Things They Don't Teach In School
by imp

Things They Don't Teach In School

imp

Summary

Eric Staal's a werewolf. Also he's into Cam.

Notes

None

Chapter One

Eric is, generally, not a fan of werewolf stereotypes.

The world's known about werewolves for sixty years, more than enough time for people to realize all the legends weren't exactly true - and long enough for stereotypes based on truth to appear. And, yes, werewolves are obsessed with scent, and are pack animals, so a lot of them play sports. But Eric doesn't imprint, for God's sake. Twilight was a PR disaster for werewolves.

Still, when Jordan comes to Carolina, Eric's kind of pathetically glad. He hasn't disclosed his status to anyone, largely because he doesn't think it's anyone's business, so no one really gets why he's so excited. But it's just nice to have a family member to change with, and to run with. There aren't any other wolves on the Hurricanes, as far as Eric's nose can tell.

Then the thing with Cam starts.

He and Jordy go running one night, slinking along the long stretches of woods on I-40. It's not real woods, but it's enough to hide them, and they wrestle and nip each other. But then they part ways to go home, and Eric slinks up to his house to smell Cam.

It's an old scent, but it perks Eric up. His wolf mind is glad Cam was here, glad Cam came to see him, even if - Eric sniffs - he left right away. And because he's in his wolf form, he thinks it's a great idea to go and find Cam.

He remembers where Cam lives, even if the wolf's idea of territory is a little different from Eric's Google Maps-oriented approach. He runs the distance to Cam's, then bounds up the steps, pawing at the door.

"What the..." Cam says, opening it. His expression softens when he sees Eric. "I don't live that far out in the wild," he says. "You're someone's, eh? They should get you a collar." He holds his hand out.

Eric is not a dog, but he's so eager for Cam's approval that he licks Cam's hand anyway. Cam laughs and scratches behind his ears, which feels good even though Eric is a wild creature, and definitely is not going to flop down and show Cam his belly for belly rubs.

Cam hangs out on the stoop with him for awhile - it's September, just before training camp, and plenty warm enough. Eventually, though, Cam says, "Okay, boy, I have to go inside," and stands up.

Eric tamps down on his desire to whine and runs back home. He's only a little embarrassed at his wolf self when he changes back to human. He just followed his nose; it won't happen again.

It happens again.

He doesn't mean it to. But he finds one of Cam's socks, crumpled up in a corner, and because he's a wolf, he's not too worried about how that's kind of gross. Instead his brain just tells him he should seek out Cam, so he does, and gets tons of scratches.

It's a good system. Which is why he does it again, three times over the course of a week.

Training camp is in two days when Eric shows up at Cam's and Cam's not there. Eric flops down on Cam's step, disgruntled. He tells himself he's going to go home, but he's suddenly sleepy, so he ends up napping.

He wakes up to a woman's voice. When he opens his eyes, she's saying, "Oh, Cam, there's...oh wow."

He's growling before he even really realizes it. Cam's brought in a stranger.

"Whoa, easy," Cam says. "Come on, he won't bite. Move," he adds to Eric, walking past him to open the door.

Eric thinks darkly about biting, but the need to preserve secrecy, as much as how mad Cam would be, keeps him from doing it. But Cam and the woman go inside, and Eric knows he should go home.

Only - Cam pushed the door shut, but it's not all the way latched. Eric paws at it, and it falls open.

Later, he'll wonder what the fuck he was thinking. But at the time he was acting more or less on instinct, going inside and curling up by the shoe rack. He thinks about how Cam is his, and he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, light is streaming in through the windows, and he's human. And naked.

That's not his biggest problem, though; his biggest problem is that Cam's standing there, staring at him, looking furious.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Cam says.

"Um," Eric says.

"This is the stupidest attempt at a cockblock I've ever seen," Cam says. "You're a fucking wolf? Jesus Christ. You're lucky she left through the front door, you jackass."

Cam's not normally a very wordy guy. Eric blinks at him a couple times, thinks about shifting, then says, "Hey. Can I borrow some pants?"

"Fuck you," Cam says. "Yes." He leaves, then comes back with some sweatpants and throws them - violently - at Eric.

He doesn't give Eric any time to pull himself together, either. "You want to explain this stunt? Not telling me you're a fucking werewolf is one thing, Staal, but showing up at my house over and over?"

Eric means to bullshit him, so he's not sure why he says, "Jordy's married now."

Cam blinks, looking taken aback. "What?"

