Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
West gives me his are you fucking kidding me look.
“Nooooo. You and Ezra? He’s your best friend. And since when? No. No, no, no, no, no, and eww. I need to wash my dick.”
“I’m really worried about your hygiene if you haven’t bathed since you and Ezra hooked up.”
“I meant I’m going to scrub my dick until there’s no skin left.”
“Charming.”
“You and Ezra? Why didn’t you say anything?” I shudder and try to shake off the icky feeling of Ezra’s hands all over me, but I end up doing some weird interpretive dance of what happens when hookups go wrong.
West’s eyes narrow. “Are you seriously telling me you didn’t know? You can’t tell me you hadn’t heard all the shit going around about me. It’s not exactly a huge secret.”
“About you not being as straight as you appear, yes. About you and Ezra? No. Hell no. Fucking fuck no. If I knew, I never would’ve touched him.”
Shit, thinking about it now though, I guess it makes sense. Ezra is out and proud, and West is vague publicly. They’re “best friends.”
“I’m sorry. Wait, were you guys together when he and I—”
“No. We weren’t technically together at all. Sort of. We were, but we weren’t. It’s complicated. And you know Ez. He’ll never settle down. After Dad and June passed, I ended it because it was easier to sever that part of my life completely. All the partying and casual sex … yeah, I couldn’t bring any of that with me here.”
“Where were you last night?” I ask.
He scowls. “Where did you disappear to after practice?”
Nice try at deflecting, Westly. Really.
“Out. With my boyfriend.” I wave in Kole’s direction again. “I didn’t realize I was needed here or I would’ve come home.”
West’s face slowly falls from deflective anger to something worse—utter confusion. “B-boyfriend?” He groans. “Coach Hogan is going to kill me.”
“And me, but that’s not the point. Where. Were. You?”
West crumples and hangs his head in his hands. “It’s … I was with …” He blows out a loud breath. “It was too much. I stepped out on the back deck for some air and some quiet. And then … Fuck, I should not be allowed to be in charge of this family. I’ve been holding it together, but Christmas last year sucked, and I don’t want to deal with it this year. It’s hard, and they’re so loud, and—”
“West, breathe,” I say. “You’re allowed to be overwhelmed. I know it’s hard. But you can’t run out on them without telling at least me so I can come home.”
“I have to stop putting shit on you. And Zoe.”
“We all need to pull our own weight around here. I can stay home this weekend—”
“No, the team needs you.”
“I’ll tell them I’m sick.”
West is adamant. “No. After my breather last night, I’m better. I can get back in there.”
“I’ll try to be home more, then. Kole can come here to study. We could make it a reality show. Extreme studying. The challenge is memorizing shit while things fly at your head and the sound of an imploding house surrounds you. If Kole’s going to run away, he should do it now.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Kole’s croaky voice startles both of us. He slowly climbs out of bed, and I wonder how much he heard.
West’s eyes dart between us. “We’re going to have to talk about this.”
“West!” one of the twins calls from upstairs.
West sighs. “Which one was that?”
I snort. “I can tell the difference between their faces, not their voices.”
“You still need to teach me that trick. Go back to bed. Your away game is tonight, and you need to be rested. We can deal with you and Kole later.”
“If by deal you mean give us your blessing and not tell his dad until we’re ready, there’s nothing to discuss.”
West’s gaze hardens. “There are things to discuss.”
That sounds ominous.
West heads upstairs, and I turn to Kole.
“Did you hear that? He said we should go back to bed.” I emphasize it with as much sex in my voice as I can manage.
“He also said you have an away game, and you need to rest. I should get home anyway. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I’ll drop you home.”
“Nah, I’ll walk. You should get some more sleep. You have a big night ahead of you.”
I pull him against me. “I think I remember a deal we had for this away game.”
He kisses me, just enough to get me hard, and then he pulls away. “Don’t get a concussion tonight.”
“No way. I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
With one more kiss, Kole shoves his feet into his shoes, throws on his sweater and coat, and takes the exit directly outside instead of trudging through the house past my siblings.
26
Kole
When the hotel door clicks closed behind me, it’s barely a full twenty-four hours since we decided to make this official, and I swear I’ve been turned on since he called me his boyfriend this morning.