“You see what you’ve started,” Jayden complained, his focus on me.
“What did I do?” For a short while, I’d forgotten what life was like with these two as my friends. The conversations they started, the shit and sometimes mayhem they created, forever kept me on my toes.
“You see,” Jayden said, pointing his knife at a bemused Nate, “this is why he needs reining in. Ryan just can’t help saying shit that gets Sutton all ramped up.”
As I grumbled a “Hey,” my boyfriend cracked up, finding the attack on my character highly amusing.
“Do you know what Sutton studied at college?” Jayden continued. My brows dipped in confusion, wondering where the hell he was going with this. “Go on, hazard a guess. You both get one try each.”
I glanced at Sutton, taking in his huge frame, his ink-black hair and hazel eyes. It was the relaxed expression he sent my way that had me thinking harder. Honestly, I didn’t know much beyond knowing Sutton had a large family, his mom moving to the USA from Zimbabwe when she was a kid, and his dad being second-generation Polish-American.
He was kind and intelligent. He also had a killer field goal percentage and, on the court, tried his hardest to get the job done. But his personal history, I knew very little about.
“Anthropology,” Nate said from my side.
My brows shot high. Fuck, I was going to go with the standard “communication.” Rather than answer straightaway, I rethought my answer while all three men looked at me. No way could I say what I’d been thinking. While Sutton was smart, I’d assumed he’d elected for communication or arts and social science while being on a ball scholarship like most players I knew.
Apparently, I was a dickhead. “Uhm.” I racked my brain. “Economics?” There was no certainty in my selection at all. Sutton scoffed, and I had the good grace to shoot him an apologetic smile.
“Bioethics.” A grin stretched Jayden’s mouth wide.
“Oh, wow. I have no idea what the hell that is, but it sounds complicated,” I said.
“Right. That’s what I said when Sutton told me. The point is, don’t get him started.”
A frown dipped Sutton’s brows low, and he angled a look at Jayden. He didn’t say a word, simply turned his frown into a challenging stare and a raised eyebrow.
Sutton, to anyone who didn’t know him, and honestly even to those who did, could be super intimidating. Not so much to Jayden, though. The guy simply winked at his friend, blew him a kiss, and said, “You know how I like to brag about how smart you are.”
When Sutton groaned and dropped his head back, I chuckled and glanced over at Nate. Doing so was always a risk in public, as it was a legit struggle not to touch him, let alone stare at him in a way that wouldn’t share with the world that my heart was his.
Nate still appeared bemused, but his attention was sharp, focused as he studied my two friends.
They acted like an old married couple. Everyone and his dog commented on it. It was something I liked about their relationship. In many ways, I envied their freedom and bravery in being themselves, and without apology. But I supposed that was a luxury two straight men had. They could fawn over and love up all over each other without the fear of being outed, perfectly comfortable in their own skins and sense of selves.
The thought pulled me up short. What the fuck I’d give to be my authentic self. I steadied my breathing, determined not to let Nate clue in to my brain and emotions working overtime.
It would happen at the end of the season for sure.
No excuses. No hesitation. Absolutely no take backs.
* * *
The guys’five-day visit passed in a bit of a blur. We hit the casinos, took in a show, and did a heap of touristy stuff, most of the time managing to avoid cameras. Admittedly, it was pretty hard to stay incognito with four tall guys, three of whom were well above average, especially when one in particular thought he was a comedian.
Their visit was worth it, though. Not only because of the added freedom it allowed Nate and me, but it was good to be reminded they had my back.
Nate and I said goodbye to them as they headed to Cleveland to watch a soccer game. Despite me being able to get my hands on tickets, Nate agreed he’d prefer to stay incognito a while longer. Considering we’d spent hardly any time alone in the past five days, I was more than okay with that.
What we hadn’t banked on was my new coach reaching out to me for a get-together at his house. He’d latched on to my hesitation, even when I explained I had a friend visiting from Australia. But he’d lapped up the idea of another Aussie being around and had followed up with “Your friend will probably make mixing with your new team easier for you, right? Most are bringing their families so have a buffer. Call it good timing.” I hadn’t been able to refuse.
Felix was a good coach. There were plenty of stories floating around about him being a ballbuster, which I believed after meeting the guy. But I knew enough just from the four times we’d met to know he ran a tight ship, wanted the best out of his players, and also cared about them.
That now included me.
“You’re being weird and fidgety,” Nate unhelpfully said as I drove us toward Henderson, where Coach Felix lived.
“Joining a new team is always the worst,” I complained.
