“No, she was at the Coach House. She saw us together last night.” He huffed.
“Oh, no.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I scowled. Thiscouldn’t be good. Would she get him into trouble? “What did you tell her?”
“I told her the truth.” He drew a ragged inhale. “I wasn’t a coward for once, and told her we were together,” he said. “She was surprisingly okay with it.”
“She was?” As the heaviness lifted in my chest, I glanced at Grey and Malik, folding the dish towels on the oven door. Would this mean he’d be open to me telling more people about us?
“She was. She was angry I didn’t tell her about us before. But she…she said we were cute together.”
A smile tugged my lips. “We are. More people should see it.” I freed a soft snort.
“Hey, who are you talking to?” Malik stepped toward me.
“My tutor.” I up-nodded at him. They knew we’d attended the hockey game but didn’t know it was a date. “Can I?—”
“No, please, don’t tell them. Not yet.” He sighed. “Talking with Sara this morning resolved some of my fears, but I still need to handle it slowly.”
“Oh, the tutor.” Malik snickered. “When are you bringing him over here so we can meet him?”
“Um…” Had Colton heard that? I dipped my head and teased a fold in my athletic shirt.
“Tell him…” He pulled in a quick breath. “Soon. But I don’t know when.”
“Sure. Hold on a minute.” Setting the phone on mute, I focused on Malik, standing next to me with narrowed eyes. He knew something was up with Colton. He wasn’t stupid. “You can meet him soon. He’s pretty busy right now with his tutoring and working on his thesis.”
“Okay, we’ll see him at the game on Saturday, right?” Malik slapped my shoulder. “You said he’s coming with Dante.”
“Yes, that’s the plan.” Damn it, somehow I’d have to hide my feelings for Colton from Dante and hope to hell that while I was out on the field, Dante wouldn’t question Colton and figure itout. As Malik jogged off with Grey toward the bedrooms, I unmuted the phone. “Okay, I’m back.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Basically, the truth. That you’re busy with your students and your own studies.” If Sara had been upset that he’d lied to her, would Malik and Grey be angry with me for lying to them? I wouldn’t push Colton though. He’d been through enough today. “So, what are you doing now?” I shifted, imagining him naked in his bedroom, and my cock jerked. I shouldn’t do this here. But would he go for it?
“I’m working on my thesis. Well, was about to.”
“What are you wearing?” I slid deeper into the couch. Was his shirt buttoned all the way up, or was he casual? He was alone. Fuck, Sara had seen him though.
“Tex, stop it. I don’t have time for this, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.” He scoffed. “Fine, a t-shirt and shorts.”
“Oh, damn.” No, I had to stop. “Colton, if I were there, we’d head into your bedroom right now.” I palmed my half-hard cock as I glanced at the hallway. Shit, my roommates can’t find me like this. Then they’d know for sure. “I missed you this morning. I want to stay the night.”
“Yeah, I want that too. But when the time is right,” he said. “I…should go. I have studying to do.”
“Okay. Wear what you have on right now when I visit for our tutoring session.” Movement caught the corner of my eye, and Malik stepped out from behind the wall, a smirk on his face and his arms crossed on his chest.Fuck. “See you Tuesday. Bye.”
“Bye.” The call ended.
“Why do you care what your tutor wears when you see him?” He hooked a brow.
“I don’t. You must have misheard me.” Choking on a laugh, I hopped off the couch and strode into the kitchen. I had to get out of this. I’d just promised Colton I wouldn’t out him.
“Tex, I’ll let this go because clearly it upsets you.” He strolledto stand behind me and planted his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll talk to me when you’re ready.”
I turned to him. “I will. Right now, I can’t. You get it, right?” Hell, he was in a similar situation.
“More than you know, buddy.” He squeezed my shoulder and then returned to the hallway for the bedrooms. “Good luck.” He waved behind him.
Wednesday nightI was dying to know how Colton’s therapy session had gone. He’d been nervous as hell about it when I’d seen him on Tuesday. While sitting on my couch watching sports commentary, I muted the television and picked up my phone, checking the time. He should be home by now. I called his number and glanced toward the hallway leading to the bedroom. Malik and Grey were fooling around…again. They wouldn’t be able to hear me.