Page 7 of Dead Ball Situation

A smile exploded across his face. “Me too. I’m sorry I burst in at dinner time.”

Sacha shook his head. “It’s fine. We’re getting a late start tonight. Are you hungry?”

“Actually, yes. I kind of rushed here from the airport, so I didn’t think about food.”

For a moment, Sacha simply stared at him like he didn’t know what to say. Bandit shifted from foot to foot. The longer Sacha didn’t speak, the more Bandit wondered if he came on too strong. He wasn’t used to feeling the way he did for Sacha. Bandit equally sucked at putting himself out there like this. Finally, Sacha cleared his throat. “I’m honored I made you forget to eat.”

God. He was so fucked.

Sacha turned and motioned for Bandit to follow. “Come on. We have plenty. My baba believes in cooking like she’s feeding an army.”

Bandit followed. He was mildly confused by Sacha’s living arrangement. Since he had been asked to leave the things Sacha needed for an upcoming wedding on the porch that one time, he assumed Sacha wasn’t home and lived alone. Now it seemed there were at least two other people who lived there. He had no idea what a baba was. They rounded the corner into the eat-in kitchen. Artem sat at the table along with an elderly woman and what looked to be a private nurse.

The elderly woman looked his way, and a bright smile lit her features. “Look. It’s that boy Sacha is always drooling over on the TV.”

The table banged.

Her gaze turned on Artem. “Why are you kicking me?”

Bandit couldn’t stop smiling.

Sacha had a hand over his eyes. After a moment, his shoulders straightened, and he motioned toward the table. “You’ve already met Artem. This is mybabusia. Grandmother,” he explained as he motioned toward the elderly lady. Finally, he motioned toward the nurse. “And Dana.”

Dana flashed a smile and went back to work watching over Sacha’s grandmother.

Sacha motioned toward Bandit. “This is Bandit.” He looked Bandit’s way. “You can sit wherever you like. I’ll find a vase for these.”

With a nod, Bandit headed for the table. He wasn’t one to get nervous when meeting new people. His career meant talking to strangers all the time. As he sat, Sacha’s grandmother jumped right in.

“You will call me Baba. It’s obvious no one feeds you. It’s good you came here.”

Bandit fought a laugh. He had been skinny his entire life. Each time he had gained a little weight as a kid, he had immediately had a growth spurt, seemingly stretching him several inches overnight. It drove his mom nuts.

“I appreciate the meal. It smells amazing and I’m starving after today’s game.” He hoped mentioning his game would drive Baba to tell him more about Sacha’s drooling. He wasn’t disappointed.

Baba nodded. “We watched. Sacha never misses a game. He’s very proud of you.”

Bandit’s chest warmed. His gaze locked on Sacha as Sacha moved to claim the chair beside him. “I’m pretty proud of him too. His cake designs leave me speechless.”

Sacha blushed.

Baba cackled and clapped. “I love to hear such a thing. Where do you think he learned it?”

“Culinary school,” Artem muttered under his breath.

Sacha chuckled.

Baba ignored them. “We used to spend all our days cooking. Even the neighbors would come to eat. They couldn’t resist the smell.”

Bandit hung on every word, enjoying the glimpse into Sacha’s childhood. Beneath the table, his fingers linked with Sacha’s. He couldn’t stop smiling. While Bandit didn’t know exactly where they were headed, hope ruled everything.

Horrified didn’t begin to cover the way Sacha felt at the way Baba had embarrassed him. Ecstatic didn’t begin to describe how Sacha felt at seeing Bandit. The only thing that equaled those two emotions was the terror. Sacha was scared as hell of the way Bandit made him feel. Thankfully, almost as soon as dinner was over, Artem disappeared, and Dana had put Baba to bed. It was just them.

They sat on the couch in the quiet and stared at each other. Bandit broke the silence first. “So you live with your family.”

A laugh burst from Sacha. He saw the way Bandit struggled for a way to talk about the subject. No doubt it seemed odd to him. “Yeah. That’s why I said I can’t do anything to jeopardize my job. My brother can’t work full time to pay for college while going full time. My baba is in poor health and needs full-time nursing care while we can only afford part time. The rest is on Artem and me.” Sacha blew out a sigh. Even to his ears, he sounded tired and just more tired. Unless someone had been a caregiver for a family member, they had no idea how exhausting it could be.

Bandit leaned over and snagged Sacha’s waist, hauling him closer. He tucked Sacha against his side and kissed his temple. Fuck. It was just… fuck. He couldn’t recall feeling warm and safe the way he did in Bandit’s arms. For a moment, Bandit sat in silence with his lips pressed against his skin before speaking.

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