Free Save of the Game by Avon Gale

whatever.”
    “How about Ethan?”
    “Oh, he doesn’t know either,” Riley said immediately, then realized how that sounded. “I mean, he’s never been with a guy before either.” Riley cleared his throat. “The kissing is fine. I think it’s the part where we both got. Umm. Into it?” Riley’s face was flaming. “Fuck man. I never talk about this shit.”
    “Nah. I get it. But he was into it. Yeah?”
    “Yeah. But he seemed kind of jumpy. He kind of freaked out when we were both, uh… obviously enjoying it?” Riley walked into the kitchen. This conversation made him wish he liked hard liquor, but it wasn’t at the level of awkward where drinking Ethan’s whiskey seemed like a good idea. Maybe if Lane got back on the line, Riley would consider it.
    “You mean you both got hard, and he freaked out?”
    Riley resisted the urge to giggle wildly. “Yeah. So we stopped.”
    “Because you liked it, or because it was weird?”
    “Both.” Riley thought about that and grabbed himself a Coke. Their fridge had a sharp distinction between the Coke and Pepsi, with the coconut water in between like a demilitarized zone. “For me, anyway. I don’t know about him, and I guess that’s my problem.”
    “Only one way to find out.”
    “What’s that?” Riley asked, hearing the rain start up outside. “Get him drunk?”
    “Sure. Or you could… you know. Just ask him,” Jared suggested, a smile in his voice. “My only word of advice? Watch out when it’s your teammate. I’ve seen this go bad a few times.”
    “You have?”
    “Yeah. I mean, come on. This is a sport played by a bunch of guys who hang around each other and compete all the time. You tell me you don’t think sex gets mixed up with that, and I’ll make you talk to Lane about feelings again.”
    “Please don’t,” Riley said, and Jared laughed, even though he probably hadn’t really been kidding.
    “It sounds to me like someone needs to take charge of this whole thing,” Jared said, which Riley already knew. Maybe he just needed to hear someone else say it. “Trust me on this one. I had to do that with Courtnall here, and he already knew he wanted my dick.”
    In the background Lane said something that Riley couldn’t make out, but whatever it was, it made Jared laugh.
    “Thanks,” Riley said. He thought about it for a minute. “Could we pretend we never talked about this, though?”
    “Duh.” Jared’s droll voice turned sympathetic. “Good luck, Riley. I think you’ll have your hands full. Like I do.”
    “If you’re lucky,” Lane called out, and then, because he was Lane, “I mean, hopefully he’ll be hung or whatever. Like I am.”
    “Please make him stop talking,” said Riley. “Thanks, Shore.”
    “Already on it and no problem. Later, Hunter.”
    Riley ended the call, then went to his bedroom and sat down at his desk. He flipped open his laptop and unbuttoned his jeans with one hand. Research. That’s what he needed to do.
    Suddenly the sky gave a loud boom of thunder, and the power went out. Luckily he had a folder of downloaded video files and a fully charged battery to keep him entertained.
     
     
    THE POWER was still out when Ethan got home a few hours later. He was soaking wet, and Riley could see the tattoos through the thin white shirt he was wearing. Riley wanted to shove him against a wall and do all those things he’d been learning about until his laptop battery died.
    Ethan changed clothes, and they ate sandwiches in the darkened living room. They didn’t have any candles. Riley had a safety flare in the Honda, but that didn’t seem like a good replacement for a candle.
    The lack of distraction meant the tension between them was the only thing they had to focus on, and it made Riley quiet and Ethan fidgety. Not that that was a huge difference in their normal behaviors, but the charged atmosphere made everything seem much more pronounced.
    Riley took the remains of their dinner into the kitchen, then