Serial Dating

Temporary Roommate Agreement

Milo walked Rushil and Lee to Manley Hall around midnight. The street lamps were on and the sky was dark aside from the city lights collecting on dust particles in the air. Lee felt exhausted—the type of exhausted that put bags under his eyes from sheer stress. He swiped into the hall and, with the door propped open, he turned back to Milo and Rushil.

"Sorry about being such a mess," he said. His head still felt like cotton, but it was more sleepy than anything. He wouldn't be surprised if he knocked out the rest of the night and slept through his alarms. He rubbed the back of his head with a small, apologetic smile as he added, "I don't usually get paranoid when I'm high. So sorry about that."

"It's fine," Rushil said, smiling. "It was kinda cute."

"Sh-Shut up," Lee stammered, cheeks flushed pink.

Rushil beamed at him. Lee glanced at Milo, who stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants. He still felt the strong, magnetic urge to cling to Milo and not let go. Instead of doing that, though, he raised a hand and said, "Congrats on the win. Are you two heading back to the party?"

"I'm exhausted, so I'll be going back to Lockhart," Rushil said.

"The guys are still at Kappa, so I'll be over there," Milo said.

With that, they went their separate ways. Lee slumped to the Manley tower elevator and as he waited for it to drop, he checked his phone. There was a message from Milo asking that Lee let him into the building. Lee rolled his eyes and slumped back to the main door. The student worker at the front desk watched him all the way as he let Milo through the locked door.

"Did you hide in a bush or something until Rushil left?" Lee said.

Milo put his arm around Lee's back as they walked to the elevator together. "Maybe," he hummed in Lee's ear.

When they stood in the elevator together, Lee let himself, for a moment, hug his arms around Milo's neck and hold on tightly. He could feel Milo breathing against him—the rise and fall of his chest, his breath against Lee's hair. Lee tucked his face in close, hiding his eyes against the fabric of his oversized sweater. Milo's sweatshirt smelled like this—like the cologne Milo had dabbed onto his neck and the fabric softener on his clothes.

Lee's throat became tight with emotion. He tried to swallow it down but couldn't. When the elevator door slid open, Milo moved as if to pull away, but Lee couldn't budge. Milo put his hand out to stop the elevator door, his other arm holding Lee securely to his chest.

"Don't let me go," Lee whispered. Any louder and he feared his voice would crack.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.

After spending a moment considering it, Lee nodded his head. Milo ducked down and hooked his free hand under Lee's knees. He tipped Lee back and into his arms just in time to sneak out of the elevator before the doors could close on them.

At Lee's door, Milo set his feet on the ground once more. Lee felt like a kid again—and not in the best way possible, since the floor was lava and Milo was immune to it. He couldn't control the way his feet danced impatiently like the carpet was burning the soles of his feet. Thankfully, Milo was quick to unlock the door and drag Lee inside. He locked the door behind them as Lee lunged for the bed and nestled in.

"No lights," Lee said when Milo reached for the switch.

Milo tossed the keys onto the end table and crawled up alongside Lee. He kicked his shoes off before reaching down and unlacing Lee's sneakers. Lee pushed himself up so that when Milo finished, he could hug his arms around Milo.