Bait and Switch - Chapter Seven (Patreon)

Colin did not sleep well.

The first half of the night was spent obsessing over Bri’s Insta-video, picturing that body pressed up against his…. 

…grinding and rubbing all over him while he claimed her as his girl…

…and then once the pressure finally exploded out of him, the obsession was filled with shame and guilt.  Colin told himself he hated her for how she was treating Grant.  

He could not stop thinking about the video.  Even post-release, the way she looked, the way she moved… the way she held her phone a little too low so she could look down at the camera with that dominating look.  He had watched the looping video so much that it was burned into his retinas.

Colin lay there with his covers pulled up to his chest and felt heat crawl up his neck as he tried to get his heart rate back down after his marathon wanking. 

It wasn’t exactly jealousy.  Grant was his friend.  It was absolutely just a carnal lust and obsession for the woman.  Her personality made it all the worse.  She was awful.  A truly awful human being… and yet that body…

It was after three.  He swiped away from Instagram and pulled up his messages.  There was an unread message from Maya.

Tell me!!!!!!!

He rolled his eyes.

As if…

As if he was going to explain that the ‘girl’ that Grant was standing with outside the dorms was actually him.  It grated on him that Maya was trying to wriggle into Grant’s orbit… especially after all the time Colin had spent trying to get close to her…

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling until it became abstract.    Colin stared until his eyes stung.  The temptation to go back to staring at his phone…  

…to staring at Bri…

…was almost overwhelming.  He felt a stir of arousal again and forced himself to shut his eyes.

He woke with a start.  It was light out.  His alarm had not gone off, and he grabbed his phone.  How had he not set the alarm.  It felt late, even as he pushed the wake button.  

Nine-fifteen.

His body didn’t want to move. His brain didn’t want to be in the day.  Groaning he sat up.

If he booked it, he could still make it to the cafeteria before it closed at 10… and he needed to get there if he wanted food.  His meal plan was his only reliable source of food these days, and if he missed it, he would not be able to eat until after classes at three.

His eyes felt tired and puffy from being up all night.  He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above his dresser. His hair stood up like a plume on the back of his head from the pillow.  His face had that grayish, washed-out look that came from bad sleep.

“Shit,” he muttered, voice hoarse.

He was having a hard time getting moving, and he needed to move faster.

He stumbled into the bathroom in the hall that he shared with Grant.  There was no sign of him.  His door was closed.  He was either still asleep or already gone for the day.  

Either way… It’s an improvement.

The shower water warmed to hot… too hot… like he could steam the tired out of his face.   He stripped, stepped under the water, and let it hammer his shoulders until his muscles stopped clenching.

It helped…sort of. The heat loosened him. The noise drowned his thoughts.  Yet Bri’s video flickered behind his eyes like a stubborn afterimage, causing a stir of arousal.  He forced it away, not having time to give in to another masturbation marathon.

He picked up the bottle of shampoo and winced.  It was empty.  He could tell even before he squeezed it until it made that sad, defeated squeak sound with nothing coming out.  He bit his lip as he set it down, his eyes moving to the other bottle in the shower.  

It was obviously Bri’s.  The bright pink and flowery bottle was out of place in a male apartment.  He rolled his eyes, even as his brain said ‘fuck it’.  

He regretted it as soon as he started, rubbing it into his hair.

The feminine scent filled the room.  Her scent.  It smelled exactly like her. 

His cock stood to attention, the olfactory memory of her conjuring images of her in the shower.  His wet, soapy hand moved between his legs, and despite the time crunch, he closed his eyes and rubbed until release.  The smell filled his lungs as he breathed in.

“…fuck…” 

He was so late.

Rinsing the feminine floral soap out of his hair, he quickly finished and then hopped out of the shower, toweling himself off quickly.  The sudden quiet was brutal, and as he dried his legs, his eyes caught on the bright red gleam at the end of the one foot. 

The color looked almost obscene against pink, wet skin.

His stomach tightened, and he winced, smelling the feminine scent that now filled the bathroom.  He lifted his foot slightly, turning it, as if the angle might change what it meant.

