Whatever It Is

“Gordon. Gordon!” Anne called out.

“Hm?” Gordon sounded, looking up at her. He had gotten back to his apartment a while ago, but he had been out of it ever since Carlos’ rant.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird ever since you got back from working out,” Anne said, rubbing his shoulders.

“Nothing. Just Carlos drama,” Gordon mumbled.

“Carlos drama?” Anne echoed, an amused smirk playing at her lips.

“You know, whenever he has sex, you can tell, because he’s so much less tense the next day. He was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him today. And then I had to go and talk to him about it,” he said. Anne still looked confused, so Gordon sighed and told her about what had happened when he and Carlos worked out earlier.

“Gordon, you just have to let him figure things out of himself. I’m sure he appreciates your help, but you know him. He’s stubborn. And he’s independent. He’s not doing anything dangerous-”

“He gets drunk and sleeps with random women,” Gordon intervened.

“Oh. Right,” Anne laughed nervously. “Well, he uses condoms, right?”

“Annie!”

“Gordon, look. You and the guys have tried all you can, right? Setting him up, talking to him, trying to get him to change…nothing has worked. Just let him know you’re there, back off, and let him work his shit out. Okay?”

“Fine,” Gordon sighed, getting up. “I’m going to go shower.”

“Alright,” Anne nodded. “Hazel’s coming over any minute and we’re going to go shopping, and we’re probably going to eat somewhere. Are you going to be okay for dinner?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later. Have fun,” Gordon said, kissing her lightly before walking away to the shower. Hazel arrived a little later, and the two women headed out shortly after.

After several hours of shopping, Anne and Hazel put all their bags in the car before heading to a nice outdoor café. The waiter set water on their table before walking away, giving them time to look at the menus.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Anne laughed, seeing Hazel yawn for the hundredth time.

“Uh, yeah. A little,” Hazel blushed.

“What were you doing up so late?” Anne asked. Hazel put her water glass down, causing Anne’s eyes to widen at the light bruises on her wrists.

“Not much. I just watched a movie,” Hazel said. Anne snapped her gaze up, not wanting to be caught looking at Hazel's bruises. How did she get them? Was she being abused? Anne didn’t even know Hazel had a boyfriend.

“Alone?” Anne said, trying to sound as normal as she could. She raised her water glass to her mouth, taking a big sip to distract herself.

“Um…” Hazel didn’t know whether or not she should lie or tell the truth.

Or just lie partially.

Shit.

“No, actually. Carlos stayed for a little pie and we watched the movie.”

Anne choked on her water, causing Hazel to look at her concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“Carlos?” Anne blurted out, still hacking a bit. Carlos was the one who bruised Hazel’s wrists?

She knew he was kind of an angry guy, but good Lord…

“Yeah,” Hazel blushed again. Anne was baffled by the smile tugging at the corners of Hazel’s mouth, and she began to get queasy.

All of a sudden something Gordon said popped into Anne’s head.

You know, whenever he has sex, you can tell, because he’s so much less tense the next day. He was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him today.

The bruises weren’t from anger. They were from…

“You had sex with Carlos Quentin?!”

“Shhh!” Hazel sounded, eyes wide and looking around to make sure no one heard them. The waiter came just then, halting their conversation. They placed their orders and the waiter walked away, and when Hazel turned back to Anne, she was sitting there doe-eyed and waiting for Hazel’s response.

“Please tell me that’s what it was,” Anne said. “Because if those bruises on your wrists are not from rough-sex related reasons, we’re going to have to send Gordon after-”

“Yes, okay? Yes I had sex with Carlos. Just lower your voice, alright?” Hazel breathed out.

“Oh my God…I can’t believe…how did…what happened after…are you guys…ugh. So many questions!” Anne exclaimed.

“We were a little tipsy. I think I started massaging him and things got carried away. I woke up in his arms this morning and-”

“He stayed the whole night?” Anne interrupted.

“Yeah. Anyways-”

“He never stays the whole night,” Anne continued.

“Yeah I know,” Hazel stated, waiting for Anne to intervene again. “…Anyways, we talked about it and we agreed it was just a heat of the moment thing and we’re just going to stay friends.”

“It was heat of the moment?” Anne asked.

“Yes.”

“So what was the second time?”

“Well, he-” Hazel cut herself off. “How’d you know about this morning?”

“Gordon.”

“How does Gordon know about this morning?!” Hazel exclaimed, panicky.

“Carlos.”

“Carlos told Gordon he slept with me? And I thought you didn’t know Carlos stayed the whole night?” Hazel asserted.

“I didn’t. All I knew was that Carlos had sex with a girl, and then he almost did it with her again. I didn’t know it was the next morning or that it was with you. And Gordon doesn't know about it being you either,” Anne explained. “Gordon could tell that Carlos had had sex, because I guess Carlos is always really relaxed the ‘day after.’ Then, your lovely brother decided to bring the topic up to Carlos, who confirmed it. He didn’t name names or anything. Carlos may be thick headed but he’s not stupid. Much.”

“Do you think he’d be mad? Gordon, I mean,” Hazel asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Anne answered. “I mean, Carlos is his best friend, sure. But Carlos is also an unstable asshole, so…”

“Yeah,” Hazel agreed.

“Maybe it’s best to just not mention it for now,” Anne suggested. “We’re all grown adults. We don’t have anyone to answer to.”

