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CHAPTER FOUR

COOPER

“ I ’m going to kill him.” With a huff, I dropped into the puffy leather couch at the football house, combing my hand through my hair.

“What the fuck did Tony do now?” Eli lumbered from the hallway to the bedrooms and dropped in beside me, bouncing me on the cushion, his almost black hair falling into his deep brown eyes.

“He’s started stealing Coop’s shit.” Casey, our starting quarterback, shifted on the loveseat next to the couch, blowing a lock of his dirty blond hair from his green eyes.

“That’s fucked up.” Eli, one of our best linebackers, clomped his big hand on my thigh. “What did he try to steal?”

“The mouse for my Mac. He claimed he didn’t know where it was, but after he left for the night, I found it in his room.

Like sitting on his fucking desk.” I scoffed.

“He doesn’t even use a Mac. I can’t trust this guy worth shit.

” I had to leave before I broke something out of anger, and these guys would let me vent.

Plus, they’d keep my mind off Myles being on a date with JJ.

“When was the last time you cooked at your place?” Casey narrowed his eyes at me.

“A week ago. He keeps promising to clean up his dishes, but I don’t think he’s cleaned anything for a few weeks now. The last time I cleaned up after him was a week ago.” I inhaled deeply, attempting to unravel the tightness in my chest. “I think he’s cooking with dirty pans at this point.”

“That’s gross, dude.” Shaking his head, Eli removed his hand from my thigh. “You know you’re welcome to have some home-cooked meals here.”

“Yeah, shit.” If only there was space for me here. I rubbed a tense muscle in my neck and then picked up my Gatorade from the black coffee table in front of me and sipped it. I needed a beer, but I had an early class in the morning and if I started drinking now, I might not stop.

“Hey, did you see JJ before he went on his date?” Eli smirked. “He was all dressed up.”

“He was.” Nodding, Casey peeked at me. “I haven’t seen him wear anything but athletic gear since we came back from summer break.”

Chewing the inside of my lip, I stared at my Gatorade bottle, now wedged between my thighs. Setting Myles and JJ up was the right thing to do. I had to keep telling myself that.

“What’s with the look?” Casey peered at me, a soft smirk curling his lip.

“What look?” Forcing a smile at Casey, I said, “I’m happy for JJ. I’m sure they’re having a great time.” I sucked in a breath, calming the knot in my stomach.

“Your friend doesn’t know you’ve been hooking up with guys, does he?” Casey leaned forward and planted his elbows on his thighs, wrapping his fingers together.

Shaking my head, I said, “Nope. I’ve told no one back home.” It was like here, with new people, it was okay. It was my fantasy life. But back home? I wasn’t sure. I already had an identity there that had only included dating women.

“Myles won’t tell on you.” Eli snorted. “He’s a gay man, right? He’ll understand if you don’t want it spread around.”

I fisted my Gatorade. Myles wasn’t even out to his own family. I didn’t know how he’d pulled that off all these years. It wasn’t my place to say anything, though. “I’ll tell him when the time is right.”

“Okay.” Casey narrowed his eyes. “Damn, man, don’t worry about it so much.” He hopped up from the loveseat and fell in beside me. “There’s something else.”

With a vigorous shake of my head, I said, “No, there’s nothing else.” Except for the weird fluttery feelings I was getting around Myles and the fact I didn’t want to think about him dating JJ.

“You know you can talk to us.” Eli angled to face me.

Great, now I had both of them after me. “I’m fine. If I could escape my lease and get away from my roommate, I’d be better.” I lifted my chin. I had to return them to the bigger problem.

The front door burst open, and JJ and Myles walked in, hand in hand and laughing.

My stomach clenched. Shit, I didn’t need to see this.

Myles’s gaze locked on mine, and he froze, his laughter dying in his throat. “Cooper, what are you doing here?”

JJ glanced twice at me, then at Myles. “He comes over here a lot. Don’t you, Coop?” With his smile waning, he shut the door behind them. “I thought it was time to introduce Myles to more of my friends.” He led Myles into the room and stopped in front of the coffee table.

Myles hung his head, fisting and opening his free hand. With a deep inhale, he lifted his head and smiled. “Hi, nice to meet you guys, eh.”

“I’m Eli. Linebacker for ASU.” Eli hooked his arm on the back of the couch behind me.

“And I’m Casey, the quarterback.” He eyed Myles. “Am I detecting a Canadian accent?”

“Yes, Myles is from Vancouver, but moved to Chicago in high school after his dad took a job with the NHL.” JJ lifted Myles’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “Right? ”

“Yep.” The corners of Myles’s mouth twitched, and he snapped his gaze to me.

