Page 18 of Jockstraps & Newspapers
Elliot
"So,nowthatI'vegot you trapped here with me and sixteen pounds of mozzarella, what secretly makes Elliot Bonesaw tick?"Cassiopeia grinned at him, dabbing her lips dry from the pizza grease.They'd split a medium extra cheese with crunchy pepperoni cups.They even had two large, bubbling cauldrons of soda, a mason jar of red pepper flakes, and a plate of oregano.Elliot was deep throating a slice when she asked the question, wiggling her notebook out of her purse.
Choking on the lava cheese and sauce, he swallowed before laughing nervously."What do you mean?"
What makes him tick?You, Cassiopeia Darling, you make me goofy and wild and—whoa, down boy.The thought came to him like a slap.Stepping out of the showers to find her leaning against his locker, chewing on her lip, looking pensively at the bench?It was so attractive he stumbled over his hoof-flops.He didn't want to have a crush on the journalist who clearly wasn't interested in him the way he was interested in her.Why should she?The harsh comments filled his skull like angry wasps.Cassie was about to be a wildly successful, interesting journalist.What would she ever need from him?What could he ever offer her other than headaches and sunburn.Elliot would give his left horn to get her to snuggle up beside him and share a piece of gooey cheese like they did in romantic movies.Chewing and sucking down cheese till their lips met, kissing her hard enough to taste the garlic in the tomato sauce.
Cassie beamed at him, ripping him out of his trance and forcing him to blink."Why SportsBall?Where did it even come from?"
He reached behind the back of his skull, scratching his head.Elliot Bonesaw had the worst, deepest crush on Cassiopeia Darling, and he was too weak to stop it.Not as she flashed that smug, confident smile at him, fluttering her lashes.His heart skipped a beat as he shrugged."I dunno, it kinda just happened."
"Well, yeah, that's how it usually happens.But, paint me a picture, how did you stumble into SportsBall?"She picked up her slice and took a huge bite out of it.
"I was delivering pizza, funny enough.Was seventeen, working and living off tips, when we got this delivery to the local field in Central Park.Three pizzas, so I show up and it's a group of people just wrestling each other, laughing and having a good time.I have no idea what's going on till they throw this dwarf through an old hoop and ask if I want to join.Next thing I know, the next week, I'm on the field with them and they're teaching me all the rules for beer league vs.the big dogs."
Cassie sputtered, covering her mouth with a napkin."Beer league?"
"Oh, yeah, it's the league and games that aren't like paid for.They're not a recognized team; it's hobby play.Everyone's there to have fun.It's great to learn the game, and usually you don't have to try out, you just show up and practice."He took up another slice, remembering being on that field in the park.Eighteen, barely playing for a year when he had time, and Renner caught him.Watched a whole game of him running the field.Renner looked like he found the holy grail when he came to introduce himself.Elliot told Cassie about Mr.Pearson, about Sam, about Renner, watching her eyes light up and scribble furiously to keep up with his story.It was nice, actually, to talk about it.He couldn't help the warm nostalgia washing over him as he talked about making it onto the team.
Then, he stopped as he remembered what came after tryouts.Cassie caught his quiet, sad expression and cocked her head."And then?"It was a soft nudge, barely above a whisper.
"I came home to tell my folks," he whispered, picking off a pepperoni cup full of grease.He dumped it out onto a napkin before popping the crunchy delight into his mouth.
"They didn't take it well, I take it."She gave him an apologetic grimace, drying her fingertips on a napkin.They took a sip of their soda in unison.
He sighed, "You could say that.More like it was the end of the world.My pops is still a little salty over it.He wanted me to join him, be a mechanic, work in his shop.It's doing well, now, but back then he really needed all the help he could get.A big guy like me?As strong as I am?I'd do him a lot of good but…"
That wasn't his dream?He didn't want to live that life?He wanted to experience life in the sun?Did it matter, he'd betrayed his father's trust.They'd since gotten over their differences, and family night was fine now…but back then, he moved out two days after signing his contract.He'd taken up some of the other newbies’ offer and got an apartment with them a block from the arena.In a two-bedroom apartment, sharing rooms with four other mentally, physically, and emotionally drained athletes, he thought…now this is the life.
