I’d talked to her for a while at the Halloween party before I saw Beck dancing with Caty. I catch Jay’s eye and shrug.
“Nah, girls aren’t my thing.”
Beck freezes, as do several of the guys around us. It goes over Cade’s head. Pretty sure his muscle mass ate his brain. Poor thing.
“But there were girls all over you at the Halloween party. You had to have hooked up with someone.”
“He’s a homo, you idiot,” Pierce yells across the table, getting the attention of several other tables. “He takes it up the ass.”
I notice the heavyweight captain, Sean Cabot, stand and give Pierce a very pointed warning glare as he walks to dispose of his tray. Pierce deflates a little.
Cade’s mouth opens and closes while he processes. “So you like dick?”
I give him a bored look. “Yep.”
Fish holds out a fist. “My favorite sister is gay. Respect.”
I roll my eyes but give him the bump. In the meantime, I do my best not to give Pierce the satisfaction of my attention or a reaction to his clear attempt to start shit with me.
Cade slaps the table, causing several people to jump, and then points at me with a very serious expression on his face. “I like you so much more now that you’re not competition.”
Everyone laughs. Except Beck.
He stands so abruptly his chair screeches, mutters some excuse, and leaves. I move to follow him.
“Yo, Brody,” Cade says. “You should join the Pride Alliance. Buddy up to Ivy for me.”
That earns another roar of laughter from the table.
If I leave now, it’ll look suspicious. And Beck wouldn’t want me to draw attention to his abrupt exit. So I sit back and try to act normal even though I really want to be chasing after him. He seemed upset, and I don’t really know why.
Eventually, my phone buzzes.
Becky: Why did you do that?
Captain: Do what?
Becky: You can’t just tell everyone that shit.
Captain: Would you rather I be ashamed of who I am?
Becky: I’d rather you have some discretion.
Captain: Worried people are going to figure out your secret by association? Insecurity isn’t sexy, Becky.
Becky: Fuck you. I’m not insecure.
Captain: Is that why you haven’t been able to look me in the eye since I milked your prostate on Saturday?
Becky: Shut up. I didn’t like that.
Captain: The geyser you shot into the back of my throat says otherwise.
Becky: That was just because of the blowjob. Not that.
Becky: Also, delete these messages immediately.
I grin wide.
