Page 30 of Hidden Plays (Desert Football #1)
FOURTEEN
HOLDEN
W ith a start, I cringed. Fucking hell, Noel showed up. I peeked behind me at my brother, same wavy blond hair as me, but cut short, and brown eyes not quite focused and bloodshot. How high was he? Paint stained his ragged t-shirt. Had he come straight from a job?
Noel clomped a callused hand on each of our shoulders and eyed JJ. “Who are you and why were you getting so cozy with my brother?”
“I’m uh…” JJ gaped and cut his gaze to me.
Fuck, how much did Noel see? Would he be a dick about it? “JJ’s my boyfriend.” I flinched. Might as well get it out of the way and take whatever he’d give us.
“Boyfriend?” With a lop-sided smile, he examined JJ, his eyes narrowing. “I guess if my brother was going to switch teams, he could have picked worse.” He dropped his arms and focused on me. “When the hell did you turn gay?”
“I’m not gay. I’m bisexual.” With a scoff, I eyed the server making her way to us with our burgers in her hand. If he started shit with us, I was pretty sure she’d intervene. She’d been so nice to talk to earlier .
“Bisexual, huh? I guess that means you still like girls.” He glanced at JJ. “You’re kinda pretty. Maybe that’s why he picked you?”
“Uh, thanks?” JJ’s throat bobbed as he stared at Noel.
This was not how I’d wanted them to meet, but what the fuck. I had to go with it now. “Have a seat, Noel.” I patted the empty stool next to me. I wanted him as far away from JJ as possible.
He hopped onto the seat and as Margaret dropped off our burgers, he said, “Hey, darlin’.
Can you get me a beer and a shot of Jamo?
Neat.” He peered toward my burger. “And might as well get me a burger too.” With a smirk and a twinkle in his eye, he leaned in.
“Don’t want to be the odd man out.” The scent of alcohol and weed floated on his breath.
“Of course.” With a glance at me and her brows ticking, she ambled to her POS system, tapped it, and poured his drinks.
“So, when did this start?” He waved his finger between me and JJ.
“I don’t know, six weeks ago?” I threw JJ a glance. What was he thinking about this? If I were him, I’d be terrified.
JJ poured ketchup onto his burger and set the bun on top. “Yeah, six weeks.” He bit into his food.
“Oh. You ever been with a man before?” Noel poked my shoulder. “Is this a recurring thing for you?”
“No, this is the first time.” I poured ketchup onto my plate and dipped a fry into it. Noel seemed okay for now. It was surprising as fuck. But I knew him better than that. Eventually, something shitty would slip out of his mouth. I should get the topic off me and JJ. “Why were you so late?”
“Had to finish a job. I’m laying laminate flooring at a condo, and the bitch who hired us is fucking picky about the damn pattern.” He scowled. “Fucking rich Scottsdale bitches.”
Margaret dropped off his drinks.
“Oh.” I bit into my burger. Something made me think he had been drinking on the job or had had a few in the car on the way here. Both were bad.
“You got it easy, Golden Boy.” He shoved my shoulder. “All you do is go to class all day and fuck your boyfriend.”
I glared at him. “Excuse me?” Here we go.
JJ wiped his mouth and stared at us, his lips parting.
“I’m actually working as a student trainer for the football team and studying for my master’s. It’s difficult. JJ here is the first-string wide receiver for the team, and I’m his trainer.” Jesus fuck, I’d probably told him too much. I flared my nostrils, taking a deep breath.
He peered at JJ and then at me. “Okay, so your first training job and you’re already fucking the clientele?” He huffed a snicker. “Not sure that’s a good way to start, but you do you.”
“It’s not against school policy.” JJ’s gaze darted between us.
Noel leaned over the bar, focusing on JJ. “Are you gay or bisexual too?” With an unnerving grin, he downed his shot.
“Don’t answer that, JJ.” I held my hand up to JJ. It was none of his fucking business.
“Why not? He’s fucking my brother, right?” Noel gulped his beer. “I don’t care either way, was just curious.”
“I’m gay.” JJ’s hardened gaze bore into Noel.
“Great.” Turning to me, Noel rested a forearm on the bar. “Why did you invite me here if you were bringing your boyfriend and didn’t want to talk about it?”
“I…I intended to meet you by myself, but I didn’t think you’d show. You were an hour late and weren’t answering your phone or texts.” I sipped my beer. Don’t say it… “I figured you were too drunk already to make it.” Fuck me. I flinched. “So, I invited him to meet me instead.”
“Drunk? Hell no. I’m just getting started.” Noel lifted his beer glass and then downed it. “Where’s the damn bartender? I need fresh drinks.”
As if on cue, Margaret appeared from behind the double doors, holding his burger. When she set it in front of him, he ordered more drinks.
