Page 13 of Hidden Plays (Desert Football #1)

Scanning the tables, couches and lounge chairs, made to look like a comfortable living room, my gaze stopped on JJ, sitting in a corner booth, drinking a red wine.

His stark-blue gaze met mine, and the edges of his lips twitched.

He looked good tonight, dressed in a form-fitting white shirt and designer jeans. Why had I thought about his appearance?

With a quick inhale, I strode to him and dropped into a chair across from him. “Hey.” He’d been exceptionally compliant this week. I had to give him that.

“Hey, babe.” With a smirk and a snicker, he pushed a menu toward me.

I tutted even as my heart fluttered. I’d seen him every day at practice and hadn’t had these strange sensations, but meeting him here, like this, felt different. “No one’s around to hear you say that.” I glanced around us. Was anyone I knew in here?

“I know. I’m just fucking with you, Holden.” His smirk fell. “I’m ordering some bruschetta boards. Want to share some?”

I perused the menu and set it down. “Sure.” Peeking at his wine, I asked. “What wine did you get? Is it any good? ”

“Yeah, it’s the house wine, and it’s pretty decent.” He pushed his glass toward me. “Here, try it.”

“Uh…” Shit, this sounded like an actual date. I picked up the glass and sipped the wine, the oak and cherry flavors mixing in my mouth. “Yeah, that’s good.”

A server stopped by the table, and we ordered the bruschetta boards and my wine.

I focused on JJ. Now that we were alone, I could talk to him about this situation. “So, how much longer do you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

The server left my wine on the table.

With a shrug, he said, “I don’t know. As long as it takes. Why?” He eyed me.

“Because it needs to end at some point. I can’t keep meeting you like this.” I skimmed the restaurant again. Did I recognize anyone?

“Why not? Is it so terrible?” He lowered his brow. “What’s up with you, Holden?”

Arden’s words echoed in my head. He might use this to get close to you . “You aren’t catching feelings, are you?” I slapped my fingers to my lips. I could have said it better.

His brows knitted as his mouth dropped open.

“You mean as a boyfriend? Hell, no.” With a shake of his head, he scowled.

“Are you going homophobic on me? Are you afraid of being seen with a gay man in public?” With his gaze growing hard, he said, “Afraid someone will think you’re queer? ” He hooked a brow.

“No, it’s not like that.” But was it, though? I sipped my wine, letting it calm the nerves knotting in my stomach.

He leaned in, his forearms cradling his wine. “Because truthfully? I gotta wonder about you, Holden.”

Don’t say it, don’t fucking say it. I stared at the ripples in my wine, the knot in my gut churning.

“I’m not so sure you’re straight. I think maybe you’ve got a thing for me.” In a softer, but gruff voice, he said, “I don’t think stimulus had anything to do with the boner you copped at The Club. I think maybe your body is telling you something your mind doesn’t want to hear.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, my brain rolling through the Reddit boards and Google searches. “N-no, I’m, I’m straight.” I clamped my jaw. I didn’t even believe myself anymore.

“Okay, tell yourself that.” JJ shook his hand and then drank his wine. “It doesn’t matter. Like I’ve said before, you’re not my type, anyway.”

My gaze cut to his, my heart squeezing. I didn’t enjoy hearing that. But why? Even if there were something more between us, I wouldn’t act on it.

The server dropped off our bruschetta boards.

“After tonight, we can quit the fake boyfriend shit.” JJ picked up a slice of apple and brie bruschetta and bit into it. “Damn, so good.”

An ache swept through my chest. This was what I wanted, right? “Okay, so I don’t have to text you anymore?” I grabbed a pesto bruschetta and stuffed it in my mouth, the garlic and basil mingling on my tongue.

“I…yeah. Guess I’ll tell the guys we broke up.” His brows twitched together. “I’ll tell them you turned out to be an asshole and only wanted sex.” The corner of his mouth lifted, and he ate more bruschetta.

As my stomach balled into a knot, I studied him. Why did it feel like an actual breakup? He didn’t seem fazed by it at all. “No, don’t do that. I’ll keep texting for a while longer.” I slumped my shoulders. What the hell was happening inside me?

He drank some wine. “Okay, whatever you say. But I thought you were done.”

“I am, but it doesn’t need to stop today.” God, I was a mess. Sitting back in my chair, I wiped my fingers on my napkin, thinking back on everything I’d found out about JJ. “Have you ever had a boyfriend? A real one, I mean. ”

“Sure. I dated a guy for nine months when I was a sophomore.” He picked up a fresh slice of bruschetta and took a bite.

“What was he like?” He said he’d liked Myles Cummings, the hockey player. Did he enjoy dating jocks? I sipped my wine. Why did I care? I wanted to know what his type was and maybe why I wasn’t it.

“He played soccer and was from California.” A slow grin played over his mouth. “He was tall, dark and handsome.”

“So, you like dark-haired guys.” I twisted my lips and ate more food. I was blond.

“Not necessarily. Myles was blond.” He cocked his head, peering at a slice of bruschetta he held at mouth level. “Myles was different. He had gentle strength. I don’t think he knew how hot he was.” His attention drew to me. “You know it though, don’t you?”

“What, know that I’m hot?” I straightened my spine. So, he thought I was attractive. “I do my best to stay fit and look good. Women seem to notice me.” And gay men at the gym. I tensed the edge of my mouth. “But I don’t use my looks to take advantage of situations.” Did that come out right?

“Me neither.” He drank more wine. “But then, you probably don’t think of me as attractive because I’m a guy and you’re not queer.” He tutted a laugh.

