19. Cj #2
He leaned back and took his time studying the scene before him, but he didn’t say anything right away.
Just looked at Evan, then at CJ, then at the plate of fries between them, before returning his gaze to their faces with a grin that meant trouble.
CJ’s stomach sank another inch. Beside him, Evan continued picking at the fries, but he was chewing a little too deliberately now.
His face had gone neutral in the carefully controlled way it did when he was pretending he wasn’t aware of everything that was happening.
“This,” Rizzo said slowly, glancing between them again, “is either the fastest reconciliation in modern history…”
CJ opened his mouth, and Rizzo held up one finger.
“Or…” he continued as he leaned across the table and dropped his voice low enough that no one else nearby would hear him, “you two are absolutely sleeping together.”
Evan choked on a fry, and he reached for his drink as he coughed hard enough to make his eyes water.
CJ reached for him on instinct, hand landing between Evan’s shoulder blades in two quick pats before he remembered himself and snatched it back.
Fuck. But it was too late. Rizzo’s grin only grew when Evan swallowed and turned slowly to look at CJ in abject horror.
He wasn’t mad, and he wasn’t protesting.
He was horrified. As if CJ was somehow responsible for Rizzo approaching them.
CJ lifted both hands and leaned away from Evan. “Why are you looking at me like this is my fault?”
“Because he’s your new best friend,” Evan said hoarsely. “And you apparently attract nonsense.”
“Hey!” CJ protested with a frown. “That doesn’t seem like a fair assessment.”
“I’m pretty sure I can find statistical evidence to support it,” Evan retorted.
“This is the best thing I’ve seen all week,” Rizzo said with a laugh. “Absolutely incredible.”
CJ barely heard him. He was focused on Evan, unsure what he was seeing.
Evan was still red-faced from coughing, and he clenched a bottle of water so tightly in his hand that it was almost bent in half.
He was refusing to make eye contact and his mouth was set in a neutral line that CJ was still learning how to decipher.
It could mean amused or irritated, or that Evan was one wrong sentence away from shutting down completely. CJ felt his pulse kick up.
“Evan,” he said carefully.
Evan didn’t look at him, which wasn’t encouraging, and CJ glared at Rizzo.
“Shit,” Rizzo said, sobering instantly as he realized the atmosphere had changed. He held up both hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to let you know that I’m glad you guys seem to be figuring things out. I might have gone too far.”
“No kidding,” CJ muttered, his eyes still on Evan.
Evan set his drink down with more force than necessary. “You think?”
Rizzo nodded solemnly. “In my defense, you guys were pretty funny for, like, eighty percent of that. It took a second to realize I read the vibe wrong.”
CJ scrubbed his face and then ran his hand through his hair. “Dominic.”
“Right. Serious mode.” He straightened in his chair and faced both of them head-on, eyes landing on CJ first. “You need to take a breath before you pass out.”
“I’m fine,” CJ said.
“You know that hockey player who always looks like a haunted Victorian child? You look like him right now.”
Evan made a choking sound that might have been the start of a laugh, and CJ latched onto it. The noise caught Rizzo’s attention, and he turned to Evan and leaned closer.
“Evan,” he said, using his first name this time, his tone more gentle than it had been with CJ.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about from me.
” Evan looked confused, and Rizzo shrugged one shoulder.
“I’m serious. Whatever I noticed or guessed, or whatever I’m wrong about because I’m usually wildly wrong…
none of it leaves this table. I don’t want or need any more information about anything than you’re willing to share. Ever.”
CJ saw the exact moment Evan’s posture loosened. It was only by a fraction, but it was enough for CJ to relax too. Rizzo looked at him, and CJ nodded his encouragement.
“You never have to worry about judgment from me,” Rizzo said. “CJ already knows what I’m about to say, but I get the feeling you might feel better if you know too.” He waited for Evan to look at him before he spoke again. “I’m bi.”
Evan blinked, and when he looked at CJ in surprise, Rizzo snorted. “Yeah, everybody makes the same face when I tell them.”
“I didn’t make a face,” Evan said automatically.
“You absolutely made a face.”
Rizzo was grinning, and CJ knew he was fine, so he turned his full attention to Evan and tried to read him.
There was still tension around his mouth, and he was still mostly frowning, but his shoulders weren’t locked anymore, and he looked thoughtful instead of cornered.
Rizzo leaned back and grabbed a fry from Evan’s plate before Evan could stop him.
“Still,” Rizzo said with a grin, “if you two are secretly in love or whatever, you need to work on being less obvious.”
“We’re not secretly in love,” CJ said. Too quickly, judging by the amused look on Rizzo’s face and the raised eyebrows on Evan’s.
Rizzo pointed a fry at him. “Quick panic denials aren’t going to make people believe you.”
Evan turned slowly to look at CJ, and he felt the heat crawl up his neck.
“Don’t.”
Evan studied him for a second before a small smile appeared. “You look a little rattled there, bud.”
“I’m not rattled,” CJ protested.
“No?”
CJ looked away. “Shut up.”
Rizzo chuckled. “Seriously though. You guys have nothing to worry about with me.” He was looking right at Evan when he said it, and Evan nodded once in acknowledgment.
“And I’m pretty sure the rest of the guys haven’t noticed.
But unless you’re planning on letting them in on the secret, you two need to be more subtle. ”
“Thanks,” Evan said after a moment.
It was said quietly, but CJ could hear the sincerity anyway. It was a weighty moment, so naturally Rizzo had to ruin it.
“I’ve gotta ask though. Why do you let Hartman keep stealing your fries instead of making him get his own?” Rizzo stood and reached for the plate of fries again, pulling his hand back with a gasp when Evan smacked his hand away with a fork.
Rizzo looked at CJ. “See? Mean to me, but he shares with you. Suspicious.” Rizzo pointed between them one last time. “You two are weird, but I support it.”
He sauntered off before they could answer, and silence fell over the table. Evan snagged another fry, then paused halfway to his mouth and held it out to CJ. CJ took it automatically and their fingers brushed. It was the smallest contact, but it was still enough to make CJ’s heart skip.