Page 49 of Off Pitch

“Damn,” Cole says. “I forgot how much of a sore loser Brooks is.”

“Reminds me of why we never play fucking board games with him,” I grumble.

“Hey, there’s the grumpy Knox I’ve always known,” Josh says, slapping a hand on my shoulder. “Been a while since we’ve seen you.”

“Yeah,” Cole says. “Ever since he started dating my sister, he’s a completely different person, isn’t he?” He smiles widely, clearly amused.

Lane smirks. “Completely different. Had he ever smiled before Harlow?”

I groan, mostly at Cole and Lane, seeing as they know we aren’t actually dating. But Josh has no idea, so they’re milking the hell out of this since I can’t deny it with him here. “Fuck off. I smiled before Harlow.”

“Not nearly as much,” Cole replies, pleased with himself.

“I mean, regular sex certainly puts a smile on my face,” Josh says.

“That’s still my sister, man,” Cole replies as he kicks Josh under the table.

“Who just so happens to be dating this guy over here. Don’t be naive, Cole.”

“We’re, uh…” I rub my neck awkwardly. “We’ve not actually… slept together.”

With Josh’s look of surprise, he misses the smirks on both Lane and Cole’s faces. “That’s… surprising,” he finally says. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for the holding out type, man.”

I sigh. “It’s complicated,” I reply, running a hand over my face. “Definitely not a discussion I want to get into, though.”

Why don’t I want to get into it? Because I can’t say that Harlow is constantly on my mind now. That I jack off fucking daily in the shower to the thought of her. That I so desperately want to know how she moans as I sink my cock into her. I want to know how she tastes, the sounds she makes, the look on her face as she comes.

I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted somebody as bad as I want her right now. My fantasies about her aren’t new, but the way I feel around her is. And whatever that is could surely only complicate things.

We need to keep this arrangement professional. Kisses and affection when people are around and nothing more.

Pure fucking torture.

“So,” Lane says to Josh, breaking the silence that filled the room. “How’s the wedding planning going?”

“Really well,” Josh says with a smile. “We’ve already set a date in December of this year.”

“That’s awesome,” Cole states. “You’ll even have some time for the honeymoon before next season starts,” he adds with a wink.

I stand from the table, walk to the fridge, and pull out four beers. “I say we properly celebrate. We haven’t had a chance to do that yet.”

The men all agree, so I walk back to the table and spread the beers around. We toast and sip before diving back into meaningless conversation. And thank fuck we did because Ireallyneed to get my mind off Harlow tonight.

Harlow

Knoxxxx

Wht are doingggg?

Knox

Am I meeting Drunk Harlow for the first time?

I’ve been wondering when I would

Harlow

What if im nt drunk?

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