Better Together: Boys of Talbert Hall #3 Read online

  Better Together

  Boys of Talbert Hall #3

  Quinn Ward

  Copyright © 2021 by Quinn Ward

  Cover Design by Cover Me, Darling LLC

  Edits by AGEdits

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Welcome to Annandale!

  1. Zach

  2. Colin

  3. Zach

  4. Daniel

  5. Colin

  6. Daniel

  7. Zach

  8. Zach

  9. Colin

  10. Daniel

  11. Zach

  12. Zach

  13. Colin

  14. Daniel

  15. Zach

  16. Colin

  17. Daniel

  18. Zach

  19. Colin

  20. Daniel

  21. Colin

  22. Zach

  23. Colin

  Want More of Annandale?

  A Note From Quinn

  About Quinn Ward

  Welcome to Annandale!

  A group of interconnected series set in one kinky town

  The fictional town of Annandale currently has four running series. While there is overlap between the different settings, the books can be read in any order!

  Marino’s - Mama was definitely shocked to learn all of her sons were kinky in one way or another, but she’s proud of the men who are running the family restaurant.

  Club 83 - Eli’s worked hard to build a welcoming bar for the LGBTQ+ community. These daddies and boys will work their way into your kinky little heart.

  The Lodge - As Jayden so astutely pointed out, The Lodge is like a mullet: it’s innocent (enough) in the front, but the party is most definitely in the rear. So far, we’ve only seen the sweeter side, but there will definitely be a trip to The Back Deck in the future.

  Talbert Hall - Always Together is the second book set in the kinkiest residence hall on campus. It’s a known fact that those who thrive in Talbert don’t fit in well other places.

  1

  Zach

  “I transferred money into your account this morning,” Dad told me as I hefted my suitcase into the trunk. He’d been following me out to the driveway and then back to my bedroom all morning as if he had to make sure I wasn’t stealing any priceless antiques as I prepared for my escape.

  As if. Even if Dad treated the crap he collected with more care than he did his own family, it was just that: shit no one else wanted. But god forbid anything was out of place.

  I couldn’t fucking wait to get out of here. One more year, then I could hopefully find a job and never look back. I hated this fucking place.

  “Thank you, sir.” I expressed my gratitude through gritted teeth. He’d done jack shit to earn my respect, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t threaten to yank my spending money back if I didn’t fall at his feet to thank him.

  Miserable sonofabitch.

  “That’s all you get for the semester,” he reminded me as I stomped up the rickety steps at the front of the house. “Don’t think you can drink your way to the bottom of the account and come crying to me for more.”

  If you asked him, my grades were due to constant partying. And, because he wasn’t as tech-savvy as he thought, I’d even caught him tracking my phone like a stalker last year. I shut that shit down quick because I didn’t need someone watching my every fucking move. Unfortunately, he was positive his sudden inability to see my location meant I had something to hide.

  “I’m sure what you put in there is plenty,” I assured him as I grabbed the last stack of totes. Luckily, I didn’t have much shit of my own, and the rest of the stuff I didn’t want disappearing into dad’s hoard was safely in Daniel’s mom’s shed. “And I’ll be looking for a job once I get to Annandale. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “I don’t want you spreading yourself thin.” Dad held open the front door in an uncharacteristic show of kindness before following me out to the car. It would have been nice if he’d done that a few loads ago or had bothered helping me carry any of my shit, but real help might have made me die from shock. “You’re barely passing your classes as it is. Can’t have you wasting time at a dead-end job. What I gave you is more than enough to get through if you’re smart with your money.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He was dead fucking wrong, but I wasn’t going to argue with him about it. If I hadn’t mentioned looking for a job, he’d have never known. Once I pulled out of the driveway, I would be out of sight and out of mind. He wouldn’t think twice until fall break when he expected me to come home and help him get the store ready for the holidays. He’d hold on to that shit hole until the city claimed the building, and I’d have to hear all about how he was trying to build a legacy he could pass on to his son.

  It wasn’t so much a legacy as it was a trash heap I’d eventually have to deal with. Linwood as a whole went overboard with the holidays, and Dad was all about shoving as much crap as he could get his hands on into every display case just in case things got busy. Every January, he’d neatly label and store all the boxes in a unit across town, never to be seen again.

  With the last of my stuff in the car, Dad and I stood awkwardly in the driveway. Resentment welled in my gut as the seconds dragged on painfully. If I turned away too quickly, he’d accuse me of being in a hurry to get away from him. If I stayed, I’d continue berating myself for not being the son he’d hoped to have.

  Nothing in his life had gone the way he thought it would, and although he’d never outright blamed me, I knew. His bitterness was communicated in every glare and exasperated sigh. His disappointment was evident when he pinched the bridge of his nose as we argued over my plans for the future. He thought I was an idiot because I wouldn’t tell him what I wanted to do after school, and my stomach soured every time I imagined how he’d react if he knew the real me.

