Page 25 of Bad Call

“And?” I returned. “We fucked.”

Marcus looked stupefied. Shocked beyond reason. “So, are you, like, gay now?”

“Hell no. It was a one-off.”Mostly. “I’m mostly attracted to women. They’re familiar, comfortable. But it was enough for me to realize…”

He was fully invested now, turning to face me, his expression intent. “Realize what?”

“That I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket. Who knows what could happen, or with whom?”

“I can’t believe this. You’ve never said anything.”

“That’s not really the kind of thing I need to share, is it?”

“Of course it is! It’s me, your best friend. We tell each other shit.”

“Oh really? That way I see it, you have a lot of catching up to do with me. Let’s start with Austin.” Nobody knew Marcus better than I did, and I had a feeling he wasn’t just getting cozy with Austin short-term. Marcus was the kind of guy that liked to put down roots. He was a Daddy at heart. He loved commitment and responsibility, things that made me shudder. I had a feeling he had marriage on his mind. The fact he hadn’t discussed it with me yet didn’t mean he wasn’t planning it.

“Let’s not.” After a minute, he asked, “Did you top or bottom?”

I laughed. “It’s killing you, isn’t it? Not knowing?”

“You bottomed, didn’t you?”

“You’ll never know.”

Thank God Austin returned with his bottle and the conversation died.

He resumed studying, but minutes later his phone beeped, alerting him to an incoming message. Austin glanced at his screen. “Coach, Wild’s outside. Can I join him?”

“Do you feel like you know enough to pass that Classic Lit test?”

“I promised you an A, Coach. You know I wouldn’t let you down.”

“Have fun.” He pressed a kiss on Austin’s lips, and when Austin tried to extend the kiss, Marcus pulled back with a chuckle.

Austin disappeared into their bedroom and I couldn’t help but ask, “You love that shit, don’t you?”

“What shit?”

“That whole ‘being-a-good-boy-for-Daddy’ shit you two have going on. ‘I would never let you down, Coach. I live and breathe for you,’” I mimicked in a falsetto voice.

Marcus laughed. “You and I are like night and day, Baylor. You were always such a brat. No matter how old you get, you haven’t outgrown it yet.”

“Brats can be fun.”

“Not my style,” he argued. “I like a boy that bends over backward to please me.”

That was a loaded statement I wasn’t going to touch. “You can fucking have it,” I murmured, thinking it sounded absolutely boring. Nothing about that excited me. Casey Collins, on the other hand—with the way he harassed me and belittled me, stood toe-to-toe with me, and held his ground as he challenged me—definitely exciting. That shit made my dick harder than a wooden bat. I would never have thought so, but there it was. Maybe Iwasa brat.

Austin breezed past us wearing a navy-blueSpeedoand dragging a towel.

“Whoa, hold up,” Marcus called. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I told you, out back with Wild.”

“You didn’t mention anything about the hot tub,” he accused.

“Oh yeah,” Austin grinned. I was pretty sure that grin had gotten him out of heaps of trouble in the past. “We’re gonna go in the hot tub. See you, Coach. See you, Baylor.”

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