Free Social Skills by Sara Alva Page A

thrust out angrily as Jared pulled him
up the stairs.
    Jared
rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t talking about your size. I meant with the drinking. Have
you ever even drunk before?”
    “I’ve
tried some beer…and some wine, thank you very much.” Connor frowned, swaying
into the wall. They’d reached the door to his room, and he rooted around in his
pockets to pull out his keys, which he also handed off. He didn’t have the
patience to squint at the lock until it came into focus.
    Jared’s
supporting arms left him, and so did Connor’s last remaining will to stand. He
sank down against the wall as Jared opened the door.
    “You
gonna get up?” Jared asked.
    Connor
thought about it for a moment. It seemed like a good idea, but the floor also
seemed strangely inviting, and it was closer. He folded over and placed his
head on the ground, leaden eyelids drifting closed. “Nope, I don’t think so.”
    A second
later, arms slipped under his limp body and he rose off the floor. He opened
his eyes to find himself cradled against Jared’s chest. Wafts of Jared’s
cologne hit him, mixed in with sweat and just a hint of beer, and Connor’s lips
parted to release a sigh. “I like the way you smell,” he mumbled, twisting one
of the buttons on Jared’s shirt.
    “Yup.
Lightweight.” Jared shut the door behind them with a backwards kick and set
Connor down on his bed.
    Somehow
recharged by Jared’s scent, Connor flopped around on the mattress, taking several
attempts to shuck off his pants.
    Jared
stood back and grinned. “I have a feeling you’re gonna regret this in the
morning.”
    He
disappeared from view for a few seconds, but returned with a cold bottle of
water from Connor’s mini-fridge. “You’d better drink this.” He pulled Connor
into a sitting position. “I guess I shoulda kept a better eye on you.”
    “Hey,
I may be shorter than you, but I…I’m notta kid.” Connor’s lower lip thrust
itself out again. “I don’t need an eye kept on me.”
    Jared
brushed his thumb over the pouting lip, smiling softly. “Yeah, I know, but I
kinda like the idea of taking care of you. Now drink.”
    Connor
obeyed, and the water did seem like a good idea as it trickled down his
suddenly bone-dry throat. It also eased some of the nausea, and when he was
finished he gratefully sank his head into his pillow.
    Hovering
between sleep and wakefulness, he felt one of Jared’s fingers trace the
contours of his face, from his jaw line to his cheekbones and down the straight
slope of his nose.
    After
a minute, the hand drifted away to arrange the blankets before Jared leaned in
and pecked his lips. “’Night, Connor.”

Chapter Six
    Sometime
around dawn, Connor opened his eyes and let out a soft moan. His breath tasted
bitter as it escaped his mouth, his tongue dry and inexplicably hairy-feeling. Adding
in the fierce headache and the rolling queasiness in his stomach, he’d never
felt more miserable.
    “Hey.”
Warm hands stroked his forehead. “Sit up and take these.” A water bottle along
with three white pills was thrust into his palm, and he dutifully swallowed the
medicine. He tried to hand off the water after a sip, but it was pushed back. “No,
finish it.”
    He
did, and then lay down again to drift into an exhausted sleep.
    When
he next awoke, the clock by his side read half past twelve. A slight rustling
from across the room alerted him to Jared, who sat curled up on the empty bed
with a book in his lap.
    “What…what
are you doing?” Connor croaked, his voice thick from disuse.
    “I
know, me doing my reading for class. Crazy, huh?” Jared chuckled. “You feeling
any better?”
    “Um,
I think so.” He tested his theory with a slight shake of his head. “It’s just a
little headache now.”
    “That’s
good.”
    Connor
rubbed the crust of sleep from his eyes, still confused by his surroundings. “Y-you
stayed? The whole night?”
    “I
was afraid you were gonna get sick.” Jared closed the