Page 45 of Hell or High Water
“Oh my God, you have no idea,” Ramsey confessed. “And honestly, it’s nice sometimes, but mostly like you say, it’s annoying as fuck. Especially when he doesn’t . . .when he has no idea what he’s talking about.”
Nate considered telling Ramsey that he’d told Aidan at least the bare facts of their first meeting, but he had a feeling Ramsey wouldn’t like that, and he also didn’t particularly want to bring up, into this surprisingly chill moment between them, the reminder that they’d had sex once.
“Right.”
“So we’ve got a few options,” Ramsey said.
“Options for what?”
Ramsey rolled his eyes, but his glance over at Nate was full of fond affection. Nate wanted to believe it was real, that hemeant it, that it wasn’t just another act designed to placate Nate, to wrap him around Ramsey’s fingers so he could control him better.
“Come on, you don’t want to continue this way,” Ramsey said.
He didn’t, but he was also justifiably concerned about letting Ramsey make plans to shift the narrative.
“Of course not,” Nate said. He was tired of well-meaning teammates interfering. But what he was most tired of were his own fucking reactions.
Maybe Ramsey would suggest they come up with a way to avoid each other, and that would take care of the latter, too.
“We should just pretend that we’re friends now. I’ve been trying, but you keep pushing back,” Ramsey said, with a frank glance over at Nate. Like this was allhisfault.
“Ikeep pushing back?” Nate retorted.
“See? That right there. All you had to do was say,sure, Ramsey, sounds good.”
“Maybe I’m not as good at faking it as you are,” Nate said. It was kind of shitty. Not as shitty as what he’d said about Ramsey to Dawson earlier, but then, he was working on a sliding scale right now.
But Ramsey didn’t even look slightly offended. He actually lookedpleasedinstead. “Nathaniel,nobodyis as good at faking it as I am.”
“I can’t believe you’re gonna brag about that like it’s something worthwhile.”
But Nate could. Hecould.
It was why Ramsey alternatively made him want to tear his own hair out and wrap his hands around his neck. Pull him in and . . .well.
“Don’t mistake the ability to see through some of my bullshit to mean you actually know me.” Ramsey said it in a faux-sterntone, but Nate had a feeling he’d actually pricked something deeper there. Ramsey wasn’t happy about what he’d said.
Guilt pulled at Nate, again, and he was so tired of it.
He didn’t apologize, but he did say, “Okay, so, you want to just, what . . . pretend we’re okay with each other. Pretend we’re friends?” There was a big problem with that one—well, more than one. Several, in fact.
Starting with the issue that he’djusttold Aidan that he could never be friends with Ramsey.
Finishing with that Nate wasn’t entirely sure he could pull off a casual friends vibe. Not when it came to Ramsey.
“Eh,” Ramsey said, shrugging. “I’m not sure that’s gonna work. You’re never going to be able to not look at me like you don’t want to tear my clothes off.”
Nate squawked in outrage. “I don’t—I really—Idon’t.”
But he probably did. He was thinking about it, anyway.
Embarrassing that it showed on his face. Embarrassing that Ramsey had recognized and then identified that look so easily.
“I was going to say, before you freaked out, that despite all my acting skills, I couldn’t pull that off either.”
Nate reared back. Not sure he’d actually fucking understood. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I said,” Ramsey said steadily, like he hadn’t just admitted to wanting to rip Nate’s clothes off, too.Again, actually.
