Page 56 of Totally Played
That’s mostly true. He’s not some kind of hermit, but Redmond really only talks with the staff, and only when he hasto. He’s one of the shyest guys you’ll ever meet, and at those parties in college I used to drag him to, he’d spend most of his time nursing a drink in his lap, watching the room.
“I was supposed to go on a date with Tony, but he was sick, so his brother came.”
“Calvin or Cosmo?”
“Do you know their parents’ names, too?” I ask with a laugh.
“I do, but not important, go on.”
“It was Calvin. Tony wanted him to pretend to be him, but I could tell he wasn’t the same guy.”
“Bullshit, they are two of the most identical twins I’ve ever seen.”
“I swear, I could tell, and then he told me, like right at the start, he didn’t want to lie, and instead of us going home, we decided to hang out, anyway.”
“And….”
“And we just…clicked.”
He frowns again as he stands and comes to sit beside me on the other brown leather chair.
“So you became fast friends with Calvin, and that’s why you’re sitting with his family at the game?”
“Yeah.” I don’t tell him that since the moment I met Calvin, I’ve thought of nothing else but his lips, his hands, his cock. Fuck, I’m falling for this guy hard. Is that good, though? With this all being so new to him, can I really let myself go all in on us?
Redmond shakes his head.
“I can’t believe you,” he says, standing and walking over to where he’s got a ball from one of the games, enclosed in a clear box, beside a framed signed jersey and a plushy of each of the mascots.
The corset I’m wearing suddenly feels inches too tight and I’m struggling to draw breath. Would it be weird if I started to strip off in the office? I try to swallow the lump in my throat, butit won’t budge. I stand, pulling at the hem of the corset to try to let some air underneath, but it’s no use. Then Redmond turns, the baseball out of its case, and rolls it between his hands.
“I can’t believe you’ve been friends with the Banana Ball teams for weeks, and I only find out now. Can you get this signed by them? You can, can’t you? Oh, oh, oh, can I come with you next time and sit with the family, too? I promise I’ll behave. I won’t be weird; I’ll just sit there and cheer and be totally chill.”
He’s red-faced and practically bouncing on his toes as he talks. No way would he be chill. But I should be. Calvin felt the same pull I did when we met. I have to stop worrying this will all fall apart, even though that tends to be what happens. I fall hard for someone and they get what they need from me, then leave. But that’s not Calvin.
“Are you okay?” Red asks.
I sigh, scrubbing my hand through my hair.
“I think I’m really falling for this guy.”
“For Calvin?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh…” he replies with a frown.
“Is that… Okay?”
“You tell me.”
“It’s just been a while since we talked about a guy I was seeing and you were all frowny face, and I just…”
“Dude, I don’t care who you date. I mean, I care. If any guy is a dick to you, I’ll send Riggs to sort them out. Oh, speaking of Riggs. I’ve got him carving down his twenty-minute video to a five-minute one for the Millers in Montana next week,” Redmond says, returning to his seat at the desk.
“So what do I do?”
“About what?”
