wide with excitement, and he opened his

mouth. Cal pushed inside that warm, wet space. It felt every bit as
amazing as it had in the front seat of Cal’s car. But even better
because Cal had every part of Ty, even his heart. And Ty was
moaning and gasping as he sucked, his tongue milking along the vein
on the underside of Cal’s cock.

Cal let go of Tyler’s hair and grabbed his base. He wasn’t sure

why, but he wanted to jack off while Tyler sucked his tip. It seemed
odd—like he was supposed to want Tyler to do all the work. But
maybe it was because it was an act Cal couldn’t possibly imagine
doing with a girl that Cal wanted to try it.

“That’s it.” He jerked quickly at his base while Tyler laved on the

tip. The discordant sensations were amazing, like pulling his dick two
directions. And then Cal couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed
Tyler’s face in his hand and arched forward to fill Tyler’s mouth with
his cum.

Tyler swallowed some, but the rest dribbled out of the corners of

his mouth. Still, he stayed on his knees, his hands poised on his
thighs, until Cal pulled him up.

“You okay?” Cal smiled, loving how Tyler basically collapsed in

his arms.

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“Um, yeah?” Tyler struggled to get his feet back under him. He

leaned on Cal for what felt like hours, but might only have been a
minute. When Tyler finally opened his eyes, they were sleepy and
unfocused. “Damn, I love you so much.”

Cal’s ego did a little happy flip, but he just patted Tyler’s butt and

set him in front of the showerhead. “Wash up, already. I thought you
wanted me to take you to breakfast.”

* * * *

Tyler was surprised how nervous he felt when they walked into

the Student Union together. He kept wondering if he was standing too
close to Cal. But after the night and morning they’d spent together, he
kept wanting to curl into Cal’s side or hide halfway behind his body.
He felt like he was naked and everyone could see how desperate he
was for Cal’s affection.

“D’you want some coffee?” Cal shuffled over to the coffee stand.

Tyler wasn’t sure if he was uncomfortable about them going to
breakfast together or whether he’d always been that standoffish. He
wasn’t meeting Tyler’s eyes.

“Sure. Milk and cream, thanks.” Tyler picked up a tray and set it

on the counter. The snack bar at the Student Union only served cold
stuff for breakfast—like individual boxes of cereal and bagels. He
grabbed an orange and a couple of Danish.

Cal sidled up next to him, placing the paper cup of coffee on his

tray. He smiled. “Here ya go.” It was only a brush of his arm, a
familiar set to his eyes, but it made Tyler feel instantly happier.

“Thanks.” He nudged Cal in the arm, not wanting to break their

connection. “What do you like?” He pointed to the row of cereal
boxes. “You seem like a Corn Flakes man.”

“Brat.” Cal grabbed a couple boxes of Corn Pops. “See how much

you know.”

Tyler smiled. “Wow. Sugar cereal. You’re blowing my mind.”

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109

Cal pushed Tyler along the assembly line. “Grab your breakfast.

I’ve got to work this afternoon.”

“Okay, okay.” It was Saturday, so Tyler didn’t have anything

going on. His troupe didn’t have any performances planned for the
summer. Tyler couldn’t wait until fall when he’d have rehearsals
every day, and be able to start on some of the history and theory of
dance. “We’ll eat fast.”

He pulled out his dining card and handed it to the guy at the

checkout counter.

“Oh, hey,” Cal said to someone behind them.
Tyler turned to see Cal’s friend from the previous night walking

toward them.

He watched for Cal’s reaction, wondering if Cal wanted him to go

away or pretend they hadn’t shown up together. Tyler took a step
away, just in case.

“Hey.” The guy—he was dark skinned and wearing a heavy metal

T-shirt—plucked a muffin out of the case and grabbed an orange juice
from the refrigerator. “What’s up?” He came to stand next to the two
of them, darting a look in Tyler’s direction as if he wondered if he
was going to be introduced.

“Uh, not much.”
Tyler could tell Cal was nervous, but to his surprise, Cal grabbed

his hand.

“This is Tyler. He lives on my hall. Ty, this is Raj.”
“Hey.” Tyler waved to him with his free hand. The checkout guy

handed back his card, so he shoved it in his pocket and picked up his
tray.

“Hey.” Raj looked at him with a question in his eyes. “Yeah.

We’ve seen each other around.”

