Page 45 of Refusing Kendall

T nods, “Yeah.”

“Then that means we’llallbe there,” Mav grinds out with a pointed look toward Goose.

In reply, he stands up and limps over to the island counter with his cane. Mav’s spine straightens, pulling him to his full height, but Goose still has a good three or four inches on him. I can tell I was right about what is in that bottle when he gets in Mav’s face and growls, “You going to make me?”

I see Teagan tense, and Lucas steps around the counter. This is honestly the first time I can ever say that I’m truly afraid of him. He’s never been aggressive towards any of us. The drinking is turning him into an unfeeling asshole. The old Goose would be so ashamed of the way that he’s acting right now. I just wish there was some way to pull him back from the ledge. Preferably before he ends up hurting himself or someone else.

Maverick never takes his eyes off Goose, almost threatening him to do something.

“Whatever,” he says instead, “You go play puppet to those idiots. I’m done.”

There’s a collective sigh of relief when he leaves the room, but it makes my heart ache all the same.

“Fuck,” Teagan mutters as the front door shuts.

“Not now,” Mav snaps. “We’ve got to go do damage control first.”

They all kiss me bye before leaving, unlike Goose. It’s bothering me on so many levels that he left as angry as he did. I hate it. Anything can happen when we walk outside that door. Anything. This would be the last conversation that we ever have with him if something were to happen. With that cheery thought in my head, I go to take a shower before I cook dinner.

A couple hours later, they still aren’t home. I fold myself up in the chair in the corner of my room with a book I’m supposed to be reading for one of my classes. It’s not boring or anything, but my brain just can’t seem to focus. I find myself staring at the wall more than the words on the page for I don’t know how long.

It’s a good thing that no one tries to break in or anything, because I don’t even hear Lucas until his face is right in front of mine. I blink a few times trying to clear my head, “What?”

His smile is soft, “Are you ok, baby? I’m sorry we left so soon after you saw that earlier.”

“It’s ok,” I tell him honestly. I know that they couldn’t just ignore the meeting, which reminds me, “How did it go?”

He rubs the outsides of my thighs, “It could’ve gone better, but we can’t really do much about it now. What’s done is done.”

“Is it going to affect you guys playing next year?” I ask fearfully.

Shaking his head, he answers, “I don’t think so. It doesn’t really matter to me anyways if it did.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs, “I’m not sure I want to play next year. I’ve got the means to not have to worry about a scholarship to finish, school and they can always offer it to someone who actually wants to be there.”

“But you’re so good,” I remind him.

I get another of those smiles, “Maybe. My heart just isn’t in it anymore, though. You can’t play that sport with no heart. It’ll get you hurt.”

“Why isn’t your heart in it anymore?” I ask, already thinking I know the answer. One of his best friends probably won’t ever walk out onto that field again. It would be enough for any person to not want to play anymore.

“Because,” he says, going to his knees on the floor and maneuvering between my legs, “It’s here with you.”

Out of all the things I’m expecting him to say, that isn’t one of them. I’ve been such an idiot the past couple weeks, pulling away from them because of what’s happening with Goose.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He stands and pulls me up with him, “There’s no reason to be. We’ve all been stressed out lately with everything that’s happened. It’s been taking a toll on all of us, and that’s not your burden to bear alone. Just promise me that you’ll stop pulling away. You’re the one thing that I won’t risk losing.”

Those blue eyes crinkle around the edges with his smile at my nod. A lock of brown hair falls across his forehead as he leans down to press his lips against mine. I didn’t realize until this moment just how much I’ve missed, not necessarily the sex, but intimacy with them over the past couple weeks.

I pull back and take his hand to lead us over to the bed. He lets me take my time getting reacquainted with his body as I strip the clothes from it. One of my favorite things physically about him, besides the pristine condition he always keeps himself in, are the tattoos. From wrist to shoulders and across his chest and back, the designs and colors swirl together until it looks like it’s one big, connected piece. I cover every inch I can reach with my lips and tongue. A small shudder runs through him when I play with the little metal bars in his nipples.

I take a few more minutes to love on his body before stripping myself down. The only thing I leave for him is the white lace panties. They all have a thing for sexy underthings on me, especially the lace. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t love the way they look at me in them too.

Lucas lifts me by the back of my thighs, smooshing our naked chests together. I nip at his bottom lip and am rewarded with a moan that slips from between them. Normally he’s the most patient out of all of them, letting me set my own pace for us. I guess because it’s been weeks since we’ve been together, in addition to me torturing him just now, his patience has run out. After laying me on my back, the lace groans in protest as he stretches them to their limit then finally gives up with a ripping sound.

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