* * *

The next day, Reese woke up with a groan, feeling something wrapped around his waist. Mumbling in discomfort, he tried to remove whatever was making him feel stuffy. When he couldn’t, he finally opened his eyes, frowning.

“It’s hot,” he whined, pushing against the warm wall pressing on him. His vision was still blurry, and his head hurt. But as soon as he realized he was pressing against someone’s chest, his eyes widened in shock. He was about to shout but managed to stop himself before waking the Alpha who was still sleeping with his arms draped over him.

‘What in the hell happened?’ Reese asked himself in panic, quickly looking around. They were still in the living room, lying on the carpet. The two bottles of wine were empty, and most importantly, both of them were half-naked.

“Reese, you idiot!” he scolded himself, patting his body. He only calmed down when he confirmed that nothing had happened that both of them would regret.

“Surely, you’re not planning to go to class this morning?” someone suddenly said, surprising Reese. “My head hurts. It feels like someone’s squeezing it,” Lan added, massaging his temples. Lan wasn’t someone who skipped classes, but today, he didn’t think he could make it. He was surprised Reese was already awake and seemingly lively when between the two of them, it was the Beta who had drank more.

Meanwhile, memories from the previous night flashed through Reese’s mind as his face slowly turned red. First of all, he never thought Lan was bisexual. Secondly, they were so drunk that their teasing led to something they shouldn’t have done. Thankfully, they had stopped before things went too far.

“What?” Lan asked, confused, finally noticing the Beta just staring at him without saying anything.

“Nothing…” Reese quickly replied. He didn’t want to remember what had happened last night. It was too embarrassing, so it was best to just think of it as a dream and never talk about it. Reese had just decided to act as if nothing had happened when Lan suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“So… did I win the bet?” Lan chuckled, watching the Beta’s changing expressions. He just wanted to spoil whatever plan Reese was devising.

“Wh-What are you talking about? I don’t remember anything…” Reese denied, quickly crawling away and picking up his shirt to cover himself. Understanding that the Beta was planning to treat it as if nothing happened, Lan frowned, upset. He might not have strong feelings for the Beta, but he couldn’t handle another rejection. Without saying anything, he suddenly reached out for the Beta’s ankle and pulled him close. Reese was so surprised; he didn’t think the Alpha’s arms were long enough to reach him. But alas, they were. Lan suddenly towered over him, looking straight into his eyes.

“You said that if it was you… You’d treat me better. You said you wouldn’t hurt me and that you’d forever love me…” Lan reminded him, sounding pouty and catching Reese off guard. Blushing as red as a tomato, Reese tried to push the Alpha away, but it was no use. He didn’t know how things had come to this, but it was happening, and he didn’t know what to do. He could still remember the soft lips that had touched him and those strong arms that had lifted him so easily.

It had been just a joke on his part because he was upset that the Alpha kept saying he’d be okay if it was him. It was obvious Lan was head over heels for Elven, but it was so easy for him to joke around about something so ridiculous. While Reese could understand that Lan might be looking for someone to distract him from the pain of rejection, he was mad that the Alpha thought he’d be easy enough to be that person. So, he teased him a bit. He just didn’t think the Alpha would take it seriously. And he too, he got swept away too easily.

“I-I never said those things…” Reese whined, hiding his face since it was useless to push the Alpha anyway. Furthermore, Lan didn’t have a t-shirt on, and it felt weird to be touching his bare chest while pushing him away.

“Then should I remind you of it?” Lan suggested in a serious tone, making Reese panic. However, before he could complain and decline the offer, the Alpha’s face suddenly came closer and closer until their mouths locked.

“Hmmmn?” Eyes wide, Reese tried to resist. Of course, this wasn’t his first kiss. He had first kissed someone when he was 16, but it had been so long since then that he had forgotten how it felt. “S-Stop~” Reese begged, gripping Lan’s arms, but as expected, the kiss only deepened. The Alpha didn’t even love him, but the way he kissed him was so rough, as if he had been holding back for so long and had been longing for this to happen. Even though their mouths still tasted like wine from last night, he didn’t mind, and for some reason, it was making Reese feel intoxicated.

Slowly losing his will to resist, Reese closed his eyes and responded as memories from last night flashed through his mind.

“W-What!?” Reese exclaimed, unable to believe what he was hearing. He thought he was hearing things, so he couldn’t be sure.

“I’m asking if you want to try it with me…” Lan repeated, maintaining a serious expression. Reese looked at him, dumbfounded. Earlier, the Alpha had sounded like he was joking, but this time, he seemed serious. When it sank in, Reese suddenly felt upset. Lan obviously loved someone else, but just because Elven had rejected him, he thought he could just do something like this and play with his feelings.

“Stop it… Unless you want to see me upset…” Reese muttered, glaring at Lan. He felt flattered to have someone like Lan say this to him but at the same time upset because he knew there were no real feelings behind his words.