“Yeah.” Tyler stepped out of the way so Cal could pay for his

breakfast.

“You want to sit with us?” Cal asked Raj.

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Tyler supposed Cal had to ask, but he was a little sad their

breakfast was going to be co-opted by Cal’s friend.

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” That question was back in Raj’s tone, in the

inquisitive tilt of his head. It made Tyler nervous. And he could tell it
did Cal, too, because Cal moved away from him a short distance.

“Let’s grab a table.” Cal started toward the tables, leaving Raj and

Tyler staring at each other awkwardly. It was obvious that Raj
wondered what was up with Tyler and Cal’s relationship. But it
wasn’t Tyler’s place to say anything.

“After you.” Tyler waved Raj forward. Then he watched Raj

walking ahead of him and tried to figure the guy out from his walk.
He was hard to read. He seemed a little uptight, with his tense
shoulders. Then again, it could have just been the heavy book bag he
was carrying.

“Thanks.” Raj sat across from Cal, leaving the chair next to Cal

for Tyler.

The whole thing was beyond weird.
Tyler thought about getting up and leaving. He was cool with

dating Cal. And he didn’t even need everyone to know. But this in-
between part was uncomfortable. And awkward. He wondered if that
awkwardness was why he’d always been happy to date people in
quasi-secret before. It was easier than wondering who knew what
about whom.

“Hey, did you hear Jackson got that new grant yesterday?” Raj

asked Cal.

“No.” Cal perked up. Tyler guessed this was a big deal for his and

Raj’s work.

“Yeah, well, he’s treating everyone in the lab to pizza, beer, and a

movie tonight at his place. You coming?”

Cal looked nervously in Tyler’s direction. For a second, Tyler

thought he was going to agree to go and blow Tyler off, but Cal
squared his shoulders. “Sure. Can Ty come?”

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111

Tyler’s insides did a little flip. It felt like his stomach had dropped

out of his body. He’d never had a guy invite him to hang out with his
buddies. Not even if they were going to pretend to go just as friends.

“Sure.” Raj shrugged. “I guess.” Then he opened the lid on his

orange juice and took a long drink. “You can bring your new
girlfriend, too, if you want.”

Tyler choked on a piece of Danish and started coughing.
Cal looked terrified. He lifted his hands like he was surrendering.

“Oh, um…” He blushed this really dark mottled color, and Tyler
actually felt sorry for him. He shouldn’t have, but he did.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.” Raj made an

apologetic face.

“Listen, I should go.” Tyler stood up. It was just too weird,

watching Cal flounder and Raj tiptoe around.

Cal was awesome in bed and really sweet when they were alone.

Tyler would be cool with just that. “I really need to get to the store to
get a new phone anyway.”

“No.” Cal snatched his wrist. He stopped Tyler with a gentle tug.

“Hang on a sec.”

With an eye roll, Tyler slumped back into his seat. He took

another bite of Danish. It was too sweet and stuck to the roof of his
mouth. But he opted to finish, since he’d wasted the meal points
buying the thing.

“Listen.” Cal took his hand, though he was looking at Raj. “Me

and Tyler are together.” He paused, apparently waiting for it to sink
in. But though Cal was looking to Raj for a reaction, all Tyler could
see was Cal’s hand in his.

He replayed the words over and over in his mind. Me and Tyler

are together. Tyler could have heard Cal say that a million times. It
would never get old.

“Oh, cool.” Raj drank another long swallow of his orange juice.

Then he started in on his breakfast. Seeming like he was relieved to

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know what was going on, he said, “So you guys’ll both be coming.
Cool.”

Tyler wove his hand more firmly with Cal’s. Sure, Cal looked

terrified. His eyes were wide and scared, and he kept looking over his
shoulder as if someone was about to bash him over the head. But
Tyler wasn’t surprised by Raj’s reaction. There were plenty of gay
kids and gay couples all over campus. He would have been surprised
if Raj had freaked out.

“Yeah.” Cal pulled Tyler to his side. He threw an arm around

Tyler’s shoulder and held him close, as if shielding himself from the
world with Tyler’s body.

But that was okay, because Tyler was happy to for once be the

stronger of the two of them. From his place cuddled under Cal’s arm,
he said, “We’ll be there. What kind of movie are you guys watching?”

