I could make all the promises in the world. You never knew where the night could take us.
23
ERIK
Ichecked my watch every five minutes leading up to seven o’clock. Kayden shared a house with another person from the Westside. That was how it was done in that part of Buffalo. People answer ads and move in with someone they knew next to nothing about before sharing an address.
Kayden texted me two hours before saying I shouldn’t eat much before arriving because he would take care of the food. Knowing my teammate, that meant he would have a few bags of Doritos on hand or have a pizza delivered. Anything unhealthy we could stuff in our mouths.
When I rang the doorbell, Kayden answered, wearing a black dress shirt and gray pants. He’d combed his hair more conservatively now, but I still imagined a lock of hair hanging over his forehead like a comma. He looked good no matter what he did.
I would’ve pictured him as the type to greet me in a t-shirt and track pants—at best. Guys like him usually treat their home like their own personal locker room and open the door in their boxers…or less.
The latter wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t been clinging to my remaining shreds of willpower.
“Come in,” he said. “Glad you could make it.”
When I stepped inside, I drank in my surroundings, realizing that the house looked much nicer inside than outside. A staircase stood in front of me. Beside it I found a hall that allowed a peek into the kitchen. To my right, I spotted a living room and small dining room beyond it. I shuffled into the living room the moment my shoes came off.
A warm, heavenly aroma filled my nostrils. Bread for sure, but there had to be more. I inhaled deeply, enjoying all of it.
“Make yourself at home,” he said. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Dinner?”
“You didn’t think I would let you starve, did you?”
“No, I just, uh…”
I’d been wrong about Kayden, at least in terms of his idea of how to welcome a guest. Was there a chance I’d been wrong about so much else concerning my teammates?
No.
My gut had told me what I needed to know from the start. I’d trusted that. I just found certain things about Kayden interesting enough to keep learning as much as I could.
You want to change him,my inner voice said.You want to tame the bad boy until he’s putty in your hands.
Maybe. I hadn’t thought of it that way until now. Kayden Preston would be a challenge one way or another.
On the dining room table, I found two places set with cutlery, a candle, and freshly baked bread. He wouldn’t really light the candle, would he? He’d only set it out for decoration, right?
Suddenly, I felt underdressed and…unprepared? Yes, that was it. I didn’t know I was supposed to dress up or what this was supposed to be. I only knew that we were supposed to talk about how—or if—we would make co-captaining work, not.
Obviously, Kayden had a plan.
I dragged out a chair, sat, and watched Kayden at the stove. Those gray pants boasted an ass that you can’t earn at the gym. You’ve got to be born with anything that amazing. Sure, I’d seen it bare, but sometimes you can’t get enough of a good thing.
I wanted that. No matter what standards I’d set out for myself, I wanted that ass in the worst way.
Holy shit…
I drew a deep breath, summoning all my strength. I couldn’t back down from my principles now.
Kayden opened the door, bent over (God help me), pulled out a tray, and then zipped back and forth throughout the kitchen. I turned away, so he wouldn’t catch me gawking. Finally, he brought dinner to me: chicken parmesan. My mouth watered at the sight.
My teammate lit the candle and filled the glasses with red wine. Then he sat across from me and grabbed a napkin, acting all casual, like this was all in a day’s work.
I wished I’d known what to say.
