Game On

Three weeks.

Three very long weeks.

That is how long it took for David to walk into his shared room with Bryce at 6:00 in the morning a little tipsy with a big grin on his face. He stumbled into his desk, shedding his sweatshirt and fumbling with his belt as he continued to his bed. He didn't actually wake Bryce until he tripped over the extension cord that he had neglected to tape to the floor and took out his lamp, tower of textbooks, and most everything else on his desk.

Bryce glanced at his phone before turning on the flashlight and shining it down on David from his lofted bed. "What would your mother say?"

"It was a networking event," David spoke, defending his actions.

Bryce chuckled with a shake of his head. "I see I'm finally rubbing off on you, and from the looks of things, it doesn't suit you."

"Very funny." David shot him a dirty look before climbing the ladder into his own bed, his pants resting on the floor beneath him.

"Socks?" Bryce asked, amused and awake.

"Thanks, Mom," David sneered, struggling with his socks that kept working to elude him.

"So, what is the young lady's name?" Bryce asked, propping his elbow up on his pillow.

"Take that light off me, and maybe I'll tell you." David flopped back against his pillow wishing he had a glass of water or at least another beer.

Bryce did so, but kept the light pointed at the ceiling. If he had to be awake, then it was only fair that David was, too. "So?"

"Becca Morris, now I'd like to go to sleep-"

"Not bad, especially for you," Bryce commented.

"What is that supposed to mean?" David shot back, sitting up quickly.

"You're short." Bryce tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't help but smile.

"So is she," David shot back.

"Yeah, but short girls like tall guys. Come to think of it, so do tall girls. Huh, I guess the fact that you found anyone at all is impressive. Good going." Bryce sat up and grabbed his shirt off of the railing, barely deflecting David's shoe as it hurtled towards his head. Picking it up off of his lap, he turned to David, holding the projectile. "This was in your bed? You're a slob."

"Go to hell." David rolled over to face the wall.

"Actually, I think I'll hit the gym. Thanks for waking me." Bryce jumped down from his bed and pulled two bottles of water out of their fridge. He touched one against David's exposed neck, and before David could issue a crass retort, he said, "This will help your headache."

"I don't have a-"

"You will." Still guided by the light from his cellphone, he asked, "So, what did you and Becca do?" He and David had been best friends since they were kids, and he loved pushing his friend's buttons.

"None of your goddamn business."

"I see. And how did you land the fair Miss Morris?" He kept his tone nonchalant which he knew would annoy David to no end.

"Ashley set us up. Now, will you please, for the love of all that is holy, get out of here." It was not a question or a request, but Bryce could not help but get one more strike in.

"Are you going to throw another shoe at me?"

David sat up with fire in his eyes, gripping his pillow to whip at Bryce who illuminated his big smile with his cellphone before slipping out of the door.

Chuckling to himself, he slipped in his ear buds and walked at a steady pace down the hallway to the stairwell to the small basement gym in the on-campus apartment building. As there was a full gym in the new sports center, the basement only contained a couple of treadmills, a set of free weights, and a bench press. Wanting the opportunity to think, Bryce chose a treadmill and started jogging.

So, Ashley had set up David and Becca. Interesting as he had not seen her since that first night on campus. Bryce had figured she was busy, overachieving scholar that she was, but if she had time to help David get laid, then she must have more time at her disposal than he thought. Step-after-step, mile-after-mile he jogged, contemplating his next move.

...

Bryce kept the two girls in view as he made his way along the path to the northern end of campus. It was almost dark out, and there was really only one place they could be going if they were walking on this path. He hoisted up the box in his arms thinking that he hadn't really needed to pack the box with books. As they approached the door to their dorm-building, he called out to them to hold the door. "Thanks," he said as he stepped inside.

"No problem. That looks heavy. Do you need help with it?" The blonde was cute with dimples, and Bryce gifted her with his best smile.

"I've got it, thanks, but maybe you can help me. I'm looking for Ashley Richmond."

"Oh, Ash is our RA," the other spoke up. Brunette, less perky but equally cute.

"Great. I have to drop this off for her."

"Follow us," Blondie told him with a wink.

Freshmen really were a weakness of his, but Bryce kept his head as he followed the two up the stairs to the second floor. Blondie unlocked the door that led onto their floor and showed him to Ashley's door which he discovered he probably could have found on his own. Her door was covered in bright announcements of on campus events while the bulletin board beside it was covered in decorated names, assumingly of the girls on the floor. Also, pinned to the door was a copy of her class and work schedule, and Bryce took a quick mental picture for future reference.

Ashley opened the door after a minute, and he caught the moment before she covered up her surprise at seeing him. "Shelby, Amber, did you need something?" she asked the girls.

"You have a visitor," Blondie, Shelby, spoke with a smile over her shoulder for Bryce.

"Thank you for showing him in." Ashely raised an eyebrow at Bryce who held up the box a little higher. "For me?" she asked him.

"You know it," he answered.

She held open the door for him, letting him walk past her. "Under the window is fine," she called over her shoulder. "Thank you, ladies. Have a nice night."

"Night, Ash," they both said before turning away. Bryce was fairly certain that Ashley had missed the look Shelby had shot him before the door closed, but he filed it away just in case his first choice blew up in his face. He wasn't one to be without a back-up plan.

"So," she said turning to him. "What's in the box?"

