Harley nudged him. “Isn’t that Zayden’s straight best friend? I didn’t think we allowed straight people on the team.”
Silence filled the air between us, and I glanced at Dare, reading the situation. It was not my right to out him, and if he didn’t want to admit to anyone he was… something else other than straight, then I respected that.
But it turned out I didn’t have to worry because he smiled at Harley, grabbed my shoulder, and spun me to drag me into a long kiss that had my cock twitching and my heart racing. He wrapped me up and held me close. Even the sounds of wolf whistles couldn’t break us apart. It was only when we were out of breath that he ended the kiss and turned me back toward Harley.
“Did that look straight to you?” he asked.
Harley’s eyes were wide as he shook his head. “Uh. No?”
“He got you there, Harley cat.” Brad laughed. “I’ll ask you again, do you play kickball, Dare?”
“Can’t say I do, but I’m okay at sports.” He shrugged.
“Great. You and Zayden can join our team.” Brad didn’t give us a chance to argue. He grabbed Harley and walked back down the steps, dragging his cat behind him with a determined gait.
Nicky chuckled. “Don’t mind him. He really wants to beat theLesbos Dolphinsand those guys.” He pointed at the huge bear-looking men already out on the field warming up. “That’s theGrizzly Boys. They seem to kick our ass every time, and Brad really wants to win.”
I didn’t miss the blush that spread across Kwan’s cheeks as he stared out at the field. A big man with bulging muscles and a tight-fitting kickball jersey stared back. I didn’t think they even realized what they were doing until another one of the bears talked to the man in the jersey, snapping him out of his reverie.
“Do you know him, Kwan?” I asked, unable to stop myself from grinning.
Kwan’s gaze shot to me and his cheeks grew even redder. He smoothed his hand down his shirt as though it could have wrinkles and nodded. “He’s my boss.”
Nicky gave him a smug smile. “Yes, hisboss.”
Kwan glared at Nicky and huffed. “I’m going back to the bench. Brad said I could sit there for a better view.”
“Oh please, you only want to be closer to your bear. You know you want him to be your owner.” By the end of his sentence, Nicky had turned to singsong his words, and Kwan rushed off, clearly not in the mood for teasing. Nicky shrugged and winked at me. “Guess I’ll be seeing you, andyou—” He stopped to stare at Dare. “—during the next practice. Good luck with saying no to Brad if you don’t want to play.”
With a laugh, he bounced down the steps and toward the field.
We retook our seats, and Dare grabbed me, pulling me tight to his side again. He kissed my cheek, and I snuggled against him to watch the warm-ups. We talked quietly about work, but ten minutes later the game had begun. I followed the action, enthralled by how they played. If we were part of the team now, I had to at least understand the rules.
But instead of focusing on the kickball taking place, I imagined Dare out there instead, with white shorts that barely reached midthigh and showed off underwear if they were too bright. I fantasized about the sweat clinging to him, the shirt tight against his chest, and how he’d run to first base. Suddenly I couldn’t wait until we played this game. It was a sexy image, one that had me shifting uncomfortably in my seat as my cock filled.
“Are you okay?” Dare whispered in my ear, his voice gentle and knowing.
“Um, yes?” I sounded so uncertain. “How long does this game go for?”
Dare laughed. “Oh, baby, it just started.”
“Oh boy. Want a bathroom break?”
His laughter grew louder. This was going to be a long game.
11
Dare
The late-afternoon sunbeat down on us where we stood between the metal bleachers, taking a warm day from bearable to stifling and giving my deodorant a run for its money. Z’s shoulder bumped against my arm, and I made a fumbling move to take his hand. He sent me a smile and laced our fingers together. Happy warmth twisted in my gut and I gave his hand a squeeze. It was exciting to acknowledge he was mine in this small way, and I loved the energy that thrummed between us.
“What do you guys think?” Brad asked brightly, his light brown eyes gleaming in the sunshine. He stroked his fingers along the scruff on his pointed chin and straightened to his full height. He was shorter than me by a good bit, but his attitude made him formidable. “You know you wanna.”
Brad’s team shirt clung to his chest with sweat, the white unicorn on the front nearly transparent, and it was not a bad sight. I blew out a steady breath. How long had I been ignoring things like this? I definitely found him to be worth a second glance.
“I don’t know…,” Zayden said, and I could hear the tone in his voice. He wanted to saynobut was worried about being rude.
Brad amped up the wattage on his smile, leaning in toward Z. “You can’t leave us to drink by ourselves! And I’ll talk to you about our next practice. You really should join us.”
