Page 118 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
The locker room falls silent around us. Xander shoves me off of him just as Isaac and Dylan run over. Isaac pulls me back, and Dylan steps in front of Xander.
“Jesus fuck,” Xander yells. “What the hell do you care if I see her again?”
“Because she’s not some fucking conquest, you asshole!”
Xander glares at me. “Why the fuck are you acting like some jealous…” He blinks. Recognition flashes in his eyes. “Oh, shit. You like her, don’t you?”
Just then I realize what a psycho I must look like, flipping out on my teammate. I’ve just been let back on the team and I’m about to rip my teammate’s throat out. Christ, I need to get a hold of myself.
“Fuck,” I mutter as I tug a hand through my sweat-soaked hair.
“What’s going on in here?” Coach Porter’s voice booms from the locker room entrance.
We all turn to face him.
“Sorry, I—”
“Just having a debate about which bar serves the best Rocky Mountain oysters,” Isaac says, interrupting me.
Coach frowns. “Seriously?”
Isaac nods.
“Yup,” Dylan says. “We have very strong feelings about it.”
Coach narrows his gaze as he scans the room. “Keep it down.”
We all say we will. He walks off and I turn to Isaac and Dylan. I tell them thanks.
Isaac pats me on the shoulder. “It’s all good.” He turns to Xander, who’s frowning at me. He looks slightly less pissed, so that’s something at least.
“You and Maya are together, aren’t you?” Xander asks.
“Not anymore.”
I head back to my locker, grab a towel, and head for the shower. I turn it to the hottest I can handle and stand under the steam for what feels like forever. My skin burns, but that’s exactly what I need right now. Anything to pull my focus from the pain thrumming inside of me.
I rinse off, dry off, and walk back to my locker. I halt when I see Xander standing there, glaring at me. Everyone else is gone, it’s just me and him.
“What?” I blurt when he says nothing.
He lets out a heavy sigh, like he’s irritated with me. “Why didn’t you say you were with Maya?”
I turn around, grab my clothes, and get dressed. “What do you mean?”
“If you had said you liked her, Theo, I would have backed off. I wouldn’t have even asked her out in the first place. Now I feel like an asshole.”
I pause, blown away by what Xander’s said. I’m not used to him acting this…mature. And considerate.
“It’s so obvious now,” he mutters from behind me. “I thought you came to that game I invited her to because you were fucking with me. But now I realize it was because you’re into her.”
I don’t say a word. I’m too embarrassed. He’s exactly right.
When I finish getting dressed I turn back around to Xander.
“I’m a horny bastard, Theo. I’ve got no shame about that. But I’m not an asshole,” he says. “But that’s exactly how I feel after finding out that you like her. Why didn’t you say something when I asked about her?”
I hesitate. This moment feels weirdly raw and emotional. Xander is my teammate. We’ve never talked about stuff like this, never gone deep like this.