Hazel nodded absentmindedly.

“So…how was it?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Well duh!” Anne laughed. “When else are we going to talk about it? And I mean come on, inquiring minds want to know. Is he as passionate in the sack as he is on the field?”

“I was drunk.”

“There’s a difference between being drunk when things start and being so completely shit-faced that you don’t remember things afterward,” Anne pointed out. “I can tell by your blush that you remember everything. Spill.” Hazel just blushed some more and remained silent, prompting Anne to grin. “It was hot, wasn’t it?”

“Very,” Hazel nodded, taking a sip of her drink.

“Does he have a big penis?”

Hazel spat her drink out, causing a few people to look over at their table.

“Anne!” The older woman coughed, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“What? Don’t act all innocent. You know you’d ask me the same thing. Besides, I want to know. I mean, it’s not like their pants leave much to the imagination, but still, you never know. Like Jim Thome.”

“What about Jim Thome?” Hazel was almost afraid to ask.

“Well, have you seen it? How does he hide that beast so well?!”

Hazel stared blankly at Anne for a moment, dumbfounded.

“And you’ve seen Jim Thome’s penis…how?”

Anne grinned, taking out her phone. She went on the internet and searched for the picture she wanted, and when she found it she thrust her phone at Hazel who immediately cringed away without looking.

“Hell no. Get it away,” she demanded.

“First of all, it’s nothing graphic. He’s fully clothed,” Anne assured. “Second of all, when you see this, you’ll wish he was naked.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Hazel groaned. “You do know I consider you like a younger sister, right? I can’t handle this.”

“Just look!” Anne insisted. Hazel sighed and grabbed the phone, inspecting the screen.

“Holy…shit.”

“Right?!”

“His poor wife,” Hazel noted.

“His lucky wife,” Anne added, sighing. “Anyways, why are we talking about this again? Oh right! Carlos. Is it big or what?”

The food arrived at their table at that moment, but Hazel knew Anne would still be waiting for an answer. Hazel nonchalantly looked up at her a few minutes after she had cut into her food, seeing an expectant look on Anne’s face still.

“Yes, alright? Yes he has a big penis,” Hazel whispered.

“I figured,” Anne sighed dreamily. “And he uses it well?”

“Oh dear God,” Hazel mumbled, putting her hands over her face. “When did you become such a pervert? Oh that’s right, when you met my brother.”

“No actually, when I met you,” Anne shrugged innocently, twirling the straw in her cup. Hazel mock-glared at Anne, who once again pierced the older woman with her intrusive gaze. Haze groaned, exasperated.

“Yes, he uses it well,” Hazel grumbled.

“How many times did you co-”

“Stop. Just…stop,” Hazel laughed, holding her hand up.

“That many times, huh?”

Hazel’s jaw dropped in amusement, and the two women burst into giggles.

After they finished their meal, Anne invited Hazel over for a cup of coffee. The two women walked into Anne’s apartment, where they could hear the television on. Gordon and Carlos were sitting on the couch, channel surfing.

“Hey ladies,” Gordon grinned, getting up and greeting them both with a hug and a kiss. Upon hearing ‘ladies,’ Carlos’ head snapped up and he suddenly got anxious. Neither woman had seen him yet, and he wasn’t sure what to do. “Did ya’ll have a nice dinner?”

“Yep. We just came back for a cup of coffee,” Anne answered, glancing at the couch. “Hey….Carlos,” she stammered, eyes wide.

Hazel’s head snapped towards the living room, seeing Carlos. The room suddenly got awkwardly quiet, but Gordon was completely oblivious.

“Yeah, I got bored and hungry, so I had him bring over some food,” Gordon chuckled. Anne nodded her head in understanding, glancing at Hazel. The older woman was fidgeting around anxiously, looking at everything but Carlos.

“Okay, well, don’t let us interrupt. We’re just going to head into the kitchen,” Anne stated, grabbing Hazel’s arm and leading her away. Once they were safely inside the kitchen Hazel started pacing the room as Anne started the coffee. “Calm down,” Anne whispered.

“I didn’t think I was going to be in this situation so soon,” Hazel groaned, plopping down at the table. “I’m afraid Gordon is going to look at me and just know.” She let her arms sprawl onto the table, her head resting atop them.

Carlos walked through the door a moment later, and Hazel’s head shot up.

“I uh, came to get more beer,” he said, looking cautiously at Anne.

“She knows,” Hazel mumbled.

“Okay, are we telling Gordon?” Carlos hushed out.

“I don’t know,” Hazel whined. “Do you think we should?”

“I don’t know. It’s up to you,” he shrugged.

“Why is it up to me?” Hazel asked, standing up.

“He’s your brother,” Carlos asserted.

“He’s your teammate,” Hazel countered. Carlos sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Carlos put out. Hazel made a ‘psh’ noise.

“What’s the worst that could happen? How about he could get mad and stop speaking to us and then ya’lls chemistry on the field gets hurt and you lose a bunch of games and I lose my brother and-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Anne interrupted. “Now just hang on a minute. Maybe Gordon would be upset in the beginning, but I’m sure he’d get over it. I mean after all, you two are completely fine with your decision, and you’re not letting it effect you. You guys are still friends, and once Gordon sees that, he’ll realize it wasn’t a big deal.”

“I’ll realize what isn’t a big deal?”

Everyone looked with wide eyes over at Gordon, who had just walked into the room.