“Okay… But I was serious. Even though I have no feelings for you now, I wasn’t planning to just play either… So think about it… Also, I wouldn’t be saying this to just anyone. I’m saying this because it’s you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t,” Lan responded. He shrugged, picking up the glass of wine that was still on the carpeted floor due to the little accident, and put it back on the table.

“I just feel like… if it’s you… I’d be able to move on, you know…?” Lan added. Of course, he knew it was unfair to the Beta. His offer was basically saying he’d use Reese as a substitute for Elven. It was cruel, which is why he was being honest about his intentions. Still, if the Beta agreed, he would never cheat on him, and he’d promise to take the relationship seriously. They had only been together for a little more than a month, but they got along pretty well. There was also this pull he could never explain, so it felt like it could work.

Call it desperation, but he didn’t care. Whenever he was with Reese, he forgot about everything, and yes… he was desperate for that.

Meanwhile, listening to Lan’s explanation, Reese’s glare faded. He understood the Alpha’s intention, but then again, would it really be okay? He was afraid to get hurt again after his last relationship. Lan was such a good guy, so no matter how much he denied it, once his walls broke down, he knew it would only take a few moments before he’d start crushing on the Alpha. It also didn’t help that Lan was exactly his type. Furthermore, now that he knew Lan wasn’t straight either, there would be nothing holding him back with that kind of offer.

“Fuck! You Alphas are really just the same…” Reese mumbled before quickly reaching for the bottle of wine and gulping it down as if it were a glass of water. When Lan saw this, his eyes widened and he quickly stopped the Beta.

“Hey… stop. What are you doing? This is a strong one…” Lan said worriedly, taking the bottle away but not until it was already half empty. Reese was already tipsy to begin with, so as soon as he finished, his head spun and he started hiccuping.

“You’re a lightweight and you’ve already drunk more than half of the bottle…” Lan said again, frowning. And to think he was the one who should be drinking this much. “Jeez… Just who is brokenhearted here? You’re acting like you’re the one who’s just been rejected…” Lan added. On the other hand, still stuck on the offer the Alpha had made earlier, but with his head feeling light, Reese dazedly looked at Lan.

“Ish unfairrrr you have sushh a handsooome face…” Reese slurred. His ex-boyfriend had also been a handsome guy, so he knew he was weak against such attractive faces. So when an Alpha like Lan offered something like that, how could he not take such an offer? Even though he wasn’t aiming to have a relationship now that he was trying to earn his freedom, it was just too tempting. Besides, Lan took good care of him. Even though Reese didn’t ask for it, Lan walked him to and from class. He made Reese feel special and noticed small details very quickly. He also helped him with chores and even ate the food he made deliciously. For someone like Reese, who was lonely after his mother remarried, he was desperate for this kind of attention even if he tried to deny it.

“You’re already drunk,” Lan mentioned with a frown. He was about to put the bottle down, but the next thing he knew, Reese pushed him down suddenly and sat on top of him. Thankfully, because of his good reflexes, Lan managed not to drop the wine again and held the Beta firmly.

“Fiiiine~ I’ll take the offer. I’ll treat yuu better. I wooon’t hurt yuu and I’d looove you foooorever…” Reese continued to slur with his dazed eyes, crossing his arms against his chest.

“Reese, you’re really drunk… Will you even remember this tomorrow?” Lan chuckled, sitting up while making sure the Beta wasn’t moving anywhere.

“Shut upp! *hiccups* Imm noot drrunk…”

“That’s what drunk people say. You’re lucky no one is checking the dorm rooms. Or else both of us will get suspended,” Lan sighed, making Reese pout. He suddenly felt upset, so he quickly grabbed Lan’s face to catch his attention.

“Heeeeyy~ I shaidd I’d take yeer offferrrrr~”

“Yeah, yeah… okay. I got it,” Lan chuckled again. This was the first time he was handling a very drunk person, and truthfully, he was having fun. He just hoped the Beta would still remember it tomorrow. It would be funny to tease him about this later on as well.

“Stilll, I don’ belieeeve yeer not straight… Can yuu even get it uup feer mee?” Reese frowned, his eyes dropping to the Alpha’s groin where he was sitting before pressing himself teasingly. This caught Lan off guard, but he later smirked, grabbing onto Reese’s hips and pulling him closer.

“Is that a challenge?” Lan asked, his voice dropping with a low vibration from his chest, his warm palms crawling against the Beta’s bare thighs. Reese liked to wear shorts and loose shirts or tank tops around their dorm room. He is still a man so to say that his eyes had never once laid on his flawless skin would be a lie. Lan just never thought he’d one day be able to touch it directly.

“Hehehe, I beeet yuu cannn’t…” Reese laughed, never thinking that a young and healthy Alpha wouldn’t back down from such a challenge. Lan may have been inexperienced, but he wasn’t completely clueless either.

“You better not pretend you don’t remember anything tomorrow…” Lan growled, and before Reese could talk back, he suddenly found himself making out with the Alpha and was proven very soon that Lan had no problem proving the Beta wrong.

* * *

To be Continued. . .