Page 30 of Totally Opposed

Fuck, I sure am, but the whole team is going toGopher,the bar across the streetfor a drink, and I can’t bail on them after our first win against the OG’s.

RYAN: Drinks atGopher, then we can celebrate our win.

ALAN: I didn’t win anything. It was all you!

RYAN: It was that pregame release that secured the win for sure. You just wait and see for yourself. I’ll make sure you are ready for your game tomorrow night.

ALAN: I’m not normally a superstitious guy, but I’d like to test that theory.

RYAN: I’ll make an excuse after the first round of drinks.

ALAN: I’ll be waiting by the car.

Chapter twelve

Alan

Ryan offers to goback to his place, but he’s living with Duckie and my sister is off on a girl’s weekend at the ranch, so I’ve got the place to myself.

“Your place is nice,” Ryan says, walking into the living room and folding his jacket over the back of the couch.

“Thanks. It’s my sister’s. I had a place, but then… It didn’t work out.”

“Terrible roommates?”

“Something like that,” I say, heading into the kitchen.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m told I am a fabulous listener,” Ryan replies, leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen.

“I was living with my ex before I moved in with Kelly. It was one of those relationships where you really don’t see who the other person is until you’re out, or ready to get out. You know?” I tell him, surprised by how easy it actually is to talk about this stuff. It took forever for me to even acknowledge what happened. “He wasn’t violent, but he was super controlling, like, he wouldallocate me spending money out of my pay, and he would do this thing where he would make me feel bad for being away from him all day at training, only then he’d make plans with other people the second I was home and act like he never cared that I was gone and that I was imagining things.”

“I’m glad you found your way out of it,” he says.

“Me too. It’s funny, but well… not funny ha, ha, funny, but, you know, funny still, that all the time I just didn’t see that stuff. It was actually when I caught him texting another guy with plans to hook up that I decided I was done. It was after I decided to leave that all that the possessiveness, controlling, belittling behaviors were even visible to me.”

“I get that.”

“Well, I’m out now. And living with Kelly isn’t too bad. Do you want a drink?”

“No, I’m good. I might need one after, though.”

My stomach flips, and the room grows a few degrees warmer.

“Oh, really?”

“So, where’s your room?”

I grab two bottles of water from the fridge and lead the way down the hallway towards my room

“This way, would you like to see?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The second I am through the door, his chest is against my back, his arms wrap around me and his mouth is sucking the crease between my shoulder and neck.

“Fuck, that’s good,” I moan, reaching back with one hand to hold his head in that perfect spot.

His hands start trailing down my chest, warmth spreading beneath his touch.

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