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

Chapter five

Calvin

The moment I saw Ashley I was… intrigued.

I’m not sure that is the right word, but it’s the one that I’m sticking with.

He’s like no man I’ve seen before, and not just because he’s wearing what looks like a corset over his long-sleeved button-up shirt.

I can tell he’s got to be a foot taller than me even with him sitting, watching hockey, and screaming at the television like the players could somehow hear him through the screen.

I don’t know what it was, but I just knew I couldn’t deceive him.

Tony and I have pretended to be each other loads of times, him more than me, but only with our friends and our parents.

Oh, and our siblings. It was hard to fool Rachel, she always picked when we were trading places, but we’ve got two ‘other’ brothers, as we call them.

Brent, who moved to the UK years ago and we almost never see, and our dipshit younger brother Cosmo that were so much easier to fool.

Maybe that’s why I couldn’t do it. He’s screaming at the television just like Cosmo does when he’s watching hockey.

You would think now that Cosmo was in college he’d lighten up, but I made the mistake of calling him when a game was on a few nights ago, and when the center for LA was called for a penalty for charging, he screamed so loud down the line of the phone at the ref, my ear was ringing for an hour.

“You’re not Tony, and you’re straight, but you came on a date with a guy to protect his score on the dating app,” Ash repeats like he’s trying to figure out whether or not to trust what I’m saying.

“That about sums it up. Sorry. I told him he should have just cancelled.”

“I guess I’ll go then,” he says, but my hand shoots out to grab the stool back, caging him in.

“We can still hang out, grab dinner, I haven’t eaten, have you eaten?” I don’t know what I’m doing. I didn’t want to come tonight at all, and he’s giving me an out. Why am I not taking it?

He shrugs.

“Sure, I guess. Why not?”

He sits, and I pull out the stool beside him and order a beer from Wally, the owner of The Trophy Room, one of three sports bars in Savannah. Our reservation is at the adjoining restaurant in about twenty minutes, so we’ve got time.

“Do you like hockey?” he asks, and I nod.

“My younger brother plays for Boston U.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Cosmo Parks.”

“The Flash is your brother?”

“You watch college hockey?”

“I’ll watch pee wee hockey if that was a thing. Is that a thing?”

I shrug. “No idea, but Cosmo would. He’s been obsessed with the sport his whole life. Man, you should have seen his face when he opened the acceptance letter to Boston U.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets drafted this year. He’s an amazing player.”

“Fastest rookie on the ice, but don’t tell him I called him that.

His head is big enough as it is.” Cosmo was obsessed with The Flash comics growing up, so I have my suspicions he’s the one who really started the nickname, but it’s out there now and even the commentators use it when they talk about him.

“My lips are sealed,” he replies, pretending to zip his lips shut, and I chuckle. “So your twin plays Banana Ball and your younger brother plays hockey. Any other sporting siblings I should know about?”

“My grandfather is a pretty mean bowler, and then I play, too.”

“You bowl?”

“No. I mean, I play sports. I play in the league with Tony, on another team.”

I catch a slight dip in his brow.

“You don’t like Banana Ball?” I ask, before I down the last of my beer. Wow, that went fast. I signal Wally for another.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen a game, but I’ve heard…things.”

I laugh. “Fair enough.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a great…sport.”

“You don’t sound too convinced there.” He wouldn’t be the first or the last to question what we do, but I love it.

I love baseball, dancing, and the unmatched crowd energy that makes me feel like a superstar.

Sure, I’m not the most well-known in the league.

Most people just refer to Tony and me as B-One and B-Two.

Bet you can’t guess which one he insists he is.

“I’m just more into hockey than anything else. My whole family was Seattle fans, I’m from there, originally.”

“They were, but aren’t anymore?”

“It’s just me now,” he replies, and my gut sinks.

“Fuck. Sorry. When I said it, my mind was thinking they went for another team now or something. It never crossed my mind they could be…”

“Dead.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay that they’re dead. It happened a long time ago. It’s easier now. Plus, you couldn’t have known. So, why Banana Ball?”

I’m grateful for the change in subject. Even though he’s using the word “dead” like it’s nothing and acting like he’s past it, there’s something behind his eyes that tells me it still fucking hurts and I feel like such a dick for making him go there.

“Why not Banana Ball?” I ask.

“I guess what I mean is, if you love baseball, why not play for the real MLB instead of…performing baseball?”

“You really haven’t seen a game, have you?”

“Nope.”

“Yo, Wally, can we put tonight’s replay on?”