Eric scratches his head and smiles sheepishly. "Jordy's married. It's nice to go running with him, it's good that he's here, but I was just...lonely, I guess."

"So you decided to show up at my house, even though I've known you for fucking years and you never bothered to tell me you're a goddamn wolf?"

"Cam -"

Cam turns away. "I'm making breakfast," he says. Eric notices for the first time that Cam's voice is rough, tired. "You can stay or go, but I'm not feeding you."

That's a clear enough message. "Okay," Eric says. "Um." He starts to pull the pants off so he can change.

"Jesus Christ," Cam says. He turns back around, looking at Eric with exasperation. "Just - come to the kitchen. I'll make you some fucking eggs."

That's how Eric ends up sitting at Cam's kitchen table, saying, "I don't need steak in my eggs, really."

"How have you hidden it?" Cam says, putting the eggs on his and Eric's plates. "You're not exactly a subtle guy."

"I didn't want it to be a big deal," Eric says. "A werewolf family - people would lose their minds. So I never told anyone, and Marc and Jordy just kind of followed suit."

"And Jared?"

"We're all wolves," Eric says. "That's how it works."

"I'm not exactly fascinated with werewolves," Cam says dryly.

"So you're ignorant on purpose?" Eric grins, before remembering Cam's mad at him and faltering.

"That's one way to spin it," Cam says.

"Sure," Eric says. "Well, mostly I just like being around people. And I turn into a wolf sometimes, but only when I feel like it."

"So the moon's not a thing?"

Eric shrugs. "I take more penalties when there's a full moon."

"You take more penalties than you should all the time, Staal," Cam says. "This explains you being such a touchy drunk, though."

Eric flushes. "Yeah, well."

"Do you need it?"

Cam says it so casually that at first Eric doesn't realize what he's saying. When he realizes it, though, he almost chokes. "What?"

"Touching." Cam looks calm. Almost too calm, Eric thinks suspiciously. "You need it, right? That's a thing about wolves."

"I..." Eric wants to deny it, he really does. But Cam's looking at him steadily, and Eric's always found it hard to lie when Cam looks like that. "It helps, yeah. But I'm fine, really."

"Except when you're drunk."

Eric scowls and takes a bite of eggs.

He's surprised when Cam slides off his stool at the kitchen island and comes around, slipping an arm around Eric's shoulders. He wants to pull away just on general principle, but instead he finds himself leaning in, taking a deep breath, surrounded by Cam's scent.

Which is telling him what Cam says next. "I'm still mad. But if you needed it, you should've just asked."

Eric would like to think that he's not actually that needy. "Sure," he says, having no intention of actually doing so in the future.

"I mean it," Cam says sternly. "Eric."

Eric shudders. "Okay," he says, because he can't tell Cam no when he sounds like that. "I will, I swear."

"Good," Cam says, stroking Eric's shoulder.

This is both incredibly comfortable and the least comfortable thing Eric can imagine. Damn it.

They stand like that for just long enough for Cam's scent to settle down. Then Cam steps away, clearing his throat. "Anyway," he says. "It's good to know. Planning on telling anyone else?"

"Management knows," Eric says. "Everyone else, there's really no reason for it."

"Right," Cam says. "Well." He gives Eric a stern look. "Don't cockblock me again."

Something ugly rears in Eric's stomach. He forces a smile. "Sure."

They hang out for awhile after that, before Eric finally has an excuse to go home. It's not that he doesn't want to hang out with Cam, but it feels weird right now. And he feels...exposed.

When he gets home, he calls Jordy. "Cam knows."

"Dude."

"It was an accident."

"How'd you manage that? Cam knows," Jordy says, presumably to Heather.

"Um," Eric says, because the actual story makes him sound weird. "I got kind of pushy," he finally says. "As a wolf, I mean. And I fell asleep in his mud room."

Jordy's laugh has always been obnoxious and honking, Eric thinks. It's even more annoying now. "Why?"

"You know how it gets sometimes."

"Yeah, with, like, Heather, before I got my act together. What's your deal, man?"

"Nothing," Eric says, scowling into space.

"Sure, nothing." Jordy snorts. "You're pathetic, did you know?"

Eric kind of dreads that Jordy's just going to flat out ask him what his deal with Cam is. Eric's self-aware enough to know he can't answer that right now. Not until he figures out, himself, what his deal with Cam is.

But Jordy just switches to telling him about Heather getting him into gardening. Eric points out that Jordy's just becoming their dad and hangs up laughing, feeling like he's done his job as a big brother. He forgets about Cam's order for another couple hours, playing XBox and answering some texts.

