Body Checked By My Straight Captain Chapter 29
The bus is almost back.
Guys are awake now. Talking. Laughing.
Back to the normal world again.
I should feel relieved.
Instead, Jace has Connor’s hoodie.
Jace has proof.
And Connor has gone quiet beside me.
For the first time all night, he looks unsure.
“You okay?”
He shrugs. Badly. “Yeah.” A beat. “No.”
That almost makes me smile.
Connor stares ahead. “When I sat next to you tonight…”
He stops. Starts again. “I didn’t know any of this was going to happen.”
“Clearly.”
His mouth twitches. “I just knew I wanted to sit with you.”
Something in my chest pulls tight.
I think about the locker room.
The beer.
He said no.
Connor stepping between me and Jace.
Connor asking why I didn’t drink.
And when I wouldn’t tell him—
Okay.
No pressure. No judgment. Just him.
“Connor.”
He looks at me.
“You are my safety.”
His expression tightens. “Yeah. I got that.”
“No.” I catch his hand. “You’re hearing it like it’s a bad thing.”
“It isn’t?”
My throat tightens. “Jace makes me lose control.” I swallow. “You’re the reason I don’t have to be in control all the time.”
Connor goes quiet.
“That’s why I want to come back to you.” Then, softer, “If you’ll have me.”
For once, Connor has nothing to say.
Then he blurts— “When we get off this bus, I’m still going to want you.”
Like he has to say it before he loses his nerve.
The bus turns into the campus lot.
Real life.
Connor’s fingers tighten around mine. He doesn’t let go.
And in thirty seconds, we have to walk off this bus together.