Page 26 of Built To Perform

He smiled, seeming embarrassed. “But I know you’re busy.”

I was: burn both ends of the candle sort of busy, most days. But I also remembered what Jefferson and Brayden had told me, early on. Back when I’d been extra-terrified of what expectations the older wrestlers might have for me; when I was mortified at the idea of them looking at me, some inexperienced freshman, and being disgusted at how far I lagged them.

They’d said they wouldn’t leave me behind. That they’d do what was required - however much effort it took - to make sure we moved forward together, as a team.

And I knew what Jefferson - or any of the other guys - would say, if someone they knew needed help.

“Dude, of course I’ve got time for that,” I told Asher, grinning at him in the mirror. I pulled the towel around my waist. “We could hit the gym together sometime, if you like?”

He wasn’t a big guy. Solid though, and kinda husky. Looked younger when he was biting his lip.

“You don’t have to...”

I patted him on the shoulder, trying to channel that wide, reassuring smile that my big bros flashed at me. The one which always made me feel like life was going to be a little easier than I expected, a little more manageable, because I was part of something bigger than just myself.

“Don’t worry, dude,” I told Asher. “I’ve got you.”

Chapter Twelve

I should’ve probably expected to find Adam with my jockstrap clamped to his face and jerking off when I got back to our room. It was hard though, to fully separate the memory of the painfully shy guy I’d first moved in with, from the guy with his legs spread wide, huffing my ball sweat while he polished the head of his dick like a cue ball.

I shook my head at him like he was the pinnacle of perverts, though I knew my smirk would sap the impact.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?”

He wagged his erection at me in silent reply. Precum slicking the long, slim shaft; I could hear the wet, sloppy sound of his fist as he stroked the base.

The clock on my nightstand confirmed it was late. Jefferson himself had told me to get some rest. And with the adrenaline from the club wearing off, I couldn’t deny I was suddenly feeling bone-tired.

Only I also couldn’t deny I was hard, too, my cock pushing urgently at the borrowed towel.

Adam had described it as “disrespectful friends with benefits,” back when we’d first decided we could make it work. Being roommates, and buddies, and also guys who stroked together, sucked each other’s dicks, occasionally fucked. No strings, nothing complicated: just a couple of college freshmen thrown together by the vagaries of the dorm pairing system, and making the very best of the situation.

And Jefferson had left me high and dry, after all.

No mistaking the way Adam’s eyes locked onto my erection as I tossed down the towel. Even with half his expression lost behind the sticky, musky mess that was my jock pouch.

“Fuck it,” I told him, crawling onto his bed on my knees. “Just so I can get to sleep, okay?”

He reached for me, eagerly.

Chapter Thirteen

“Wear the singlet,” Adam had insisted. “They’ll fucking love the singlet.”

Standing in the wings, my chest already mostly bare from the deep front scoop of the otherwise-clinging spandex, I couldn’t help but feel like my worlds were blurring a little too much for comfort. It was one thing being a guy who danced sometimes; quite another to be a wrestler from the college team who flaunted that fact up on a stage. Even if the men watching me - the men waiting for me to pull my dick out and jerk off for them - didn’t know who I really was.

I adjusted the mask, suddenly grateful for how it covered so much of my anxious expression.

“Nervous?” Harvey managed to make a one-word question of concern sound like a challenge.

It took conscious effort, but I stopped shifting from foot to foot. Tried my very best to stand there, in a bright red and white singlet and matching sneakers, and look like I knew I belonged.

“Just... just ready to get started.”

The manager nodded, with a weasel grin. “Is your... friend here to watch you, tonight?”

I might’ve laughed at the hedging, had my insides not been churning so determinedly.