Page 25 of Slap Shot Daddies

We laugh uproariously over absurd stories, Reggie sharing vivid tales from his childhood in the mist-covered hills of Scotland, his accent thickening with each anecdote.

Braden recounts an insane adventure from his backpacking days, vividly describing the moment he almost got lost in the towering, jagged peaks of the Andes, his eyes wide with the thrill of the memory.

Ambrose, meanwhile, mostly listens, rolling his eyes when the stories take a turn for the fantastical, though I catch the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk more than once.

“What do you like to do to pass the time, Kenzie?” Ambrose asks, his smoldering eyes flashing to me.

“I love reading,” I confess, my voice a touch too enthusiastic, emboldened by the wine swirling warmly in my veins. “Especially romance novels.”

Braden's eyebrow arch with curiosity. “Oh yeah? What kind of romance?”

I bite my lip, hesitating for a heartbeat before blurting out the truth. “The, uh…steamy kind.”

Reggie smirks, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “The dirty ones, then?”

I groan, covering my flushed face with my hands. “God, you guys are the worst.”

Braden leans in closer, his green eyes shimmering with playful amusement. “You read about all these scandalous things, but I bet you’re not as wild as your books.”

A blush creeps up my cheeks. “I’m not. I mean, I’ve only been with a few people.”

I’m not sure why I admitted to this, but the moment the words escape, my eyes dart to Ambrose.

His jaw tenses slightly, and Braden and Reggie exchange a knowing glance, their expressions full of unspoken understanding.

“Ohh,” Braden teases with a grin. “I think there’s a story there.”

I shake my head rapidly, but an intense heat creeps over my face as if it’s on fire. "No, no story," I insist, hoping my voice sounds more confident than I feel.

Only me and Ambrose know this isn’t my first time in this house.

Braden smirks, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Right, sure. Just a completely innocent look between you and our dear Ambrose."

Ambrose rolls his eyes, a gesture of exasperation as he stabs his fork into his pasta with more force than necessary.

"Don’t start," he warns, though there's a hint of amusement in his voice.

Reggie leans in closer, his voice smooth and persuasive, like honey dripped over a promise. "Listen, boring is a state of mind, not a way of being. You say you love reading about wild things, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live them yourself."

Braden nods knowingly, swirling his wine in the glass before taking a sip. "Yeah, why fantasize when you could live it?"

My heart stutters, a frantic drumbeat against my ribs. My pulse pounds so loudly in my ears that it drowns out the ambient noise around us.

"What are you saying?" I manage to ask, my curiosity piqued despite the nervous fluttering in my stomach.

Braden sets his glass down with a soft clink, his eyes twinkling with mischief and possibility. "That we could show you a really good time. Like in your books."

I gape at him, my mind struggling to process his words, short-circuiting under the weight of the implications. "You're…you're offering…"

Reggie grins, a playful yet reassuring smile that reaches his eyes, "We wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t like. Right, guys?"

Braden raises his hands in mock surrender, his expression one of feigned innocence. "Of course. We’re gentlemen."

Reggie gives me a slow, appraising once-over, amusement dancing across his features. "We’ve done this before, love. It wouldn’t be rough…unless you wanted it to be."

Ambrose groans, shaking his head with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "All right, cool it. You’re making her blush."

"No!" I blurt out, startling even myself with the force of my words. My voice is breathy, laced with an excitement I can’t quite comprehend, and my skin feels electrified.

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