Page 61 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
Auston sat where Chase had been, watching him dig through his clothes.
Chase picked a few items up, turned, and froze. Auston could practically see the wheels turning in his pretty little head—should he change in the bathroom? Or right there in front of Auston?
Auston leaned back on his hands, raising his eyebrows challengingly—not to pick one thing or another, but to pick at all.
Chase tilted his chin up, and Auston immediately knew what he’d do. He smirked as Chase pulled his shirt off, but the expression was knocked right off his smug face as Chase dropped his sweats, revealing the peach-coloured cotton panties he was wearing. Those hadn’t been present in the locker room, which meant Chase had put them on after he got to the hotel.
Auston swallowed roughly. Every time he thought he couldn’t want Chase any more, the Omega came up with a new way to be sweet.
Chase dressed quickly, Auston lasered into every move.
Chase was bright red and gorgeous by the end of it in slightly baggy jeans that nonetheless clung to his ass and an oversized green sweater.
Auston was regretting prompting him to go out. All he wanted to do was bundle Chase up in his arms, get under the sheets, and kiss him until they were both fucking dizzy.
But Auston was trying not to be a selfish bastard, so he only kissed Chase once, crowding him against the wall and making it slow and wet before letting the Omega loose.
Chase complained about it, but he was happy as they reached the bar and he was reunited with Sammy, who threw Auston a distinctly suspicious glare as he stole Chase away.
Auston settled with the married guys, watching Chase laugh and talk with Sammy and Noah. Saw how Alphas appraised the Omega with hungry eyes, but Chase didn’t even notice, glancing at Auston every minute, an invisible string tangling them together.
Auston watched and watched and watched, every part of him saying,That’s mine.
***
Auston was fucking exhausted. The talk with the higher-ups about this being his last year had gone as expected—a lot of nods and well wishes, not a surprised face in sight.
Auston wondered what would have happened if they had fought him on it.
He’d probably have caved instantly.
Fuck his hip; he’d grind his body to dust just to keep doing what he loved. He didn’t want to be anex-anything. He wanted to be defined by something he did, not something he used to do.
He was there early enough that the locker room was empty, practice a few hours away. He changed and went straight to thegym, suffering through a slow warmup and then ramping up as rapidly as he could. There was a sharp-toothed feeling nipping at him, something he had to force out, had to pummel into submission, making his body ache with exercise so he could feel nothing at all.
He was dripping sweat by the time his teammates began to appear. They all gave him a wide berth except Noah, who ambled over with one of his half smiles on.
“You know we have practice today, right?” Noah drawled.
Auston grunted. He was on his back on the bench, lifting a weight that was a little too heavy for him, judging by how his arms were shaking.
Noah spotted him, getting the weight into its slot and forcing Auston to stop. “I think that’s enough. We need you functional.”
The captain wasn’t giving off anything but a neutral, steady scent, but Auston had to struggle not to let his own flare aggressively.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He wasn’t going to have a goddamn knot-off in the middle of the arena gym, for fuck’s sake. He was a grown-ass Alpha, not some wet-behind-the-ears pup who couldn’t control his goddamn pheromones.
Auston sat up. Now that his focus had been broken, the aching in his body made itself known, biceps burning.
“Fuck,” he grumbled. He could already tell his body was going to be one big cramp the next day, no matter what he did.
He managed to hydrate and get a massage before practice, Chase throwing him a questioning rise of the eyebrows as Auston stepped onto the ice at the last minute.
The buzzing, screaming noise in Auston’s head quieted. The harsh overhead lights of the arena shouldn’t suit anyone, but Chase looked perfect, hair squashed onto his forehead by the helmet, cheeks a little flushed, big blue eyes blinking at him.
Auston couldn’t help but smile as he skated over. They probably had thirty seconds until Coach started the drills.
“Hey,” he whispered, even though they were a few feet away from the rest of the guys, who were already coagulating around the coach.
