“So what do you two lovebirds think?” Chris asked.
“I’d have to ask Emmy,” Gabe answered. “But if he says okay, then I think it’ll be a good one to say yes to. What do you think?” He turned those breathtaking blue eyes in my direction. I had to hold myself back from saying “fuck it,” then climbing onto his lap and kissing him. The game still had me worked up. Adrenaline and endorphins did funny things to a body.
And by ‘funny’ I meant primarily made me a horny, dick-gobbling monster.
I thought back to the state Gabe was in after his full moon shift, how insatiable and desperate he’d been.
Likely pretty close to how I felt now. I casually rested my hands between my legs, covering how excited I was getting.
I’d handle this later tonight.
“Yes,” I said, focusing back in on his question. “I think it would be a good move. Maybe we can get one long interview out there, and then people will stop being so interested.”
“Maybe,” Gabe replied, thoughtful.
“I’ve already switched all my social accounts to private. I’ve had a couple people somehow figure out my agent’s email, but those emails have all been positive. Unless he’s just not forwarding me the bad ones—which could actually be a possibility.”
“Our team pages have been getting a lot of attention,” Chris said. “I noticed it the other day.”
“Yeah, I noticed too,” I said. “I emailed an apology to our social manager, but she was quick to shut that down. She called me to tell me just how thrilled she was with the engagement.”
“Ticket sales for today’s game were good too, according to Coach,” Soren noted. “More than good. ‘Fuckin’ amazing,’ he had said.”
Chris nodded at that. “Seriously, it was a packed arena today. Guess everyone wanted to see you two play your first game together.”
“Nah,” I said, dismissing them, even though the correlation was hard to ignore. “Probably because it was one of our last games with the Sharks.”
“I cannot believe Viktor was not even there. Coward.” Soren spit into the dirt. “I still wanted to check him for talking shit about you, Elijah.”
“Thanks, Soar. But I’d rather check him by winning, which is exactly what we did tonight.”
Gabe shook his head. “That fucker still deserves apunch to the face. Maybe a broken jaw will stop him from talking so much shit.”
Yuni came to join the circle. She wore a light blue and black Bobcats T-shirt, matching colored stripes still painted on her cheeks from the game. An expensive-looking gold necklace dangled over the Bobcats logo, sparkling with a large emerald seemingly held inside a golden claw. “Where’s Dyl?” she asked the group as she looked around, taking a seat next to me. “I haven’t seen him all night.”
“He went for a hookup,” Chris said. “Apparently, he’s been talking to some guy. He’s new in town. They seemed to have hit it off, but I think tonight’s the first time they meet, so we’ll see.”
“Oh Lordy,” Yuni said and took a long chug of her beer. “What are the odds that he calls an emergency pack meeting just to have us sit through a PowerPoint about who this gentleman is and why he would make a great boyfriend.”
Gabe chuckled. “Remember when he did that for Emily?”
“Yes, I do, and that’s why I think he’s got the template ready to go. Just swap out a couple of pictures and ‘fun’ facts for his new guy.”
“God bless him.” Chris clapped his hands on his thighs and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. “Anyone want refills? Something to eat?”
I lifted my empty beer. “Can I have another, please?” Thankfully, it was a Friday, with no other games scheduled this weekend. We had a win to celebrate, and I had a boyfriend to ride. A couple more beers were exactly what a night like this called for.
“You got it, bro.” Chris went over to the cooler next to the barbecue. Emmy was there flipping acouple of burgers and talking to Raquel. Across from them and a couple of feet into the grass, Nicky—who I only just recently met—was scrolling through her phone while sitting at the long picnic table. It was nights like these that made me so damn grateful I’d found Gabe and fit in so well with his pack. Otherwise, I would have had an empty night celebrating the win either on my own or in a crowded bar or loud club that didn’t even allow for conversation, much less genuine connection.
It also gave me the sense that I was surrounded by family, even though my blood relatives lived miles away.
“You know who else I noticed was missing tonight?” Gabe asked.
“Harrison?” I suggested.
“Bingo.”
“Yes, it was odd to me too.” Soren cocked his head. “He rarely misses a game. And not one that is this important.”
