Page 57 of Vexing the Viper

"I am. It's a great feeling," I say to him. Mateo sits up, grinning at me. "I had a pretty great night too."

"Oh, please do tell. What happened once King and I left?"

"Sam kissed me." Mateo's cheeks turn a bright red, and I squeal.

"Fucking finally. I've been waiting for one of you to make a move on the other."

"Truthfully, so was I. But I wanted him to see me before that happened–all of me. I was nervous, of course, thinking he wouldn't like me in my Wolf form. But when he saw me, he wasn't disgusted. He smiled and said I looked amazing."

"I love that for you, Mateo. Tell me more. Who made the first move?" I ask, scooting closer to him.

"He did. After the Halloween Ball, he walked me back to the dorm room and I shifted back down to my normal form. I wasn't expecting anything to happen, but as I went to open the door, he grabbed me and kissed me."

"Oh, Medusa," I sigh happily.

"I was shocked at first, but when I realized what was happening, I kissed him back. After we kissed, he asked me to go on a date with him, then we said goodnight." Mateo gushes, happiness radiating off him.

I hug him tightly before saying, "Can you believe we're both dating humans?"

"Humansandbaseball players," he states, and I look at him wide eyed.

"Oh, my Medusa. Why did that never click for me before? A fucking baseball player," I mutter.

"Hey, they have their fundraiser thing tomorrow. Do you want to dress up with me?"

"First, I realize I'm dating a baseball player, and now you want to dress up? Ew," I joke.

"Come on, Niko. You know you want to."

"No," I lie. I actually really do want to. I want to show King I support him since he's always supporting me. "Fine, what did you have in mind?"

Mateo jumps up, grabbing my arm. "Come on, we need to head to the sports store by the Athletics Center."

I'm standingin the bleachers of the stadium with Mateo vibrating at my side. Glancing down at my outfit, I sigh, not sure how I let him talk me into wearing this.

"Did we really need to go all out and wear this much?" I ask, looking down at my outfit. I'm wearing Creelin U Cockatoo socks peeking out under my ripped jeans. Instead of my usual black leather jacket, I'm wearing a jersey with King's name and number on it. Okay, I'm not complaining too much about that one. But, then, to top it all off, I'm wearing a team baseball cap on my head and a foam finger on my hand. I glance over at Mateo who's wearing the exact same thing except with Sam's name and number.

"Trust me, when King sees you, he's going to love it."

"Yeah, whatever," I mumble.

The team walks out onto the field, and I'm blown away. King and Sam stand up front, but, behind them, monsters file out in their shifted forms. I notice Trent—and all eight of his legs—walking over to second base. Making their way to the outfield isa Minotaur, and a three-headed Hydra starts making his way to first base.

"Wow," I say, sitting down in my seat.

"I know, isn't it amazing?" Mateo looks at me, and I notice tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I ask, wondering why he's tearing up.

"I'm really okay. I told you Niko, having humans was going to be so good for Creelin U."

"Yeah, you were right," I admit, turning back toward the field.

The game starts, and I eagerly watch as the team takes the lead early, each of the players working extremely hard. My eyes stayed trained on King as he plays. I know, in the back of his mind, he's always worried about how well he does or doesn't do, but from where I'm sitting, he has nothing to worry about.

The other team hits a ball that makes it to the outfield, and my heart beats wildly as I watch King jump up, his head twisting left and right, scanning the field. I stand up, my eyes glued to the ball. When it lands in King's glove and he tags the other player out, I scream loudly, yelling King's name.

King turns around and locks eyes with me. I wave and laugh when King shoots me a wink, one not at all subtle. Thinking back to the last time I was at one of his games, I smile to myself. Things have changed so much in such a short period of time.

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