Casey chased Myles’s gaze. “Cooper here was just telling us about his roommate stealing his shit.”

“It was a mouse, not shit. It’s not like he stole multiple things.” I studied Myles. Did he like JJ? He wasn’t making any moves to get closer to him.

“That’s still not cool.” Myles furrowed his brows and stepped away from JJ, freeing their entwined hands. “We have an open bedroom in our place. Ace said…” He glanced at JJ, who worried his lower lip. “Ace and Zoma would be happy to have you.”

My heart flipped into my throat. Live? With Myles? “I’d have to break my lease.” I huffed a sigh. How much money could I sacrifice to get away from Tony?

“Find another sucker to take over your lease. People do it all the time.” Eli smirked at me. “Just use those same message boards you used to find your roommate to get Tony a new one.”

“Yeah?” I bit my lower lip. I’d never been in this situation. But live with Myles? When he was dating JJ? How did I feel about Myles though, really…I trailed my gaze over his lean, but muscled body and my cock jerked in my shorts. Fuck, there was definitely something.

“Okay, so cool. You find a guy to assume your lease and you move into the hockey house.” JJ spread a wide grin over his lips. “In the meantime, I’m going to grab us some water and we’re heading into my bedroom.” He strode into their kitchen of black appliances paired with white cabinets.

My stomach lurched, and nausea balled in my gut. Fuck no. “Okay then, I’m going to head out.” I jumped from the couch.

“But I thought we were going to play some video games?” Casey stood beside me. “It’s early still.”

With his brows drawing together, Myles peeked at me from under his blond bangs. He opened his mouth and then shut it.

Yeah, I needed to go. “I have an early class and I, uh, forgot I have an assignment due on it.” I skimmed my hand against the back of my head.

“Sorry, guess I was too upset about the fucking mouse.” I slipped my hand into the pocket of my athletic shorts.

My keys were still in there. “See you all.” I rushed to the door, gave them a last wave, and left.

I wouldn’t give them any more time to talk me into staying.

The next morning, I ambled into the workout room, the clanking of the weights filling the space as I kept my gaze on my sneakers. No practice today, thank God. I’d be too much of a mess. I hadn’t slept all night. I couldn’t get the thoughts of what JJ was doing to Myles out of my head.

“Hey, there he is.” JJ, all bright and cheery, stepped to me and slapped at my back. “It’s chest and back day. Want to work in on the bench with me?”

My stomach lurched as my gaze met his and fell to his mouth. Where had he put that mouth last night? I shrugged. I couldn’t turn him down. It would look odd. “Sure, but I have to warm up first.”

I scanned the room. All the guys were using machines or spotting each other on the free weights. I was late. Should have been here twenty minutes ago. I spied a free stationary bike. “Just give me five minutes, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” JJ chuckled and slapped my ass as I strode by him.

I hopped on the bike and pedaled, watching the timer on the handlebars. I wouldn’t ask JJ about his date.

“Hey about time you got here. Did you have a problem with your roommate this morning?” Eli stood before me, looking me up and down. “Damn, you look tired.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you go out after you left our place last night?”

I glanced at JJ, who stepped toward us.

Great. “Naw, I didn’t go out. Just didn’t sleep well.” I pumped my legs. Maybe I’d be able to get a nap in this afternoon, so I’d be fresh to go — My heart lurched. Fuck, I had to study with Myles tonight.

JJ leaned his elbow on my handlebars and smirked. “I had a fantastic time with Myles last night.”

I winced and looked across the room. I did not want to hear this. “Yeah? Good.”

“He’s a really nice guy. I guess it’s true what they say about Canadians, aye?” With a chuckle, he shifted into my vision. “Do you think you’re going to move in with him and his friends?”

“Don’t know yet. I have to study with him over there tonight, so I guess we’ll see if I fit in.” I snuck a peek at JJ, eyeing me. Solving this problem would cut me free of Tony, though.

“Yeah, Myles told me about that. I asked if he wanted to go out again tonight.” JJ tsked and patted my handlebars. “Guess you get to be with him tonight.”

“Will you tell him you’re bisexual?” Eli peered at me. “He should probably know before you move in there.”

I stared at Eli. Fuck. He was right. I’d probably fit in better with them all anyway if they knew. “Yeah, maybe. I mean, I’ll tell him before I make any plans.”

JJ glanced at the timer on the bike. “Five minutes are up. Let’s go hit the bench.” He strutted away from me.

I dismounted from the bike and followed him. “Go easy on me today.” I knew he wouldn’t.