Page 86 of Hale Yes
The Dragons won a hard-fought victory, topping Orlando by a touchdown. The game had been fast and exciting and held my attention the entire time… when I wasn’t stealing looks at Helix from the corner of my eye.
“Agreed,” I say, clasping my hands over my head to stretch out my back after hours of sitting. My jersey rides up, and I don’t miss Helix’s gaze on the exposed strip of my stomach.
Unfortunately, Perri doesn’t miss it either. The smile on her pretty lips is loaded with mischief as she looks between the two of us. “Helix, I’m going to ride home with Mom and Dad. Why don’t you make sure Nicolette gets to her car safely?”
I lower my arms and wave a dismissive hand. “No, I’ll be fine.”
Helix’s brow furrows. “Perri’s right. I’m walking you to your car.”
So, I guess Mr. Bossy Pants has decided that’s final, I think wryly.
People start to file up the stairs of the suite, and Reece appears, dragging Phoenix by the hand and toward the door. “Hurry up, Daddy. Jordie said I can go on the field, and I want her to see my dragon wings.”
He rolls his eyes good-naturedly and waves goodbye as he lets his little one lead the way. Perri hugs us both and then bounces up and down on her toes before tossing her brother a very obvious wink.
Helix leans toward his sister and lets out a yap that sounds like the bark of a small dog, and she huffs, flipping him the bird before flouncing away.
“What the hell was that noise?” I ask with a laugh, and he grins widely, showing off that cute dimple.
“When Perri was little, I told her she was part chihuahua. You know, because she’s so high-strung? Then when she was eleven, I had her convinced I’d run a test on her and it concluded she had canine DNA in her chromosomes.”
“Stop it! No you didn’t,” I snicker, smacking him on the shoulder.
“Sure did. I even made up a fake lab report proving it.”
He guides me toward the exit, and we make our way down to the VIP floor of the parking garage. Helix gave me a parking pass earlier this week to get into this section.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I say when we reach my car. “The game was fun, and the food and drinks were fantastic.”
“And the company?” he asks.
I wobble my hand from side to side. “Meh. Not bad.”
He tries to fight it, but his smile seeps through. “That’s not what you said on Thu—” Cutting himself off, Helix closes his eyes and shakes his head, unease taking some of the light from his eyes when he reopens them. “Sorry about that. And up in the suite before the game. For the flirting, I mean.”
“Nothing wrong with some harmless flirting,” I reply, keeping my tone light. “If I didn’t like it, I would’ve told you.” In fact, I rather enjoyed it.
His nod is sage, though he still appears a little unsure. “I’m glad you came. My family liked you.”
“I liked them too. Your dad and mom are nice.” I wince when I realize my faux pas. “Sorry, I meant your stepmom. Does your mother get along with them?”
Helix snorts. “Not at all. There’s some bad blood there since the divorce.” He glances around to make sure no one is listening. People are filing by, but no one is paying us any mind. “Perri was born before my parents were divorced,” he says in a low voice.
“Oh. Wow. Okay, I never realized that.” Haywood Hale seemed like such a nice man, and I didn’t have him pegged as a cheater.
“It’s not something anyone talks about. I think there were a couple articles questioning the timing a long time ago, but they’ve been pretty much buried. Most likely the company’s damage control team.” His nose wrinkles. “Of course, none of us condone cheating, but it’s been over two decades since all that happened. There’s nothing that can be done about it now, so we all pretty much just roll with it since Perri is our sister.”
“I can understand that.”
“It’s kind of strange, but my mom and Perri actually get along really well. Mom was always kind to Perri because she was a little kid and none of this was her fault.”
A smile curves my lips. I’ve never met Helix’s mother, but I think I already like her. “Are we still on for Friday night at the drag club?”
Helix pulls his bottom lip into his mouth and licks it. He seems uncomfortable. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that. Do you think it’s a good idea for us to, you know, hang out after…” He makes a couple vague loops with his right hand.
“After making circles in the air with our hand?” I ask, feigning innocence at his question.
His resulting laugh warms my insides. “No, I meant after Thursday.”