As he's changing for bed, though, he gets a text from Cam. Come over tomorrow.

He blinks at it, and another text appears: If you want.

Eric snorts. u cant make me do what i dont want, he sends back. Then he realizes he sounds like a dick and turns into Cam, adding, but yes. 11 ok?

Sure, Cam sends back. Apparently that's as much of a conversation as he wants to have, because he doesn't say anything else.

Eric dreams about running when he sleeps, which isn't unusual. The wolf is always closer to the surface when he's sleeping. But even better is the part of the dream where he finds Cam, and curls up with him, shifting and dragging human teeth over the long line of Cam's neck.

He wakes up early in the morning, hard and thinking about Cam, knowing he won't be able to go back to sleep. He ends up going into the shower and jerking off, eyes closed, trying to think nice, neutral thoughts.

Mostly, he fails. He's Cam's friend and has been for years: it's hard to chase the scent memory of being so close to Cam from his mind.

He works out for a couple hours, then does nothing useful until it's time for him to leave for Cam's. He knocks, but lets himself in; Cam knows to expect him, and anyway, they're not exactly polite about invading each other's homes. "Hey," he says, coming into the living room. Cam's deck doors are open and his bare feet are propped up on the coffee table.

"Hey," Cam says. He scoots over on the couch a little, but he hasn't bought a new couch in awhile, and Eric's still tilted towards the middle when he sits. He almost loses it when Cam lifts an arm and drops it over Eric's shoulders.

"Um, hey," Eric says.

"Shut up." Cam sounds lazily pleased with himself. "I looked it up. You're a fucking werewolf, you should have more touching than you've ever had."

"I have Jordy now."

"And he's a newlywed," Cam says.

"They've been married a year -"

"Just shut up and let me do this, okay?"

Eric closes his mouth with a click of teeth. "Why?" he says, but he does his best to relax.

"Because I'm your friend, jackass," Cam says. "And because you spent years denying your nature or whatever."

"I didn't -"

"You did," Cam snaps. "Look, I had an entire day. Do you know how much makes sense now?"

Eric's not sure he wants to know.

"Well, it does," Cam says when he doesn't answer. "So don't be a dick, okay?"

"Fine," Eric says. He leans back a little more; Cam's hand tightens minutely on his shoulder.

It does feel good, and yeah, Eric was sublimating his need for touch. For years. So he takes a deep breath and tries to relax, reminding himself that Cam's not a mind reader and has no idea what Eric was doing at six AM today.

They watch the History Channel for awhile before Cam says, "So, lunch?"

After they eat, Eric says, "So you want to see me change?"

Cam blinks. "I never said that."

"I can practically hear you thinking it. Not literally," Eric adds quickly when Cam frowns. "I thought you did research."

"If werewolves are actually psychic, I'd assume they'd hide it."

That's actually a good point, but Eric still says, "Well, I'm not." He wishes he could explain that he was worrying about the same thing with Cam before. But obviously he can't. "It's obvious, though. Everyone's always curious."

"All those people you've told."

"Sarcasm doesn't look good on you," Eric says. Then he realizes what he's said and flushes, embarrassed.

"Sure it does," Cam says. "You can change if you want."

He says it weirdly hesitantly, like he wants to say something else but isn't quite able to. Eric shrugs it off and says, "Yeah, sure."

He strips, because he's not really interested in ruining his clothes today. Cam looks at him like he couldn't care less. "Well?"

"Fuck off," Eric says. "I'm getting there." He takes a deep breath and lets the wolf take hold.

Then he's blinking up at Cam, wagging his tail. He can't help it - Cam's right there and it's Cam and the wolf doesn't really care about dumb human emotions.

"You sap," Cam says. He laughs, though, and scratches behind Eric's ears. Eric hops up next to him and thumps his tail against the couch, nudging Cam's chest with his nose.

"Want to watch TV?" Cam says, dropping his arm over Eric again.

Eric, in his wolf form, doesn't care about TV. But it means Cam will be still and Eric will get to breathe in his scent and stay pressed against him, so he yips and turns his body towards the TV.

He falls asleep like that, with Cam pressed against him. It's a little too warm, given the weather, but luckily, when Eric wakes up, he's still in wolf form.

Cam's lying next to him, slumped away from Eric, sleeping. He sleeps with his mouth open and snores a little, which even wolf Eric finds great. Eric hops off the couch and grabs his clothes in his mouth, carrying them into the bathroom.

