Page 15 of Totally Played (Love In Play #5)

Chapter fourteen

Ashley

I know I was there to cheer for both of them, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit it made me so happy to see Calvin take out the win against his brother. Watching him jump and cheer with his friends was almost as fun as watching him play.

“Great game, honey,” his mom says, hugging him tight when he steps out of the player entrance.

He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a green long-sleeve Henley, his hair is wet still from the showers and swept back, looking really fucking good.

Tony follows close behind, wearing almost the exact same thing, only his jeans are a few shades lighter and a tighter fit.

My body doesn’t have quite the same reaction to seeing him, and I try to shove the lustful thoughts of Calvin aside and focus on the brother who might actually be into me.

“You too, Tony dear,” his mother says, hugging Tony for a few seconds longer than his brother.

“I’ll get him next time,” Tony replies, and we make a start along the lit sidewalk toward Riverside Barbeque. I somehow ended up between Calvin and Tony, and I don’t quite know where to look, so I keep staring straight ahead.

“Did you have fun?” Tony asks me, and I nod.

“It was great. You had some great runs out there.”

“Calvin’s team was better tonight. You played great, Calvin. That catch on Stevie with that trick catch, who knew you were so flexible?”

My cheeks burn.

“Yeah, umm, I’ve been… stretching and doing umm, yoga,” he replies, and fuck, I’d love to see how bendy he really is.

No. Stop. Focus on Tony. Tony is your date.

Calvin is just his twin brother. His adorable, sweet, sexy-as-fuck twin brother that makes your heart beat a million times faster and your dick pricks up at the sound of his name in your thoughts.

“You’re coming to the club with us tonight, aren’t you?” Tony asks, and Calvin nods.

“Great. Calvin is a way better dancer than I am. You might not know it because of that opening number, but I swear it’s true,” he says, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to get me interested in Calvin.

We get to the restaurant and take our seats, and sure enough, Tony insists I sit between him and Calvin.

Maybe it’s a twin thing, like he wants his brother not to feel left out or something.

It’s that way all through dinner, every time anyone says or asks a question, he finds a way to work in some fun fact about Calvin, all the while Calvin is blushing beside me, shaking his head just trying to eat his dinner.

I’m trying to give Tony my full attention, but it means turning my back on Calvin and I hate it.

It’s not fair to Tony that I’m sitting here the whole time thinking about how close Calvin’s leg is to mine.

Wondering if I could accidentally on purpose rest my thigh against his.

Would he move away? Fuck. I don’t think I can do this, whatever this is with Tony.

I’ll end it tonight. We weren’t exclusive or anything, but it’s pretty clear I can’t be all in with him.

Now I just have to get through dinner without making it weird.

“You just got back from a trip, didn’t you, Ashley?” their mom asks me as we’re served dessert. I decided it was a safe bet to go for the ice cream.

“Yeah, I was in Belgium for a while for work,” I reply, spooning a small portion into my mouth. The cold, creamy sweetness coats my tongue, and I feel my body cool as it makes its way down my throat.

“That’s nice. We went to Belgium before the boys were born, didn’t we, Jo? It was a lovely country. I expect it’s changed a bit since then, though.” Jo hums in agreement as he eats.

“It’s still lovely. I got to see more of the countryside this time, which was nice.”

“Are you planning another trip overseas soon?” Calvin asks. It’s probably the first time he’s said anything through dinner, but with how much his brother has been talking about him, I can’t really blame him for staying quiet.

“That depends on my boss, Redmond,” I say, avoiding eye contact, except my gaze locks on the adorable tiny heart-shaped freckle, and I smile.

“Umm… He’s got his younger sister he can send now, so I’ll be traveling less.

She’s still in Japan at the moment, so I might have to meet her, but we’ll see. ”

“Well, we’re off to New York in a few days, then Buffalo and Ohio,” Tony says, and I return my attention to him. I sort of feel like one of those ball on a string things you played as a kid, bouncing back and forth between the conversations, but it’s better than fawning all over a guy I can’t have.

“Travelling so much for games must be fun,” I say, and Tony nods.

“Calvin doesn’t like it much, but I think it’s great. I love playing in the different stadiums and staying at the hotels.”

“I prefer my bed over any hotel one, but that’s just me,” I say, and Calvin chuckles.

“My bed is way better than the ones in the hotels we stay in, too. I do like their pillows, though,” he says, and I have to agree.

“I actually bought a couple from a hotel I stayed in last year.”

“I did, too.” He laughs.

“You two are weird. Pillows are pillows,” Tony says, finishing off his pie.

