Blindsided (Fake Boyfriend #4)(63)

“Okay, wow, so you weren’t lying when you said it turned out to be more, huh?” Trey doesn’t sound weirded out, only surprised.

“What do you want?” Talon asks his brother.

“Was calling to check on you. Mom and Dad are being a pain in my ass, and that can only mean you’ve been avoiding them. They tend to pay me more attention when the number one son is busy.”

“Fuck off. They love you for not leaving them. I’m only the favorite son because my success is measurable.”

Trey eyes Talon warily through the screen. “Why do I feel like there’s an insult in there somewhere?”

“If that was all you had to say, I’m gonna go back to sleep now. My boyfriend kept me up allll night doing gay things to me.”

My heart stutters, but not at him telling his brother about last night. I trip on the boyfriend label, which I guess is what we are—we’ve been with only each other for months. But still, first time he’s actually said it. But did he only say it to freak out Trey, or did he actually mean it?

Trey sighs. “If you’re trying to freak me out by speaking fluent homo, you have to know I don’t give a shit. I work with guys a hell of a lot gayer than you. I don’t think you could shock me at this point.”

“Let me sleeeep,” Talon complains.

“Fine. But call Mom and Dad today. Please. For my own sanity.”

“Will do.” Talon yawns again. “Oh, and don’t tell them about Miller, because I’m not gonna.”

“Why not?”

“We’re ...” Talon looks at me, and I try to keep my face passive. “We’re still figuring this out.”

Boyfriend label not serious then. And figuring it out? I thought we were past that.

“Fair enough, but when you do figure it out, maybe you should think about telling the press before they catch you.”

“Why do you say that?” Talon asks.

“So you get to narrate your own story. Last thing you need is someone else doing it for you and getting it wrong. Like your teammate’s story.”

Talon purses his lips. “We should be fine. We’re being careful.”

Probably too careful.

“Talk soon, little brother.”

They end the call, and I try to stay silent, but with one phone call, the bubble we’ve created on Staten Island just became a tad bit unstable. I expect it to pop any minute.

“Boyfriend?” I have to go for the easy target—taunting and preparing to laugh it off.

Talon puts his phone on the bedside table and rolls over to face me. His leg goes over my hip as he snuggles in closer. “It’s what we are, aren’t we?”

“I ... I guess? I mean, we’re not seeing anyone else, and I’ve spent more nights at your place than I have my own ... so, uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“He guesses,” Talon says dryly. “You’re totally in love with me. I can tell already.”

I freeze, and with Talon wrapped around me, he notices instantly.

He shoves me. “I’m just playing.”

“I know.”

He’s unconvinced, but it’s hard to wrap my head around.

We’ve been finding our groove as a couple and still as teammates, but we don’t talk about what will happen come training camp. In fact, we haven’t talked about anything that doesn’t reside on Staten Island.

When Talon said I was worth the risk, I think he meant I’m worth hiding for. There’s no risk when there’s no chance of anyone ever seeing us together.

Jackson had invited us to Noah’s fundraising charity a few weeks back, which we fully intended to go to, but at the last minute, Talon distracted me with sex, and we didn’t get out of bed for it. Maddox invited us to more bar nights, but I feigned exhaustion from training, because I knew Talon would make an excuse not to go.

We haven’t left Staten Island since … since he told me I was worth everything.

We live and breathe for training and each other, and if it were a possibility for our world to last this way, I’d jump at the chance to make it a permanent arrangement.

I know who I am with Talon. I know where I fit. I’m just not sure how the rest of the world fits in with us.

And sooner or later, real life is going to catch up to us.

“So, uh, what do you think about what your brother said?” I ask.

“About calling my parents? I’ll do it later.”

Not what I meant, and I wonder if he answered that way on purpose.

“Were you going to at least tell them? My mom knows.”

“Your mom’s not likely to blab about it to all of her friends. My mom’s the worst secret keeper. I’d like to think she’d be good with something as big as this, but I could see her being all proud and telling her friends without thinking they’ll tell someone else and then someone else, and then—”

“Right. Fair enough. And the media thing?” I don’t know why I’m pushing, and with the way Talon’s eyeing me, I don’t think he does either.

“I thought we agreed that wasn’t going to happen?”

“Yeah, but then we stopped going out in public at all. Don’t get me wrong. I know we need to keep this quiet, but it’s like this apartment is our entire freaking world right now, and while you might not mean it to, it’s starting to feel like we’re each other’s dirty little secret.”