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Chapter Ten

“Are you sure about this?” Nicole asked Cal. She slapped Danny’s

hand away when he tried to hold hers.

Cal couldn’t help but laugh at her. She’d been the one to

orchestrate this showdown, so it was funny that she would get cold
feet.

He gave Danny a sympathetic smile before telling Nicole, “Listen,

they’re gonna take your news way better than mine.”

Tyler squeezed Cal’s hand. The poor kid looked green under his

blond fall of hair. “Yeah, maybe Nicole’s right.” Tyler crossed one
foot in front of the other, twitching nervously. “Do I really have to
meet them?”

The four of them stood on the curb in front of Cushman I, II, and

III waiting for Cal’s parents and Nicole’s parents to show up.

Nicole’s mom had organized for both sets of parents to come out

at the same time so they could all share a rental car, and though that
had sounded like a great idea back when he and Nicole had been
dating—or maybe pretending to date was the better word—now it
seemed like insanity.

“This will work a lot better if we present a united front.” Cal

repeated the words he’d been saying in his head all week. He knew it
made more sense for him and Nicole to confront their respective
parents as a unit. But he hadn’t really thought through the effect it
might have on Danny and Tyler.

“Yeah, I’m with Tyler,” Danny said. “Why don’t you guys just

tell your parents you’re not dating?”

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Danny was a good kid, Cal had learned over the past couple

weeks, but he was about as tough as Tyler. Of the two of them, Nicole
definitely wore the pants.

“You’re meeting them, and that’s final.” Nicole flashed him an

angry glare.

To Cal’s surprise, Danny got all doe-eyed and grinned at her like

an idiot. “Yes, honey,” he said. Then he wound an arm around her
waist and pulled her closer. He pressed his nose to her neck, under her
fall of hair. He whispered something that made her smile.

Tyler stepped closer to Cal’s side, though he was a lot less

demonstrative in his affection. Tyler crossed his arms, staring at the
road. “You’ll do the talking, right?” he asked Cal.

“Yeah, sure.” Cal wished he felt more certain of himself, but

everyone seemed to be looking to him for answers. So he squared his
shoulders and looked out onto the sunbaked street.

The grass along the edges was brown and wilting, and the campus

was all but empty since school started in two weeks. He watched as
car after car passed on the road at the corner, not turning up East
Street.

Finally, one turned. It was a white sedan, and Cal knew

immediately from the way it drove even slower than the speed limit
that his father was driving.

“It’s them.” Nicole seemed to move closer to his one side, while

Tyler eased nearer on the other.

The car pulled up to the curb. Cal only had a minute to panic

before his mother and Nicole’s poured out the backseat. Cal’s mom
looked up for a second, taking in the campus with a wide grin on her
face before dragging Cal into a big hug.

Cal let her kiss his cheek and pat his back. She looked just like he

remembered—curly, graying hair, wide smile. Behind her, Cal’s
father stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“Hi, Calvin.” He stepped past Cal’s mother to shake Cal’s hand.

That’s how his father had raised him. Men shook hands with men.

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115

Maybe patted them firmly on the shoulder if they were feeling
particularly affectionate.

They didn’t hug, or kiss. And they definitely didn’t do the kinds

of things he’d been doing with Tyler.

“Hi, Dad.” Cal tried to give his father a smile, though he knew it

was forced. He looked past his parents to where Nicole’s folks were
fussing over their daughter and taking nervous glances at the boy at
her side. “Hi, Mr. Hill. Mrs. Hill.” They were always telling Cal to
call them by their first names, but Cal had always felt awkward doing
so.

“Hello, Calvin.” Mrs. Hill gave him a smile. Her attention darted

to Tyler at Cal’s side, and Cal knew he couldn’t put off introducing
everyone without it getting even more awkward.

With a deep breath and a silent prayer, Cal took Tyler’s hand.

“Mom, Dad, this is Tyler.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at Tyler.
Instead, he kept his attention on the white rental car parked in the
loading zone of the curb. He was glad they were doing this out in the
open. And close enough to the car that his and Nicole’s parents could
just drive away if they wanted.

“Yeah, and this is Danny,” Nicole piped up.
Cal looked over at her and smiled. She was holding Danny’s hand,

but she gave Cal a reassuring nod.

They were still in this together.
“He’s my boyfriend,” Cal blurted, right as Nicole blurted the

exact same words. Then Cal held his breath. His hand felt sweaty
where it was grasped with Tyler’s. But he didn’t let go.

