Down by Contact (The Barons 2)

“He’s not that bad,” I said sharply. “You guys don’t even know him.”

They exchanged looks while I yanked up my underwear. I knew exactly what they were thinking. Not only did I sound like a cliché, I was validating their suspicions.

“Fine, you want the truth?”

“Duh,” Marcus said.

I glared. “I like him. A lot. And if the situation was different and our careers weren’t riding on us making too many waves, I’d probably be looking to pursue an actual relationship with him.”

“Why? Just because you had some good sex?”

“No, it’s not just the sex. It’s—” I spun around, looking for my sweatpants. “Besides you two and my family, I don’t spend a lot of time with anyone. I don’t trust anyone anymore. And even before that shit happened, I didn’t think I could have a relationship without worrying someone was in it for my cash. After you two found people I started having hope for myself, but . . . you know how hard it is to meet people. Like really meet people.”

“Yeah, I know. That was my struggle for years.” Marcus was at least sympathetic as he sat on the edge of my bed. “But you really think Bravo is . . . good enough for you? I’m not blowing smoke up your ass when I say as far as rich-ass athletes go, you’re top-notch. One of the nicest cats I’ve ever met.”

“It’s true,” Gavin said. “It’s disgusting.”

I tugged up my sweatpants with a snap of the elastic against my waist. Their worried looks made me smile, and I remembered why they were being so overprotective. Less to do with giving me a hard time and more to do with them just worrying about me like they always did.

“If you really like him . . .”

I shook my head. “Nope, we’re not going there. I have a snowball’s chance in hell of having anything with Adrián Bravo but a quick fuck at random when we’re in the same hotel during the season. And even then, I’d be too terrified of someone seeing us together.”

“You’d be terrified? Not him?”

“That’s the funny thing. He seemed ready to let the world know the truth last week. It was me who rushed out to tell them it was all a lie.”

Gavin’s jaw dropped. Just like that, I could see his gears churning and him reevaluating the entire situation. And Adrián himself. Deciding to come out had been gut-wrenching for both of us, and we’d ultimately done it to take the situation into our own hands. Also, with Gavin, because he’d wanted a life with Noah.

Adrián had been willing to do the same, and I’d put a stop to it, because I didn’t want to be responsible for his downfall.

For the first time, I wondered how he’d felt about me taking matters into my own hands.

Adrián

I got to the Center early, hoping to regain my bearings before Simeon arrived, but he was already there. That strong body was beautifully showcased in a pair of thin joggers and a baseball T-shirt that made it clear his shoulders were in competition for width with the football field.

“Hey,” I said.

His eyes lit up, face creasing with a big smile. There was no way he’d meant the things he’d said if he was looking at me this way. I refused to believe it, no matter what the voice in the back of my head was whispering. And my own teammates who’d been texting me nonstop about him calling me out after I’d “manned up and put in work with his gay ass for almost two months.”

And I’d bit my tongue and stayed quiet. Like a coward.

“How’ve you been?” he asked, shrugging off his backpack and stepping into the rec room. “I haven’t heard from you.”

“It’s not like you tried to reach out.”

“I know.” Simeon closed the door to the rec room and leaned against it. “I thought maybe . . . you needed some space from me.”

“Why?”

“Because I said a bunch of awful things about you in front of journalists.”

I nodded. “Yeah. And they were true.”

Simeon’s generous mouth flattened into a line. He glanced at the windows then at the clock before jerking his head at the storage room. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Just come on. I don’t want anyone busting in on us.”

The chances of that were slim since the rec center was rarely used at this time of day, and Yaritza was having a meeting with some of the new counselors. Even so, I followed him and shut the door once we were both inside.

He leaned heavily against the opposite wall, a glimmer of sunlight from the high thin window illuminating the red and golden highlights in his hair. When he flashed that crooked smile, abashed and almost shy, the knot that had formed in my chest over the past week dissolved.