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It’s been two weeks since they won the rally, and - thankfully - they hadn’t seen Bradley since Max called off their little bet. Max saw him occasionally on campus or around Gammas, but other than that, it’s been uneventful and quiet peaceful; if he had to be honest, he kind of missed their day-to-day banter. There was always some steam to blow off from tests, classes or overall bad days, and what he and Bradley had going on really helped him wind down all that pent up frustration.
“Do you really think this is a good idea, Max?” PJ asked him as they were skating towards the detested frathouse. “Well, you never know until you do it…” Max sighed, feeling a little defeated himself, not too sure if what they were about to do was worth it. The frat hosted a for-all party, which was quiet surprising since, as head of the frat, Bradley was really specific about the people he let in to party with them. “And, also, how bad do you think it can be? If shit hits the fan, we dip like we weren’t even there.” He could already hear the beat thumping from the house not far away, and somehow it felt like his heart was beating in sync with it. There was probably some scientific explanation to why that was, he heard it in highschool once. But for some reason, it was like his brain short circuited and the only thing he could think of was possibly seeing Bradley again. Max wanted to avoid meeting and talking to him again. There was always a tight feeling in his chest when he thought of the other man - his stupid arrogant behaviour, smug smile and neatly done-up appearance. It was like anger, but not quiet.
Him and the others pregamed before deciding to leave, so he wasn’t thinking clearly anyway. Max had a little too much to drink to boost his confidence, and Bobby made him share a joint with him when he saw how tense he felt over the whole ordeal even though it was his own idea to go in the first place. “Look, it’s pretty late already, I’m going to be surpised if we meet someone who’s not near blackout drunk.”
The house was absolutely buzzing. Heat radiated out of the door as they approached, and the whole entry and living room was packed with people. He could taste the salt and sweat, at which Max let out a small chuckle - literally like sardines in a can. They shimmied their way into the kitchen to grab a drink each, and curiosity got the best of him. He poured a cup of this punch-ish thing he saw in an ice bowl on the counter, and it was absolutely reeking of booze. Bobby shot him a concerned look, raising an eyebrow since it was pointless to talk anyway from the loud music. Max just nodded reassuringly before downing the entire thing in one go to avoid the burning sensation of the liqour. Oh boy was he wrong - his face scrunched up from disgust as the drink made his way down his throath. The aftertaste was surprisingly fruity and light, probably because the alcohol numbed his entire mouth. He made a dismissive motion with his hand, shaking his head “no” to tell his friends that the concoction was not safe for consumption.
It didn’t take long for the drink to hit him, and it hit him like a bus. Max suspected there was something else in there, not just alcohol, but he felt way too loose to worry about such things. He got stranded from his friends once he dove headfirst into the crowd to dance, and his mind was so dull that all he could hear was the beat, but it helped him move in ways he didn’t know he was capable of.
Max wasn’t sure how long he was dancing for, but his shirt was absolutely drenched by the time he decided he needed to sober up a little before returning. Once the current song ended, he tried heading for the door to the garden, but he slowly felt a hand sneak around his waist. He wasn’t even surprised anymore - more often than not guys mistook him for a tall girl since he started growing out his hair more. Deciding one more dance won’t hurt, he let the other behind him guide him to a more secluded area of the room that wasn’t as lit up, and began moving to the beat once the new song started. The other’s lead wasn’t demanding and the person didn’t push against him like usual. They both had their own way of moving, but somehow it felt like they moved in unision with each other.
He didn’t know how many songs actually passed, but as he was about to turn around to face the stranger, he saw someone from the corner of his eye that made him freeze in place. Bradley was staring a hole into his eyes as Max made eye contact with him, there was that infuriating feeling again. All the times he made fun of him and tried humiliating him came flashing before him, making him almost instantly sober up. Max pushed away from the guy behind him. “Sorry, I have to go.” He could hear a faint “dude, what the fuck?!” from behind him as he pushed past the crowd towards the back door. Poor guy probably just realised he’s been griding on another dude for the better part of an hour. As he was walking, Max could still feel Bradley’s eyes lingering on him, and he had a feeling that the other was following him outside.
Once he reached the door and stepped outside, the chilly air hitting his heated skin felt like a cold shower after being in the sun for hours. There were some people scattered around the place, some just sitting and talking in groups, some hunched over the flowers or bushes and doing a tactical reset to continue partying througout the night. However, Max didn’t stop until he reached almost the very end of the property, where he trusted the fence to be clean enough to sit by. His head was spinning, though he didn’t know from what exactly. He let out a loud sigh as his body hit the ground beneath him. The cool feeling of the wood against his back and grass against the exposed part of his calf helped him regain some composure before he heard steps approaching. Max closed his eyes - he didn’t need to see who was standing in front of him, he knew it already.
Bradley didn’t say anything yet, but Max could feel how close he was standing to him. His cologne, that already smelled posh, was lingering a bit too close for comfort. “What do you want?”, he asked while tilting his head against the fence without opening his eyes. The other didn’t say anything, but they were far enough from the house for Max to hear his laboured breathing. Was he running after him this whole time, or was he just out of breath from the crowd?
“Who was that?”
Max furrowed his brows and slightly opened an eye. “What?”
“The guy. Who was it?” Bradley seemed annoyed. Which he had no right to be.
“The fuck if I know”, Max shrugged in faked nonchalance, even though he was feeling more and more irritated by the other guy. “But I might just go back in there and find out, I think we hit it off pretty well.” Even though he couldn’t see it, Bradley’s face physically twitched at his words. He wasn’t sober either, and he’s been keeping an eye on Max the whole night. He expected him to turn up, it wasn’t like him to miss a night with free drinks and sorority girls to hook up with.