He emerges fully clothed and kicks Cam gently, saying, "Wake up, it's almost three."

Cam snorts and kicks back. "F'off," he mumbles, opening his eyes.

It follows then that he stretches, arms over his head, his shirt riding up. His stomach is tight and Eric has to look away. He knows how this goes.

"Did you do the gym?" Eric says.

"Calling me fat?"

"Well, we all know you have a conditioning problem," Eric says, grinning.

Cam rolls his eyes. "Sure," he says. "I did, actually. And I was thinking about going out tonight."

Eric doesn't growl, and it's not even a near thing. But he thinks about doing it. "Sure," he says, deliberately keeping his voice light. "Should I clear out?"

"With you, jackass," Cam says. "Who do you think I am?"

"I knew that." Eric manages not to sound too embarrassed. To his credit, he thinks. "I'm not really dressed for clubbing."

"A bar," Cam says. "I don't club."

Eric laughs, because he sounds so disgruntled. Cam grunts and stands up, hitting Eric's shoulder as he goes down the hall to the bathroom.

Eric very carefully doesn't lie down and roll around in the warm spot Cam left on the couch, because that would be insane. Instead, he goes out into the kitchen and gets himself a beer.

The bar Cam chooses is one of those bars that thinks Raleigh is still a town in the sticks. Cam goes in jeans with a hole at the knee. Eric kind of figures he picked this bar on purpose, but it makes life easier for Eric, so he's not going to complain.

"This is nice," he says as they settle into a worn wooden booth.

"Sure," Cam says. "Can I get a Bud Light?" he says to the waitress.

"Me too," Eric says. The waitress nods and leaves.

Eric eyes the dinner menu. He shouldn't, with training camp so close, but he gets the feeling he's going to anyway.

"Just do it," Cam says, sounding amused. "You can always run it off, in wolf form. Does that even help with skating? Anyway, Pete's not here."

Eric makes a face. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope," Cam says. "Anyway, it makes sense how skinny you are, since you're a fucking animal."

"I'm not," Eric says.

"Here you go," the waitress says, setting the beers down.

"Can I get a burger?" Eric says.

"Same," Cam says.

"Sure thing." She writes them down and leaves. She might, Eric thinks, be the least friendly waitress he's ever run into in Raleigh. He kind of likes it.

"I'm not an animal," Eric says again.

"Relax," Cam says. "You're a supernatural creature." He smiles a little. "It makes you mysterious."

Eric's not so sure about that, but he does relax marginally. "You like it," he says.

"You're easier to sleep with." Cam blinks. "Rest with."

"I get it," Eric says.

God, this is awkward. This is why he didn't want to talk about it. "Anyway," he says, and takes a long drink of beer.

Cam kicks him lightly after he's taken his own drink. "I'm getting used to it."

"I know," Eric says.

Cam looks over his shoulder and smiles. It's his flirty smile, which, damn it. Eric should've known. He fake-yawns and turns around, as casually as he can.

"Christ, be cool," Cam says behind him.

Eric flips him off. It's easy to find who Cam was looking at. The leggy blonde at a table in the corner is splitting a pitcher of margaritas with her friend, and now she's looking over at Cam and Eric can smell the want.

He tamps down that part of him. He's done this a million times, he thinks. He turns back around, smiles, and says, "She's cute."

"Not your type," Cam says.

It sounds like a question, so Eric says, "But yours."

Cam looks at him, and looks at him, until Eric's wondering if he said something wrong. Then Cam says, "Yeah," and slides out of the booth.

Cam's not the type to just ditch Eric, but he is the type to somehow, in a sly, low-key way, bring the party back to their table. And he does. Eric ends up eating his burger surrounded by the smells of alcohol and perfume, with two girls other than the one Cam's hitting on.

Eric drinks his beer. Then he drinks four more. He's not exactly a drunk in the off-season, so that's enough to make him kind of tipsy an hour and a half in. He excuses himself to go pee, and almost stumbles over Cam, making out with the girl in the alcove where the bathroom doors are.

His defenses are up because he might be drunk, but he's at a bar, and he's not an idiot. So at first he doesn't smell anything. But then Cam looks at him, pupils blown wide and lips red and shiny, and for a moment Eric inhales and notices everything, the smell of arousal and Cam's scent, and he's made dizzy with it.

"Sorry," he manages to force out. He wrenches the knob on the bathroom - one person, because of course it is - and goes inside, shutting the door hard behind him.

