Page 3 of Dead Ball Situation

“Putting away these gifts.” Bandit’s expression was so innocent. Yet Sacha got the feeling his words had been purposeful.

Sacha shifted from foot to foot at the door of his rented SUV. “Ah. Okay. Well, I will see you there, I suppose.”

Bandit flashed a sweet smile. “Okay. I’ll see if one of these guards will give me a ride. My parents and I rode together.”

Sacha huffed before he could stop it. “You know damn well you can ride with me. Why are you acting all…” Sacha waved his hands, searching for the words. He hated it when English failed him. “I don’t know the word. Get in the car.”

With a laugh, Bandit jogged to the passenger side and climbed inside. Sacha’s irritation didn’t let up. Bandit had really acted like Sacha would just leave him there. Maybe he didn’t really think of them as friends. Sacha had never considered that. Now that he had, the thought pissed him off and hurt his feelings. He was very frustrated tonight. His emotions were all over the place. He was on the road before Bandit touched his arm.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to assume anything. It was never my intention to upset you.”

Well, now Sacha felt dumb. “I am… I don’t know how to say.” He scrambled again. Normally, he was very good with English. He had lived here a long time, but Ukrainian was all that had been spoken in his household. When he got overly emotional, it made it hard for him to focus.

“It’s okay,” Bandit said, making it worse.

Sacha blew out a sigh. “It’s not. I don’t want you to apologize for something so unimportant.”

“Your feelings aren’t unimportant.”

Sacha’s eyes stung. He didn’t need this crush to get any bigger. Thoughts of Bandit already filled too many hours. “Your feelings matter to me too.” It was all Sacha could think to say. Thankfully, Chipper’s house came into view. Sacha pulled into the driveway. The two guards followed. The three of them set to work.

Each time Bandit passed him, their gazes met and held. Heat built between them. Sacha couldn’t pretend he didn’t see his desire reflected back at him. His feelings were confirmed by the men helping them. Not on purpose, of course. They were Russian and spoke only Russian to each other. While most Russians couldn’t understand Ukrainian, a few Ukrainians understood Russian. It had a lot to do with the complexities of linguistics, but for Sacha, it had more to do with where he had lived in Ukraine. He had been on the border where both languages were taught. Sacha understood every word the pair said.

They passed, eyeing Bandit and him. The bigger of the two spoke. “They should just fuck. Watching this dance is exhausting.”

“They might if we hurry up and leave.”

Sacha stumbled at the smaller guard’s response. To his surprise and joy, no one saw. If they were this obvious, then Sacha wasn’t only seeing what he wanted. He was in trouble. They would soon be alone. Baylor and Chipper stayed where the wedding was held and would leave from there to their honeymoon destination in the morning. Bandit’s parents were there, but Sacha hadn’t seen them. They were likely sleeping in some deep recess of Chipper’senormous house. It would be just the two of them. He should run.

“That’s everything. Zander’s guards are gone. I tried to tip them for their help and they laughed at me. Not sure what that was about.”

Sacha’s hands rose and fell. “Who knows?” He shifted from foot to foot. “I guess I should head to bed.”

The disappointment Bandit tried to quickly mask made Sacha’s heart soar before reality brought him back down. They couldn’t do this. Bandit shifted from foot to foot. “Yeah. Me too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

With a final awkward glance, they headed for the hall. They laughed as they realized they were headed in the same direction. Sacha reached his room first. Bandit’s was right next door. They glanced each other’s way as they moved to step inside their rooms.

“Fuck it.”

Before Sacha could decipher Bandit’s words, Bandit was there. In his space. His mouth covered Sacha’s, and the world stopped. It was nothing like he imagined. Bandit was always so gentle and sweet. His kiss was the polar opposite. Sacha’s back hit the doorframe, and Bandit consumed him. He was all passion and fire. Sacha was just along for the ride. His mind was a blankslate. He would have done anything right then. Then it was over. Sacha’s chest heaved like he had run a mile. A haze coated his vision. His body burned.

Bandit sweetly kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, Sacha.”

Sacha couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. All he could do was watch Bandit disappear inside his room. That had really just happened, and nothing would ever be the same again.

Chapter Two

Sacha’s bedroom door wasstill closed when Bandit left to take his parents to the airport. He had stopped and had breakfast with his parents before they left. On the way back to the house, he ran through a drive-thru and grabbed Sacha coffee and a breakfast sandwich. He didn’t know if Sacha slept late or avoided him. Either way, Bandit didn’t like it. He knew he had taken a risk, but he had to know. Now Bandit had no doubts. Sacha wanted him too. Bandit just had to find a way to completely win him.

At Chipper’s, he found Sacha heading for the kitchen. He froze when he spotted Bandit. “Oh. Hey. I thought you’d left.”

“I’d never leave without saying goodbye. My parents had an early flight. I drove them to the airport.”

“You didn’t fly home with them?”

Obviously, he hadn’t, but he got what Sacha meant. “My next game is in Arizona. I didn’t see the point of flying across the country just to fly back with the team. I’ll meet them there. Oh.” He held up his haul. “I got you breakfast.”

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