After some more silence, Max decided he’s had enough of the other’s antics. “I better head in before I catch a cold,” he said while pushing himself to stand up and brushing past Bradley without waiting for him to say another word. He couldn’t help but notice the way his hand lingered just a tad bit too long on the fabric of the other’s shirt - as always, it felt like high quality.
Max made his way back into the living room, which felt even more crowded than before. To try and get his mind off of what just happened outside, he grabbed another drink to get the buzz back. With his cup still in his hand, he went back to dancing in hopes of finding the guy he previously danced with just to rub it in Bradley’s face.
But, why Bradley of all people?
He let his body be carried by the rythim, he danced with a group of girls who felt like the life of the party, it was the most fun than he had in a while. Max chatted with one of them, and when she told him she was going to the bathroom, he decided to follow her. But as the girl turned the corner, someone dragged him into a room down the hall. He was disoriented enough to be pulled with ease, and by the time he registered what happened, his back was against the door inside the room. Click.
And the door was locked.
“Bro, why the fuck would y-,” Max grimanced and looked at the other person, ready to tell them off for ruining his chances with a 10/10, but his words got caught in his throat.
Bradley was basically heaving in front of him, looking absolutely disheveled and nothing like his usual self.
“Shut. Up.” Bradley whispered through gritted teeth. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the past Two. Fucking. Weeks.” He pressured his syllables so weirdly that Max thought he was having a stroke or something. He didn’t realise, but he hit his head pretty hard when he got pushed against the door, and the dull ache was slowly making it’s way into his perception.
The hold on his collar was agressive, the hem was pressed firmly against the nape of his neck. Once the surprise wore off, Max began thrashing underneath Bradley to escape his grip. The older of the two continued, “Don’t think I didn’t see you down there. The dude was basically fucking you with his eyes.”
What dude…? Oh, right. He just came to the realisation that Bradley wasn’t looking at him, he was eyeing the stranger behind him.
“Like you have any say in who I fuck and who I don’t,” Max scoffed. He was getting fed up with the other’s bullshit, who does he think he is to be observing him througout the night??
The grip on his shirt tightened even more, so much so that he had a feeling that there would be a bruise at the back of his neck by tomorrow. “That I do not, you see that right.”
“Then why are you in my ass the whole night?!”
Bradley was visibly taken aback by him lashing out.
They stood in front of each other, not breaking eye contact. There was so much to be said, so much to discuss, yet they both stayed silent. Bradley’s eyes darted to his lips then back to his eyes. He would’ve missed it if he blinked.
Oh.
A cocky grin spread on Max’s lips.
“You want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid.”
Without a chance to fully inhale after his sentence, he felt Bradley move forward, his eyes instinctively closing as their lips met. There was nothing sweet about the way they kissed - it was pure frustration from the both of them. Bradley’s hold slowly loosened on his shirt as his hand slid down to grab onto Max’s waist, the tips of his fingers digging into his side to pull him closer. He let out an uncomfortable sound, to which Bradley pushed against him even more.
It took him a while to catch the way his lips moved against his own. His arms found their way around the other’s neck, his fingers tangling into his hair. The air was heavy and full of desperation, like they’ve both been wanting to do this for a long, long time. Bradley gently slid his hand under his shirt, his always cold hands making him shudder and let out a small moan between sloppy kisses. Shifting his weight from one leg to another, Max pushed down on the other’s leg, causing him to grip his hair to keep his knees from buckling. And there it was again, that smug smile that he was way too familiar with.
Bradley pulled away just enough for their lips to keep touching while he spoke. “Looks like someone’s excited.” His voice was dripping with a mix of hatred and desire, and it turned him on even more. Without giving him a chance to speak, Bradley captured his lips once again before carefully making his way down towards his neck, savouring every sweet sound that spilt from his lips. Leaning his head back against the door, Max quickly covered his mouth with one of his hands to supress a loud moan as the other reached a sensitive spot just below his jaw.
He continued teasing Max this way for a while before kissing him again, this time slower, but much deeper. There wasn’t this sense of urgency like in the beginnig, but that didn’t make the kiss less passionate. Bradley’s hand carefully found it’s way to cup his face and gently caress his cheek with his thumb, which made Max blush as the reality of the situation finally settled in. He gently placed his own hand on top of his, sharing a few more seconds before both of them pulled away almost at the same time.
Their lips were puffy and they were out of breath, but the previous tension was nowhere to be found. They couldn’t look each other in the eyes. Bradley was examining his face, sometimes lingering just a little too long on the way saliva made Max’s lips shine in the dim light coming from the window, waiting for his reaction.
“Do it again.”
“Pardon?”
“… You heard me.”
These were the times when Max was thankful for his hair being the lenght it was. The hickey left by Bradley wasn’t too big, but it was dark as hell and he needed some time to figure out how to style his hair to hide it. “Dude, you don’t even know who you hooked up with??” Bobby asked him the next day. He found Max passed out in front of one of the rooms, in a shirt that seemed to be a size too small for him, considering he always wore baggy clothing.
“I don’t know, I drank two cups of that magic thing in the kitchen, I was out cold after like 20 minutes.”
They were on their way to class, Max still feeling a little groggy from the alcohol, when he locked eyes with Bradley in the halls. The other showed a knowing smirk his way, to which Max averted his gaze with a light blush on his cheeks.
Bobby noticed, but didn’t say a word, only rolling his eyes with a playful smile.