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)
“That’s not what I’m seeing so far with you. Keep doing what you’re doing. You fit in well here.”
My brain couldn’t sort through what he was saying, couldn’t come up with the right kind of response, so I went with what we all understood. Winning. “I’ll fit even better when we have a ring,” I teased, and he chuckled. We couldn’t pretend that wasn’t what we all wanted, and despite the loss today, we’d been killing it lately. Things had been unsteady with the Rush, with Nance being a homophobe and all, then adjusting with me, but we’d found our groove. He was right. We were playing good football and were definitely winning more than we were losing.
“You can say that again. Anyway, get out of here. Go have some fun but not too much fun. Do you and McRae have plans?”
How inappropriate would it be to say I hoped he fucked me to celebrate? That nothing sounded better than being dicked down by him after a game? Instead, I answered with, “Not sure.”
Early Sunday games were nice because we had the rest of the day afterward. Sure, I felt like I’d been run over by a bus, but I was used to that by now.
The locker room was nearly empty when I left. I tugged my phone out of my bag to message Houston, only to see a text from him, telling me he and his family were waiting for me.
I grinned.
Which was dumb.
It was just a stupid fucking text.
Plus, that meant I had to be around his family. Family and I didn’t click.
I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we’d slept in the same bed together the other night…and that he’d come back for me. All those years ago, he’d come back and had only walked away because he thought I had moved on. I wasn’t stupid. I knew it was for the best. We’d been so fucking young. Coming out would have hurt our careers, and we likely would have resented each other for it. No matter what I’d told him, I hadn’t been ready—not to lose my parents and for the whole world to know. It had been for the best, and now we got to have fun together again.
Nerves attacked my gut when I saw Houston standing with his parents, Garrett, Ramsey, and Tucker. They were laughing and talking, and honestly, the first thing I wanted to do was turn the fuck around and sneak off, but Houston looked up at me and grinned. The fucker ticked his head, as if to say come on, because he likely knew I’d been ready to bolt.
“Miss me?” I asked when I approached because it was a lot easier to be cocky than vulnerable. His dad was saying something to Tucker, Garrett, and Ramsey, so they didn’t acknowledge me.
“No,” he deadpanned.
“Gee, thanks, McRae. You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”
“Anyway, it was a good game, boys,” Houston’s dad said, continuing the conversation he’d been having with them. It made me smile that he called them boys, as if they were teenagers on a high school team. I watched as he hugged both Garrett and Ramsey, then shook Tucker’s hand. “You too, um…Cullen,” he replied before reaching for my hand as well, though more awkwardly than with Tucker. I couldn’t say I blamed him. All he knew of me was being a troublemaker in the league who got outed by trying to pick up a guy in a gay bar, and now his son was saddled with fixing my image by pretending to be my boyfriend. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hated me, if both Houston’s parents did.
They probably thought I was the world’s biggest asshole who was using their son. “Thank you, sir,” I replied, trying to be as respectful as possible. “It was a team effort. I just wish we could have pulled out the W.”
“Winning isn’t always everything,” Houston’s mom said. “And it’s good to finally meet my son’s boyfriend.” She smirked, being playful. “I remember Houston talking about you like crazy in college. We used to try to get him to bring you home with him. Do you remember that, Dale?” But he never had. Hell, he’d never even introduced me to them back then. He thought his mom would take one look at us together and know. Honestly, if he would have asked, I’d likely have said no anyway. We’d been so scared about those things back then.
“Mom…” Houston grumbled.
“Please continue to tell me how much he spoke about me…Connie, right?” I asked, and she chuckled.
“Well, I can see you’re definitely a handful.”
Don’t make a pervy joke, don’t make a pervy joke. “Only in the best ways.” I grinned.
“Don’t give him a bigger head than he already has,” Houston told her before turning to me. “They want us to go over for dinner to celebrate.” He rubbed a hand over his face.