Page 19 of Icing the Play

As he strolled down a hallway, I watched the sway of his muscled ass in his athletic shorts. Did he top, bottom, or both? JJ got to touch that ass. Heat flared inside me. We’d successfully avoided any mention of his date last night. It should stay that way.

He stopped at a doorway and flicked on a light in the ceiling fan. “This is where Tyler was.” He sipped his drink and stepped inside the room. “It’s the same size as mine and you’re across from the bathroom, which we’ll be sharing.” He opened a mirrored closet door. “Plenty of space for your gear.”

“Cool.” The carpet looked clean, at least. “Was Tyler a neater guy?” Too bad I’d never met him.

“Yes, in fact, he was.” With a frown, Myles passed by me as he left the room.

After drinking some beer, I turned off the light and followed him. “You miss him?” How close was he to Tyler?

“Yes, I do.” He ambled to the couch and dropped into the corner. “We were best friends throughout juniors. I spent a lot of time with him over the summers, too. We trained together.”

I fell in next to him. “Well, now you’ve got a new best friend.” Wrapping my arm around his shoulders, I pulled him in for a quick side-hug.

As his eyes widened, his throat dipped with a long swallow. “I’m…I’m glad you’re moving in.”

Shit, it probably was not a good time to tell him about me. But I had to. “Uh, Myles, there’s something you should know.” I freed him and inched away from him, dipping my head and planting my elbows on my thighs.

“What’s that?” He sipped his beer, peering at me.

“I’m not uh, I’m not straight.” As my gaze cut to his, I winced. Way to blurt it out.

He stared at me a moment, gaping, and then his lips curled into a lop-sided smile. “No way. You’re fucking with me.” He shoved my shoulder.

“I’m not, actually. My buddies figured I should tell you before I moved in here.” I pursed my lips. It seemed unimportant now.

He cocked his head, his gaze raking over me from head to toe. “When did you figure this out? Not in high school, right?”

“No, not in high school. In college, well, last year.” I fingered the pull tab on my beer can. “I still like girls. I just, uh…” I drank a few gulps of beer. “I started hooking up with guys every once in a while. You know, at a party if the situation presented itself. It wasn’t like I went looking for it.” I forced my gaze to meet his. What was he thinking about this?

With his brows furrowed, he continued to stare. “So, would you say you’re bisexual?”

I nodded. “Yes.” My gaze traveled around the room—the television on the console, the front door. Why was it so hard to look at him?

“That’s why you’ve been hanging out with a bunch of queer football players.” He huffed a laugh, his shoulders shaking once. “You and JJ?—”

“We’re just friends. Nothing ever happened between us.” I cut my gaze to his. He was worried about that? “In fact, I haven’t hooked up with a guy since I’ve been here.” Football had been my focus. “You two are great together.”

CHAPTER FIVE

MYLES

Iswallowed through the dryness in my throat, my heart pounding in my ears. This couldn’t be happening. My crush was queer. Now he’d be living in my house and thought I was better off with his friend?

“Myles, say something.” Cooper drew his brows together.

“Um…” Obviously, he didn’t like me as more than a friend. No matter how many times he looked at my mouth or the boner he got when I told him about my superstition. I breathed in deeply, shut my eyes for a beat, and then focused on him. “Okay, it was a lot to take in, but I’m cool with it. Ace and Zoma…” Oh fuck, they knew about my crush on him. How awkward would this be? “They’ll be happy.” I guzzled my beer down and crushed the can. “You ready for another?”

“Yeah, sure.” He drank the rest of his beer and handed me the empty can.

I padded to the kitchen and grabbed two more beers from the refrigerator. As I twisted around, he was there. I jumped. “Shit.” As my nerves frayed, I held the beer out for him.

“Thanks.” He placed his hand on the refrigerator by my head, boxing me in. Leaning close, he said, “We’re okay, right?” His gaze darted over my face, and he bit his lower lip. “I mean, Ihave to admit, JJ was teasing me about spending time with you tonight. I guess he wanted to invite you out again.”

How the hell could I tell Cooper I’d rather be with him? Fuck me. I fought to control my breath. He was so close. Didn’t he have any idea what he was doing to me? “Okay.” I freed a stuttered chuckle. “We’re already hanging out after the game tomorrow night. I’ve got Ace, Zoma, Archer and his boyfriend Leo to go too.” I ducked under his arm and walked into the main room.

“Oh, good.” He followed close behind. “I guess you and JJ are…a thing?”

I dropped into my spot on the couch. How could I tell him we didn’t hook up after he saw us going into JJ’s bedroom? Obviously, JJ had made it sound like more had happened. “I don’t know about that, eh?” I forced a snicker. “We’re just trying it out.”

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