Cal’s mom blinked, and her forehead wrinkled as if she couldn’t

figure out what Cal and Nicole were talking about. Meanwhile, Cal’s
dad’s face was turning slowly purple.

“That’s not funny, son,” his father said. Then he frowned. “It’s

wrong to make fun of kids who are like that.”

Cal wasn’t sure if his father meant that he was somehow teasing

Tyler, or whether his father thought they were pulling a prank. But

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Cal tugged Tyler’s hand to drag Tyler closer. “Seriously, I’m not
kidding. I’m, um…Well, I’m with Tyler now. And me and Nicole
broke up a while ago.”

Next to him, Nicole nodded vehemently. “Yeah. This summer.

And that’s when me and Danny started—”

“You’re gay?” Cal’s father asked. He didn’t look angry so much

as confused.

And Cal honestly had to think about the answer for a second. The

sun was beating down on his back, and Tyler was looking at him with
hope and fear. And it was only at that very moment that Cal had the
strength to admit it. Despite everything he and Tyler had done in the
past weeks, he’d never before said it out loud. “Yeah. I’m gay.”

His parents said something after that, and so did Nicole’s. But Cal

barely heard them over the pounding of his heart. He couldn’t register
anything but the way Tyler looked at him. With big, blue eyes, and
floppy bangs, and the biggest grin Cal had ever seen.

* * * *

“Holy shit, that was intense.” Tyler slumped through Cal’s door

and fell, face-first, onto Cal’s bed. “Next time you come out to your
parents, I’m totally staying home.”

“No shit.” Cal fell onto the mattress next to him. It was hot and

muggy in his room, and Cal wasn’t sure he had the energy to do
anything but fall asleep.

His parents had handled it better than he’d imagined they would.

His dad was curt, and his mom careful. Nicole’s parents had spent the
day in what seemed like shock. Her mom had tried to be nice to
Danny while her dad studied the guy as if preparing for his parole
hearing.

But Cal had survived. And Tyler hadn’t run away screaming. So

that was something.

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“Fuck, I’m hot.” Tyler lifted up just far enough to take off his tank

top. He wore loose sweat shorts and a cute little chain around his
neck. Even though Cal was exhausted, at least mentally, he smiled at
the sight of Tyler’s bare chest.

“Damn straight, you’re hot.” Cal snatched Tyler close for a kiss.

He felt Tyler’s hard body through the sweaty material of his own
shirt. Cal winced at his sticky grossness. “I really need to wash off.”

“No way.” Tyler pulled up Cal’s shirt. He kept eye contact as best

he could while lifting it over Cal’s head. Then Tyler watched him
with those pretty eyes peeking from under his fall of hair. His pointed
chin jutted forward stubbornly. “You’re not leaving this room until I
say you can.”

Cal snickered. He teased with the waistband of Ty’s shorts—

wanting them off, but also wanting to take his time. “What if I have to
go to the bathroom?”

Ty yanked at Cal’s belt, unhooking the latch and dragging through

the hoops. “You can ask me for a hall pass.” He roamed kisses over
Cal’s collarbone and then slid his tongue along the dip of his sternum.

But Cal caught his pert little chin and tipped up his mouth for a

kiss. It was only a peck, but enough to stop Tyler’s slow descent to
something that would end things far too soon. “Wait, Ty.”

Tyler whined, “C’mon, please? We can go again after.” His

excitement was palpable, like a thrumming beat that Cal couldn’t help
but answer.

“Okay. Just this one time.” Cal shoved Tyler’s shorts lower. His

naked body was hard and thin, perfect against Cal’s. So Cal pressed
down his own pants, kicking madly to get off his shoes.

“Oh, God, thank you.” Tyler hooked a hand around the back of

Cal’s neck, and then he was all over him—hands roaming, body
bucking out of control. Tyler scoured Cal’s cheeks and neck with his
stubbly chin.

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Cal thought he might want to encourage Ty to shave more often if

this was how enthusiastically he liked to kiss. He rolled to get on top,
and Tyler wrapped his legs high on Cal’s waist.

He thrust up, his erection an insistent punch in Cal’s belly. “I want

you to fuck me.” He writhed, trying to get his legs higher. When Cal
shifted, Tyler grabbed his leg under his calf and raised it over his
head.

