He flashed me a sheepish grin. “I’m starving. Didn’t eat after the game, then I worked up an appetite with you. What are you in the mood for?”
“Whatever you want.” Though now that he mentioned it, I was starving too. Shiv and I had eaten a late lunch slash early dinner after apartment hunting, but that was hours ago.
“If it’s okay with you,” he said, “I’m going to veto pizza. I’m still annoyed with that fucking delivery guy.”
I laughed. “Sure. And maybe we can actually watch that movie while we eat.”
Chase unpacked the food on the kitchen counter and sorted through it. I surveyed the contents of the three paper bags, which were probably enough to feed ten people. Styrofoam containers of rice, silver trays of chow mein, stir-fry, beef with broccoli, cashew chicken with vegetables, spicy shrimp, more noodles, and a few other meat dishes. The common theme here? Meat.
“Do you think you ordered enough food?” I teased, tilting my head. “I’m afraid we might run out.”
Opening the cupboard, I took out the plates and set them on the counter. While I was turned away from him, he swatted my behind with a kitchen towel playfully.
“I told you. I’ve had a physically taxing night. A man needs to eat.”
“That’s true. You did work hard,” I said, turning back to face him.
Walking over to me, Chase gave me a crooked smile. He placed a hand on either side of me, fencing me in against the counter.
“You know what they say; hard work pays off.”
“Oh, it did,” I said. “It definitely did.”
His eyes gleamed mischievously. “Speaking of that—when are we going toy shopping?”
Oh. So he hadn’t forgotten.
“You were serious about that?”
“Of course,” he said. “I can’t think of anything hotter than seeing you using something like that.”
I uttered a little involuntary gasp because that scenario had never even crossed my mind. Really?
“Or by yourself,” he added.
I still wasn’t convinced I could get used to it—ever—but I’d told him I would keep an open mind.
“We’ll see…”
“Or I could go without you.” He shrugged. “Make it a surprise.”
Gulp. That would be worse than facing the sex boutique by myself.
“Maybe it’s better I come with you.”
“Great.” He winked at me. “Let’s make a date.”
I woke up to the bed sagging under Chase’s weight as he slid under the covers and draped a heavy arm around my waist. His body was warm and comforting wrapped against mine, the scent of his soap and cologne surrounding me.
I peeked through one eye to discover light seeping between the gaps in the curtains. It was morning, which meant he must have returned from dryland training.
Shifting, I moved closer, snuggling into him. This was the best imaginable way to wake up.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered, giving me a squeeze.
“It’s okay.”
Realizing I probably had horrible morning breath, I lifted my head and tried to wriggle out of his grip, but his arm held me tighter, keeping me in place.
“No way.” His tone turned deep and gravelly. “I sped home for this.”
I laughed, turning my head partway to face him. “I need to brush my teeth. Especially because you already did.”
“Fine.” Chase sighed, reluctantly releasing his hold. “But make it quick.”
In a sleepy daze, I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I opened the bathroom door again, he patted the mattress beside him, inclining his head.
“You. Here.”
Pulling back the covers, I crawled in and faced him. “You sped home to snuggle?”
He shrugged. “I sped home to do whatever you want. But I have some ideas if you need suggestions.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 33
OceanofPDF.com
DOUBLE-EDGED
Chase
After spending the night—and morning—with James, I was on cloud fucking nine. I drove her to class, popped back home for a few, then headed to campus, where I spent the day basking in a perfect post-sex high.
Okay, so I wasn’t overly focused on my lectures. Economic theory was going in one ear and out the other while I daydreamed about various naughty scenarios—with the odd hockey-related tangent thrown in—but I was in a good mood, at least.
Dallas, on the other hand, was not so chipper. Like he was brooding underneath a massive black cloud. I’d seen him in passing on my way out the door, and he was grouchy as hell. When I’d said “see you later,” he’d grunted. Snarled might have been a more accurate descriptor.
By the time practice rolled around in the late afternoon, his mood hadn’t improved. He barreled into the dressing room and threw his bag down on the bench beside me like it had personally offended him.
I finished pulling on my socks and glanced up at him with a questioning look. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he said under his breath.
Right…
“Are you and Shiv okay?” I asked, trying to catch his eye. “I thought I heard you two arguing this morning.”
Over Dallas’s shoulder, Tyler widened his eyes, shaking his head emphatically. Whoops. Too late now.
Dallas avoided my gaze. “Dunno.” He bent over and unzipped his bag, then pulled out his socks and base layers and worked on removing his street clothes.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I said, fastening my shin pads. “How can you not know?”
Ty cleared his throat loudly and shot me a what the fuck look. But subtlety had never been my strength, and it was a genuine question. My relationship experience was obviously pretty limited, but wouldn’t one know if their relationship was okay or not? Didn’t people talk to each other? Especially when they’d been together as long as Dallas and Shiv.
“Just worried about you,” I added gingerly. “You’ve been off all day.”
“Look,” he said. “I take it that you finally got laid, and I’m happy for you, man. I really am. Shiv and I are not in a good place. We got into it at O’Connor’s.” Dallas yanked on his compression pants and stood, grabbing his base shirt. His jaw ticked. “Some dumb shit was hitting on her.”
Dallas had, shall we say, a mild jealous streak. Shiv did attract a lot of attention. Combine that with her refusal to fully commit, and he got a little touchy at times.
Tyler made a show of turning away, silently exiting the conversation. They’d probably already been through this, and Tyler’s usual blunt “just fucking deal with it” advice likely went over like a lead puck.
“Was she flirting back?” I asked.
“No. But she wouldn’t even say she had a boyfriend. Just told the dude that she was there with ‘someone.’ Like, what the fuck? I’m ‘someone’？ So I told her, in or out. Decide.”
“Holy shit.” I pulled on my shorts, turning to face him. “Isn’t that kind of awkward if she’s staying with us?”
“Guess I’ll crash on the couch.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m not sure.” Dallas hung his head. He raked a hand through his hair and looked at me, expression tense. Then he ducked in closer, lowering his voice. “I’m just fed up. I mean, come on. I have chicks all up on my jock left and right. But the only one I want can’t stomach calling me her boyfriend?”