"Hey."Her soft palm brushed against the back of his knuckles, and he looked up from the hole he was burning through the pizza pan.Cassie stared at him so softly, he actually felt the unfamiliar sting of tears.He hadn't cried over anything in some time.Hadn't needed to cry in some time…not since that night his mom sobbed and his pops said he would…Elliot shook the memory from his head, putting a hand over hers.She squeezed his hands, holding on."You can't blame yourself for choosing yourself.It's not for a child to provide for the parent."
Elliot let out a sharp gasp, the sting in his eyes burning harder."Wow."
"I live with a therapist," she gave him a pained expression mixed with a smile, "I've got a lot of those now."
"Wow, that like, really stings," he laughed with a wheeze of embarrassment, blinking rapidly.
Cassie let out a cute giggle, "You should have heard me when she told me that my jealousy over my sisters is baked into my self-hatred that my parents grew in me because they couldn't afford to give me the love and attention I needed as a child."
Elliot froze, eyes wide."Woof."
"Yeah, it was a ruff twenty-four hours."
They stilled before, like a rubber band snapping, they broke into laughter.Leaning into each other within the booth, he could feel her body warmth near him as she squeezed him for strength.Tears welled in her eyes and she dabbed them with the back of her free hand.It hadn't escaped his attention that her other hand was still comfortably sandwiched between his.His heart raced as he slid an inch closer in the booth.She stayed the same, only taking her hand back in order to move her purse away.
Elliot swallowed the lump in his throat."So…your sisters?Huh?"
"Yeah, okay, so I'm only doing this because you opened up to me and you owe me your entire backstory, so it's only fair."She cleared their plates into the center of the table before shifting to face him fully in the booth."Andromeda, the eldest, she's a healer.Super successful, works at the Healer Hut, prim and perfect.Then, there's Lyra, she's the pretty one.And charming.She's a lawyer, works at FGMM, super elite and takes on these rich business lawyers and stuff.Then, we've got the twins, Katterina and Haylee.Kat works as an elementary school teacher, she also is super into the after-school activities, a living divine saint.Haylee is a singer-song writer, making all her money off social media but she's practically, annoyingly perfect, donating almost all of her money to charity and does all these events.And there's me.Invisible, cutesy Cassiopeia."
He cocked a brow."I mean, if you're invisible, you're really bad at it…because I'm looking right at you."
That's when he saw the blush that ruined his life.She looked at him with large, sparkling doe eyes lined with thick lashes.A singular curl was loose beside her ears.He reached over, with a hammering heart, and curled it behind her ear.As his fingers brushed along her cheek, he watched her inhale sharply.Her shoulders rose, her nose twitched, her body tensed in the booth.And he knew he was doomed.Red bloomed across her cheeks and her eyes dragged him into their depths.Hot flash.Something akin to fire licked up his collar and rolled through his chest.He swallowed a lump in his throat.His belly turned to a roiling cauldron of pizza and something worse.Dark, pressing need pumped through his veins and he subtly tried to shove his hips further under the table.His cock hardened painfully fast and left him dizzy.
His saving grace was her phone screaming from her purse.They both squawked, equally as shocked, both flailing with arms like they'd been caught red handed.As if they were closer than they were.Cassie huffed, ripping her phone from the table, "Talk of the fiend—Andromeda, what do you want?"
Elliot let out a wheeze, slipping a hand under the tablecloth.Fuck-fuck-fuck- not now!Minotaurs go into heat several times in their lives.It's never predictable.It's never containable.And it's never going to stop…not until he knots someone to the point of exhaustion…several times.Last time, he was a horny young adult in a house full of other horny young adults.Elliot was single now.
"Fine, I'll come, but I'll complain the whole time—what, no!Don't tell mom that, that's not what I said!Yes, I understand.No, I don't want any, I just got dinner with a friend.I wouldn't want your surgeon food anyway; it probably has cooties or some zombie disease."Cassie gave him an apologetic glance, mouthing 'I gotta go.'
