“It’s the numbers that have me intrigued.”
“Like, is this a threesome, or is there a mysterious fourth player out there and if so, what’s the pairing configuration?”
“Coach,” Braxton whines.
I chuckle. “Boys,” I call out, trying to contain my smile long enough to poke my head over the seat and give them all a warning look. “Cool it. We’re in public.”
“Yes, Coach,” I hear in a sloppy chorus of no one being in unison.
I watch for a moment longer as they lean close together and snicker. Put their earbuds in. Wrap up in blankets. Then I sink back into my seat and look at Denis, amused.
He looks a little flushed, but before I can ask, I realize that he’s trying very hard to cover his neck and all visible skin. I raise an eyebrow as he glances at me and the man blushes madly.
Chuckling, I lean in and murmur, “Find someone to commiserate with last night, Denis?”
Denis glowers. “The season’s over,” he says defensively, his voice so low that I barely make out the words.
“I don’t care one way or another. Cute that you’re trying to hide, though. Just be glad they’re exhausted because you wouldn’t be able to hide it otherwise.”
“Monday is going to be fun,” he mutters, hunkering down in his seat.
I give him a grin and he rolls his eyes. Yep.
“Really, if you weren’t all barbarians and insisted on marking your lovers, no one would know,” someone says behind us, and I give Denis a pointed look.
He huffs and closes his eyes.
For the record, it doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s right as we get off the bus at RDU that Hakeem sees and points with a wildly excited grin. “What are you hiding, Coach Denis?”
Denis gives him a warning look, but it’s already too late. The entire team pauses what they’re doing to look at Denis, who flushes and tries to hide. I’m not close enough to hide him behind me as the team looks between Denis and the unmatched three with marks as they try to decide who fucked who last night.
“Okay, okay,” I call, gaining everyone’s attention. “Leave them alone.”
“I’d like to point out that this doesn’t prove who was with who,” Braxton says defensively. “It just means we all had fun withsomeonelast night. For all you know, it could have been with someone from Denver. I’ve never left a mark on my lover before.” He shrugs.
Now the team is super intrigued as they consider each other and ask invasive questions.
“I think that was less helpful than you thought it would be,” Hakeem mutters.
“Not really. None of you know who gave me this,” Braxton says, pointing to his neck. “You can speculate all you want, but I’m not a biter and I don’t leave hickeys. So what’s that tell you?”
“That there are more players in this than we thought!” Leo shouts.
“Did you really fuck with the enemy?” Seth asks, horrified.
Braxton shrugs.
“Dude, let’s just say we all fucked away our feelings last night and be done with this conversation,” Matty suggests. He’s one of my quiet players so that he’s getting himself involved is curious.
I’m not the only one that thinks so, as everyone looks at him. He doesn’t say any more as he turns away with his bag over his shoulder.
“That’s the most I’ve heard him say at once,” Damari admits, awed.
I chuckle. “Go get some rest, team. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
A rabble of ‘byes’ follows me as I leave them. I’m ready to get back to my man. To wrap myself in his arms and sleep for a while. I’ve come to hate sleeping without him.
Tossing my bag into the bed of my truck, I head home. My only complaint about living in Sun Haven is when I have to drive there without Lemon’s company. The minutes feel long. Like they drag. It’s so fucking slow. I could call him, but I want to drop my shit at home and then crawl into his bed for a while. We tend to lounge around in bed on Sundays. I’m hoping he’s there waiting for me.
