Page 66 of Choke Up

I watch my brother and his best friend, my secret lover, lead their team to dominate the three-game series at Ole Miss. A ton of people gather in the dorm common area to watch it on ESPN, including all my Howler Pride Alliance friends. It's already looking like the baseball team is going to make it to the SEC Tournament, considering they're the highest-ranking team in the conference so far and there's only a month left until the tournament. They lost a game this past Tuesday. It wasn't anyone's fault like the last loss, but Gabe blames himself for that one, and I blame myself for being petty. This past Tuesday was a well-played close game, and no one was particularly upset about it, especially since it didn't affect our chances for the upcoming tournaments.

Gabe texts me that they're going out to celebrate when I send my congratulations to our group text. Elliot thanks me and makes some jokes about a dumb play that Gabe made, nearly costing the team three runs because he was being a space cadet. Gabe sends me a message privately that he was thinking of me when he almost zoned out and forgot to run to second base.

Ellis: Thinking about what, exactly?

Gabe: About all the nasty, filthy stuff I want to do to you, of course.

Ellis: Don't hold back on me, big guy. Tell me everything. I'll give you anything you want.

Gabe: Well fuck, now I have a boner in the locker room.

Ellis: Pics or it didn't happen.

A few long moments later, a picture comes through. Gabe has his back to a dark blue wall. I'm assuming it's a bathroom stall considering the size of the space. Gabe is fresh out of the shower, dripping wet. His face isn't in the picture, but he's leaning back against the wall, the phone held high above him, so the picture captures every curve of his cut abs, that sinful V that points to my personal heaven, and the biggest cock I've ever seen in real life or in porn. It's so hard, jutting straight up, the vein along the underside plump and juicy. I lick my lips, forgetting that I'm surrounded by people.

"Jesus. Hallelujah, will you look at that thing!" Tyrell screeches, snatching my phone from me. "Is this Johnny? I thought you stopped texting with him. Christ on a cracker that's an impressive…" he stops, finger on the screen, and his eyes widen. He cuts that comically wide gaze on me, mouth gaping open, and then tosses my phone back in my lap like it burned him. It's so silent on our end of the room that it gets the attention of the jocks playing foosball across the room. Tyrell and I have a silent standoff while our friends look back and forth between us.

"What's going on?" Jamie whisper-yells.

"Apparently Ellis' anonymous text buddy has a massive dick," Ivy whisper-yells back, making sure all of us can hear their conversation.

Antoni snorts.

Sean says, "I swear it's not me." Like anyone thought it might be. I think Jamie might have been staring at him, based on their scoff, but I’m not paying attention to anyone but Tyrell.

"Oh, no. It's definitely not you." Tyrell purses his lips together, tucking invisible hair behind his ear. He crosses one leg over the other before pushing the turquoise cat-eye glasses he's wearing down his nose and looking at me over the rims. "You have a lot of explaining to do, baby gay."

"Not a baby gay anymore," Antoni mutters into his fist.

"Antoni!"

"What! If Tyrell knows, you're screwed, honey." He pats me on the thigh. "Tyrell is a notorious gossip queen."

Tyrell gasps and holds his hand up to his chest. "How dare you!"

Everyone stares at him incredulously.

"Okay, fine. But it always stays between us."

I'll give him that. We all know each other's secrets because of him, but he's never gone outside this circle. That we know of.

"If someone doesn't tell me what's going on, I'm going to scream," Ivy groans.

"Seconded," Jaime agrees.

Sean shrugs. "I already know," he says in his quiet, unassuming way.

I round on him. "And how the hell would you know?"

"Know what?!" Ivy squeals.

"I couldn't sleep a few nights back and thought I'd catch up on my laundry while everyone was in bed." I flush beet red, remembering how Gabe had fucked me so hard against the machines, we accidentally moved the entire row several feet across the linoleum. "And I've seen you coming and going from the sports complex at odd hours." Again, he shrugs like it's no big deal. Which, I suppose it wouldn't be, if not for the whole he's my brother's best friend thing.

"You do your own laundry?" Antoni scrunches his nose.

"Pretty sure you're the only one that doesn't, princess," Jaime retorts.

Ivy is staring at me. "You know who he is?" I nod, not saying anything. "And you didn't tell me?" She looks hurt.

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