Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Sure, he had a few odd habits. He couldn’t sleep until the throw pillows on the sofa were fluffed to his exact standards and had a thing about his clothes being folded just so. I didn’t mind at all. To me, those little idiosyncrasies were clues to a bigger puzzle. And I wanted to figure him out.
Getting to know his friends gave me hints. I’d met Holden and Tommy a few times, but this morning—which happened to be game day—I met George for the first time.
I high-fived Holden and Tommy in the kitchen while Ash went upstairs to grab a clean black shirt for the game that afternoon, then turned to greet a tall guy wearing a cape. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, skewering me with an appraising glare.
“Hi, I’m Blake.”
“I’m George. You should know that I’ve cast a spell on you. If you mess with Asher, you will turn into a toad.”
“Noted.”
He nodded abruptly, sending a lock of dark hair over his eyes. “Excellent. This is Aiden.”
A burly dude with a friendly smile stepped in front of George and gave me a high five. “Don’t mind the vampire. He does bite, but I’m usually his main target, so—”
“Geez, Aiden!” George swatted the man and quickly introduced him as his boyfriend before leveling me with a pointed look. “Coffee?”
Okay, then.
I leaned against the counter near the kitchen window, sipped coffee, and talked sports with Aiden while I waited for Ash. I caught snippets of a discussion about an orbital anomaly in a new planet many light-years away. It was surprisingly pleasant.
But I was very aware of the missing roommate and the conversations I still hadn’t tackled.
See, I’d hoped to bump into Topher on one of my visits to Asher’s, but since he’d moved in with his boyfriend, Topher wasn’t around as often. According to Asher, Topher had agreed to pay rent through July to give them time to find a suitable replacement and give himself a place to store his books until the custom built-ins in the new house were complete. Or something like that.
The point was…I hadn’t made any additional “coming out” progress. If I wanted to make things right, I had to be proactive. And I had to think hard about how I wanted to come out to a long list of friends, family, and work associates. It was daunting as fuck. It also wasn’t something I could deal with now. I had to give one hundred percent of my brainpower to winning this game, acing my final, and wrapping up the school year for my students. I’d have plenty of time to think about it over the summer.
I set my mug on the counter when my cell buzzed, furrowing my brow at Carly’s name on my screen. My goalie never called me. Ever. Getting a text from any of the girls before the biggest game of the season would have made me nervous. Getting a call…fuck. This might be bad. I excused myself and stepped out through the side kitchen door.
“Carly, what’s up?”
“It’s not Carly. It’s me…Katie.”
Huh?
“Oh. The caller ID said—”
“I know, I know. I borrowed her cell,” she replied with a laugh. “I just wanted to wish you luck today. You’ve worked hard for this and whatever happens, I’m proud of you, Blake.”
“Um…thanks.”
“No problem. See you at the game.”
She hung up as the kitchen door banged shut behind Asher.
“I’m ready. Break a leg, but don’t—” He stopped at my side and narrowed his gaze. “Is everything all right?”
Now, the old me would have brushed him off and told him he looked hot as fuck in the snug-fitted black polo and khaki shorts he’d changed into…which was true. But he had uncanny radar and I had nothing to hide. Truth, Blake. Always tell the truth.
“Yeah, I’m fine. That was Katie calling me from Carly’s phone. Weird.”
Asher studied me for what felt like ten minutes but was probably closer to five seconds. “Oh.”
“She wished me good luck and—”
“You don’t have to explain. I’ll see you this afternoon.” He stood on tiptoes and pulled at my shirt to kiss my cheek.
I intercepted and crashed my mouth over his, nibbling his bottom lip before releasing him. “See you there.”
I fielded calls from my folks and my sister and brother-in-law on my drive across town, then scrolled through a slew of texts, including one from my old college coach. By the time I’d parked my SUV and greeted Shana on the quad outside the athletic department, I’d successfully shed any lingering angst I’d felt about Katie’s call. She was just being nice. It was no big deal. And…I’d been honest.
Maybe that helped clear my mind. I forgot about Katie and focused one hundred percent on the action on the field. Good thing too ’cause I hadn’t been joking when I’d told Ash this would be a tough game.