It didn’t.

I should buy remover.

The problem was… he had no money.  

Grant should buy me remover…. It was his dumb idea.

He reached for his phone on the counter, checked the time again, and his pulse spiked.

…gotta move faster…

Towel around his waist, he moved through the cold hallway back to his room.  He had no clean clothes… so he did the smell test, trying to find the ‘good enough’.

If he wanted to hit the campus cafeteria before it closed, he had…he did the math in his head, clumsy with sleep…

Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes to get dressed, get across campus, and scarf something down before his ten o’clock class.  Boxers were fine… Jeans, tshirt and hoodie… But all of his socks failed the smell test.  

Knowing he would regret it later, he slipped his bare feet into his sneakers, grabbed his backpack from the desk, and was out the door… singlemindedly focused on breakfast.

_______________________________________________________________

The cafeteria smell hit Colin like a truck.

Heat, noise, fluorescent lights, and everyone crowded into the line.   The smell of hot breakfast food…fried, buttery, salty…punched right through his empty stomach and made his resolve wobble. He had come in telling himself he’d be smart. A breakfast bar and a coffee, and get out.  Meal plan or no, his points were already winding down for the semester.

…but the hotline was right there. Eggs, potatoes, bacon…the kind of breakfast that made you feel like a functional human being.

Colin shuffled into line and tried to do the math.

Hot food is extra. Don’t be stupid.

He checked his phone.

9:51.

He sighed.  As he breathed in, a little trace of the rosehip scent wafted into the cacophony of smells surrounding him.  Every time he breathed in too deeply, his brain tried to backslide into last night’s obsession and the shame that followed.

He clenched his jaw and stared at the menu board like it could hypnotize him into making the responsible choice.  The asshole in front of him asked for the hot breakfast combo.

Colin’s stomach growled.

His mouth almost betrayed him, but he forced himself to grab the breakfast bar from the self-service section and moved past the hot-bar order section.  

“There you are.”

Colin froze as he felt himself nudged.  Maya slipped into place next to him in line like it was the most natural thing in the world. Not too close. Close enough.  The guy behind them was on his phone, oblivious to the cut in line.  Maya just had a way… doing what she wanted, and the world seemed to bend to her.

She also looked unfairly awake. Her hair was up, modest makeup applied… her eyes sharp, her expression delighted, as if she found his exhaustion entertaining.

Colin’s heart did the stupid flip it always did around her, even while his brain screamed abort.

“Morning!”

Her cheeriness dampened his pleasure at seeing her.

“…morning…”

Maya tilted her head, studying him. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”

“I’m late,” Colin said immediately, because it was the only shield he had.  He stepped forward towards the cashier, wishing the line would move faster.

Maya’s grin widened, and she leaned against him again. “Perfect. So you’ll be quick.”

Colin stared straight ahead.  He liked her touching him, but did not have the emotional bandwidth for her Grant obsession this morning.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Maya laughed softly. “Yes, you do.”

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, holding it like a prop. “So. Last night.”

Colin’s shoulders tightened. “I was asleep.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed with exaggerated suspicion. “Liar. You read my text at like three a.m.”

Colin winced and didn’t respond because responding felt like stepping onto thin ice.

The line inched forward. He moved with it, trying to keep his focus on survival: pay and then run to class.  Seven minutes left.

Maya leaned into him harder…not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough that Colin could feel her attention like an interrogation lamp.

“Okay,” she said, voice lower now, conspiratorial. “Who is she?”

“Who is who?”

Maya’s grin went feral. “Oh, my god. You are the worst liar.  I know you know something…”

Colin’s pulse jumped. He kept his face blank with effort. “Maya, I’m not doing this right now.”

Maya lifted her phone slightly, still not showing him the screen. “Grant. Window. Mystery girl.”

“I don’t know…”. It sounded like a lie to him even as he said it.

Maya made a little noise like she didn’t believe in the concept of “I don’t know.” “Sure. You don’t know… You are just terrible at this…”

Colin tried to keep his voice flat. “Why are you asking me?”

