Trent’s lips curled. His eyes lingered where Landon’s fingers were still hooked under my waistband.
“Um.”
“Taking a break?” Chip said.
Landon nodded. “It was getting kind of stuffy in there.”
“I think we’re going to take off soon,” Chip said. “Seems like things are kind of winding down.”
“Oh.”
“We’re gonna go back to mine and play video games or something. A couple other guys from the team are coming. You two wanna join?”
I looked at Landon.
“I think we’re gonna go back to my place.” He grinned at me. “Spend a little time together.”
Trent snickered.
“Time to play the foreskinned fiddle?”
Time stood still, like we were all suspended on the event horizon of some black hole about to swallow us.
And I finally understood why Trent had started calling me D-Cheese, right after Chip saw me in the locker room.
My eyes met Chip’s for a split second. They were full of shame and panic.
“What the heck, dude?” he shouted.
And even though my ears were ringing, and I felt like a stellar nursery had ignited in my chest, I thought about that. How Chip said “heck” instead of actually swearing.
Trent just laughed. “What?”
Chip had this horrified look on his face. Like maybe he was the one who wanted to cry.
Landon looked at me, and then Chip, and then Trent, and then back to me. He studied my burning cheeks and bit his lip.
“Not cool.” Chip shoved Trent down the hall.
“Have fun!” Trent cackled. “Rubber up!”
Chip dragged Trent away, shooting me an apologetic look as he went.
Landon stepped away from me, and I shivered, with the cold locker against my back and Landon’s warmth removed from my front.
“What was that about?”
“What?” My voice croaked. I cleared my throat. “Um. What?”
“That got really weird all of a sudden. When he mentioned us having sex.” He glanced down at my pants. “Playing the ‘foreskinned fiddle,’ huh?”
“Trent is an asshole,” I said.
And then I said, “They both are.”
“I thought Chip was your friend?”
“So did I.”