  But, at the end of the day, he was still my dad, and he’d always done the best he could for me.

  Dad scrubbed the back of his neck and kicked the compacted gravel. He cleared his throat, never looking up at me. “So, uh, you’d better get on the road.”

  “Yeah, probably.” All summer, I’d been counting down the days and then hours until I could get back to Annandale, but now that it was time to go, I couldn’t get my feet to move. I studied him for a few seconds, truly seeing how he’d aged. The dark bags under his eyes were nothing new, but they seemed darker and puffier today. He might rebuff me, but I stepped closer, gripping his shoulder. “Try to get some downtime. You’re all I’ve got.”

  As expected, he shrugged away, my arm falling to my side. “Don’t you worry about me. You worry about yourself. And I know you’re all about the college experience, but don’t forget you’ll get nowhere in life if you’re partying so much you fail your classes.”

  And there it was. Fuck. He’d gotten so damn close to a goodbye that would leave me questioning whether I was a colossal dick, just to go and show how he really felt. I doubted it would matter if I was pulling straight A’s like some of my suitemates; Dad would still assume I was getting blackout drunk every night of the week.

  I sucked in a sharp breath and held it, so I couldn’t say something I’d regret, as I turned and stalked toward my car. I got one foot inside when he added a final parting shot. “You know, if you’re spending so much time socializing, the least you could do is bring home a decent girl.”

  “I don’t
have time for that with all the studying I have to do,” I shot back. Besides, at this point, I was pretty sure there was something wrong with me on that front, too. I’d done my best to fuck my way through campus last year, trying to find a woman who could get me off without inappropriate thoughts filling my head.

  Then, I’d really gone and screwed shit up when I agreed to a bit of fun time sharing with Daniel. He was my best friend at school, the only person who knew any of the real me, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

  That decision would go down as one of my biggest regrets. Things had gone well the first few times we took a girl back to our room. We set the rules ahead of time: both of us were there to make her feel good, and we weren’t going to touch each other. But then the lines blurred. I caught myself sneaking glances at the lines of his muscular thighs. I even bent down to lick his sweat from the girl’s skin, hoping she thought I was trying to make a move on her.

  And then, the night I wished like hell I could erase from my memory happened. Daniel slipped his hand between my body and the girl I was trying to work up the ambition to fuck, curling his hand around my dick. It was like he knew I needed a little something extra to help me get the job done. But I could never take what he offered, so I did what I do best—I freaked the fuck out on him, and things were weird the rest of the semester.

  Being away from him the past few months had been torture. When I closed my eyes at night, my mind put me on my hands and knees with him pounding into me. I was the one he was making scream. I was the one begging him for more.

  This summer was supposed to get me over him, and now I was about to pop wood in my dad’s driveway.

  “I’ll text you when I get settled in tonight,” I told Dad as I turned the key in the ignition. I wouldn’t bother calling because he’d ignore the incoming call and conveniently forget to call me back.

  Sometimes, I thought his life was more manageable with me going to school five hours away.

  The rest of the guys probably had their parents standing on the front porch, waving until they were out of sight. But that wasn’t how we rolled in this family. By the time I backed out of the driveway and glanced out the driver’s side window, Dad had disappeared into the house. He was probably trying to scrub away any evidence I’d been there at all.

  * * *

  How far out are you?

  If Daniel wanted to ride my ass about glancing at my phone while I drove, maybe he shouldn’t be the one texting me. And how in the fuck was I supposed to respond? I might have a bad habit of looking at my notifications instead of paying attention to the road, but that didn’t mean I’d text and drive. Fuck that noise. My life was a disaster, but that didn’t mean I wanted to wind up a smear on the highway.

  I ignored the message and stepped on the gas. I was over halfway back to Annandale and the gloom of my morning with Dad was finally lifting. Soon, I’d be back in a world that made sense, even if that meant hiding shit from my roommates.

  Do you want me to see if they’ll let me check you in? I’m sure you’re going to be wiped when you get here.

  A lump formed in the back of my throat. Daniel was oblivious to how it felt when he took care of me. I spent a hell of a lot of time trying to play it cool. If I was unaffected, he wouldn’t get close to the core of my truth. I wanted to be honest with the guys. So many times, at the end of last year, I’d considered apologizing to both Chase and Matt. They were the suitemates who endured my jealousy, but as far as they knew, it was just me being an utter dick.

  Before I could pick up my phone to call Daniel, it chimed again. Don’t answer that. I’m going to get your shit. I’ll text you our new suite number when I’ve got it.

  Fuck. I’d forgotten we weren’t going to be back in our suite this fall. Chase had asked if we’d be okay with his brother moving in with us. After everyone else said they were cool with it, I’d have solidified my place as the grand-champion dick if I’d said no. I hoped the kid wasn’t as easily upset as his older brother, because it would take me a bit to get into the groove of being back at school.

