A chair scraped across the linoleum opposite them, and Rizzo sat down without invitation. He held a chocolate protein shake in one hand and wore the kind of smug expression that CJ had learned meant Rizzo knew something no one else did. CJ’s stomach dropped.
Rizzo was incredibly talented on the field, but his real gift was his ability to read people. CJ had spent a lifetime hiding pieces of himself, and Rizzo had seen through it all within weeks during spring training. The thought of Rizzo seeing something they were working so hard to keep hidden sent a familiar wave of defensiveness through CJ before he could stop it. It was an old instinct he was still learning to fight after years of measuring glances, correcting body language without thinking, and understanding how quickly something private could become public if the wrong person noticed the right detail.
Don’t look guilty. Don’t overreact. Don’t make anything obvious. Don’t give anyone anything that could be used against you.All of that would have been easy advice to follow if Rizzo didn’t look like a man who’d just solved the world’s greatest mystery.
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’syournew 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 heclenched 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 shruggedone 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.
