Page 99 of Playing Dirty

“Hi, Quinton. Nice to hear from you too. I’ve been good, thanks. How’s New York?” I say sarcastically while pinning him with one of thosewhere are your mannerslooks.

It doesn’t do much, though, and he just rolls his eyes.

“Why the hell would I waste time on small talk when I know there’s a cup of piping hot tea waiting for me?”

I scoff. “I’m not planning to give you the dirty details of my sex life, if that’s what you’re meaning.”

He claps his hands together before pointing at the screen, all the while doing an excited little hop in his seat. “Ah, so there’s been sex. Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

I can’t help but laugh, having unintentionally set myself up for him to draw that conclusion. Which, to be fair, isn’t inaccurate.

“Okay, yeah. There’s been sex, but that’s all the information you’re getting.”

The grin on his face is massive—damn near splitting his face in two.

“Never took you for a Puritan, but fine. I’ll take whatever details you’ll give me as long as you start spilling them. Is it one guy or have you been letting your bi-flag fly free?”

I suck my teeth for a second before slowly confirming, “It’s the same guy. The one who kinda started all this. I mean, we’re…together.”

“Fuck buddies together or relationshiptogether?”

I frown as I process the question, realizing…shit, I don’t have an answer to that.

It doesn’t feel like we’re just fuck buddies. The few times we’ve had full-blown sex since the game night at his place felt just as emotionally charged as the first, and that’s something I’ve never had with any previous friends with benefits. And then there’s the things outside of sex to account for, like him inviting me to game night to meet his friends. The batting cages. Planning to see Vaughn in the musical.

All of it screamsrelationship,just without the label. But the reality is, it’s only been, what, just over a month since this whole thing started? Is that too soon to try and label it?

“It’s something between the two, I guess?”

Quinton sucks in a dramatic breath through his teeth and shakes his head. “Situationships aren’t good, Theo. One of you is gonna get hurt if you’re not on the same page. And I’d really prefer to keep the days of kicking dudes asses in the past.”

Truthfully, the possibility hasn’t even crossed my mind since the first time we had sex. It’s clear as day to me, both of us are as invested in this as the other. Though, part of me wonders if maybe weshouldhave a conversation soon about where this is leading. Especially since neither one of us will be in Chicago next year; me graduating and moving into whatever job comes after, and him hopefully playing on a farm team for whoever inevitably drafts him.

I’m pulled from my musings when I hear Oakley’s voice call from somewhere in the distance, “Who’s on the phone?”

Quinton glances away from me and shouts back, “It’s Theo!”

A couple seconds later, Oakley appears on the screen, in the middle of pulling a shirt on. He fixes his blond hair the moment his head popsthrough, and I give him a little wave.

“Hey, man.”

“T. Hey,” he says, a frown on his face before he looks at his boyfriend. “You have each other’s numbers now?”

Quinton shrugs. “It’s been over a month, and you weren’t asking him for updates.”

“So you steal his number from my phone?” Oakley asks.

He’s equally amused and incredulous, if the way he’s fighting a grin about it is anything to go by. And Quinton? He doesn’t have one ounce of guilt in his body.

“I’m invested, okay! Sue me for taking matters into my own hands.”

Oakley’s shoulders start shaking in laughter before he manages to collect himself. “Babe, I love you. But you’re the worst gossip I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not my fault that allyourfriends are the ones with the juicy tea these days. It’s the only place Hayes is lacking as a best friend.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Oak warns pointedly.

My lips twitch as I watch their dynamic unfold before my eyes—the two of them oblivious to my presence on the other end of the phone. It’s like they’re in their own little world that I get to peek into from the outside, even for a brief moment. It does something strange to my heart, creating this longing ache that I haven’t felt before.