Page 76 of Brace and Chase

“What happens now?” He whispers the question so quietly that if it weren’t for the fact he was talking right by my ear, I wouldn’t have heard him.

I understand that he’s not asking about having dinner or when we need to go to sleep so we’re well rested for our early practice tomorrow.

I release a breath because what I want to say will put me in a very difficult position if he doesn’t... if he can’t... Fuck.

I close my eyes tightly and breathe, telling myself I need to tell him the truth, put it all out there, be—ew—vulnerable.

But before I can, Charlie leans up.

Quick as a flash, I imprison him with my arms around him again, and I know he’s well and truly trapped when he groans a bit.

I don’t open my eyes, though. I... can’t.

Fucking feelings. They’re the worst.

“Nikolay,” he says, voice strained. “I’m just asking, because if we keep doing what we just did then shit’s gonna get complicated with the team.”

“Oh.” The relief is pretty awesome, I have to admit.

Maybe feelings don’t suck as much. At least not when they’re reciprocated.

I open my eyes and loosen my hold on him.

“Yeah,oh.” He mocks me with an eye roll and then flops down to the non-existent space between me and the backrest of the couch. “Wejustgot our places on the team back and now we’re having sex?”

Every word is louder than the last, and though I’m trying to keep my cool so at least one of us has some semblance of rationality left, I’m not too successful at it. Especially when he just keeps going.

“What if our teammates find out? What if Laney does?” he cries.

I can actually feel all the blood drain from my face as I whisper, “What ifGabdoes?”

My stomach chooses that moment to let out a mighty roar, and the oven beeps just after.

Charlie grumbles something I can’t make out and climbs out of his spot to go back to the kitchen. I think I hear something about a caveman, though. It makes me chuckle. I’ve never been that type, but then again, I’ve never wanted anyone like I want Charlie.

With that in mind, I hurry over to be close to him again.

That’s all I want, I realize.

“You’re always hungry,” Charlie tells me when I walk around him to get plates.

“Well,” I start, back to my usual ways. “When you havesomeone around who cooks so damn well, you want to eat all the time.”

In response, I get a tiny, barely there smile, and I consider it a win—a big one—so I tell him so.

“I consider that tiny smile a win, sweetheart.” I leave the plates and cutlery where they are and wrap my arms around him—which is where I want to be anyway—and when he turns to me, I give him a lingering kiss.

With that kiss I try to tell him that we’ll figure it out, that everything’s going to work out. Somehow.

“I don’t have the answers to all those questions,” I whisper against his cheek, not letting go of his waist. “One of the only things I do know is that we haven’t even thought of all the questions we should be asking, and that what we just did in your bedroom is something I never thought I’d do until we got benched. It was fucking spectacular, sweetheart.”

It takes him a couple of seconds, but when he tilts his head back and his eyes are on me, I can see he approves of everything I just said.

He twists around and wraps his arms around me too, squeezes tight and rests his head on my shoulder.

“I think you’re the only man who’s not part of my family who I’ve hugged,” he tells me.

“Good,” I say simply.

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