Bryce took a moment to admire her relaxed attire. One thing about Ashley that drew his attention was the fact that she never went out in pajamas or sweats. It was always jeans, shorts, or skirts with blouses. She kept her appearance on or just over the edge to professional, and it was intimidating as well as incredibly hot. Conversely, tonight she wore soft pajama pants with a loose tank top over a black bra, if the straps were any indication. "Every textbook I've ever owned. Don't worry, I don't really need them."

She sighed and spread her hands out in front of her. "Alright, I'll bite, why?"

He smiled. "It seemed like a good excuse to get your dormmates to let me in. Please, save your applause."

Ashley had been more than a little surprised to see Bryce outside her door especially since she had not seen heads or tails of him since that night at the café, and now surprise gave way to outright confusion. "Bryce, quiet hours start in twenty minutes," she said glancing up at the clock on the wall. "What do you want?"

"Oh, right, question," he said touching his fingers to his forehead in a mock gesture implying that he had only now remembered his reason for needing the ruse. "You said I had to ask to get a date with you. In fact, you were very specific about that, but what I was wondering was, what if I just wanted a replay of the last time we were alone? You remember, I had you hoisted up and pinned to a tree, unable to breathe, you were also a bit flushed." He finished with a small smile and that mischievous look in his eyes.

Ashley closed the space between them in two strides and looked up at him. "What do you want, Bryce?"

How she managed to make him feel small while looking up at him, he would never understand, but he licked his lips before saying, "To see if your panties match your bra would be a start."

She stepped back with a shake of her head. "Go back to your apartment, Bryce," she told him. "Quiet hours are in eighteen minutes, and I have rounds." She turned, but before she reached the door, he looped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him while he turned her head to the side with his other hand.

"I can work with that," he whispered against her ear before bending his head to kiss her neck.

Ashley turned in his grasp and pulled his head down to hers, feeling the electricity shoot through her. Her fingers on her left-hand wound in his hair as she felt him pull her flush against him. Trailing her fingertips along his neck with her other hand, she felt his growl more than heard it.

Grabbing her hips, he lifted her up and onto her bed and quickly crawled up on top of her. The bed was not as high as his own, but the fall would still hurt, so he made sure to stay solidly on the bed as he straddled her hips.

Moving his lips along her jawline to her ear, Bryce ran his fingers down her side and up under the thin fabric of her tank top. Ashley shivered under his touch before weaving her fingers through his hair and pulling his lips back to hers. She could feel his thighs tighten on her hips as he lifted her up with one arm and deftly unclasped her bra with the other hand. Before he could slide the straps from her shoulders, Ashley took hold of the hem of his t-shirt and forced it over his head; he yielded quickly.

Bryce gave her a wicked smile with another small growl as he pushed her back to the bed. Grabbing the straps of her bra and tank top, he pushed them both down her torso. To his surprise, not only did Ashley dress to impress in public, but she also worked to disguise how naturally attractive her body was. Shifting to stuff the fabric beneath him, Bryce admired her as Ashley freed her arms. Her flushed skin and taut nipples gave every indication that she was at least as good to go as he was, and that knowledge nearly had him cumming right then and there.

"What?" she challenged him, drawing his attention back to her face.

In his ever-blunt nature, he replied, "You're hot."

Her jaw dropped. "Try not to sound so surprised."

In response, he dipped his head to her chest and took her nipple into his mouth. She gasped and arched her back, making it easy for him to take the other between his thumb and forefinger and roll it back and forth while lightly pulling at it. In the back of his mind, he figured they must be Cs, at the very, very least. More likely, Ds.

Ashley squirmed beneath him, trying to push him away. Shooting her a roguish look, he sat up and grabbed her wrists, pulling them above her head. "Bryce," she started, but he cut her off with a kiss as he took both of her wrists in one hand. He reveled in the knowledge that she was strong enough to pull away from him but resisted.

Moving his lips along her jaw and down her neck, he kissed his way back to her chest while teasing her bare side with his free hand. "Stop, I can't breathe," she pleaded.

"That's half the fun," he commented before lowering his mouth to her other nipple and lightly biting the rigid nub.

Ashley tucked her face into her arm to stifle her shriek as she battled the urge to pull away from Bryce's grasp. She panted as he massaged her nipple between his lips and flicked the end of it with his tongue. "You're being a very good girl, Ashley," he praised her as he massaged her swollen breasts with his free hand. Stretching back to her face, he caught her lips and freed her hands. Ashely wound her arms around his neck as he slid his hands down her body and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her pants.

As he started easing the pants down her hips with his mouth still on hers, they both heard the loud knock on the door and froze. Giving Bryce a hard shove to roll him off of her, Ashley scrambled out of her bed and pulled up her tank top while her bra fell to the floor.

Jerking up her pants, she opened the door and peered around it. "Sorry to bug you, Ash, but I locked myself out of my room. Can you let me in?"

"Sure, let me get my key. I'll meet you at your room."

"Thanks, Ash."

Ashley let the door shut behind her as she grabbed her university sweatshirt from the desk chair and threw it over her head. "You will be gone by the time I return," she hissed as she snatched her universal key from the hook on the back of the door. She jerked down the bottom of the sweatshirt and left the room.

Bryce briefly considered hanging around but thought better of it. Pulling on his own shirt, he poked his head out the door, and after ascertaining that the coast was clear, left on quick, silent feet.