Page 56 of Hidden Plays
It wastime for the house meeting, and my stomach somersaulted. The guys waited on the sectional expecting…something. It was Holden, but I needed to keep quiet until he was here. I stood in the kitchen, pretending to look for something in the refrigerator.
“Dude, when are you going to talk? I’ve got shit to do.” Malik scoffed an exhale.
“Just a minute. I’m waiting for someone to get here.” After grabbing a Gatorade, I shut the door of the refrigerator and turned to the guys, all watching me. Tex sat beside Malik on the couch, while Casey and Eli sat opposite.
Eli already knew, but you’d never guess by looking at him. The guy had a great poker face when he needed it. I unscrewed the cap of my bottle and sipped the drink.
“Who are we waiting for? Cooper? Is this about him and Myles, maybe?” Casey furrowed his brows. “You didn’t start shit with him, did you?”
“No, of course not.” I clicked my tongue and strode to the window overlooking the front yard. Where the hell was Holden?
A Honda Civic stopped at the curb, and Holden climbed out, combing his fingers through his blond bangs.
Was he as nervous as I was? He didn’t know these guys as well as I did, so of course he was. “He’s here.” I padded to the front door and swung it open.
“Hey.” A broad smile broke over Holden’s face. “How are you?” He squeezed my hand and leaned in, then stopped, his gaze roaming all the guys, who stared back at us. “Uh, hi.” He waved, and his smile faltered.
“Hi?” Casey’s brows drew together. “What’s going on, JJ? Why is Holden here?”
Malik stood from the couch and up-nodded Holden. “What’s up, man?”
“I…I mean, we have something to tell you.” My gaze floated to Eli, a smirk breaking his earlier poker face.
“Let me start, JJ.” Holding his head high, Holden strode into the room and stopped in front of the television, facing everyone. “Guys, over the past few weeks, I learned something about myself. And it started when I pretended to be JJ’s boyfriend, uh, Harry.”
Casey’s eyes grew wide, and he pointed at Holden. “Wait, you’re Harry?”
Holden nodded, his chest swelling with a deep breath. “Yep, I’m Harry. I sent those text messages you’ve all been drooling over.” He snickered. “And I took JJ to the gay bar.” He flashed his gaze at me. “That’s where I kissed JJ for the first time.” The edge of his lips curled.
Tex barked out a laugh. “You kissed JJ? At a gay bar?” His face went blank. “Are you telling us you’re gay?”
Malik dropped onto the couch, his jaw falling open.
“No, I’m telling you I’m bisexual, and JJ is my first guy and…well, I’m his actual boyfriend now.” He stretched a hand out to me.
With my heart fluttering, I stepped to his side, and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I wouldn’t say a word. This was his story to tell.
“Real?” Casey hooked a brow. “Wait a minute. Are you saying there was no Harry, or are you Harry, or who the fuck is Harry?” Casey threw his arms in the air and dropped them. “I’m so fucking confused.”
Eli tagged Casey on the shoulder. “Dude, he’s Harry, and he started liking JJ when they were fake dating to make you all get off JJ’s back about Myles.” He scoffed. “Sorry, but these guys need it spelled out to them in very direct terms.”
Casey’s gaze swung to Eli. “But…they’re real boyfriends now?”
“Yep.” Holden faced me, cupped my cheek and planted a toe-curling kiss on my mouth. “This right here is real.”
My heart melted into a mound of goo, and as I turned to the guys, I rested my cheek on Holden’s shoulder and my hand flat against his stomach. “I’ve got myself a boyfriend, and now you’ve met him, so you can all lay off.”
With his mouth dropped open, Casey tapped his lower lip and said, “You know, JJ, if we hadn’t laid into you, this never would have happened.” He smirked.
“Yeah, whatever.” He was right, but I wouldn’t admit it. They’d somehow done me a favor.
“You tricked us, you dirty dog.” Shaking his head, Tex scoffed through a laugh. “Damn, and I wanted a Harry too.”
“You can’t have him.” I hooked an arm around Holden’s waist. For once, I’d been the lucky one. I eyed them. “You guys aren’t mad, are you?”
“Naw, how can we be mad when you found someone? However devious you had to be to do it.” Casey tsked and crossed his arms. “Damn, Holden, the first text you sent was a doozy.”
Dipping his head, Holden chuckled. “I get it, but JJ warned me not to message him the way I would a chick.”