“I fucking love you.” Cal ogled Tyler’s thigh and the way he bent

his body double.

“I know you do.” Tyler winked. Then with a peck on Cal’s cheek,

he said, “That’s why I love you right back.” Ty twisted to get a hand
into the bedside table drawer, his body so flexible it could have been
Silly Putty. Then he bit open the foil of a condom packet and quickly
reached between them to roll it on. The very first brush of latex and
long fingers set Cal’s cock twitching and flexing, leaking pre-cum
into the reservoir tip.

Tyler scrolled it to Cal’s base, and then poured clear liquid out of

a small bottle into his hand. He looked down their bodies. “I’m gonna
put it on myself, okay?”

Cal nodded, swallowing. He eased back far enough to let Tyler get

his hand into his crease. On impulse, Cal grabbed both Ty’s legs at
the knees, bending Tyler so he could watch Tyler’s long, masculine
fingers pressing inside.

“Oh…wow.”
Ty’s fingers slowly disappeared, only to pull out again before

plunging inside. It was easily the sexiest thing Cal had ever seen.
Even sexier than having done it himself—because everything looked
so smooth and wet.

“C’mon. Before I come.” Tyler pulled his hand away and wrapped

it around Cal’s cock.

Cal hissed, fighting for control as Tyler positioned him at his

entrance. With a flicker of Tyler’s closed eyelids, Cal felt Tyler’s
body relax and open, and he pressed forward. Tyler kept a hand fisted

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119

around him, guiding his entry. And once Cal’s tip popped through his
barrier, Cal felt the twisting suction drawing him deep into that warm
well.

“Okay?” Cal let go of Tyler’s legs, letting them fall askew, and

positioned himself on straight arms. He’d never get enough of seeing
Tyler like this, of feeling his ass clamp down like a smooth, tight
sheath, watching Tyler’s eyes crinkle in the corners as he pressed
them closed.

“Yeah. So good.” Tyler let out a breath he must have been

holding.

Cal gave an experimental pulse forward and immediately bit his

lip to stop from coming. Their day had been too intense. Too
exhausting. He just wanted to come inside his lover and fall asleep for
several days.

“God, yeah.” Tyler wiggled, but he seemed to be having the same

problem Cal was of not being able to move much without going off.
He reached for his cock, grasping it loosely. “I can’t go long today.”

Tyler’s sweet expression melted what was left of Cal’s insides. He

bent to peck a kiss onto Ty’s nose, and then to kiss his cheek and
mouth. “Me neither.”

“Grab my legs again. I love that,” Tyler whispered against his

mouth. His face was flushed and shiny, and that pretty blush flowed
down his neck and colored his chest, painting the skin under his
sparse blond hair.

“Anything you want, my prince.” Cal shifted his weight and got

his hands under Tyler’s knees. He used the resistance of Tyler’s
muscles for balance and slowly pulled out, then thrust back inside.

“Oh, fuck.” Tyler’s hand went to his dick, and he rubbed it. “God,

I’m gonna. I can’t…”

Cal felt like a god right then, watching Tyler’s reaction and

controlling his pleasure. He drilled faster, his excitement over Tyler’s
climax keeping his own at bay. Cal thought he did a good job, too,

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since Ty’s mouth was wide open and his entire body was bowed as he
pumped his bright red cock.

“Oh, muther—” Tyler froze, his hand still working. There was a

split second where all Cal did was keep up the steady beat of his hips.
Then Ty’s expression shifted to one of pure ecstasy. He made the
sweetest sound, like a cry mixed with a gasp. And then he sprayed hot
nectar on Cal’s chest, right over his heart.

Tyler’s body clamped down on his cock, but even as the spasms

threatened to push Cal over, Tyler was pushing him off.

“I’m too—”
Cal understood Tyler was done with being fucked, but he was an

inch from coming.

“Here.” Ty pushed Cal up with a hand on his chest and whipped

around to kneeling, so they were face-to-face on the bed. “Let me do
you.” He snatched off Cal’s condom and wrapped those long fingers
around his cock. That first squeeze would have been enough, but Cal
wanted to savor it, so he held out until Tyler worked him harder, his
hand slippery with sweat and his own cum.

Cal grabbed Tyler’s shoulders and arched his back. He would

have fallen over but for Tyler’s wiry muscles holding him up. And he
shot and shot, pleasure billowing from his belly and between his legs
to pulse through his cock.

