Page 41 of Switch Pitching

My eyes widen. “What the hell?”

James chuckles and shakes his head. “Yeah, look at the way they spun this. We apparently went on a romantic date andgazed lovingly into each other’s eyes the whole time we were there.”

I groan, rubbing between my eyebrows. “Seriously? We were just having dinner.”

“Guess we seemed a little too cozy,” James says. “But come on, you’ve got to admit it’s funny.”

Even though I’m still feeling things I shouldn’t, I can’t help but smile. “I guess. But now everyone’s going to think we’re dating.”

James shrugs. “Nah. Nobody with any common sense is gonna think that.”

His casual attitude throws me off. My tension eases for a second, but at the same time, something heavier settles in. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s just weird, you know?”

“Totally weird,” he agrees, taking another bite of his bagel. “But hey, at least we’re famous now. Welcome to the big leagues,” James raises his coffee cup in a humorous toast.

I laugh with James, trying to brush off the article like it’s no big deal. But inside, I’m falling apart, just like yesterday morning. Seeing those pictures and the way the magazine spun our dinner into something romantic is like a cruel joke, because as much as I try to suppress my feelings for James, they’re growing stronger.

I don’t know how much more control I have left in me, both in terms of my feelings for James and for not letting those feelings mess up our friendship.

Part of that involves pretending that nothing is wrong, which means that James’s casual jokes aren’t likely to stop anytime soon. Icouldtry asking him to tone the flirting down, but I’m hoping to dodge that uncomfortable conversation. Even if avoidance causes my downfall.

Sipping my coffee, I force a smile. “Yeah, I guess we’ll have to be more careful about where we eat,” I joke, hoping my voice sounds steady.

“Or we can keep giving them some more content, keep ‘em guessing.”

James pivots, moving on from the article and poking at some game on his phone. He’s so carefree, and it makes me jealous. James is off limits. He’s straight. But seeing those photos and imagining what it would be like if they were real?

I’mreallytrying not to let that get to me.

“Hey, are you okay?” James asks. “Just thought I’d ask since you weren’t feeling great yesterday.”

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about today’s game,” I lie. It’s not that Ineverget moody, but I just couldn’t keep myself together yesterday after waking up in James’s arms.

James nods, accepting my answer. “Yeah, it’s gonna be a tricky one, Philadelphia’s doing well this year, but we’ve got this.”

“Totally,” I say, forcing enthusiasm into my voice.

As James goes back to his phone, I take another deep breath. I can do this. I just have to keep doing what I always do with attractive straight guys and keep pushing my feelings down until they go away.

Right before practice starts, we’re walking into Greenwall Park when James elbows me.

“Yo,” he says. “Look to your right. Two o’clock.”

I do. There’s nothing there.

“Huh?” I ask, totally confused.

“There’s a photographer.”

I squint and I can barely see the glint of a lens above a bush. James is grinning widely, and I cock my head at him, trying to get him to tell me what he’s thinking.

“I wanna mess with them a bit.”

Before I can say anything, James grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. I’m frozen, not sure what the hell I’m supposed to do. I don’t even know what Iwantto do right now.

“Dude, what are you trying?—”

“Relax, I’m just giving them something to talk about,” he says, pointing toward the bush with his other hand.

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