Maya’s eyes sparkled. “Because you know.”

“That doesn’t mean…”

“It means you know things,” she cut in, cheerful and relentless. “And I want those things…and I get what I want.  You know this…”

Her hands grabbed a banana from the line and pointed it at him like a weapon.

“Now spill.”

Colin’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know what to tell you.” 

Maya’s smile softened.  It was not kinder; it was just more persuasive. “Come on. Help me out Col-lynnnnn…”

She dragged his name out teasingly, making the second syllable flirty and manipulative.

Colin looked at her then, just for a second.  Big mistake.  Her expression was bright and amused and a little too charming. Like she was asking for a harmless favor. Like she wasn’t prying at something that…

He almost answered her… but caught himself as his eyes saw the clock on his phone.  Five minutes.

“I’m late,” he repeated. “I have class at ten.”

Maya shrugged. “So do I.”

Colin looked forward again, forcing himself to breathe. “Then go.”

Maya laughed. “No.”

The line moved, her grabbing his arm as if he were escorting her.  He really wanted to feel like that, even though he knew she was manipulating him. Colin stepped up to the cashier like it was a lifeboat.

“Just this…” he said quickly, dropping the breakfast bar on the counter to be scanned.

“Mine too…” Maya said, putting her banana next to the sad little breakfast bar.  Colin winced, trying not to begrudge the extra dollar off his meal plan.

The cashier didn’t look at either of them, just scanned both items and pushed them towards Colin.

Maya leaned around him, smiling at the worker like she was a regular. “And two coffees.”

Colin turned sharply. “Maya, I don’t…”

“I know,” Maya said breezily. “Thank me later.”

Colin stared at her, caught between annoyance and that awful, warm little throb of gratitude he didn’t want.

Maya snagged the empty coffee cups and moved towards the urns, even as Colin swiped his card.  She handed him the warm cup as he exited the line.

 “You’re welcome.”

Colin bit his lip as he watched her sip from her cup.  He had bought them both coffee, and yet, she was acting like it was her treat.

“…thanks…”

Maya chuckled. 

“Told you, you’d thank me later… so…what’s her name?”

Colin exhaled through his nose. “I don’t know.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed. “Col-lyyyyyyyyn.”

He started walking toward the exit.  If he hurried, he could make it to class before having to draw attention by being late.  He did not have time for this.

Maya fell into step beside him anyway, matching his pace like she’d done it a thousand times.

“Okay, you don’t know her name,” she said, “what do you think her name is? Come on. Describe her.”

Colin tightened his grip on the coffee. “Maya, I don’t have time for this.”

Maya made an exaggerated pout. “You’re no fun.”

They reached the doors. Cold air pushed in every time someone entered or left, and Colin could already feel the winter bite waiting outside.

Maya stopped right at the threshold, blocking him just enough to make him look at her.

Her smile turned sly. “Fine.”

Colin glared at her. “Fine, what?”

“Meet me after your last class,” she said, like she was scheduling it into the universe. “You can tell me everything then… nice and slow.”

Colin’s stomach flipped.  The way she said nice and slow…

“I can’t,” he said automatically.

Maya’s head tilted. “You can. You just don’t want to.”

Colin opened his mouth, searching for the right excuse.

Maya’s grin widened, reading him too well. “It’s a date.  Text me when you’re done for the day. I’ll pick the place.”

And then she stepped aside, letting him pass. 

Colin walked into the cold, his mind spinning.  The cold made him glad for the warm coffee cup in his hand.  He regretted not dressing warmer.  His feet already felt like blocks of ice.

… a date…

…I have a date with Maya…

His heart was beating with something that felt like hope.  He knew it was just to pump him for information about Grant.  But she had called it a date…

He pulled the hoodie up over his head to protect himself from the cold.  It made the smell of the rosehip shampoo he had used fill his nostrils, and he felt just a tinge of arousal.  He didn’t know if it was the idea of a date with Maya or the smell of Bri.  He tried not to think about it and instead booked it as fast as he could for the English building.