Page 202 of Force Play
“What happened after we left yesterday?” Harlow looks on with rapt attention.
I sigh. “I came home and asked her not to go on the date.”
“Hebeggedme not to go on the date,” Lucia teases.
I pinch her side. “I’m not too proud to beg, baby. Not when it comes to you.”
“You should’ve seen him yesterday, Luc,” Lane chuckles before turning to Sage and urging her to go play in her bedroom. “I’ve never seen someone sulk so hard.”
“Dick,” I chide under my breath.
Lucia rests her palm on my cheek. “He was just a little dense.”
“Even my own girlfriend is going to give me shit?”
“Girlfriend?!” Rory exclaims.
“Didn’t think we actually had to spell that out,” I laugh.
“I mean, we literally walked in holding hands,” Lucia adds.
Olive sighs happily. “I’m so glad to see you get what you wanted, Luc. You were so torn up yesterday.”
I look at my girlfriend and smirk. “You were torn up over me, huh?”
“Obviously. I thought you were going to let me walk away.”
“I would’ve come to my senses eventually.”
Knox snickers. “You didn’t even come to your senses yesterday until Cole yelled at you that you were jealous.”
Lucia looks at me mischievously. “You were jealous of John?”
“Fuck yes, I was jealous of him,” I admit. “He asked my girl on a date.”
Josh smirks. “She wasn’t your girl yet, though.”
“Okay, we get it,” I chide. “Lucia was at home, upset; I went over to Cole’s and threw myself a pity party. It all worked out in the end.”
“It’s so nice to see you guys together,” Harlow smiles.
“Ari’s a one-woman man now,” Josh chuckles.
Lane adds, “Never thought I’d see him stop looking for women every time we went out.”
Lucia squeezes my hand softly to comfort me. Not at the reference to my past; I’m open about who I used to be. It’s not who I am now, but I’m not ashamed of who I was.
What does make me a bit uneasy, though, is the mention ofwomen.Of the nine other people in this room, only two of them know about my attraction to men, too.
I inadvertently came out to my mom earlier, and it felt great.
I wonder if I’ll get the same feeling again.
“So, uh… about the whole ‘women’ thing…”
Cole looks over at me in surprise, but Lucia gives me a soft smile. It’s enough to calm my racing nerves.
I take a deep breath before I let it all out.
