Page 30 of One More Time

Kelsey caught my line of sight and hummed appreciatively.

“Eric Davis. Often mistaken for his football twin, Ezra Davis. I may not be into guys, but if I were he’d be a top contender. The guy could be on the cover of the Hot Guy Weekly,” she admitted.

I didn’t react to her admission of her sexuality, too busy checking out Cal’s current conquest. It suddenly struck me how obvious I was being, openly checking out a guy—and Kelsey didn’t miss it either. I shifted my attention to where Getzy and Pres had been sitting, relieved to see they’d abandoned the video game, likely in search of new girls to chat up with since these two were clearly not interested.

Kelsey moved, taking a seat on the other side of me, reaching behind my back to keep some contact with Kins despite their physical distance. Cute.

“Don’t worry; I think even straight males would agree he’s hot,” she assured me. “He would be anyone’s hall pass.”

I scoffed, observing the way Cal’s eyes melted as Eric spoke animatedly about something. It was a rare sight to see Cal quiet, let alone starstruck. “Is Eric…”

Kel’s was such a trooper. She didn’t even bat an eye. “Yeah, he is. He’s not closeted but he doesn’t exactly go around screaming it. The only difference between the twins are their tattoos. He doesn’t want someone to mistake him for his brother—he’s a top draft pick.”

I frowned. “So, the brother has to hide his sexuality for the sake of his twin’s status?”

Kelsey nods. “Yup, sad really." She shrugs, but her hand reaches my knee and squeezes, the silent apology for the life I have to live—we have to live.

“Yeah, can we, ah, keep this… “ Before I could finish, both women squeezed a thigh in turn.

“Your secret’s safe with us, Aussie.”

I half-smiled, looking back to Cal and Eric. Cal had moved closer, leaving only a sliver of space between them. Eric gave Cal that same look of interest. I felt a pang of jealousy. There weren’t many times I hated hockey, but as I sat there and watched those two shamelessly flirt, I questioned whether I’d made the right choice. I could have stayed home, pursued coaching or something, and found a guy who would look at me like that. It would just be simpler that way.

Sure, Australia wasn’t without its homophobia. Perth, in particular, wasn’t the most queer-friendly place to be. Still, I wouldn’t have this heaviness on my chest, the guilt of not being there for my family.

I sculled my drink and poured another, Kins and Kels staying close to my side. They could have snuck away together by now, but maybe they sensed my unease. They stayed glued to me.

I watched as Cal’s ex walked in, stopping in his tracks as his eyes landed on Cal. His jaw ticked, and he immediately went to approach them, Cal got to his toes and whispered something in Eric’s ear. Eric’s eyes lit up, and then they were making out.

Both girls leaned in, whispering, “hot!” They weren’t wrong. I almost wanted to laugh at myself. For so long, I pushed this part of myself away blaming hormones and puberty. Nope, a lie. A blatant lie. Because I had two very attractive females beside me, and I wanted nothing to do with either of them. But watching Cal and Eric? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous. Not of them specifically, but jealous of the fact that they could openly take what they wanted.

“I think you’re making a certain someone jealous,” Kins hummed into my ear. I looked around and sure enough, my broody Boston boy was staring a hole through me from the other side of Cal and Eric.

I took a sip of my drink, hiding behind the cup for more reasons than one. My face was flushed, and my eyes were clearly locked on three men in the room. The first two were hot enough on their own. That third one though, really got my blood pumping. There was something about the way he looked at me that made me forget every reservation I had over being with him. I felt a hand on either side of me—one from each Kinsley and Kelsey—as they pulled me away from the scene.

“Watch where you’re going, big guy. You’re not doing yourself any favors,” Kelsey whispered in my ear. I listened as Kins led me up a familiar staircase

A lump formed in my throat as my body relived that night for the thousandth time. Upon reaching the top floor, I realized how drunk I must have been the last time I was there. It was almost like a separate apartment inside the house. I couldn’t help but wonder how Hunter—who wasn’t the captain—had managed to secure that space.

The bathroom was visible through the door that connected the living room to the bedroom, triggering memories of how Hunter had tried to comfort me mid-spiral. Oblivious to my surroundings, I pondered how we functioned on the ice with him seemingly becoming my new Roman Empire.

Kinsley and Kelsey closed the loft door, making their way to the couch and leaving me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. The living room featured a small couch, where each of the girls chose a side and flipped it out to a bed, and decorated it with some blankets before browsing the TV for something to watch.

I walked to the furthest side of the room, where a messy desk sat piled with books and papers. Curious, I lightly nudged around to read the titles—Law. Hunter was studying pre-law. I felt like I should have known that, but then again, I didn’t know half the majors my teammates were studying. Perhaps, when you don’t see them off the ice, you never truly get to know them better.

I bit the inside of my gum, punishing myself for that. I wasn’t like this back home. There weren’t any secrets between myself and my teammates. While they didn’t know I was questioning my sexuality, they were familiar with my home life and interests.

“You know,” Kinsley called over her show. “You can make yourself comfortable, or you can go back downstairs. I just wanted to save you from getting caught out by your teammates.”

I looked over to see the two girls cuddled under a blanket, Kelsey’s head comfortably resting on Kinsley’s chest.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” They smiled at me before going back to their show, their hands not so secretly exploring each other.

“There’s whiskey over there on the bookshelf,” she added. “Help yourself. There’s also another TV in Hunter’s room. The party tends to die down around midnight if you want to wait it out.”

I went to the shelf, found a glass, poured myself some American Honey, and took my phone out as it buzzed in my pocket.

CAL: Hey, so I invited Eric back to our dorm…

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