“You know, like you wanna kiss him again.”
Nick’s heart jumped into his throat, his stomach sinking, whole body overheating. He hadn’t forgotten their first kiss, not even a little, but it had hardly been a kiss at all—and so long ago—yet Nick’s lips tingled thinking about it.
“I’m not into guys,” he said, fairly certain that he wasn’t. He’d never been attracted to guys and he was almost always around guys. Reece was pretty, sure, but that didn’t mean anything…
“So what girls are you into?” Declan challenged, brows raised.
“Fuck,” Nick breathed in panic. He’d never been into girls either.
Declan fell over in a fit of laughter and Nick knew he had to do something, so he went out, trying to find and understand himself. He’d never taken an interest in anyone because he was busy focusing on his goals, future, and making it through life one day at a time. Things seemed to be so much easier for Declan—making friends and hooking up with people was nothing to him—but for Nick, nothing ever felt right.
The more Nick tried to distract himself with girls, the worse things got. It didn’t feel as if he was doing it for his enjoyment more than forcing himself to do it to prove something that he’d yet to prove. And every new experience Nick had only made him more curious about what he didn’t have. He was noticing Reece more, in different ways, and by the middle of basketball season their freshman year at Coastal Miami, it seemed as if Reece had taken notice, because he started attacking Nick with his presence and words in a way he wasn’t prepared for and shouldn’t have liked.
“Nicky, it’s like you’re getting stronger every day,” Reece said one day when they were playing at the park. Alex was always accompanying them now, distracting Declan and leaving Nick and Reece with too much time alone and Nick with no way of escaping cleanly.
It shouldn’t have been such a big deal to have Reece’s long fingers groping up and down the length of his arm as if measuring the muscles personally. But between the simple touch and Reece’s closeness—Nick’s body was set alight. He started having thoughts he shouldn’t have been having, about what Reece would feel like, how he’d taste if they really kissed. All thoughts that made him panic more. Reece was always making things more difficult, too friendly and touchy and flirty for his own good.
Reece’s popularity was soaring. His choice to forgo the agent wasn’t holding him back in the least. He was busier than ever, his modeling work taking off and coupled with his status as a Coastal Miami basketball player, Reece was highly sought after by brands and had already been filming commercials since early spring. There weren’t many students who didn’t know about himor want to know about him, and Nick found that he was bitter about it—something else he couldn’t explain.
All things considered, Nick was doing his best to navigate all the changes in his life and his own feelings, until everything came crashing down around him sophomore year.
It was mid-season and they were in the final quarter against their rival university who’d been on a losing streak against them since the previous season. The team wasn’t horrible, but their teamwork was a joke and their players were infuriating, none more-so than their starting small forward, Harrison Hunter. The guy had a reputation for being a dirty player, enough fouls on his record to ruin his career, and it seemed he wanted to ruin everybody else’s.
Reece played well under pressure and his speed made him a hard match for defenders, but Harrison had been glued to him the whole game. Nick couldn’t hear it himself, but he noticed Harrison taunting Reece, who was more worked up than usual. His whole face was flushed, sweat dripping off him, soaked blond hair tied up in a short ponytail. When he couldn’t get around Harrison, Reece passed the ball to Alex, who instantly passed it to Declan at the goal. Nick wasn’t watching Declan’s dunk, though, he was watching Harrison still all over Reece, following him so close they were touching and Reece had to brush him off.
At the bench, Nick grabbed Reece’s wrist and pulled him down to sit with him. “Are you alright? The fuck’s that guy’s problem?”
His face fell, shoulders sagging as if all his game day readiness melted away and he leaned into Nick. “He’s just trying to get in my head.”
The defeat in Reece’s voice made Nick fear Harrison had already succeeded if that was his goal. It pissed him off. “Hey. Don’t let him get to you. You’re better than that.”
There was a soft smile on Reece’s face as he thanked Nick, but Nick couldn’t smile back, not when he knew Reece wasn’t okay.
Back in the game, Nick kept an eye on both Reece and Harrison, but his wariness or attentiveness weren’t enough to protect Reece from his dirty playing. One second, Reece was dashing around the guy, too fast to be stopped. He rose for a successful layup, but there was Harrison, sliding a foot under Reece on purpose to ruin his landing. The roaring crowd sounded quiet to Nick, his mind too focused on the sickening pop he heard when Reece’s sneaker met the floor.
“Ree, fuck—” Nick dropped to his knees by Reece, blocking him from the crowd’s view.
“Nicky, it cracked,” he groaned, trying to look but Nick stopped him.
“I know, I heard it. Just breathe for a minute. I got you.”
While Nick kept Reece distracted awaiting the medic, Declan stepped into Harrison’s chest to confront him.
“You think that’s basketball? Look at him!”
“He just landed weird, man. Not my fault.”
“I saw your foot slide under him,” Declan hissed and Nick gritted his teeth, glad he wasn’t the only one who noticed. “You so much as look at Reece again and you’re done.”
The referee was the first to notice the severity of the injury and by the time the medic was stabilizing Reece’s ankle for him to be taken off the court, Harrison was being ejected.
“Alright, let’s get him to the tunnel. Can you carry him?”
Nick carefully hooked his arms under Reece and lifted him slowly. Reece hissed in pain and grabbed Nick’s jersey at the chest.
“Nicky, shoot my free throws for me. Please?”
“Forget the game,” Nick said, arms holding tighter to Reece in the only way he could embrace him in the moment.