  My stomach rumbled with an hour left in the drive. I considered pulling off the interstate for a bite to eat, but decided it wasn’t worth it. With Matt and Brandon not moving in until tomorrow, we could gorge ourselves on pizza without listening to Brandon bitch about how much food we could have bought for the same price. The man was a god in the kitchen, but some situations called for a slab of greasy, carby goodness.

  My bladder threatened to explode by the time I rolled into town. Traffic was a bitch, with all the loving parents escorting their kids to school. On the third cycle of waiting to get through the same fucking traffic light, I eyed a dodgy looking gas station at the corner. I might need to visit Campus Health for shots just for looking at the detached bathrooms. It wasn’t good when you could see the grime from the road.

  No, you can fucking hold it. Just a few more minutes.

  Daniel hadn’t texted back yet. I picked up my phone and scrolled down to his contact information. The phone didn’t even ring before Daniel’s melodic voice echoed through the speakers. “Hey, worried I forgot about you?”

  “Nah, but I have to piss like a racehorse. Think you can meet me out front and watch the car when I get there?” If I left the car unattended, they’d have it towed in a heartbeat. No one had a sense of humor during move-in.

  “Whatever you need.” God, that was so like Daniel. Even if he was in the middle of unpacking his shit, he’d drop what he was doing for me. I seriously didn’t deserve him. “How long until you’re here?”

  It was hard to tell with the snail’s pace of the line ahead of me. Maybe I’d have been better off parking in my assigned lot and waiting until tonight to unload my car. It wasn’t as if I had to deal with it now so my family could get back on the road. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a gridlock and I couldn't get out.

  “Probably at least five minutes before I’m in the fire lane,” I told him. My bladder protested holding off that long. I pressed my thighs together, hoping I wasn’t about to piss myself. It was seriously that bad.

  “You still have the Kia?”

  I rolled my eyes. Of course, I had the same car I’d had since my junior year of high school. The only way it’d get replaced was if the engine blew. “You know it.”

  “I’ll come find you.”

  “Thanks, man.” I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. It’d sound gay as hell if I admitted how much I missed him, right? I bit down on my tongue hard enough I tasted the coppery tang of blood.

  “Anything for you.” I’d heard that promise from Daniel so many times, and it never ceased to fill me with hope that there could be something more between us. But I couldn’t tell him that.

  I turned up the stereo and tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, trying to keep from getting annoyed with the families ahead of me in line. Every time I saw a mother or father pull their student into their arms for a heartfelt farewell, it felt like a knife twisting in my chest. Just once, I wished that could be me. I wanted nothing more than for my dad to give me any sign he’d miss me while I was gone, and not only because I wasn’t there to dust the random crap cluttering his store.

  The ache in my chest eased when I caught sight of Daniel’s lithe form jogging down the walk, weaving his way through the crowd. I gripped the steering wheel tightly to keep from jumping out of the car and yanking him into a tighter than socially acceptable hug.

  I jumped when Daniel flung open the driver’s side door. “Thought you needed to take a leak?”

  “Uh, yeah.” My fucking hands shook as I tried to unbuckle my seat belt. If this was how the year was kicking off, I couldn’t wait to see what level of freakish mess I’d be by the first day of classes. I needed to get my shit upstairs, and then maybe see if I could fuck this desire out of my system before I did something I couldn’t take back. “Sorry to interrupt you getting settled in.”

  “Don’t sweat it.” The person behind me laid
on their horn as I got out of the car and I glared at them. Daniel caught my arm as I tried flipping them off. Fuckers could be patient for ten seconds. It wasn’t like any of us were moving ahead quickly. Daniel draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in for a quick hug. By some miracle, I resisted the urge to turn my head so I could draw in a whiff of his citrusy body wash. I may or may not have bought myself a bottle for the house so I could smell him even when he wasn’t around.

  I was so screwed.

  The impatient driver behind me honked again, this time muttering something I couldn’t understand even with their windows open. “I’ll take care of this. Grab your check-in packet while you’re in there and we’ll get your stuff out of the car.”

  “Yeah. Cool.” If anyone else took charge like that, I would have told them to fuck off, but with Daniel, I felt more of the tension leaving my shoulders and back. I didn’t have to worry about everything because he was always there to keep me from fucking up my entire life. I took a step back, holding the door while he slid into the seat. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking up at me. The fucker was going to say something stupid; I just knew it. I pushed the door closed and thumped on the hood as I rounded the front of the car.

  I could do this. I just needed a bit of space.

  I lowered my head when I saw Chase and Jayden up ahead. There would be time to catch up with them, but I seriously needed to get to a restroom. They probably thought I was a complete dick when they called out to me and I rushed past them with nothing more than a wave. Oh well, couldn’t be any worse than how we parted ways last year. And I had earned every glare and shitty comment from Jayden. Hell, if he’d beaten me to a pulp, I’d have accepted that, too, because no one deserved the way I’d treated his boyfriend.