Out in the End Zone (Out in College 2)

I grinned like a madman and tossed the football in the air. “Step right this way. I’ll show you how it’s done. Grip the ball like so, turn sideways, pull your arm back, and release. But make sure you follow through in one fluid motion. If you don’t, the ball will wobble, you’ll lose speed, accuracy, and most likely, you’ll blow the play.”

“Blow the what?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes flirtatiously.

Chelsea guffawed and held her hand up for a high five. I cast my gaze between them and put my hands on my hips. “All right, then.”

“Behave, you two,” Mitch chided before turning to me. “I’m going to skip to the outfield, so you can throw your balls to me.”

I chuckled and gave Chelsea a funny look but quickly sobered. I shouldn’t act so schmoopy in front of her. It was weird.

“Oh, come on, Ev. You know that I know you guys are doing the nasty. Why pretend?” Chelsea huffed.

I twisted the ball in my hands and motioned for Mitch to run farther before turning to her with a serious expression. “I like him. A lot.”

“Good. He likes you too.”

“Were you surprised?” I asked.

She lowered her giant sunglasses and fixed me with a pointed look. “Shocked. The world is upside down and sideways lately. I don’t get it. But he’s happy and I like you. Just be good to him, or you’ll be dealing with me.”

“Got it.”

“Good. When are you going to tell Derek?”

I pulled my arm back and fired it across the lawn to Mitch. “Soon. Why?”

“He’s your friend, and I’m friends with both of you and—he’ll be okay with this, you know. You can trust him.”

I adjusted my baseball cap and chuckled at Mitch’s antics when the ball hit his fingers and ricocheted off a nearby tree. Then I looked over my shoulder at Chelsea and inclined my head. “I know. We haven’t had a chance to talk yet. He’s either at school or practice. Or with Gabe. They spend a lot of time together.”

“They do, but you should still talk to him. Unless of course, this is a phase and you’re more curious than you are actually bi.”

“Is that what you think?” I scowled.

“No. I think you’re scared. Totally understandable. You’re a football player. People will react. Some positive, some negative. And quite a few will be very surprised. But it’s your life. You don’t own anyone’s reaction…just your own. Be happy. And make him happy,” she said, gesturing toward Mitch to let me know he was about to throw the ball back.

“Thanks.”

Mitch scampered to my side with the ball tucked under his left arm. He gave Chelsea a sign I assumed meant she could start filming before handing the ball to me. “Sorry. That sucked. What am I doing wrong?”

“It didn’t suck. That was pretty decent, actually. Let’s change it up. I’m gonna run into position, and you can throw it to me. Aim for halfway to that tree,” I instructed, pointing to a large oak fifty yards away. “Just watch where I run and let it rip. I’ll take it the rest of the way and run this baby into the end zone.”

Mitch looked down to fiddle with his grip. When he gave me a thumbs-up, I ran toward the next tree and turned. I started to retreat when I realized he hadn’t released the ball. There was no way he could throw it much farther and—

Suddenly the football whizzed by my head. I shot a wild-eyed look at him before racing after it. I caught it in midstride and kept running…and running. When I reached the huge oak, I spiked the ball the raised my arms victoriously. Then I ran back to Mitch, picked him up, and tackled him onto the grass.

“Oomph. You’re crushing me.”

I braced myself over him and grinned. “You’re cute and I really wanna kiss you right now.”

“Chelsea’s filming,” he warned with a mischievous grin that doubled as a dare.

I never could resist a dare.

I sealed my mouth over his in a passionate kiss before jumping up and yanking him to his feet. I broke into a mini touchdown dance that made him laugh and fuck, I suddenly felt like I was floating on air. Something in me screamed that this was how it was supposed to be. I could have this forever if I was brave.

Chelsea was mostly quiet while she filmed, but she cheered when Mitch caught the ball and chortled merrily at my lame-ass cheering skills and even worse cartwheel. Mitch thanked her profusely. Then he pushed Pause and gave her a thorough once-over. She did the same to him. The silent standoff was slightly unsettling. I was relieved when Chelsea finally turned to hug me.

“I love this. There’s a huge audience out there you haven’t tapped into. Can I share your link on social media?” she asked.