Page 90 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
Why was a shirtless Yeti at my door so early on a Saturday morning?
Hot damn, that was one good looking wall of muscle.
“Oh, Clark, you’re back.” He gave me a shy smile. “Gwen must be so excited. Gwen, you forgot your shoes,” the Yeti called over my shoulder.
“You didn’t need to bring them back. I could have gotten them next time. But thanks.” She took the flip-flops from him, giving him a fond look, and put them by the door.
Wait? What? Jealousy shot through me, because of the way she looked at him–and the way he looked at her.
I’d just confessed to her that I liked him. Confusion also bubbled to the surface, since she’d told me to go for it. It was obvious there could easily be more between them.
“Tens, this is Clark, forward for the Knights. Clark, this is Tenzin, the Knights’ new defenseman.” Gwen slipped an arm around my waist, which settled something in me.
The hurt look in the Yeti’s eyes, the spicy edge to his scent, put me on edge.Tens.Tenzin. Gwen’s rich friend that she’d been spending so much time with wasn’t some spoiled classmate.
He was my team’s new defenseman.
Which she’d failed to mention, as had Carlos and Dimitri, who’d both met him. Shit. She was friends with the guy I was crushing on.
He was crushing on her. I was crushing on her…
Tension filled the room, and a growl came from my chest. Tenzin huffed at me, nostrils flaring.
“No. None of that. I will absolutely not tolerate it. You both mean so much to me, more than I can say. So, I need you to cutout the alpha posturing and get right to being friends with each other. Or more than friends. I don’t mind that. Both of you are very loveable in your own ways.” Her voice broke as she took her free arm and put it around his waist, too, so she was holding both of us.
She did not say that. My face burned with embarrassment.
“Okay, Gweny. I’m sure Tens and I will be great friends.” I gave her a little squeeze.
Tenzin nodded. “I’m looking forward to getting to know him.”
“Good. The idea of you not getting along makes me want to vomit.” Gwen shook a little as she looked from me to him, a pleading in her hazel eyes. “I… I need you both so bad. I’m not ready, but I need you both.”
She pulled us close, until we sandwiched her between us, sideways, so she wasn’t facing either of us.
Tenzin wasright there.
“Not ready for us to be friends?” I blinked, not understanding, as my mind struggled to comprehend that her friend Tens was the Yeti.
Gwen turned to me, tipping her face up. Her lips grazed mine as she kissed me, soft and sweet. It was more than a peck, but not a full on tongue kiss. “We’re already friends. I have a crush on you, you big dumb-dumb.”
Shit. She liked me back! I couldn’t help but grin as giddiness filled me. Gwen liked me. And that kiss…
That sweet kiss. I wanted some more. Gwen needed me. If I was a puppy, my tail would wag so hard, I’d sprain it.
She turned to Tens, who had a startled look on his face. Rising on her toes, she grabbed his head, pulled it down, and kissed him. His eyes widened, but he didn’t push her away. His arm tightened around her, as I got hit with a whiff of arousal.
Seeing them kiss was sexy, and I was glad she’d positioned herself in a way where my hard-on wasn’t digging into her.
“I’m crushing on you, too,” she told Tenzin, breaking off the kiss. Her eyes teared. “I know it’s unfair to ask you to wait for me, but I want you to. I’ll try not to take too long. In the meantime, please be friends with each other–or more. I can’t choose between you. It’s not me being some fickle, indecisive beta. I truly need you both. Um, I really hope you both like me back. I’ll be so embarrassed if you don’t, and I could have just ruined everything.”
Those tear-filled hazel eyes pleaded with us again. She’d taken a risk. After all, she lived with me and she hung out with Tens a lot.
“Gweny, I’m here. I like you back so much and have for some time. I’ve waited this long, so I can wait a little longer.” Wiping away her tears, I ran my hand down her face.
She wanted both of us? I could deal with that if Tenzin was as nice of a guy as he was hot. There was something about the way he smelled…
Tens gulped, tension in his face, as he gazed at Gwen. “You’re easy to fall for, Firecracker. Take as long as you need. By the time you’re ready, maybe I’ll be, too.”
