Page 55 of Bend Him, Break Him
“Well, kinda.” Carlos shrugged. “I just figured it was like with you and me. And you and Mina. And you and Jazz. And well, you and everyone you tolerate at a safe distance without actually allowing them to get close because you’re like an angry stray cat.”
Isaac glared.
“Is there something specific about him you don’t like or trust?” Carlos asked. “If there’s a problem, I’m here to listen.”
“The only problem is how boring these fucking games y’all drag me to are.”
Carlos quirked his brow, likely trying to piece together whose suggestion it actually was that the GSA start attending these games regularly. Technically, it was Jazz who brought it up, but Isaac might’ve whispered in her ear suggestively, playing off her love for sports, the joy of group activities, and the importance of supporting fellow queer friends. Isaac never did something directly, preferring not to be seen as too emotionally invested in anything whatsoever.
“I’m gonna go for a smoke.” Isaac brushed past Carlos and out of the bleachers before it was mentioned how he usually snuck his cigarette right there in the stands, rolling the dice on whether or not someone would call him out, fine him, or kick him out of the game.
None of the outcomes seemed like too big a loss, especially the last one, since he needed to downplay his interest in the game. Not only in front of his friends among the GSA but with himself. Isaac had gotten into the routine of studying the rules and regulations involved in baseball, attempting to understand the purpose and entertainment of the game albeit poorly.
He told himself it was only fair considering how much he forced Colton to study things the jock didn’t remotely care about.Isaac figured he needed to make an effort himself. But the problem was he didn’t know why he felt the need to make such an effort. Okay, that was an easy lie to identify and deduce, but Isaac didn’t want to confront the truth yet.
All this time spent with Colton had evolved into feelings Isaac couldn’t keep bottled up anymore.
He wandered to the back of the stadium in a hidden pocket between the parking lot and a side entrance where few except other players congregated. Isaac lingered there until the players took a break, and a few found their way outback for some fresh air away from the crowd.
With Colton there, glancing around and dodging chitchat, Isaac knew he was looking for him. It made his heart race. It made him eagerly walk toward Colton.
“Looking good, as usual.”
Colton grinned. “Glad you came.”
“Well, not yet, but the night is young.”
Colton quirked a brow until the joke clicked, and he broke out into a small laugh.
There was so much Isaac wanted to discuss, but he didn’t know where to start or if he should. It seemed easier to keep his weird feelings bottled up so things could stay the way they were.
“Well, well, well,” Leon’s grating voice called out because he hovered around Colton almost as much as Isaac. “You two seem to always be hanging out.”
“Could say the same about you.” Isaac took a deep drag off his cigarette. “You’re always lurking, trying to cling to Colt’s ass.”
“It’s a good ass.” Colton winked, trying to diffuse Isaac’s hostility.
Leon crinkled his nose and gave a fake smile to Isaac, wishing to hurl an insult most likely, but wary of the goth’s gruff attitude and need to escalate an argument. Isaac went out of his way to cut Leon down so much the prick learned not to engage. Unfortunately, he hadn’t learned to stay clear of Colton. The envious pitcher still skulked every chance he had in some desperate attempt to steal Colton’s fame for himself.
“It just seems you’re always here, practically glued to Colton’s side,” Leon said. “You got a thing for the starting pitcher or pitchers in general?”
There was a curious look from Leon, the type that came with a leading question, and Isaac couldn’t gauge if Leon was attempting to discreetly flirt or fishing for leverage on how Isaac was the gay boy with a crush on big, manly jocks. In either case, he didn’t care because Leon was a fucking tool hardly worth the breath of conversation.
“It’s just what GSA does.” Isaac shrugged. “We support, uplift, mildly stalk our queer companions.”
“Hmmm. Maybe, but you seem to always be lurking a little more than the others.” Leon gestured to Isaac, then to Colton, indicating how much he kept his eyes on Colton, how he studied the patterns of the GSA. Suddenly, Isaac didn’t feel like the most obsessive one, finding Leon a bit too unhinged even if he hid it well.
“I just gotta know.” Leon’s smile grew bigger. “Are y’all a thing?”
Isaac glared, a bit too defensively for a casual assumption that was in fact slightly somewhat sort of accurate.
“Are we a thing?” Colton burst into laughter, giving his fakest and most convincing stunned hilarity before turning to Isaac. “Are we a thing?”
This was Colton’s way of playing into the joke while also gauging Isaac’s response. It didn’t seem like Colton cared much if their arrangement was outed or if there was speculation. After nearly three months of spending so much time together, Colton seemed weirdly committed and open to the idea of being open. But Isaac preferred discretion. The fewer people who knew about this non-relationship, the easier it was for him to convince himself that what they had was purely physical. A fucked up second chance at hate sex turned into…something else. Isaac didn’t know what, and he didn’t want anyone else to either, which he did his best to convey with a single look.
“I wish,” Colton teased, slapping Isaac’s shoulder. “Who wouldn’t wanna bend over this grumpy goth twink? Maybe pound a smile onto his face.”
Isaac snarled.
