His face falls.
My gut tightens. “Okay. Out with it. What the hell is going on?”
I ball my fists. Does he not want to do this anymore? His interest still seems there. What changed?
“So, I really want to join you. Like,really, really.” His blue irises flick up to mine. Eyes that are always so open,teasing and bright, right now are guarded. Scared. His throat bobs. “So, um. We have a small problem.”
I stiffen.
“I mean, not like aproblem,problem.” He runs a hand through his hair, and it gets stuck in the topknot. He tugs it free and shakes it out, then fidgets with the hair tie. “They won’t say anything,” he whispers.
I blink at him. They won’t say anything?
“I’m so sorry, Stone.” His brows pinch, his forehead a wrinkled map of worry. “I didn’t tell them. But they guessed. I had already told them I had a major crush on you, and they guessed way too easily. But I don’t think it was obvious or anything. They just know me so well, they can read me. Well, actually, I don’t think Paulie and Easton would have ever found out if it weren’t for Shelby and Frankie. Those two fuckers are way too perceptive. And together they’re like this evil duo. Major collusion. Frankie has a nose for sniffing it out too. I think it’s like a sixth sense. He can tell when someone recently had an orgasm, especially if it was a gay one.”
I gape at him. I have no idea what any of that was. “Can you maybe slow down and explain what you’re talking about?”
He draws in a breath. And doesn’t let it out. I’ve noticed he does that when he gets panicky, like the first night we hooked up.
I step up to him and wrap my fingers around his neck. I grip tight, staring hard down at him. “Breathe. Now.”
Awhooshrushes out of him, and a rush of peppermint tingles over my skin.
“Now. Just say it. What you’re dancing around.”
“Nebs and Winters know we’re hooking up.”
My pulse spikes sharply, and my fingers flex on his neck.He winces. I immediately drop my hand. Two of our teammates know. Okay. Bad. Very bad. But out of everyone who could know, probably the best possible options.
“Does anyone else know?” My voice is deadly calm even if my heart is beating off the charts.
“No one else on the team. Nebs’s brother and girlfriend. That kind of deal. We were out to dinner when they figured it out.”
“You’re sure no one else on the team overhead your conversation?”
He quickly shakes his head, blond hair flying. “No. No one from the team was at the restaurant. You were barely mentioned by name.”
He said they’d guessed. He didn’t tell them, and I can’t be mad at him for that. Notverymad. I’m extremely frustrated, though.
I tip my head back and groan. “Shit, Michaels. Is this going to be a problem?”
I should have never hooked up with him. This is exactly why messing around with teammates is a bad idea. It always finds its way out. A knot of anxiety weaves itself in my gut. Fucking hell. I can’t believe I let this happen.
All right. Damage control.
I lock eyes with him. “We obviously have to end this right now. But are you going to tip others off—with whatever you were doing that had them picking up on it? Maybe we should distance ourselves too. That way no one else can pick up on any vibes. You’ll tell Nebs and Winters it’s over. Tell them it was nothing—just a stupid mistake we won’t repeat.”
“Yeah. Of course,” he says quietly, words tight.
“They definitely won’t say anything?” I prod.
Because we need to be so damn certain we’d risk ourbaseball careers on it. That’s what’s on the line here. Unfortunately, more for Shane than for me. As talented as he is, he’s a no-name minor leaguer. I think my dad’s name would help me weather it. I have no idea what a team would do if they found out two players were fucking around. Players have been blackballed for being queer in the past—add to that the fact we’re teammates? The Jetties are a progressive organization, but inter-office relationships are bad news, no matter the industry.
If Shane’s lucky, maybe he’d end up with a trade, but with news like that coming to light, I can’t imagine any locker room would be a safe space for him. Especially if there aren’t any allies there to stand with him. There are a lot of Devereux’s out there, and they’re loud.
“East and Pauls would never do anything to hurt me.” His blue eyes spark fire.
I step back at the vehemence in his tone. Well, there’s the certainty I was looking for.