He thought he’d shot some of his mind, and maybe a little of his

soul along with it. Cal lay his head on Tyler’s shoulder, let Ty hold
him up while he shivered and shook.

“C’mon, baby.” Ty seemed to know what he needed, because he

gathered Cal up in his long, skinny arms and pulled him down onto
the bed. Before they could get any messier, Tyler grabbed a shirt off
the floor and wiped them both up.

“We should do laundry soon.” Cal laid his head on the pillow. It

smelled like Tyler’s bodywash. He pulled Tyler close into his side.
“God, I can’t believe you met my parents.” He chuckled sleepily.

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“Yeah, pretty wild.” Tyler wiggled closer. Then he twisted around

to give Cal a quick kiss. “My parents know I’m gay, but you don’t
mind if we wait until Thanksgiving to meet them, right? I think I need
a few months to recover from The Parents, Round One.”

“Sure.” Cal reached across Ty to turn on his fan. The cool breeze

wafted across their sweaty skin. Man. They both needed a shower.
But Cal was too tired to even suggest it. “Next stop, Thanksgiving.”

122

Daisy Harris

Epilogue

The following summer…

What are you wearing?
Tyler sent the text and waited. He wondered if Cal would be

pissed, but figured that if Cal had left on his phone it was his own
fault.

What the fuck do you think I’m wearing?
Before he could stop himself, Tyler giggled. He muffled it with

his hand so Cal’s parents sitting next to him wouldn’t be offended.

Cal’s father looked Tyler’s way, so Tyler lowered the phone

alongside his white folding chair and thumbed in a text message with
one hand. The lady sitting on his left at the graduation ceremony was
looking straight ahead, her attention rapt, so he didn’t think it was
likely she’d look down at his screen and see his conversation.

But what are you wearing under the robe? Tyler texted.
He stretched to his tallest in the seat, trying to spot Cal among the

seniors lining up to get their diplomas. Tyler hadn’t gotten a chance to
see Cal in his graduation gown that morning since he’d had to do
some paperwork for the upcoming summer dance program. He’d been
promoted to head counselor and was taking over some of the program
director’s tasks.

His phone vibrated, and he closed his hands around it so no one

would hear. “Sorry,” Tyler mumbled to the lady sitting next to him,
but he was grinning hard enough that he probably didn’t look terribly
apologetic.

Bossy and the Brat

123

Tyler clicked on his screen and saw a picture of a navy blue

graduation gown gathered up around a thick erection. He snorted,
pressing his lips together to stop from laughing.

You have a hard-on right now? he texted.
He craned his neck again, but didn’t see Cal in the lineup. He

wondered if he was off in a bathroom somewhere jacking off. Tyler
wanted to call him and tell him to stop it. The guy was going to miss
his own graduation. And that would be bad, because his boss and
thesis advisor, Professor Jackson, was at graduation and had planned
a party for him at the labs later that night. It was a sort of
“congratulations/welcome to working here full time” party—since Cal
was planning to work at the lab for at least another two years until
Tyler graduated.

No, silly. I took that earlier, Cal texted back.
Cal’s mother poked Tyler in the side. “There he is.” She pointed

to the end of the graduation lineup to where Cal was standing, staring
at his phone. Of course, Cal was texting.

“You kids with your cell phones!” Cal’s mother scowled at the

phone in Tyler’s lap.

Tyler smiled. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Beaumont.” He furtively texted

Cal.

Put your phone away!
Cal looked up from his screen and waved at Tyler. Then he went

back to texting.

You’ll be waiting for me after? Cal asked.
Tyler’s phone buzzed again
Cal’s message said, I want you to blow me under this robe.
Tyler’s thumbs couldn’t move fast enough as he texted his reply.
It’s a date.



124

Daisy Harris

THE END

WWW.THEDAISYHARRIS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Birkenstock-wearing glamour girl and mother of two by

immaculate conception, Daisy Harris still isn't sure if she writes
erotica. Her romances start out innocently enough. However, her
characters behave like complete sluts. Much to Miss Harris's dismay
the sex tends to get completely out of hand.

She writes about fantastical creatures and about young men

getting their freak on, and she's never missed an episode of The
Walking Dead.

For all titles by Daisy Harris, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/daisy-harris

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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