Alex
Sigh. Chivalry is dead.
*gazes out window longingly* When will my husband return from war?
Elliot
I’m not at war, Alex. I’m in Santa Clara. And I’ll see you tomorrow at the rink, won’t I?
Alex
Bold of you to assume you were the husband I was yearning for.
Elliot
Do you yearn for a lot of other men, Little Goat?
Alex
Nope. It’s pretty much just you, El.
I giggle down at my phone, grinning like an idiot as I read Alex’s last message for the hundredth time. I’m trying not to read too much into it. I swear, I’m trying. I’ve been repeating the same mantras to myself over and over in my head.
Alex Holmes is straight. He told you so himself.
Alex Holmes is not interested in more than friendship.
Alex Holmes is an adorable himbo with golden-retriever-at-Disney World-on-steroids energy, he doesn’t realize what a flirt he’s being.
But man, saying that he yearns for me?
Doubling down when I call him on it?
How am I not supposed to let that go to my head?
A towel snaps, whipping me in my bare calf and breaking me out of my giddy thought spiral.
“You’re smiling like a creepy clown again, Baker. What did the hockey player say this time?”
I look up to find Breaker staring down at me inmy seat on the locker room bench, arms crossed against his naked chest and a white towel wrapped around his waist. Steam from the showers billows around us, and while the scene would be sexy in theory, the smell of musty man undergarments and Breaker’s “I’m on to you” look really eats at the fantasy.
“Why do you think I’m smiling at something Alex said?”
“Because you’ve been glued to your phone all week, and every time I read over your shoulder, you’re flirting shamelessly.”
“Okay first of all, don’t read my messages over my shoulder. Second, how many times do I have to tell you? We’re just friends.”
“And yet, the goalie is out there yearning for you. Are you aching for him, Elliot? Do you ache for the handsome, charismatic, unavailable hockey god like he yearns for you?”
I scoff, rolling my eyes and standing so that I can get dressed and leave this conversation. Practice is over and we have another volunteer event today, so after we wrap up, we’re headed back to the city. But Breaker places a hand on my shoulder, gently shoving me down before sitting next to me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a dick, you just make it so easy.”
I knuckle punch Breaker’s thigh and he yelps, smacking my chest then rubbing at his leg.
“I’m kidding, Elliot! I’m kidding. I’m just looking out for you. I’ve done the whole “all-consuming crush on the straight best friend” thing, and it fucking sucks. When all those lines of friendship start to blur in your mind, it messes with you. I got lucky with Lennon, but most of the straight dudes walking around out there aren’t just waiting for the hot football star to give them their bi-awakening.”
“Bold of you to refer to yourself as a football star, rookie,” I mutter, raising a skeptical brow in Breaker’s direction.
