Well this was a bad idea, Dean thinks to himself, sitting on one of the somewhat sticky leather couches scattered around the main floor of the frat house. He's been there less than an hour and he's already wanting to call it quits and go back to his apartment. Cas and Gabe disappeared the minute they walked in, off chasing tail on one of the upper levels.
Dean downs the rest of the warm beer in his Solo cup, grimacing at the taste of it. Sighing, he gets up and makes his way through the crowded rooms to find one of the kegs. There's a few girls lined up in front of him, so he waits, subconsciously twisting the bezel on his watch. Looking around the room he sees a few guys from his team, a few of them dancing with their girlfriends, one of them doing a bit more kissing than dancing. He rolls his eyes and turns back to the keg, where the girls have finished filling their cups and wandered off.
He bends down to pick up the nozzle and pumps the handle a few times to build pressure in the keg. Concentrating on his cup, he presses the nozzle and tips his hand to avoid the foam building. He fills his drink and hooks the nozzle onto the pump handle for the next person. He turns to head back to his spot on the couch and runs straight into another guy.
"Shit, sorry man," the guy says, narrowly avoiding the beer that sloshes out of Dean's cup.
Dean looks up, and up, into the big, hazel eyes of the new starting baseball player.
"No worries, it missed me," Dean tells him, rubbing a hand down the front of his plaid shirt to check for wetness. "No penalty."
"Alright cool. You're Dean, right? Captain of the hockey team?" Sam asks, sticking his hand out towards Dean's stomach. "I'm Sam. Remington."
"Yeah, I know who you are," Dean replies with a grin, shaking his hand. "I think everyone does after that hit today."
"Right, yeah." Sam blushes, ducking his head slightly and running his hand through his hair. Dean can't help but laugh, causing Sam to look up from under his shaggy bangs. Sam smiles, lifting his head slightly to look into Dean's green eyes. "Well I heard you're the legacy around here, Dean Winchester. Captain for three years now, undefeated the last two seasons. The orientation girl had a whole speech about you."
"Well I've got a great team, we work well together." Dean takes a swig of his beer as Sam tosses back the last of his. Dean steps to the side as Sam starts filling his own cup. Dean can't help but notice the way the sleeves of Sam's purple polo strain against his bulging biceps. Or the way his jeans fit his ass perfectly as he bends over the keg. As Sam stands and turns toward him, Dean quickly looks away, scratching the back of his head with one hand.
"How are you liking East Texas so far?" Dean asks, both boys walking away from the keg towards a less-crowded corner of the room.
"It's a lot to take in. I was going to Ottawa, in Kansas. My dad teaches there, and it's a really good school, but I got a great offer from Coach to come here and play. I couldn't pass it up," Sam adds, sticking his free hand in his pocket and taking another gulp of beer.
"Well I'm glad you didn't," Dean tells him. Sam looks over at him curiously, so he quickly adds, "Our baseball team could use a good hitter."
Dean curses himself internally, his face starting to feel hot and his palms getting clammy.
"Thanks, man. Hopefully I can be an asset to the team," Sam says in response, his blush deepening. "It's getting hot in here; you want to go out back for a minute?"
"Absolutely," Dean tells him. Shouting over the pounding music and the cheap beer is starting to give him a headache. And he really wants to continue this conversation. He leads the way to the back porch of the frat, which is also crowded with drunken party-goers. They hop down the back steps and cross the yard to a couple of beat up lawn chairs next to an empty fire pit.
"So you got a girlfriend?" Sam asks, picking at a hole in the knee of his jeans. Dean looks over at Sam, a smile starting to spread across his face.
"No I don't. No boyfriend either," Dean adds, watching to gauge Sam's reaction.
Sam's head snaps up, his eyes meeting Dean's. Sam smiles, and Dean tries to read the expression. His friends all know, but it's not common knowledge around campus that Dean prefers the company
Sam opens his mouth to say something when —
"YO DEAN!" It's Cas, who is crossing the deck with a sloppy grin on his face. He half-stumbles, half-runs towards Sam and Dean. "Dude, I was looking for you. Where have you been?"
"Hey to you too, Cas. This is Sam Remington, the new guy on the baseball team," Dean tells Cas, gesturing to Sam with his cup. Sam leans over Dean to shake hands with Cas. "This is Cas, he plays right-wing, and he's the Alternate Captain."
"Hey Sam, nice to meet you," Cas blurts out in a slurred rush. "Sorry Dean, I was looking for you because Gabe is passed out upstairs and Benny went home with what's-her-name, and I need help getting him out of here."
"Shit," Dean groans, downing the rest of his beer and pushing himself up out of the lawn chair. "Sorry Sam, gotta go. Duty calls and all that. I'm sure I'll see you around."
"Yeah, for sure. See ya." Sam and Dean shake hands and Dean heads toward the house with Cas in tow, wishing he had more time to hang out with Sam. He slogs up the stairs, cursing his drunk left-wing and his captain's duty to keep the team in line.