Page 60 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
“Oh, uh…he’s not coming. Said he was tired or something.”
“The fuck?” Auston muttered. “I’m gonna go get him. Text me the name of the place we’re going to, and I’ll get him in an Uber,” Auston said.
“Wait, what?” Sammy asked, but Auston waved him away.
“I’ll catch up with you later. Go.”
Sammy was gaping stupidly as he turned away—Auston knew he was lucky to have caught the Omega by surprise.
Auston raced up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, not wanting to wait for the damn thing to make it to the ground floor. He made it to Chase’s door only slightly out of breath, knocking a little too loudly.
There were a few long beats of silence and then there was Chase, blinking slowly. “Uh…hi?”
“Can I come in?” Auston asked instead of just pushing inside.
He was trying to do shit right instead of being a caveman about everything.
Chase hesitated but stepped away eventually, Auston trailing behind him as they walked deeper into the room.
The space was surprisingly neat, everything still in the suitcase, no clothes strewn in odd places. There were a few blankets piled onto the bed in a half nest, and Chase blushed brightly when he saw Auston notice.
It twisted Auston up that nesting was something Chase still felt ashamed of, as if it weren’t the most natural thing in the goddamn world.
Auston sat on the desk chair to not loom so tall. “Heard you’re not coming out. You hurt or something?”
Chase shrugged, perching on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the cuff of the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. “No. Just…tired or whatever.”
Auston inspected him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. Seriously, I’m fine.”
Auston licked his lips. Chewed on what he wanted to say. “Baby. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
It wasn’t that he changed his voice—not intentionally. It just…softened naturally the way it had during all those conversations they’d had on the phone.
He could see Chase noticed, too, spine straightening, eyes sharpening.
“I…look. You don’t have to do this. Or what you did in the locker room. I don’t want you to lie just to make me feel better, okay? I can’t deal with that, with you saying that stuff even if I’m not playing well.”
Auston took a few beats to let that settle. “What did I say that was a lie?”
Chase made a vague gesture as if to say,everything. “I wasn’t playing well, so you don’t have to compliment one thing I did that was decent to make me feel better, like saying I got a good shot in during the second. I should be getting multiple tries every game, not one good one.”
“That’s…first of all, I pointed that one out because it was more than good—you deked the fuck out of the two guys next to the net, and the goalie had to pull a fucking muscle to stop you. That’s not me pumping your tires, Chase, that’s me as a player telling you that was a great move.”
Chase twisted his mouth, but there was a blush rising on his cheeks, too.
Auston went on. “Youdidget multiple good shots in. You were playing the way you were supposed to play, and I could see youbeating yourself up, so I singled you out because you needed to get your head outta your ass and see you were doing good.”
Auston stood up, walking the few steps to Chase’s sitting form. He threaded his fingers through Chase’s hair, tilting his head back, catching his chin in his fingers.
“I’m not gonna tell you you’re doing something well when you’re not, okay? That I can absolutely promise you.”
Chase visibly swallowed. “Yeah?”
“Yep. If I say you did something well, you better fucking believe me.” Auston smiled, glad that Chase smiled too. “Now get fucking dressed; we’re going out.”
Chase rolled his eyes, shoving Auston away, but he moved towards his suitcase with a, “Fine.”
