Switch Pitching (Off the Bench #1)

21. Ethan

21

ETHAN

JULY

I wake up to something warm and heavy pressing against me. My eyes blink open and I find myself staring at James face down, his perfect, bare ass pointing up at the ceiling. He’s sprawled out and taking up most of the bed, leaving me an insufficient sliver of mattress.

“Hey, you’re hogging the covers,” I protest, nudging him.

James groans and mumbles something unintelligible, so I reach over to give his ass a playful slap. He jumps up, startled.

How’s that for some payback for all the times he’s done that to me?

“What the hell?” he yells, shuffling away.

“You’re taking up the whole bed,” I reply, grinning. “That’s my job, I’m taller than you.”

James shoots me a playful glare. “Yeah, well, you vetoed getting a California King,” he says, “so don’t complain now.”

“We should get up soon,” I say. “Can’t waste our day off.”

James groans again, burying his face in the pillow. “Can we stay in bed for five more minutes?”

I roll my eyes, smiling. “Deal.”

Way more than five minutes pass before we drag ourselves out of bed and get ready. We decide to order breakfast, and while we wait, we start planning our day.

James seems nervous. I shoot him a questioning look, as if to ask “ hey, what’s going on, you good?” James closes his eyes and sighs.

“Hey, about the sleeping situation…” he starts, haltingly.

“What about it?” I ask.

“I don’t know how to say this,” he replies.

“Dude, spit it out, I promise not to freak.”

James takes a massive gulp of air before pausing. “I want to sleep together. Like, every night.”

Woah. That’s huge. “You do?”

He shrugs. “Why not? I basically sleep in your room full-time now. Thought we could make it official.”

“Yeah, that could work” I try to sound casual, even though I’m barely able to contain my excitement.

“Definitely, we’ll keep my room the way it is in case anyone comes over and questions anything.”

“And we should get separate blankets.”

James nods in agreement. “Good call, I don’t want to wake up freezing when you hog the covers.”

Incredulous, I scoff, pointing a finger at James and jabbing it into his left pec. “ You wake up freezing? I’m not the one who engulfs myself in blankets and wraps my body like a burrito!”

Not backing down, James grabs my wrist and wrestles me over the counter, laughing. “Stop projecting, buddy,” he teases, surrounding me in a bear hug. “You and your giant frame need, like, fifteen blankets just to cover yourself properly!”

“You calling me fat, James?” I joke, flipping him around and pinning his arms against the fridge.

James wriggles out and cups my chest. “Nah, you’re all muscle, which makes you a good space heater.”

I chuckle and sit back. “Alright, no offense taken. Either way, separate blankets are a good idea.”

“No matter who the thief is,” adds James, giving my head a playful pat.

As we finish breakfast, a thought pops into my head. “Hey, don’t forget we invited Will over for dinner tonight.”

James’s eyes widen and he sits up straighter. “Shit, I totally forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.”

I chuckle. “No problem. Between the two of us, I’m the one who has a calendar.”

James runs a hand through his hair, looking a bit sheepish. “Yeah, I’m trying to be better, but I’m glad you’re on top of things.” James pauses, running through something else in his head. “Do you think we can manage to keep things under wraps tonight? Will’s cool, but still.”

I nod, understanding. “We’ll be careful. It’s just a normal dinner between friends, nothing to worry about at all.”

James relaxes a bit and smiles. “You’re right. Who knows, maybe I’ll get drunk and tell him.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “Whenever you’re ready, you can go ahead and do whatever you want.”

“Speaking of dinner,” I say, standing up and stretching, “we should hit the store and get some ingredients.”

James groans playfully. “Fine, let’s hit the store for all the ingredients that I’ll end up using.”

Smirking, I cross my arms. “That’s because you always get to the kitchen before me and take over.”

There’s a sparkle in James’s eyes as he walks toward me. “I’m the only one in the kitchen because you can’t cook for shit.”

“Excuse you, I can totally cook,” I fire back, knowing that my cooking skills are limited to pasta, potatoes, and some meat.

James brushes past me to grab his wallet and keys from the dining table. “Let’s face it. Between the two of us, I’m the better cook.”

Resigned, I throw my hands up. “Yeah, I’m not gonna argue with that.”

I grab my wallet and follow James to the entryway to put on shoes and grab shopping bags. James insists on driving again because he thinks driving a truck in the city is douchey. I admit that it isn’t the most physically practical option, but it’s paid off and works fine. Not gonna say no to being a passenger, though.

The grocery store is surprisingly crowded for a weekday morning, but we manage to find everything we need and get out. Back at the apartment, as we’re putting everything away, I notice James glancing at me. “Are you sure Will won’t notice anything?” he asks.

“Yeah, we should be good as long as we aren’t too obvious.”

James smiles. “Yeah, I’ll keep things subtle. Don’t you worry.”

Right as we (James) finish cooking, there’s a knock at the door. It’s Will. A faint smile plays on his lips beneath the short, reddish-brown beard that lines his sharp jaw, and he’s holding a bottle of wine. “Damn, it smells delicious in here. You guys went all out.”

James laughs, clapping him on the back. “Only the best for you, bro.”

We invite him in and he heads for the kitchen. “Can I help with anything?” he asks.

“Nah, you’re good. Make yourself at home,” I tell him. “We’re almost ready to eat.”

I bring the pasta that James prepared to the table, and we take seats across from Will. The conversation flows easily, but James’s knee brushes against mine under the table. I try to ignore it and focus on my plate instead.

At one point, James reaches over to grab the bread and his hand grazes mine for a little too long. It’s still a brief touch, but I pull my hand back out of instinct. If James doesn’t want to let the cat out of the bag, he isn’t being very subtle. Even so, Will doesn’t seem to notice.

But as dinner progresses and James gets a few glasses of wine deep, he gets a little touchier with me, and not in a platonic way. His hand lingers on my back, he squeezes my shoulder and runs his fingers over mine. Repeatedly.

He’s going to give us away if he keeps it up.

I catch Will glancing between James and me, his eyes slightly squinted. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

“So, Ethan,” Will says, turning his attention to me. “How’s the new apartment treating you?”

“It’s been decent,” I reply, keeping my voice level. “Still getting used to the area, but it’s cool.”

James jumps in, his tone a bit too eager. “Yeah, and the bedroom has the best view in the building.”

I shoot James a quick glance, but he just grins at me, seemingly oblivious to the slip-up. The bedroom, as in, one, singular bedroom between the two of us? That we just agreed to share this morning?

Will raises an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his lips.

“Oh, I’ve heard. I almost moved into this building myself,” he says, a hint of amusement in his voice. “You guys seem settled in together. As roommates, of course.”

There’s an awkward silence, and my face heats up. James, always quick on his feet, tries to play it off. “Yeah, well, you know how it is. Gotta make the most of the space.”

Will nods, taking a sip of his drink. “Right, right. Must be nice having company all the time.”

James laughs, but it sounds a bit forced. “Yeah, keeps things interesting.”

“So,” Will says, “how are things going with the team?”

We both speak up at once, our voices colliding into one awkward “awesome”.

Raising his other eyebrow, Will fixes us with a smirk. “You guys finish each other’s sentences now? Maybe those magazines are onto something about you two.”

We both freeze, our eyes meeting, and I can feel my face turning red, as usual.

Everyone in the room stares at each other, not knowing what exactly to say.