“You wish, Malcolm.”
I rolled my eyes. “As much as I wish my ass was on fire from explosive diarrhea.”
Disgust colored Cassius’s face, as I anticipated. The guy paled at any mention of shit. It was fucking hilarious.
“What?” My tone took on a sugary sweetness. “You’re looking a little peaky there, Cass. Need the bathroom? Imodium?”
“Dude, not cool, man. Not cool.”
Did I feel even a little guilty knowing what his kryptonite was? Hell no. The fucker gave it back just as hard.
I blew him a kiss, smirking at the thought of the gift I’d left him in his locker. The asshole was going to flip his shit. With that thought, and chuckling to myself, I left Cassius and finally made my way to Eddie.
As much as I want a victory kiss with the man, I settled for a tight hug and a quick inhalation of his familiar scent.
“You were incredible.” He squeezed me hard before easing away. “Congratulations, Pearce. The Bulldogs next.” Bright-eyed and looking so proud my gut clenched, Eddie grinned widely.
“Thanks,” I said, emotion clogging my throat. It wasn’t like he’d never greeted me this way before, but now, with everything, his words, the way he stared at me, it felt a whole heap more meaningful. I coughed lightly and focused on Lottie. All but vibrating at her dad’s side, she launched at me. I reacted quickly, trying to slow her movement and be careful with how I hugged her back.
“Pearce,” she said a little breathlessly, “that three-pointer in the third, and the way you owned Barry, kept blocking his shots….” She pulled away, eyes wide and words trailing off.
“Got your seal of approval, huh?”
She bobbed her head. “Dad got it right. You were incredible.”
My heart stumbled at the passion in her tone, and once again, emotion settled in my chest. Jesus, between the two Phelpses, I was going to be ruined. Instead of answering straight away, I hugged her carefully, my gaze traveling to Eddie. His unwavering stare filled with emotion I felt deep inside was something I’d never tire of.
As if seeing my struggle to get my emotions in check, he tapped on Lottie’s arm. “Come on. Let Pearce up for air. He needs to go and change so we can head home.”
Our eyes connected, and I desperately wished there was more truth to his words. With their flight tomorrow, it was a brutal reminder that they had a life miles away from my own.
Brushing away the ache unsettling my gut, I plastered on a smile and eased away. “Give me fifteen and I’ll be right out.”
“Okay.” Lottie followed up with a loud yawn, not surprising since it was way past her bedtime, and settled her butt back down.
Making my way to the locker room, I tried to focus on the win, and how once Lottie was fast asleep, Eddie and I could have our own celebration. The thought was enough to have my dick taking interest. Since that first night, we hadn’t tried to fuck again. Sure, bjs and handies were fucking spectacular, and I was so not complaining, but hell, I wanted to get inside his ass.
The volume in the locker room had me grinning when I stepped inside. Energy vibrated around the room, my teammates talking animatedly and laughing. It was enough to stop me thinking with my dick for a few seconds and instead focus on Cassius.
Standing by his locker, he tugged off his jersey, laughing at something Joel said. Like clockwork, he reached in a tugged out his towel, anal douches springing out and landing at his feet. The one smacking him in his face on the way down, though, had me roaring.
“The fuck?”
About five seconds passed before understanding registered, and the douche he was inspecting flew through the air, smacking Joel on the forehead.
Dead. I was going to die from laughter, but if that didn’t kill me, the daggers Cassius shot my way would do it.
“You fucking wankstain.” He narrowed his gaze and took a step in my direction.
“Hey,” I managed, despite my overspilling laughter. “Hygiene is important. I was being generous. Thoughtful, even, by sharing.”
He froze, paling. “For the love of God, tell me they weren’t—” He swallowed hard and for a moment there I thought he was going to spew. “—used.”
I bit the inside of my cheeks before saying, “They’re new.” And then he was on me, getting me in a headlock and twisting my nipple. Between my laughter, I gasped for air, tears trickling down my cheeks. “They’re new,” I grunted, trying to twist away from his bruising fingers, and doing a piss-poor job at reining in my amusement.
“They better fucking be.” He loosened his grip and shoved me away, his gaze narrowing. He didn’t do a great job at hiding the humor in them, though.
“Yep, and all yours. Have fun with them.” I wiped at my eyes, still chuckling.
