Page 42 of Totally Played
“No problem, here,” Ash says, pulling a card out of his wallet. “My mobile is on there. Let me know when and where, I’d be happy to beat you all over again.”
“I’m sure I’m not the only thing you’d like to beat,” Duckie mutters.
“What?” Ash asks, and Duckie smiles widely.
“Nothing. I’ll text you.”
“We should go,” I say, giving Rachel and Mom a hug, then turning to Ash. “See you after,” I say, and he puts his large hand on my shoulder, heat flooding under his touch.
“Have a great game.”
“Thanks,” I reply, and then I pull Duckie out of there.
“What are you doing after?” Duckie asks on our way back to the field.
“Dinner with the parents at Riverside.”
“Oh, right, I forgot you do that. And Ashley is going, too?”
“Yeah, he and Tony might be going out after.”
“Might be?”
“Tony invited him to a club, then double-booked with a woman he matched with on an app.”
“Not cool, so he’s what? Going to do both?”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“And you’re fine with that?”
“I’m his brother, not his keeper.”
“No, I mean about him and Ashley.”
I turn, my heart pounding a million miles an hour.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Just seemed like you two really hit it off.”
“We did. He’s a cool guy, we’re friends.”
“Are you sure that’s all you are?”
“Why?” What did he see? What does he know? Is it totally obvious to everyone that I’m crushing on this guy?
“It just seemed like he was really into you, so I wondered if maybe you might be… You know.”
“I’m straight,” I say, and even saying it out loud sounds wrong now.
“Sure. Okay. It was just a thought,” Duckie says, hands raised, palms out like he’s calming a wild animal. “You know it’s okay if you’re not sure, though, too.”
“Not sure about what?”
“About how straight the path you’re walking is. Some of the best ones have a little bend in them, you know.”
My heart is racing. The noise around us is like a static ringing in my ears.