He pisses and washes his hands, taking his time because he's not sure when Cam's going to be done. When he comes out, though, Cam's leaning against the wall - alone.

Eric hasn't had that much beer. There's no reason for him to react to Cam licking his lips by grabbing hold of him, tighter and with more strength than he'd normally let himself, and kissing Cam hard.

Cam doesn't kiss back, because of course he doesn't. They break apart from each other and Cam stares at him, eyes wide. Eric can't smell anything but surprise, and he wants to run away, metaphorical tail between his legs. Because fuck, he's an idiot.

"I have to go," Eric blurts out, and pushes past Cam, out the emergency exit.

He half expects Cam to chase after him. Cam doesn't really go for drama, and he'll be pissed that Eric did this. But no one chases him. Eric ends up hailing a cab and going home alone.

He doesn't even feel that bad that he stuck Cam with the bar tab. Not worse than his general intense feeling of misery, anyway.

When he gets home, he curls up in his bed. It's cold and doesn't smell like anything but himself. He closes his eyes and does his best to forget about his dumbfuck actions of the last couple hours.

When he wakes up, Jordy's standing over him.

Eric's not proud of the way he yelps, pulling his sheet up. Jordy looks unimpressed. "Dude, what the fuck?"

"Jordy!"

"Jordy," Jordy says, mocking him. "You want to explain why Wardo called me at two in the morning, asking me to make sure you got home okay?"

Eric frowns. "Have you been here since two?"

"No, dumbass." Jordy kicks his bed. Jordy's a wolf, and a strong one, so Eric's entire bed rattles. "I told Cam you'd be fine. Then came over this morning."

"Thanks?" Eric says weakly.

"Don't thank me, punch yourself in the face." Jordy's glare is...really glare-y, Eric thinks. "Seriously, dude, this is not cool."

Eric's going to have to ask sooner or later, so he bites the bullet and says, "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing," Jordy says. "Only that you guys had an argument."

Eric's stomach sinks.

"Was he lying?"

"No," Eric says quickly.

Jordy frowns. He can probably smell the lie, but instead of calling Eric on it, he just says again, "Then what the fuck, dude?"

Eric's not sure what he should say. He searches for words for a minute, then finally says, "Remember when Mom warned us about werewolves being kind of, um, clingy about people they have a thing for?"

"Yes," Jordy says, drawing the word out.

"Well." Eric stares at the ceiling. "She was right."

"Oh my God," Jordy says. "You want to fuck Cam."

Eric winces.

"And get married to him, and adopt little babies. Eric."

"I don't want to get married to him," Eric says. Yet, anyway.

"Yeah, I'll ask you again in a week." Jordy snorts. "So you have a boner for your friend. What'd you fuck up?"

"Who says I fucked up anything?"

"Come on, man."

It's really inconvenient that Jordy knows him this well. "Fine," he says. "I kissed him."

Jordy sits down heavily on the bed. "Jesus Christ."

"I didn't mean to," Eric says.

"Not sure that makes it better, dude."

That's a good point, actually. Eric frowns. "I just...he was right there, and he was so - he'd been making out with someone."

"And the green-eyed monster reared its head?"

"Something like that."

Jordy sighs. "I wish I didn't get it, but yeah. I get it."

Eric closes his eyes.

"You know I'm gonna kick you out and make you go over there."

Eric sighs. "I know," he says. He opens his eyes and gets out of bed. "I have to shower."

"Make sure you wear a tight shirt," Jordy calls after him as he goes into the bathroom.

Eric rolls his eyes, but he's going over the shirts he owns as he turns the shower on.

Forty-five minutes later, he's standing outside Cam's house. His hands are in fists, mostly because he's so nervous he's not even sure he wants to knock.

Which makes it awkward when Cam yanks the door open.

"I saw you through the window," Cam says. "Were you planning on knocking, or were you trying to smell me or something?"

"I can't smell you through the door," Eric says. He can smell Cam now, though. Cam's wary, and worried. Eric wishes he could say something to make it better, but unfortunately, being a wolf doesn't guarantee good social skills.

"Comforting," Cam says, so dryly Eric winces. "Come in, I guess."

Eric barely makes it across the threshold before he's blurting out, "I'm sorry."

Cam raises his eyebrows.

"I'm a dick," Eric says. Then, because Jordy will know if he's not honest, he adds, "A jealous dick."

Cam crosses his arms. "Jealous of what? Am I pack or something?"

