Switch Pitching (Off the Bench #1)

22. James

22

JAMES

Will definitely knows something’s up. I glance over at Ethan and of course, his cheeks are pink. My heart jumps at how cute it is, but I snap back to reality. This is not the time for those thoughts.

“So, uh, yeah, about that,” I start, trying to find the words.

Ethan elbows me in the ribs. I’m not downplaying this as well as I think I am.

Fuck it, let’s get it over with. I look at Ethan, grab his hand, intertwine our fingers, and then look back at Will. “Yeah, we’re together.”

Will stares at us for a moment, then bursts out laughing. “Well, that was unexpected,” he says, wiping tears from his eyes. “I thought you two would try and deny it.”

“Deny it?” Ethan asks. “Are we obvious or something?”

Shaking his head, Will keeps chuckling. “No. I might have had a sneaking suspicion, but everyone else on the team thinks you’re close friends, and nothing more.”

I grin at Ethan. “Told you he’d take it well.”

Ethan manages a smile.

Will looks at us with mild disbelief. “Yeah, there’s no reason for me not to take it well.” He pauses. “You guys know I’m also gay, right?”

Ethan and I jerk our heads up, not shocked, but a bit surprised.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.

Ethan kicks me under the table, I yelp, and Will laughs.

“It isn’t something I’m super open about, since I don’t want to be the first guy in the league to come out, but I don’t necessarily keep it a secret.”

“That makes sense. It’s essentially what I’ve been doing,” says Ethan.

Will starts speaking again. “Anyway, moving on. You two are a thing. How long has this been going on?”

“Since June,” I admit.

“And you’re sure about this?”

“Absolutely,” I say, at the same time Ethan says “yeah”.

Will leans back in his chair, considering. “Alright, well, I’m happy for you guys. Just remember, you don’t have to rush anything.”

“We know,” Ethan says. “We’re taking it one day at a time.”

“Smart. And about telling the team…” He trails off, focusing his eyes on both of us.

“We were thinking of keeping it between us for now,” Ethan says.

“Yeah, at least until the season’s over,” I add.

Will clasps his hands together. “That’s probably smart. But you might want to think about talking to PR. If anything happens, whether you guys decide to go public or someone sees you, it’s better if they’re prepared.”

Ethan’s eyes dart to me, and then to Will. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Will gives us a thumbs up. “Good luck with that. I’ll keep your secret.”

We spend the rest of the night talking and laughing, the initial awkwardness fading away. It’s a relief to be ourselves around Will. I lose track of time, but at some point, when I glance over at Ethan, I realize that he’s yawning up a storm.

That makes me yawn too.

Noticing this, Will stretches and gets up from his chair. “Alright, guys, I’m gonna head out. I’ll catch you tomorrow.” He pauses, giving us a grin. “I’ll let you two go to bed.”

I smile back. “Thanks, Will.”

He walks out, and I shut the door behind him. Turning back, I get an eyeful of Ethan collapsing onto the couch and wrapping himself in blankets.

“Wow, you’re such a hypocrite,” I tease. “You accuse me of using too many blankets, but look at you now.”

Ethan wraps his head in another blanket and shushes me.

In response, I jump onto Ethan, push all my weight into him, and he flails around theatrically.

“Just giving you an extra weighted blanket, babe,” I say.

“Fuck off and let me sleep, you asshole.”

Smirking, I peel a blanket off Ethan to reveal his flushed face, and I see that he’s barely containing himself.

“What’s wrong, are you mad or something?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m furious.” Ethan’s denial is unconvincing, betrayed by the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, and he’s still trying to suppress his laughter. I can tell he’s barely holding it together, so I decide to put him out of his misery by digging my fingers into his ribs and he yelps before completely losing it. That’s all it takes for both of us to collapse into uncontrollable laughter.

“Dude, you suck,” Ethan spits between giggles. “I was about to fall asleep.”

“Yeah, well I felt left out.”

Still laughing, Ethan lifts up a blanket and grabs me, pulling me under.

“And now you’re included. Happy?” He plants a gentle kiss on my lips and I eagerly return it, darting my tongue into his mouth. Ethan pulls back, a wide smile stretching across his pretty face.

“Good night.” I barely have time to finish my sentence before he dramatically collapses and falls asleep.

The room is quiet now, the silence punctured only by the rhythmic sound of Ethan’s breathing, and I let myself soak it in. Being here with him, messing around, and laughing like idiots just makes sense.

I lie on my back for a few minutes, grinning from ear to ear. Before I drift off, I catch myself thinking that yeah, Ethan is pretty damn great.