Page 63 of Bad Call
“Hell yeah, that’s my best friend!” He told everyone seated within hearing distance, not that they cared. It was hard to tell who was more proud of Austin, his best friend, or his lover.
“If he wins, we’re going on vacation,” Marcus promised.
“Whenhe wins,” I corrected him.
Marcus smirked. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, I’m taking him away.”
“What?” Wilder shrieked, “When? Where? How long is he gonna be gone?”
I couldn’t hide my laugh. They were adorable together and even finished each other sentences. Apparently, Wilder didn’t think he could last a week without Austin.
“I’ll give you all the details after I tell Austin. You’ve got a big mouth, kid,” Marcus explained, winking at him.
“Do not!” he defended with a pout, looking at his Daddy for confirmation.
“Yeah, you do,” Penn agreed, laughing.
Hell, they were right. I didn’t even know Wilder that well, and I knew he had a big mouth.
Austin made it to second base, but the next runner didn’t make it to first, and that was their third out. Wilder waved madly as he watched Austin jog across the infield to the dugout.
“What?” he asked defensively when we all laughed.
“Nothing, kid. You’re cute is all,” I explained, ruffling his hair as he ducked from me.
Twenty minutes later, the game wascoming to a close. “All right, this is it. Last inning. Everyone quiet down so I can focus.”
“What do you care?” Marcus asked, looking at me strangely. “I’m surprised you’re not hexing him, so he’ll lose and you can rub it in his face.”
“I’m not a total dick, Marcus. Casey worked hard for this.”
Again, he gave me that strange but curious look, a smile teasing his lips. “Sure thing, Baylor.”
Casey’s team ended up taking second place, which was still incredible. With my heart in my throat, I waited outside his team’s locker room, along with Marcus, Penn, and Wilder, who were distracted by their conversation. I watched his team file out one by one, joking and back-slapping each other. I was so nervous I could hear blood rushing to my ears. When Casey’s face appeared at the back of the line, my stomach flipped over, threatening to spill its contents.
But fuck it, fuck his team, and fuck our friends.
I walked right up to him, wrapped my hand around the back of his head, and pulled him tight against my body, my lips crushing his in a kiss so deep he almost swallowed my tongue. I could only feel, not hear. The sounds of everyone clapping and whistling faded away to background noise, the feel of his warm lips against mine taking center stage. My fingers curled tighter in his hair, and I breathed in through my nose so I wouldn’t have to part my lips from his.
When we finally did, I stared into his eyes hard. “Congratulations on your win,Coach.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled from smiling so widely. “Congratulations on finally coming out, Blue.”
“I guess we both did.”
“It’s about fucking time,” Marcus said, still clapping.
“What? You knew?” Austin shrieked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Seriously? You didn’t see that coming?”
“No,” he insisted. “I thought they couldn’t stand each other.”
“There’s a fine line between love and hate,” Marcus explained. “And usually, Baylor is always on the wrong side of every line. Guaranteed. Come on, lovebirds, dinner is on me.”
We ended up at a steakhouse, joined by almost half of Casey’s team. “Was it really that easy to come out?” I asked Casey. His team was still making wisecracks about our kiss, and all eyes remained on us to see if we would do it again.
“I guess. I was never really afraid to come out. I just didn’t want to have an issue with any of the players or students.” His eyes landed on Marcus and Austin, who were lost in their own bubble, making eyes at each other. “I didn’t want their situation to be mine.”