Page 79 of Shut Up and Score
I thought I could keep SmokeScreen77 and Micah separate. That one was a safe outlet and the other a ghost from my past I could pretend didn’t haunt me. But now they’re the same person.
Yet, I still pull out my phone, my eyes still on Micah’s back. And I send him a message.
Me: Let’s meet.
I stare at the blinking cursor as if it might give me the right words.
I’m ready.
He still hasn’t replied to the one from last night. Probably because he was with Luke. The thought alone is a match to my ribs, a flash of heat and jealousy I don’t have the right to feel.
Still, I want to punch the dude.
Just once.
Just enough to make him hurt.
I’m spiraling. I know it. Watching Micah disappear around the corner and pretending he didn’t take every ounce of air with him.
“You gonna keep standing there like a brooding rom-com lead, or...?”
I blink, turning to find Caleb jogging up, a sports drink in one hand and an eyebrow raised.
He stops next to me and shoves the bottle into my chest. “Hydrate. Or glower yourself into an aneurysm. Your choice.”
“I’m fine,” I mutter, not moving.
Caleb snorts. “You’renot, but sure. Let’s go with that.”
He squints after the direction Micah just went. “So. You wanna tell me why you’ve been in a mood since morning drills? Or why you looked as though you were gonnamaulLuke during warmups?”
“Wasn’t gonna maul him,” I mutter.
“Okay, so just mild homicide. Noted.”
I say nothing.
Caleb sighs and drops down on the bench beside me. “Colt, you don’t have to tell me. But youdohave to stop looking like someone kicked your emotional support puppy. It’s unnerving.”
I rub a hand over my face. “It’s…complicated.”
“You kissed him again, didn’t you?”
I freeze.
His tone softens. “Dude, I’m your roommate. There’s no way you can hide the fact you like dudes from me. It’s cool. I don’t have an issue with it. So, did he walk away this time?”
“Ran,” I admit. “Told me to stay in the closet and fuck off.”
Caleb lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”
“Yeah.”
There’s a long silence.
Then Caleb claps me on the back, hard enough to sting. “Well. You’re still alive. So that’s something.”
I glare at him, but there’s no heat behind it.