“Can Fort and I come to the club, too?” Rachel asks, nuzzling in at Fort’s side, his cheeks growing warmer at the attention.

Tony shrugs. “If Ash is still keen to go, I don’t mind if you want to call it a night,” Tony says.

“Umm. I guess. You’re still coming, too, right, Calvin?”

“I think I showed everyone how badly I danced already tonight, no one needs a repeat of that performance.”

“You were great.”

“I wasn’t, but thanks for pretending. I guess I could come for a little while.”

“Awesome. Jo and Lyn, you got dinner last time. This time, I insist,” I say, jumping up before they can protest and intercepting the waitress headed over with our bill.

***

The club is packed when we arrive, and Rachel and Fort head right out onto the dance floor while Calvin, Tony, and I make our way to the bar. We get more than a few looks on the way, too. I wonder if it’s like that for them everywhere they go.

“I’ll get the first round,” I say, waving toward the waitress. “What will you have?”

“A beer is fine, thanks,” Calvin replies.

“Bourbon,” Tony says, pulling out his phone and taking a few steps to the side.

“Two beers and a bourbon on the rocks, please?” I tell her and hand over my card and a ten in cash for her tip.

Our drinks arrive, and she hands me back my card with a folded napkin beside it, and I open it up to find her number.

“Wow, here two seconds and already getting hit on. Pretty sure that even beats Tony’s record,” Calvin says, and I feel my face warm.

“It doesn’t count when it’s someone you would never go out with,” I say, shoving the napkin into my pocket. I won’t be calling her, I just don’t want to be a dick and scrunch it up and toss it, plus what if some creep finds it and starts calling her? I’ll throw it away on the way home later.

“It counts,” Calvin says as Tony joins us again, reaching behind me for his drink.

“What counts?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I say, and Tony doesn’t press it.

“Let’s dance,” he says, downing his bourbon in one go and grabbing my arm. I manage to put the glass on the counter without spilling it before he pulls me onto the dance floor.

Rachel and Fort find us fast, and we dance sort of in a group, both Rachel and I trying countless times to wave Calvin over, but he shakes his head and sits at the bar sipping his beer.

I lean in close to Tony, and his hands find my hips. Not what I was intending, but okay.

“How can we get Calvin out here?” I yell over the music.

“Look, I was thinking,” Tony starts, and it’s the same tone I’ve heard a bunch of times before, only usually the words are coming from me. “This has been fun, but I don’t think we’re a good fit,” he says, and I smile, because he’s not wrong and he’s being really nice about trying to let me down.

“I think you’re right,” I say, and he smiles and releases my hips. “Friends then?”

“Sure, friends,” I reply, shaking his hand and turning back to where we left Calvin sitting at the bar, but Calvin isn’t there. I scan the crowd, trying to find him as Tony taps on his phone as he dances beside me.

“I need a drink,” I tell him, and I head back to the bar.

I try to spot Calvin in the sea of dancing bodies, but I can only spot Tony still dancing with his sister and Fort.

“Can I get you another beer?” the waitress who offered her number earlier asks.

“Sure, that would be great, thanks. Oh, I should probably give this back, too. Thanks for the ego boost though,” I say, handing her the napkin.

“No worries. I saw you out there and realized I’d probably never hear from you.”

She gets my drink, and I sit watching the crowd for Calvin.

Did he leave? Is he off in some corner, making out with some random woman?

Fuck. I need to get him out of my head. I down the beer, make a quick pit stop in the bathroom, then get back out on the dance floor.

Tony is dancing with Rachel and Fort, and while Rachel is dancing with her arms around Fort’s neck, she separates when I join them, and we dance for a while as a group.

Tony’s got his back to me, and steps back, bumping right into me, and my hands grip his waist to steady him.

“Sorry,” he yells back, still grooving to the music.

Before I can let go of him, his hands come up and close over mine.

I guess friends can dance like this, I think, all the while searching for Calvin over the top of him.

Being tall has its perks, but when the song ends and a new one starts, and I still can’t spot him, I figure I should stop torturing myself and just have some fun.

I wrap my arms around him, breathing him in, and loving the way his scent fills my nose.

He smells just like his brother. It must be the jacket I’m still wearing, but my cock pulses at the thought and I pull him tighter against me, his ass round and perfect and making me harder by the second.

It’s wrong to be thinking of one brother while dancing with the other, but I can’t help it.

Then he turns, and even though it’s dark, and the lights are flashing in time with the beat in a rainbow of colors across his skin, I spot the tiny heart-shaped freckle on his cheek.

“Calvin?”