Chapter 26

Riley 

When Riley woke up, the first thing, or person, that he thought about was Ethan. He cuddled his pillow as he remembered the day before, then cursed at himself for his sentimental behavior. He tossed the pillow aside and took a quick shower before putting on his baseball uniform for morning practice. As he pulled on some shoes, he resisted the urge to go pick Ethan up to walk to the baseball diamond together–he didn’t want to be clingy. 

Sam was stretching in the locker room when he arrived. 

“Where did you go on Saturday night?” he asked.

Oh. Riley realized that he’d run off on Sam.

“Sorry! I had an emergency!”

Sam shrugged. “No worries, man.”

They chit-chatted about various things as they pulled on their cleats. Ethan arrived just as they stood up. 

“Hey, Sam, Riley,” he said as he dropped his bag on the bench. 

“Hey,” Sam said as he stretched his legs. “Ready for practice?”

“Yeah. I had tro