Page 54 of Hidden Plays
As the corner of my lips curled, I said, “Yeah, I’m uh…” Shit, could I say it? But look at what he did for me. “I’m falling for you, Holden Cox.”
He rubbed his nose against mine. “I’m falling for you, Jordan Matthews.” Winding his arms tightly around me, he buried his face in my neck. “How the hell did you do this to me?”
“I’m irresistible, remember?” Warmth bloomed in my chest, spreading to all my limbs. Could he be the one for me? Had I found my forever? It sure as hell felt different from anything I’d ever experienced.
“I’d have to agree with you.” He released me, and his gaze met mine. “How do you plan to tell your friends and when?”
“As soon as possible, and let’s do it together.” I gave him a coy grin. “The sooner we do this, the sooner we have access to my bed.” One track mind? Maybe. I couldn’t wait to take our relationship to the next level. To have all of him.
“Okay, I’ll leave it up to you to arrange.” With a long sigh, he dropped his arms. “I have a class to go to.”
“Oh.” I stepped back and threw my backpack over a shoulder. “I do too. But I’ll call a house meeting and let you know.” I raked my fingers through my hair. Would I look like I’d just had a quickie when I left? I might check in the bathroom before leaving.
“Just so you know, I swore Eli to secrecy.” He slipped his backpack onto his shoulder. “But I’ll text him when I get to class and let him know I spoke to you.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Grabbing his hand, I led him from the stacks. It was a little sad seeing all these books alone on the top floor of the building, but with eBooks and the internet, they weren’t needed as much anymore.
We strolled down the stairs, and I freed Holden’s hand. He wasn’t out to the entire school yet. But soon. “See you later.”
“See you.” With a quick look around, he pecked my cheek. “Can’t wait to do that all the time.”
“Me too.” A soft giggle escaped me. “Bye, babe.” I’d been calling him that from the very beginning, and now it was truly genuine.
“Bye.” With his face beaming, he waved and sauntered through the doors and into the sunshine.
Later,I drove home, entering the kitchen via the garage. When could I bring all these guys together? Especially Malik and Tex? Those two were always off doing shit.
Eli sat at the dinette and looked up from his laptop. “JJ, good to see you, man.” A knowing grinteased his lips.
It was time to give thanks where thanks was due. “Eli, you are one hell of a good friend.” I stepped toward him, my hand outstretched.
As he stood, he clapped his hand on mine and covered it with his other hand. “Anytime, buddy.” He shook our hands and let go. “Holden is a great guy. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” I fell into a chair next to his, sliding my backpack onto the floor from my shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m with him.” It was great to be out in the open with someone. “It’s crazy, right?”
“Yeah, but you deserve this, JJ. I’ve watched guy after guy come into your life and leave you brokenhearted. I doubt that’s going to happen this time.” He shut his laptop and tented his fingers over it.
Eli sensed when people needed to talk. But then, it was sort of his job. “Tell me what he said. I want to know it all.”
“He wanted to know what coming out was like. He had the same concerns we’ve all had.” His brows knitted. “He’s worried most about his dad. He’s unsure how he’s going to take it, so I told him to confide in his mother first and get her help.”
“Okay.” I nodded, chewing the inside of my cheek. Holden planned to come out to his parents last. That was typical, I supposed. “I need to be there for him.”
“You do. And don’t pressure him. This is all new. He’ll need some time.” He sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh. “When do you plan to inform the guys?” A smirk crept over his face. “Because they’re going to shit themselves.” He let out a soft snort and shook his head. “I almost did. Damn, dude.”
With a smile, I nodded. “Yeah, I know. I hope they aren’t angry with me for lying.” But maybe they’d learn a lesson not to badger people like they usually did.
“Naw, they’ll be cool with it. They’re your friends.” Eli squeezed my forearm, lying across the table. “When will you tell them?”
“I’ll call a house meeting.” Leaning to the side, I slipped my phone from my backpack. “In fact, I’ll do that now.”
I’d setup a meeting with everyone, including Holden, for tomorrow night and had retired to my room for some reading. If I’d stayed in the main room, there’d be endless questions, and I didn’t want to spill anything without Holden here.
As I read a book for my finance class, my phone buzzed beside me on the bed.
I snatched it and peered at the screen. “Mom.” Was she making the call with Dad? Tightness crawled through my chest. I tapped the screen. “Hello?”
“Hi, Jordan. I’ve got your father here and you’re on speaker,” she said.
