Page 62 of Tangled Up In You
We spent an equal amount of time at his house and at mine. In fact, for the past month, we’d spent every night together. It was to the point where he had a stash of clothes at my house and I had one at his, along with a spare toothbrush and deodorant—although the jerk had a habit of just using mine.
As we searched for a movie to watch, Corbin told me about how his coaching sessions with Daniel and the other football guys were going. He’d started regularly working with them after school, two days a week. Sometimes three if the weather was nice. The excitement on his face as he talked about it told me how much he loved coaching them.
He also mentioned how he still hadn’t listed Bill’s house for sale. That confession made me remember his comment abouthomefrom earlier. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, because it’d hurt way too much if they came crashing down, but maybe he’d decided not to sell the house at all.
“When we’re in Florida,” Corbin said, draping his arm around my shoulders. “We can stay the whole week, if you want. The shoot will only take a day or so, but we can use it as a mini vacation or something.”
“Don’t you think people will talk if you bring me along?” I asked, running my fingers up and down his arm. Going with him to Florida was going to be amazing, and I was more excited than I put off, but people liked to talk. If Corbin showed up with me at his side, they’dreallytalk.
“I’ll just tell them you’re my friend,” he answered before pressing his face against my neck. “It’s not a big deal.”
I stopped caressing his forearm as his words smacked into me like a train. The reality of them.
Even if wecouldfind a way to make our relationship work after he went back to Kansas City…was I really prepared to be some secret he kept locked away? To bejusthis friend when we went out to dinner or to parties. Would he still flirt with girls to keep the act going and to prevent people from suspecting the truth?
“Do you ever plan to come out, Cor?” I asked, no longer paying attention to the movie on TV.
“Eventually. But not for a while,” he answered after several seconds. I shot him a look, and he shook his head. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not that simple, Hunter.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s just not accepted yet in football. Okay?” He was visibly frustrated now, and he stood up from the couch. I knew he wasreallyupset, when he started pacing. “Don’t you think Iwantto? I’ve fucking obsessed over it for years. But it’s not that cut and dry. Players have only come outafterthey retired.”
“So your plan is to wait until your contract is up?”
Corbin nodded and his gaze burned into mine. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, and I know it’s not fair to you…but will you wait for me?”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. We hadn’t talked much about our future, and there he was diving right in.
“Yes,” I answered. Staying a secret would hurt, but it wouldn’t be for forever. “It won’t be easy, but like an awesome guy once told me: relationships aren’t easy. They take effort, and sometimes they’re fucking hard. But we have to try.”
The tense lines in his face relaxed, and he strode forward, taking my face in his hands. His gray eyes stared into mine, and I noticed small flecks of blue in his irises. No matter how many times I looked into his eyes, I still felt as if I’d get lost in the sea of gray if I wasn’t careful.
“I promise you that one day I will shout to the world how in love with you I am,” he said, moving his thumb along my cheek. “Just not now.”
I rested my head to his. “Okay.”
He had a hold on me that no one else ever had.
Or ever would.
Chapter 20
Corbin
Spring Break
Hunter was afraid of flying. He’d never expressed that fear to me before, and it seemed likehehadn’t even known about it until we were sitting on the plane, waiting for it to take off.
“Fuck, I’m going to puke. Or have a panic attack. Or die,” Hunter said, holding my hand so tight that the circulation was being cut off. “Probably all three in that order.”
“Relax. I’ve flown countless times and nothing bad has ever happened,” I tried to reassure him. “Breathe, Hunter.”
We were in first class, so we weren’t too crowded, which I was thankful for. Being surrounded by a lot of people would’ve only enhanced Hunter’s anxiety and feeling of being trapped.
“I need a drink. Or five,” he said before deeply inhaling and slowly exhaling. His hand still squeezed mine.
“Once the plane is in the air, you can have as many drinks as you want.”
