Page 52 of The Lockdown Mann

“Competitive motherfucker.” He laughs.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t the same way.”

We keep fighting until we both end up on the bed together. I’m not sure who won, who beat whom, but we lose the towels in the process, then Des blows me again, so I guess the answer to the question is me. I won that round.

We spend the whole day together, laughing and hanging out, cooking dinner together. I suck him off one more time before I reluctantly tell him, “I gotta go.”

“I wish you could stay.”

“Me too,” I say. “But Tiana will wonder where I am.”

He nods, helps me collect my clothes, then walks me to the door.

Before I can leave, Des grabs my face, holding it between his hands while he kisses the hell out of me.

I’m still smiling when I get home.

“Oh, she must have been good,” Ree says.

My face heats. I’m embarrassed she knows what I was up to, and ashamed that I’m lying to her about whom I was with.

*

The entire team is in the conference room at our hotel in Buffalo, sharing a meal before the game tomorrow. Hunter’s sitting across from me, eating some of his baked chicken, but he keeps looking at the table beside him as if he expects his phone to be there.

I chuckle. “What’s Lucas up to?” I ask, knowing that he’s missing his man. Coach doesn’t allow us to have our phones with us during the team meal the day before the game, wanting us to focus on team camaraderie and connecting in a way that I’m grateful for, but I can get Hunter’s feelings sometimes.

Because as much as he wants to talk to Lucas, I want to talk to Des.

Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly the same. Des and I aren’t in a relationship, we’re not in love, and we’re not anything more than friends hooking up, but I have gotten accustomed to talking to him every day. Over the past few weeks since our blowjob session at his place, Des and I haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other. It’s not always easy to find time. When the Pulse have a home game, the Inferno are away, but we’ve met up on Tuesdays and found random moments between practices or when I’m not with Tiana, or spending time with Ree at Sanaa’s.

We haven’t done anything more than jerking or sucking each other off. Sometimes I’ll stop by his place, and we won’t even make it out of his living room, blowing each other right there, and then I’ll have to slip out—head to practice or to the park with Tiana or something like that.

But fuck, is it fun. Exciting. It’s this sexy secret I have, this aspect of my life where all I want to do is rip someone’s clothes off, and I didn’t know how much I would enjoy something like that. Honestly, having to sneak around makes it even more exciting because it’s so far from anything I’ve ever done. Like, for a moment in time, I don’t have to be the responsible Oakley, I just get to be the fun Oakley, and yeah, I like that more than I should.

And in between those times, we’re always talking. Des will text me something stupid, some fucking joke, or he’ll say something cocky to me. He’ll show me how much he’s benching or a photo of his bulge, and I’ll blush and get hard and tell him that next time I see him, I’m going to choke on it.

Fuck…that’s always hot.

But more than that, he’ll ask about Ree, about Sanaa, and about Tiana. He talks about his parents too, how the new school year is going for his father—who is a professor of mathematics, of all things. About his mom and her charity work and the florist shop that she’s owned since he was a kid.

“Oak, are you even fucking listening to me?” Hunter asks, pulling me out of the Desmond tailspin I so easily slipped into. Fuck. I asked him about Lucas, didn’t I? Clearly, he’s been speaking to me, but I can’t for the life of me figure out anything he said.

“Sorry, man. My mind was wandering.”

Hunter chuckles. “I can tell.”

“What were you saying?”

“Lucas is in New York City for a photoshoot.”

“I didn’t realize he traveled for them,” I reply, trying to stay present and not lose myself over the fact that I like to get naked with my best friend’s best friend. Jesus, what a tangled web we weave.

“He doesn’t very often, but this is a really good opportunity for him, and I just… Fuck, I love seeing him successful. No one deserves it more.”

I can’t stop myself from smiling at Hunter. He’s a good man, and there’s no denying how much he loves Lucas. Hunter doesn’t love passively, and it means the world to me to see him happy. “Either of you talk to his dad yet?” I’m nervous about playing KC this season. It stresses him out.

“Nah. Fuck him. He doesn’t deserve Lucas.”