“No, I think you’re hot.” My eyes popped open. Why the hell had a blurted that out?

“You do, huh?” His gaze swept over me. “All I know is, your dick seems to like me.”

“I could say the same about yours.” Touché. I smirked. He’d gotten hard on the physical therapy table.

“Maybe our dicks could date.” He choked out a snicker. “But I’m sure you’d be uncomfortable with it.”

“And you wouldn’t?” I bit into a slice of the apple and brie bruschetta. He hated me, didn’t he? Where were we headed with this conversation?

“Yeah, you’re right. I need a connection with a guy if I’m having sex, and we clearly do not have a connection.” He grabbed an extra slice of food.

My chest pinched. Why did he keep saying that? “I beg to differ with you. We do have a connection. We’re sort of becoming friends, aren’t we?”

“Friends?” He lifted his brows. “I’d say we’re more like two people forced into a situation.” Dipping his head, he said, “Okay, I guess I don’t hate you as much as I did when I first found out you replaced Stacey.”

“You don’t hate me as much ?” I narrowed my eyes. “Does that mean you still hate me? Hate is a strong word.” And I sure as hell didn’t enjoy hearing it. We’d bonded at least a little over the last few weeks. I knew we had.

“No, I don’t hate you.” With a scoff, he shifted in his seat. “Let’s pretend to date for a few more days and then I’ll tell my friends we broke up.” His gaze met mine. “Deal?”

“Yeah, okay.” I took another bite of food. “But you’ll continue to follow my direction for your training routine, right?” He wouldn’t start dissing me again, would he?

“I’ll follow it. As long as I’m seeing progress.” He gave me a sly grin. “If it stops, I’ll ask Coach for a new trainer.”

My heart about stopped. That could look bad for me. “No, don’t do that. We’ll figure something out.”

A muscled man with dark hair and eyes stepped to our table. “JJ? Hey, how are you?” He gave JJ a broad grin.

JJ did a double take of the man and smiled. “Miguel, nice to see you. It’s been a long time.” He shifted to the side. “Here, have a seat with us.”

“Oh, I don’t want to interrupt your date.” Miguel glanced at me.

“No, it’s not a date. This is my trainer, Holden.” JJ patted the bench seat next to him. “Sit.”

“Sure.” Miguel dropped in next to JJ, his gaze crawling every inch of JJ’s body. “Damn, boy, you’ve filled out. You look great.”

“Thanks. Damn, we were just talking about you. What a coincidence.” JJ’s cheeks flushed pink. “Holden, this is the ex-boyfriend I was talking about.”

“Oh? Why were you talking about me?” Miguel bumped his shoulder on JJ’s and raked his teeth over his lower lip. “You’re still thinking about me, huh?”

I wrinkled my nose. This guy was JJ’s type? He was okay-looking, but nothing special. If they’d dated for nine months, surely they’d been in love. A low ache vibrated through my body. “You never told me why the two of you broke up.” I swirled the wine in my glass and drank it.

“JJ broke it off with me.” Miguel’s grin fell. “But it was for the best. We weren’t in the right headspace for a relationship.” He rolled his lips.

“Yeah, but my life is more stable now.” JJ gave him a flirtatious smile. “And you’re looking better than ever.”

“Yeah? Thank you.” With a glance at me, Miguel edged in closer to JJ’s side. “How’s football going?”

“Great. I’ve been playing first string for the last two years.” JJ’s gaze held Miguel’s. “Are you still playing soccer?”

Jesus, it was like I’d disappeared. I drank the rest of my wine as my gut knotted. Their flirting was so obvious.

“I am. I’m settling on an agent this year, and I’m looking at my prospects for the MLS.” He wound an arm over the back of the booth, behind JJ’s shoulders.

JJ tucked himself into Miguel’s side. “I’m heading to the combine in the spring, so I can enter the draft.”

I touched the edge of the bruschetta plate. I didn’t feel like eating anymore. In fact, I wanted to leave. “Hey, sorry to interrupt your brief reunion, but are we done here?” I slipped my wallet out of my pocket. I had cash, and thirty bucks should cover my portion of the bill and then some.

“Yeah, we’re done.” JJ threw me a quick glance and then gave Miguel a warm smile. “I can have Miguel take photos for me.”

“Sure.” He didn’t need me here anymore for his little charade with his friends. I tossed the thirty bucks on the table and stood. “Here’s my half of the bill.”

“Photos? Why do you need photos taken?” Miguel wrinkled his brows.

“It’s a long story. We don’t need to get into it.” JJ rested his hand on Miguel’s thigh. “But it’s great to see you.”

Okay, I couldn’t watch any more of this. “Uh, bye.” I stepped away from the table. Did he even notice the money? The knot in my gut twisted. Fuck, I did not like seeing JJ with that guy. “You’ll be okay, right?”

“Yes, I’m in excellent hands.” JJ waved me off, keeping his gaze fixed on Miguel.

With a huff, I strode out of the restaurant and into the parking lot, grinding my molars. Why was I so angry? Because he discarded me, just like that. JJ didn’t care about me. He was using me only to keep his friends off his back.

Stopping at my Honda Civic, I opened the door, climbed inside, and stared at the steering wheel. Did I think I’d connected with JJ? He’d changed something inside me, but I had to ignore it. Especially now.

I glanced toward the squat building housing the wine bar.

Would he go home with Miguel? Maybe they’d restart their relationship.

The ache in my chest pounded with my heartbeat.

What the fuck was wrong with me? Why did I care?

I was off the hook. My life could return to normal, and I could stop questioning myself.

Gripping my steering wheel, I started the car. I’d send a few more texts to JJ, and it would be over.