“You don’t need to—”

“Nope, we’ve got a while before dinner. It’s time to pop your Banana Ball cherry,” I say, and Wally hands me the remote.

Ash leans in and whispers, “I’ve been here a dozen times in the last two months, and not once have I seen him hand over the remote to anyone.”

I catch the scent of his cologne, a rich musk with a hint of citrus. It fills my nose and makes my head spin a little. Tony hates musk, I think, as I grab my fresh beer and take a big gulp.

“Wally’s a big Banana Ball fan,” I tell him.

“So he knows you’re a player?”

“Yep. A few of the guys come in here when we are playing at home and in the off-season. We ran a charity auction here last year for the local youth center.”

“That’s really cool. What sort of things did you auction?”

“You know, the usual sports memorabilia, a Big Banana Pass, jerseys, and stuff.”

“What’s a Big Banana Pass?”

“A double pass to every game all year, including the ones out of state. It comes with a bunch of swag, too. We only started it a few years ago, but it’s really taken off. They’re also the only seats at our home stadium that are numbered. The rest are first in, first served.”

Normally, I need Tony with me to really feel comfortable. I’ve always been that way, I guess. When I’m alone, I’m pretty quiet. Tony has this way of bringing out my wilder, more confident side, but it’s sort of easy with Ash.

I take another sip of beer, the cool, bitter tang settling in my stomach.

There isn’t much else in there. I point and click until the television is displaying tonight’s earlier game.

We’ve missed the opening number, but there’s still plenty more theatrics and baseball for him to get educated on the sport I love.

“So what do you do, Ash?”

“I’m the alliance manager for RED Tech.”

“And what does an alliance manager for RED Tech actually do?”

“I build relationships with investors and secure new investors, that sort of thing.”

I’m not sure I understand what he does. Not really. It sounds like he basically talks to people and convinces them to give his bosses money.

I must look confused, too, because he slaps his hand down on my shoulder and laughs.

“I get it. It sounds made up, but I believe in what RED Tech is doing. They have these new sensors that monitor cattle that are going to help ranchers keep track and keep their herds healthy and safe.”

“How so?” I ask, genuinely interested. I’ve always been keen to understand how technology can be used to help fix things we once just accepted as part of life. He hesitates.

“I really shouldn’t talk about it. We have the patents through, but the sensors are still in testing.”

“No worries. I’m not going to steal company secrets, but I get it.” I mirror his earlier action of zipping my lips closed, and he relaxes with a soft smile.

“Your brother’s profile said he played for Animal something. What’s your team called?”

“He plays for Animal Control; I play for the Funky Monkeys.”

“For real?”

“Real as it gets. We’re the two newer teams in the league. We play one of the OG teams tomorrow night, and then both OG’s go head-to-head on Sunday.”

He nods, mostly keeping his eyes fixed on the television as I go over the major differences between our game and MLB.

We watch the replay of Ryan pitching his fastball right into Dave’s glove.

One benefit of watching on the television is the commentary and the extra information you get on screen.

The speed counter in the corner is one of those benefits, and after Ryan’s next pitch, it shows one-zero-three point five.

I see Ash’s brows pick up.

“Shit, that’s fast,” he says, shaking his head like he’s not quite believing what he’s seeing. “So you only play for two hours?”

“Sort of, if we hit the two-hour mark, we jump right to the last inning.”

“Where every run is a point?”

“Yep, see not so hard to get a handle on.” Music starts to play, and the commentators begin talking about Ryan’s stats, and Tony steps up to bat. Ash glances my way and back to the screen a few times, like he’s trying to guess if it’s me or my brother.

“That’s Tony, right?” he says with an odd confidence.

“You sure?”

“Yep. You’re…different.”

“Pretty sure the definition of identical twins would refute that statement.”

“No, seriously, I don’t know what it is. But that’s him. I can see it now. When I first saw you, I thought you looked different from your picture.”

“No way! You totally thought I was Tony.”

“I mean, I did, because I brushed aside my gut feeling, because how often do you meet up with the identical twin of the guy you’re supposed to be hooking up with?”

“I knew it was that kind of app,” I say, pulling out my phone to text my asshole brother.

“Shit, no! I meant meet up with. There are no expectations on the app.”

“You sure about that?”

“You thought the app might be a hookup thing, and you still came anyway?”

My cheeks burn, and I go to drink my beer, but I’ve already finished this one, too. Fuck, I have to slow down. I’ve got a game tomorrow.

“I wasn’t… I didn’t…”

“Relax. I’m just fucking with you.” He laughs. “So, tell me more about Banana Ball.”