Page 55

“Shh!” I rush out, probably louder than his voice was.

Des covers his mouth and chuckles.

I roll my eyes, embarrassed at my overreaction, but then let the phone scan down my body. When I get to my dick, I wrap my other hand around it, stroking myself a couple of times, each one getting me harder.

“Fuck, Oak. You are so goddamn sexy. Set the phone down and jerk off for me.”

Guess we’re not doing this in the shower, then. That makes it easier. You too, I mouth to him, and he does so easily, placing the phone on the counter, angling it so I can see him. He squirts some lube into his hand. I don’t have any, but I use the hotel lotion, both of us quiet, both of us stroking ourselves.

I can’t take my eyes off him, can’t believe I’m doing this with him. Can’t believe Hunter is on the other side of the door—and that makes it even sexier.

When I’m close, Des can tell. He whispers, “Do it. Come for me. Let me see you empty those big fucking balls of yours,” and telling him to be quiet is the furthest thing from my mind. I drop my head back, bite my tongue, and let go, jacking myself through my orgasm.

Just seconds later, Des is right behind me, his load looking like it’s spurting right at me, and damned if I don’t wish I was there to lick it all up.

I change the call over to a regular one and put the phone to my ear. “Fuck, that was hot,” I say softly.

“Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he replies, and even though I know that can’t be true, I grin. “Take a shower and get cleaned up. I’m gonna let you go. Good luck on your game tomorrow.”

“Good luck to you too,” I reply.

When I get out of the shower and climb into bed, I’m still smiling.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Desmond

“That was a good game, baby,” Mama says about our game yesterday.

“The Inferno are already off to a better start than they were last season,” Dad adds. They’re sitting at the bar in the kitchen, where we have most of our talks, the phone propped up between them so I can see their faces. It’s a routine we have, and it means the world to me—especially coming from Dad.

Mom has always liked sports. She was a basketball player in high school and college, but Dad had never given a shit about them until I fell in love with football. He’s the type of guy who will have studied the Inferno’s record before I joined the team and will keep up with it now. It’s never lost on me how lucky I am to have them as parents, even if Mom does always ask me when I’m going to settle down, when I’m going to find a nice girl and give her grandbabies.

“It was fun. I like playing for L.A. It’s different out here.”

“Well, you know we never liked that coach of yours,” Mama says. “He’s an asshole.”

My jaw tightens. “Yeah, he is.” I hoped he would receive some kind of repercussions from the way he treats people, but the world doesn’t always work that way. It’s not like Hunter wanted to bring it all out in the open, and really, what can they do? The league can’t punish him for putting pressure on a player who used to be like a son to him. It’s not against the law to be a piece of shit. “It’s cool here, though. I like my teammates. Me and Juju have hung out a few times.”

“That’s good, Des. I think we all knew it was time for you to move on, and we had a feeling you’d fit better in L.A. And it’s nice Hunter is there.”

I nod because it is nice. It’s nice Oak is out here too. There’s no way we would have reconnected if I hadn’t been traded, no way I would have gotten to see the side of him that I’m seeing now—the guy who went into the bathroom and jerked off for me because it would turn us both on.

“So, have you met anyone else…” Mama lets the question hang in the air. We all know exactly what she means. She doesn’t even have to say it.

“Nia,” my dad says.

“Don’t Nia me. I’m allowed to ask my son if he’s met anyone. It’s okay if I want him to have someone. It’ll be good for him, settling down with a nice woman.”

“Or man,” pops out of my mouth. I don’t know whether it’s out of frustration of us having this conversation again or because I just want the truth out there. Keeping it to myself makes me feel like I’m ashamed, and that’s not something I’ve ever been, not about my sexuality or anything else.

The line is quiet for a moment. My parents look at each other, then back at me.

“Or man,” Dad says. “You know we don’t care about that.”

“Do you have someone? A man in your life and you weren’t sure you could tell us?” Mama asks.

I don’t let myself think of Oakley. What we have isn’t anything. Plus, it’s only been going on for two point two seconds. Me coming out to my parents has nothing to do with him. “Nah. There’s no one. I just wanted you both to know it might not be a woman.”