He sounds like he couldn't care less, which is kind of comforting. And Eric could just say yes, and let it go, tamping down the jealousy the next time Cam found some girl to make out with. But -

Before he can chicken out, he makes himself say, "I was jealous because I wanted to be kissing you."

Cam stares at him for long enough that Eric gets incredibly uncomfortable. Then he says, "Why the fuck didn't you say anything?"

"It took me awhile to figure out," Eric says. He can feel himself flushing with embarrassment.

Cam shakes his head. "You're an idiot," he says.

He sounds fond, at least, Eric thinks sadly.

"I hadn't thought about it," Cam says. His smell is - Eric's not sure what it is. Not until Cam adds, "But I could do a lot worse, eh?", and pulls Eric to him.

The kiss is gentle but firm, and Eric's head is spinning by the time Cam pulls back. He's full of sensation, of Cam, and this is a better outcome than he let himself think he might get.

"Jesus," Cam says. "You're an idiot, you know."

"Sure," Eric says.

"I should smack you."

Eric nods.

"But I won't," Cam says, and kisses him again, hard.

They make out like that for awhile, Eric with his back against the front door. He doesn't need his nose to know Cam's into it; Cam's standing close enough that his hard-on is against Eric's thigh. He's rocking his hips slowly, not that urgently, just enjoying the feeling. Eric's definitely not complaining.

Finally, though, Cam moves away enough to say, "I've got a perfectly good bed upstairs."

Eric nods. "Jesus, yes."

"Good," Cam says, and turns to lead him up.

It's Eric who presses Cam into the bed this time, letting just a little of his strength through. Cam's eyes light up and he kisses Eric, pulling him down firmly on top of him.

But Eric still feels a little clumsy, dizzy with how much he wants this, so he ends up saying, "Do you want - how do you want to do this?"

Cam snorts. "Romantic."

Eric scowls.

"Relax," Cam says. He lifts his hand and cups the back of Eric's neck. "However," he says finally. "I'm good with anything."

That's an invitation, as far as Eric's concerned, so he makes quick work of Cam's clothes and gets to work going down on him.

Cam moans when Eric licks him, but he goes silent when Eric sucks the head of his dick. Eric can feel how tense he is; it gets better when he goes down as far as he can and Cam's hips jerk. Eric slings an arm over Cam's hips, then, pressing him into the bed. Cam says, "Jesus fuck," and one of his hands lands heavily on Eric's head.

Eric loves this generally, but he loves it especially with Cam, getting to suck him and splay a hand proprietarily on Cam's thigh. By the time Cam comes, moaning and clutching Eric's hair, Eric is thrusting uselessly against the bed, so turned on he can barely think.

Cam's the one who pulls him up and jerks him off, shoving his hand in Eric's pants with little fanfare. Eric drops his head into the curve of Cam's neck and inhales, smelling Cam and the layers of his scent, so fucking familiar to Eric that he has no idea how it took him so long to do this.

"We're gonna keep doing this," Cam says after Eric comes, stroking Eric's back.

Eric nods, then realizes he's come in his pants and grimaces.

"Just take them off," Cam says. Cam's nearly always on his wavelength.

Eric does. He can't really untangle the wolf part of him from the human part, not when his feelings are this intense, so it's not really a surprise that being naked and curled up with Cam makes him feel more content than he can ever remember being.

"Next time, be less of a jackass," Cam says.

He says it gruffly, but Eric knows he's not mad. He nods, slinging a leg over Cam. "Sure."

It's not a surprise when Cam kisses him.

Jordy's always been kind of a smug jackass, but he's even worse when Eric stops by his place later that day, before he meets Cam for dinner. "I knew it!"

"Shut up," Eric says. "You didn't know anything."

"I did," Jordy says. "You should listen to me more."

"I never do," Heather says from behind Jordy.

"That's different," Jordy says. "You're way smarter than Eric."

Heather smiles. "Congratulations," she says to Eric.

"Thanks," Eric says. He feels weird about it, mostly because dating someone's never really been a big deal before. He guesses it makes sense, though, since he and Cam have been kind of close for awhile.

"Anyway," Eric says, before this gets too embarrassing, "want to go running later? Me and Cam are going out for dinner."

"On a date?" Jordy says, with the widest, most annoying shit-eating grin Eric's ever seen.

"Fuck off," Eric says. "Maybe."

"Uh huh," Jordy says. "Well, sure."

"Cool," Eric says. "I'll go home, then."

"Your shirt's tight enough this time," Jordy calls as a way of saying goodbye.

Eric laughs his way to the car.