Page 79 of Catching Kyle

Chapter 29

Michael Cunningham

Bythetimebookclub rolls around, I’m officially unemployed. My last day of work was today, and now all I have is the revenue coming in from my old OnlyFans videos. Now that Kyle and I are officially dating—well, officially yet still secretly together—I’m not making them anymore, per our agreement. I’ve never been one for open relationships, and besides, the sex with Kyle has been too good to pass up. I forget how wonderful sex can be when you have it with someone who has your heart.

Since it didn’t matter now that I was laid off, I just went ahead and ended my day early. I got to Rucker’s an hour before our weekly meeting so I could work on my new romantasy about two magical and disgraced knights who fall in love. I’m already 20K words in, and that word count is climbing higher every day. With all the fantasy that Kyle’s been recommending to me, paired with the romance I’m reading for this book club, I’m getting a really solid understanding of how to weave the two genres together.

Finally having a boyfriend who is emotionally available has been so helpful too. All the tingles I get from a good conversation with Kyle, the warm chills I get when he runs his hand down my back in bed—all these experiences give me a lived understanding of how romance develops. This is what I’ve been looking for. I’m no longer distracted by the unhealthy love I had for David. The romance coming out of my fingertips feels organic, inspiring, and hopeful.

After I’ve been writing for a bit, Skye arrives and sits down across from me in at a small table in the café.

“Howdy howdy,” she says, setting her stuff down. She’s wearing a pink dress and a rhinestoned cowboy hat.

“You look like you’re going to a Chappell Roan concert,” I say.

“Thank you,” she says.

I chuckle. “You’re welcome.”

“So tell me,” she says, opening her laptop covered in stickers. “How’s the fake-dating life going?”

I think back to the last time I saw Kyle—a couple days ago. “Honestly, better than I expected,” I say. “You-know-who and I just spend time at his house a couple times a week. We don’t go out in public, but that’s not too bad. You should probably ask Amani how it’s going.” I lower my voice. “She’s the one acting as his beard.”

“Cool,” she says, beginning to type. We write in silence for a while, and I mull over what I just told Skye. Spending time with Kyle—now as his boyfriend—is really nice. And I’m spending the night tonight. But it sucks that we can’t be open. If we stay together past the next football season, we won’t have to worry about this. There’s a lingering, annoying feeling that tells me that time won’t solve everything about this. But I try to just chalk it up to worry.

“I’m curious,” Skye says once we wrap up our writing. Book club people are showing up, and we know it’s a matter of time before it’ll get too loud to focus.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Why is you-know-who so dead set on playing this next year?” she asks. “Like, hasn’t he been playing for forever?”

“Yeah,” I say, almost defensively. “He’s wants to win the Championship Game.”

“I get that,” she says, putting her laptop in her bag. “But what I don’t understand is how he’s willing to put his life on hold for just a season, one game even. I would get it if he was young and had his whole career ahead of him. But he’s been, what—playing for like almost a decade now?”

I put my computer away and fold my arms. I think back to that moment he came out to me, how hysterical he was, and all the times I’ve seen him since. He’s told me that he made a promise to his dad that he would win a Championship Game for him, which made enough sense to me. I’m not close to my dad, but I know how emotional those relationships can be.

“His dad,” I say. “He made a promise to his dad that he’d win the Championship Game for him.”

Skye nods, but something about her face tells me she’s not fully convinced. And then my heart starts to race, and I get that uneasy feeling in my stomach.

When I was dating David, I also thought that everything was fine. Even when he was rampantly cheating on me behind my back. Could there be something bigger here that Kyle isn’t telling me? There has to be. This relationship we have is too good to be true, anyways. He has to be hiding something.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “You’re getting that distressed look you get when you don’t like the feedback you’re getting.”

I blush. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry if what I asked was too personal.”

“It’s fine,” I insist.

Kelley, one of the booksellers, comes to our table and asks if we can set it aside and put our chairs in the circle for book club. And as we’re moving the table, I get that sinking feeling in my chest, the same one I get when I think about all that David did behind my back.

Skye grabs my arm. “Are you okay?”

I just let it out.

“What if you’re right?” I ask as people take their seats around us.