No. Dean was a guy. A great guy, but still a guy. Colton admired Dean, he was a cherished friend, and he loved him as a person, but that was it. There was no way that Colton had feelings for another guy.
He’d never, ever, had any feelings for a man before. But there was something about Dean that kept drawing him in, like a moth to a flame.
Bryce snapped him out of his thoughts with a slap on the shoulder. “Dude! You’re making me get all sappy like some lovesick punk! What the fuck!”
Colton laughed. “Sorry. I guess I needed confirmation that I made the right decision with Sophie.”
Bryce chuckled. “Um, yeah you did! You dodged a bullet, dude. Now go find someone who fits you better.”
Colton smiled timidly. Before he could stop himself, he thought he’d already found that person…his best friend, Dean. Colton shook the thought away.
Bryce smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “We’d better get out to the rec area. Greg is waiting for us.”
“Oh, and I invited Dean to come too.” Colton matched his stride as they left the weight room.
“Cool. I really like Dean.”
Colton watched Dean lock his car and waved as he walked toward them. Colton had invited Dean to join them for an afternoon of fun and blowing off steam after practice. On one side of the practice facility was an outdoor recreation area, with grills, picnic tables, grassy fields, a Bocci Ball and cornhole area, and two sand volleyball courts.
Colton couldn’t stop smiling and did his best to keep his breathing in check as Dean stood next to him. He needed to get his damn feelings under control. He knew how to do this. Heemployed his game day tactics —sharp focus and emotions on lockdown.
He took a deep, steadying breath. He had this.
After their greetings and small talk, they debated what to do first.
”You ever played volleyball, Dean?” Colton asked.
“Yeah, I’ve played before.”
“Great!” Colton clapped his hands. “Beach volleyball it is. Me and Dean versus Bryce and Greg.”
“Bring it, bitches!” Greg taunted, tearing off his shirt and tossing it off to the side of the court.
“We’re gonna wipe the floor with you two,” Bryce teased.
Dean tightened the drawstring on the front of his board shorts. “Don’t wanna give everyone a show when I dive,” he joked as he walked over to one of the benches on the side of the court and removed his shirt.
“Holy baby hulkling…Dean!” Greg shouted.
“What?” Dean turned quickly, startled.
Greg took both his shoulders, squared Dean in front of him, and looked him up and down. “You’re a fuckinggod!” He turned to Colton. “Look at these muscles.”
“I know.” Colton chuckled. “Impressive, huh?” He laughed it off, but he felt a slight burning in his jaw. Yes, he had admired Dean’s fantastic body on more than one occasion, but with Greg so closely inspecting his body, Colton was feeling a little territorial. Onlyhecould ogle Dean’s body!
Bryce had now joined Greg in assessing the muscles on Dean’s body. “You’re more jacked than half the guys on the team!”
“That’s what I said!” Colton stepped beside them, smiling.
Dean put his hands on his hips. “Okay, are we gonna play volleyball? Or did you want to stare at my body all afternoon?”
Colton smiled. He probably could stare at Dean’s body all afternoon. Those perfectly symmetrical muscles rolling andrippling across his entire body? It was the kind of body just begging to be touched, to be admired, to be absolutely fucking worshipped from head to toe.
Greg laughed. “Sorry dude! But you’re an impressive sight. Keep it up!”
Dean chuckled. “Thanks. It took a lot of work to get here. Let’s warm up.”
The four circled up, warming up with light bumps and hits from person to person. Then, they split into their teams…Greg and Bryce on one side, Colton and Dean on the other. After a few practice serves, they were ready for the game.