“Did you Uber here?” I ate more fries. I hadn’t wanted JJ to witness this, but now he knew what I was fighting on Thanksgiving. I peeked at JJ. He sure was quiet, but then, it was a good thing.
“No, why would I do that? My car’s working fine now.” He downed his fresh shot and chased it with a gulp of beer. “This burger looks delicious.” He bit into it, spilling a tomato from the back. “Have you told Mom and Dad about your boyfriend?” He sucked juice off his fingers.
“No, I’ve only told a handful of friends.” My pulse picked up speed. “It’s still new.” He didn’t need to know about JJ’s queer friends.
“Oh.” He set his burger down and faced me, quirking the edge of his mouth. “Because Dad is going to shit himself.” He lifted his chin. “His golden boy is dating a guy. It’ll be an epic fall from grace.” He drank more beer.
“What do you mean?” Did he know something I didn’t? I watched him, my eyelid twitching.
“Dad thinks you can do no wrong. But you know how conservative he is. I doubt he’ll accept this shit.” He ate a fry. “Don’t be surprised if he cuts you off. He’ll think you’ve fallen prey to the liberal queer agenda at ASU.” He snorted and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
Fuck, was he serious? I blinked at him. With his addiction problems, he’d seen a side of Dad I hadn’t. But then, Dad always bailed him out in the end. “He gives you money when you need it. Why would he cut me off?”
He shrugged and ate more of his burger. Speaking while chewing, he said, “But I’m not bisexual and fucking a guy. I can be—” He made air quotes. “—saved.”
With a knot churning in my gut, I swung my gaze to JJ. “Um…” Was Noel right about this? Would Dad cut me off fi nancially? What would Mom say about it? She didn’t like Dad giving Noel money…
JJ squeezed my hand, shook his head and in a soft voice said, “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know.”
“What’s that?” Noel swayed around me to throw a glare at JJ.
“Dude, I know my family better than you do. I’ve seen the worst of it.
” He bumped his shoulder against mine. “Golden Boy hasn’t.
He’s always been the favorite, playing football and going to college for a fancy fucking degree.
Finding out he’s queer will send my dad over the edge.
” He pointed at JJ. “You watch.” He gave us a crooked grin.
“You’re better off keeping that shit a secret. ”
I threw my napkin on my half-eaten burger as my stomach lurched. I couldn’t eat any more. I wished I could go home and hide. Fuck this.
“Mind you, I don’t give a shit what you do. It’s not my fucking life.” He ate more of his burger, drank the rest of his beer and flagged Margaret for another round.
He was about to have the sixth drink since he’d gotten here. Six . And he thought he could drive home? “Hey, shouldn’t you slow down?”
“What? I’m just getting started.” He ate some fries. “I’m not a lightweight.” He glanced at JJ. “I can hold my liquor.”
But how much weed had he smoked on top of it? I sighed and rubbed my temple. The situation was a mess. “I can drive you home.”
“You don’t need to.” As Margaret left another set of drinks for him, Noel threw the shot back.
“You’re still paying off a DUI. Do you really want another?” And what about the risk to others after he got behind the wheel? I pushed my plate toward the back of the bar. “I’ll drive you home.”
“What about your boyfriend?” He sipped some beer. “Don’t you want to go home with him tonight? ”
Pursing my lips, I flashed my eyes toward JJ. I did, but what did driving Noel home have to do with it?
“I thought you had a game tomorrow. You said you didn’t want to stay late, and I’m staying for the band. I’m not working tomorrow.” With a smirk, Noel hooked a brow. “I’m not leaving early. Fuck that.”
“Fine, do what you want.” I breathed through the pinch in my chest. If something happened to him tonight and Mom knew we were together, she’d blame me.
“I will.” Noel ate the last of his burger.
My mind rummaged through the conversation about Dad. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad about JJ.” Pain tore through my chest. This was fucked up. I loved JJ. He was important to me, and now I had to hide him from my parents. I slumped on my stool, wrapping my forearms around my beer.
JJ slid an arm over my shoulders and came in close, whispering in my ear. “Hey, don’t worry about this. We’ll work through it.”
“I wouldn’t tell on you. I’m not a snitch.” With a scoff, Noel dunked fries in a pool of ketchup and ate them. “So, JJ, where did you grow up?” He wiped his fingers on a napkin.
“In Scottsdale. I went to the same high school as you.” JJ straightened his spine and puffed his chest.
“Yeah? I suppose you played football on our team, too. Did you play with Holden?” Noel shoved his plate away and narrowed his eyes. “Were you there when the great Holden Cox busted his knee so bad he’d never play again?”
“I was.” His gaze met Noel’s head on. “It was awful. Were you there?”