Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
I gnawed on my lower lip. Cullen had always been good at cutting through the bullshit. And of course I’d considered it. “That feels like giving up. I can’t explain it. Guess I still want to feel like I’m making a name for myself, even if it’s no longer on the field.” I’d never admitted that to anyone either, and it left me feeling raw and tender at once. I met Cullen’s eyes, waiting for him to call me out for being an egotistical bastard or accuse me of not letting go, but all I detected within his gaze was understanding that wrapped around my heart. Then he nodded.
“You know I get it, McRae.” He pulled the ice pack from his hip and stood. “We’ll do it like you said, then. Solid plan. I’m gonna catch some z’s now. Early morning as usual.”
He winked at me as he walked away, but it didn’t feel like the usual tease, and I wondered if I’d just made another mistake.
7
CULLEN
It was stupid for me to act like it was the end of the world that Houston planned to leave Denver. I was obsessing about it when I wasn’t the kind of guy who usually obsessed about things.
It shouldn’t affect me the way it had, but I’d spent days thinking about it—while also trying to actively avoid Houston as much as possible without making it obvious that I was actively trying to avoid him, of course. No one had ever turned me into a neurotic mess the way he did, but yeah, that shit didn’t seem to be going away.
It had taken me a few days to wrap my head around it, but as I sat on the bed in my Jacksonville hotel room, I decided it was actually a good thing that Houston was leaving. It would keep us from getting too close and remind us why it was a bad idea to hook up…or…maybe it was a reason we should hook up because then both of us would know it was temporary. We’d have a built-in time frame, enjoy each other’s bodies, then—no. Stop that. Bad Cullen. Thinking about fucking Houston would cause me nothing but problems, even though he did have a really great dick. It was my very favorite one, outside of my own.
Shit. Now I was getting distracted over the thought of Houston’s cock. This wasn’t going well.
“You okay? You’re being twitchy over there,” Tucker asked from the bed beside mine. He’d been assigned as my roommate when we traveled for games.
“Huh? I’m not twitchy,” I replied, then adjusted myself on the mattress.
He cocked a dark brow, silently calling me on my lie.
“Okay, so I have something on my mind,” I added.
“Wanna talk about it?” Tucker asked. I didn’t know him very well, but he seemed to be a good guy. He and Ramsey were close, but I still wasn’t sure I should spill my guts to him—which I wouldn’t do regardless. That wasn’t really my style. The only person I’d really ever talked to—outside of Charity—was Houston, and considering he was the one who had me fucked up, that was a no go.
“Nah, it’s good. Thanks, though, man.”
He nodded, looked at his phone again. “So…you and Houston?”
Fuck my life. Because of course he would ask about it. The whole team knew about my new “boyfriend,” but Tucker was the first person to really talk to me about it other than Garrett, who just wanted to bust my balls, and Ramsey, who was more protective of Houston than I would have thought.
“Yep. Dicks me down real well,” I replied, trying to make light of it.
“You know I don’t believe the two of you are dating, right? I somehow got my wires crossed before and thought there was something up with him and Rams. I’m not getting it twisted again. Something’s going on, but it’s not that.”
Was he saying it was believable that Houston would be with Ramsey but not me? What was wrong with me? I might be a bit of a mess, but I was a hot mess—hot as in attractive, not the other kind of hot mess.
“Now, I’m not saying you’re not sleeping together, but you’re not boyfriends. Knowing Houston, there has to be some reason he’s faking this with you.”
Maybe Tucker paid more attention than I thought. I wasn’t going to go into all the details because no one needed to know those except Houston and me, but I did like Tucker enough that it felt shitty to lie to him. “Yeah, he’s helping me out. Is it that obvious?”
He shook his head. “Nah, but I saw the way he looked at you at Sway that night, and it wasn’t a secret boyfriend or a stranger you’d later pretend to be dating.”
“You’re good.”
“It could also be the fact that Ramsey’s being sketchy as fuck every time I ask him about you and Houston. I’m not letting him in on the fact that I know you’re not together. It’s fun to let him feel bad for thinking he’s lying to me.”