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Christ, that was hot as fuck. The man had a gorgeous dick that made me wonder even more about the rest of him. He’s fine. I don’t have to see his face to know it. Things would be a whole lot easier if I did know what he looks like, so my brain didn’t construct a visual of my own that looked a whole hell of a lot like Oakley fucking Manning.

He makes my brain short-circuit, and that’s going to be a problem if I can’t get my shit together. I’d thought what I did with OnTheBeach27 the other night would help, but in some ways, it’s fucked me up more.

I like OnTheBeach27, like talking to him and getting to know him. Most of the time, when we’re messaging, I’m not thinking of anyone other than him, but again, when I came that night, it was Oakley’s image in my head.

I keep trying to chalk it up to the fact that I don’t know what OnTheBeach27 looks like, but hell, there’s a chance that’s just me lying to myself.

Once I’m dressed in workout clothes, I head out of the locker room. Today will be fun. It’s always been important to me to give back to the community—especially when it comes to kids—but I’ve never participated in something like this before.

When I make my way onto the field, there are members of both the Inferno and Pulse there already. I’m still early, so the full teams haven’t arrived yet, but I immediately spot Oakley and Hunter shooting the shit by the twenty-yard line.

Oak looks fine as always, wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a teal Pulse T-shirt. He’s shorter and leaner than me, still muscular but carrying less bulk. His hair looks freshly faded, and when he drops his head back to laugh at something Hunter said, my stomach does an unexpected flip. Jesus, what the fuck is it about this man?

I put on a playful smile, pretending like he doesn’t occupy nearly as much of my brain as he does when I see him. Oakley is the one who catches my eye first. “I think you’re with the wrong team,” he says as soon as I reach them.

“If I didn’t come say hi to you first, you’d miss me.” I wink, and Oakley gives me the finger. I turn to Hunter. “He likes me more than he’s willing to admit.”

“No,” Oakley disagrees. “I don’t.”

I don’t take offense at what he said. I know he acts like that because I rattle him, because neither of us knows how the fuck to act around each other, when really it should be no big thing. The fact that it is makes shit weirder than it should be, which just makes the cycle continue. At least, that’s how I see it on my side.

“I think we’re probably going to end up being best friends.”

“You’re a damn fool,” he counters.

“Oh, I meant to tell you, I brought Tiana an autographed jersey. I’ll give it to you afterward.”

His face turns into a mash-up of annoyance, shock, and uncertainty, like he’s not sure what to think or feel. It immediately makes a laugh tumble out of my mouth, before Oakley grumbles about how his daughter isn’t really that big a fan of me.

“It’s okay to like me, Oak,” I reply.

“What happens if I don’t, though?”

“Are the two of you done?” Hunter asks, and for a moment, I forgot my best friend was there, which isn’t something I’m proud of.

“He’s annoying,” Oakley argues.

“He makes it too easy.” I wrap an arm around Hunt, then ruffle his hair. The two of us wrestle around for a minute, laughing and just having fun together before they call everyone into a group so they can tell us the game plan.

“To start the day, we’re breaking you up into groups of two—one player from each team. You’ll each have small group activities with some of the kids.”

Ask me if I’m surprised when they’re partway through the list of players, and they say, “Oakley Manning and Desmond Jackson.”

I grin.

Oakley scowls.

I nudge him with my arm, more excited by this turn of events than I should be. “Come on, man. It’ll be fun.”

We had a lot of fun together that summer, not counting the hooking up, and while I enjoy giving him shit, I wish there was a way we could get back to that aspect of our relationship too. Is it fucked up for me to hope for that after everything that happened? Considering Oakley is happy and in love, with a whole-ass family.

Just like Kane is too.

I try to wipe that thought from my brain. I have no business thinking shit like that. Whatever it was between me and Oak was nothing like what I shared with Kane. We were in a relationship. I was in love with him.

Oakley was just a summer fling…one that, all these years later, I still can’t get out of my fucking head.

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