Page 97 of Trade Deadline

Elliot quickly throws the bag of chips at Kendrick, then continues his pursuit of the selection of snacks. Ethan makes a kickass spread when he hosts boys' night: pizza, wings, a wide selection of meats, cheeses and olives on a charcuterie board, fresh fruit, potato chips. You name it, it’ll be on the counter.

Elliot’s eyes widen when he spots the box of cupcakes Alex made earlier.

“As the great Obi-Wan once said,Hello there.” He opens the lid and takes a deep inhale. “Mmm, I can already smell the tears from an extra workout, and it smells divine.”

He takes one out, and then, just as he’s about to take a bite, Zach jumps up from his spot on the couch and practically runs to the counter. He’s already had two since we got here just thirty minutes ago.

Elliot slaps his hand away from the box and points his finger. “Hey now, big guy, you’ve already had two, and while I know you’re a growing boy, didn’t ya mama teach you about sharing?”

I can sense Zach’s pout from here, even with his back turned to me. The man’s such a weakling for cupcakes or donuts.

“Aw, man. Don’t pout; don’t do the pout! You know I have no willpower when you pout.” Elliot holds his uneaten cupcake out for Zach to take a bite. “Fine, have half of mine.” Zach wastes no time taking a huge bite out of the cupcake, way more than half.

Alex chuckles beside me.

“What?”

He shakes his head, humor dancing in his eyes. “Nothing… I just… I guess I didn’t expect you guys to be like this.”

“Fun?” I smirk.

“Yeah.” He laughs. “You don’t really get to show much of your personality in interviews, I guess.”

“And we’re not really allowed to show ourselves completely.” I add.

Elliot flops down next to me and points his thumb at me. “Mainly because he’d probably say something rude.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Uh, yes, you would,” Elliot argues while eating what's left of his cupcake.

Ethan rolls his eyes, then leans into Alex. “I swear it’s like I’m a dad to some overgrown toddlers.”

Elliot’s eyes light up. “Can I call you Daddy?”

Ethan throws his head back with a groan, covering his face with his hands, and when my eyes land on Alex, we burst into laughter.

We get comfortable as the game kicks off, and Zach goes silent as usual, chewing on the side of his nail as he watches his buddy out on the field.

Alex’s phone vibrates in his pocket, and when he takes it out and reads whatever is on the screen, I feel his body go rigid.

Another beat goes by until he quietly says, “Excuse me for a minute.”

There’s an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach when he gets up and heads down the hallway.

I let a few minutes pass by before I get up to follow him, finding him sitting at the far end of the hall in front of a huge window, his head looking down at his phone.

“Alex? You okay?” I ask.

He looks up, and when I see the expression on his face, it’s like I’ve been sucker punched in the balls. There’s sadness in his eyes, and his forehead creased with a frown. I crouch down in front of him, placing my hands on his hips.

“What happened?”

He takes in a shaky breath and closes his eyes for a beat before he speaks. “Since Christmas, I’ve been receiving some … uh … not so nice messages on Instagram…”

“Messages?”

“Yeah… I thought it was going to stop, but it didn’t…” He hands over his phone. “They’ve been saying some pretty horrible things, and they’re supposedly fans of yours…”

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