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“Jesus, keep it down.”
“You kissed Shane O’Rourke?” Cole demands, apparently choosing the opposite approach. “Our Shane?”
“Yes, Hollywood. How many Shane O’Rourkes do you know?”
“The goalie Shane?”
“That would be the one.”
“The naked-in-every-locker-room-like-clothes-are-optional Shane?”
I’m laughing hard enough now that I have to set the tequila between my feet before I drop it. “Yes. That Shane.”
Cole looks genuinely betrayed by this information. “Why the fuck were you kissing Shane?”
“To test something.”
His face somehow gets worse. “You used our goalie as a sexuality test?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds stupid.”
“Because it is stupid!”
“It worked.”
Cole opens his mouth, thinks better of whatever was about to come out, then gestures impatiently for me to continue.
“I felt nothing,” I tell him once I can breathe normally again. “Seriously. Nothing. Shane kissed me, and all I could think about was that his hair was dripping on my forehead and Roman was standing behind us watching the whole thing happen.”
Cole makes a strangled sound. “Roman was there?”
“In the room, yeah.”
“Oh my God.”
“So apparently this isn’t me suddenly wanting every guy I see. Maybe I’ll figure out the label eventually, maybe I won’t, but right now…” I shrug and pick the bottle back up. “It’s just Santi.”
Cole stares at me for several long seconds before dragging both hands down his face.
“I cannot fucking believe you.”
“What?”
“My sister’s ex-boyfriend kissed our goalie to test whether he likes men, discovered he only wants the team photographer, and somehow Sidorov was also present for the experiment.” He drops his hands and looks at me with exhausted disbelief. “This fucking team is broken.”
I grin and bump my shoulder against his.
“You love us.”
“I’m reconsidering it.”
Cole takes another long sip from the bottle and then hands it back to me, staring out at the city lights for a moment before he speaks again.
“Look… if Santi makes you happy,” he says, quieter now, “then you should go for it. Even if it feels weird while you figure it out.”
I glance over at him, surprised by how serious he sounds.
“I’m still pissed about Lena,” he continues, “and I probably will be for a while. But I’m not gonna pretend I don’t see how different you are when he’s around. You’ve been lighter these last few days. Even with all the bullshit. And if that’s because of him… then yeah. Go for it.”