Page 39 of Bend Him, Break Him
“Why are you worrying about what Colton and some other dude are doing in bed?” Tim asked.
“Huh?” Leon’s expression hardened. “I’m not! I was making a point.”
“Was the point that you’re gay or jealous?” another teammate asked.
“It was a fucking joke, you morons!” Leon sneered.
“A shitty joke,” someone else said.
Colton released a breath, exhaling almost all his nervousness.
There were still players who didn’t feel the same as Leon.
Nowhere close, in fact. The harder Leon pressed, the more the team supported Colton, especially as Colton became more honest about himself.
It seemed they rallied on his behalf, making it easier for him to slip into his identity and almost believe going pro was a possibility.
“Look out!” Isaac’s voice barreled through the field.
Before Colton could register the meaning, the baseball hit Leon dead in the face and sent him tumbling backward.
Players rushed to help Leon, Colton among them.
Not because he cared—he simply didn’t need the accusation he’d let his boyfriend assault other pitchers.
Thankfully, there wasn’t any blood, but the swelling on Leon’s forehead was enough to get one of the coaches to send him to the athletic nurse.
“My bad!” Isaac shouted, a gleam in his eye when Leon scowled. “Thought I could try my hand at pitching, too.”
Mina burst into laughter, nudging Isaac.
“What?” He played ignorant, as if he could cute his way out of nearly breaking Leon’s face. “I thought it’d be easier to aim. If bench warmer over there can do it, why can’t I?”
“They should just shine a designated catcher spotlight on you, sweetheart.” Mina gestured dramatically to the overhead lights on the field, the ones currently turned off given the daytime practice.
“I guess I should leave the pitching to the professionals.” Isaac smirked in Colton’s direction, giving him the most mischievous expression ever before letting his face fall to something stern.
Colton almost snorted. Seeing Isaac’s dom look usually made Colton shudder with anticipation, but coupled with the awkward humor of the events unfolding, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Between Mina’s jabs and Isaac’s dumbfounded expression, it was hard to remain neutral.
Colton couldn’t pretend to be sympathetic for Leon’s sake if his life depended on it.
Either of their lives. But at least he did his best not to gloat at Isaac’s actions.
Mina said something out of earshot that provoked a snarl from Isaac. He sucked his teeth, made a loud hissing sound, and shoved Mina.
“Keep it up, boyfriend. I’ll show you what a catcher you are.” Mina shoved Isaac back, cackling the entire time. “You’re about to catch these hands if you’re not careful.”
Isaac nearly keeled over at that, wheezing loudly as he clawed back the laughter billowing in his chest.
Colton half-smiled, letting Mina inadvertently emasculate Isaac while he played into the bottom twink role, strutting down one of the bleacher aisles as the coaches closed the practice to avoid any more audience participation.
Showing off Isaac was pure joy for Colton.
Being honest about himself and his sexuality was exhilarating.
There was something so much better about having a partner to show off than simply stating he was bisexual.
He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until he collided with Isaac, until their relationship status became official.
But as much as he liked showing off his boyfriend, he still had difficulty bragging about his preferred position.
It was something the other guys on the team wouldn’t get.
These weren’t the comfortably straight allies in GSA who Colton had come to know.
Guys who weren’t threatened by any perceived notion their manhood was at stake because they didn’t abide by gender norms, didn’t worry where a partner’s finger wandered and didn’t feel the need to assert their dominance to prove they liked to fuck.
No, Colton found himself anxious because the guys on his team wouldn’t see him as a leader, as the starting pitcher, as one of the top players if they learned he was anything but a top.
Colton almost contemplated revealing an interest in being versatile, but Leon’s jokes about him switching to the role of team catcher quickly squashed that idea.
It was easier for him to lie about bottoming, and Isaac never seemed to mind, which Colton greatly appreciated.
In fact, Isaac made a point of saying it was no one’s business what they did between the sheets, even if the brunt of assumptions assumed Isaac was the bottom.
“Put your dicks away!” Tim burst into the room with a hand slapped over his face. “It’s party time.”
Colton snorted at Isaac’s wide-eyed stare of aggravation. Isaac had almost grown accustomed to Tim’s jovial bullshit, but Colton predicted this would be a few steps backward, given he didn’t like barging, assumptions, or cheeriness. Three things that basically embodied Tim.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Colton chuckled, turning to Isaac in the process. “It’s your last chance.”
“Last chance for what?” he asked with the sourest face in the world, like he’d forgotten they were dating and had gone right back to hating Colton. Sadly, that was Isaac’s default expression when met with anything he considered hostile. Which was basically everything.
“To sneak away and abandon the party,” Colton clarified as he finished checking himself over in the mirror. “Once we get there, I won’t be the only one pestering you to have a good time.”
Mina, Jazz, and Carlos were meeting them at the party. It wasn’t like the frat house bashes were exclusive, but since hanging with the GSA members, Colton realized there wasn’t much overlap in their party scenes. He wanted to change that. He wanted to merge his two worlds.
“Whatever.” Isaac gave a shudder of sarcastic enthusiasm as his voice shifted from its natural gruff base to a perky, pitchy lilt. “Let’s go have fun.”
“Oh, God. You’re gonna be so awkward.” Colton smirked. “I can’t wait.”