Chapter 27
Game Plan: The overall strategy the coach sets for how the team will play that match.
Translation: “What are we?”
Wolf
“Alright, Rugby, it’s playtime. Don’t get cheeky on me like last time. No more running under the bed. You’re going to stay
exactly where I can see you, got it?”
The lizard stares at me from his place under the heat lamp of his tank, looking bored and completely uninterested in whatever
I’m saying. I’ve gotten to know my new pet the past few weeks, and he can be a stubborn sod when he wants to be. But I think
we’re starting to bond a bit more after I found a spot under his spikey chin that he likes having scratched. I know he likes
it because every time I rub it, he closes his eyes like he’s at a spa getting a massage.
After reading up on bearded dragons, I discovered playtime outside of their enclosure helps improve their mood, so that’s
what I’ve been attempting to do with him this week. Ready for round two, I slide the lid open and reach in. Rugby shoots forward
through my hands, his earth-toned, pebbly scales scraping against my palm as I struggle to grab him.
When I finally get a decent grip, I lift his long body out and set him on the floor, where he stands, staring up at me like
he’s waiting for me to do something.
“Go on, then, stretch your legs.”
And like a shot, he darts forward, his tail swishing behind him as he zigzags toward my sofa, his long claws clacking on the hardwood.
I trail him like a proud father as he explores the space, pausing to puff his throat and bob his head like he’s hunting for his next meal, even though he knows I’ll feed him a load of freeze-dried crickets after this.
After a few laps around the flat, he ventures over to me, crawling up my foot until I reach down and pick him up. “Tired already?”
I ask as I rub that spot under his chin.
His eyes close and then pop open when there’s a knock on my door. Clutching him in my hands, I walk over and can’t help the
smile on my face when I find Everly on the other side of it with a foil-covered plate in her hands.
“Oh my God, Rugby,” she gasps, pushing right past me to set the plate in my kitchen and free her hands. “I didn’t know you
ever got him out of his cage.”
“It’s kind of new.” I hold him out to her as she runs her finger along his back. “Scratch under his chin. He likes that.”
She squeals when his eyes close. “Oh my God, he does. You’re a good Dragon Daddy.”
I chuckle. “Do you want to hold him?”
She nods. “Show me what to do.”
“Alright,” I murmur, keeping my voice low so I don’t spook him. “Try to stay calm. He gets freaked kind of easily. First time
I had him out of his cage, he darted under the bed and hissed at me. I had to basically tear up my apartment to retrieve him.”
“Aww . . . our poor baby. Maybe he just missed his Dragon Mommy.”
With a smile, I step around to her side and hand him over, slow and steady. “Hold him under his chest, but don’t squeeze.
He’s a tiny tank, but still—respect the tank.”
“Of course.” Everly’s eyes are wide, and I can’t help staring at her as she leans forward, hands hovering over mine as she slowly closes her fingers around him. Her touch is soft, careful, and slightly trembling.
“Nice and gentle. Wait for him to relax.” I pull my own hand out, placing it lightly over hers, adjusting her grip just a
fraction. I pause, catching her eyes on mine as a heaviness presses in on my chest.
Fuck, I think I missed her.
And it’s only been a few hours.
I’m doomed.
I step back for some air and to let her take over completely, my chest tight in a way I don’t want to reflect on. My gaze
roams her body, dressed in a little white sundress and looking good enough to eat. She’s careful and confident in that buzzy
way of hers, and I can’t help but think this is exactly the kind of person I’d want to co-parent a tiny spiky dragon with.
Who the fuck even am I?
“I love him.” She smiles brightly at me. “You’re taking really good care of him.”
“Did you ever doubt me?”
“After the camera roll of photos on your phone, never for a second.” She giggles softly. “Are you going to want to keep him
after you’re done here?”
My smile falters at that abrupt question. “I don’t know, I guess. Depends on where I end up.” Anxiety prickles over me as
thoughts of the future flood my mind, but I shake them away and try to focus on the now. “Do you want to sit down?”
She nods and follows me over to the sofa, lowering herself down like she’s carrying a grenade.
“That’s leftover brunch if you’re hungry,” she says, gesturing over to the plate she set on my counter.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” She smiles wobbly at me, her teeth clamping down on her lower lip as her cheeks flush.
“Come on . . . just ask. I know you want to,” I state, stretching my arm over the back of the sofa and pushing a strand of her hair back from her cheek.
“What?” she asks innocently.
“What are we?”
“I wasn’t going to ask.”
“Bollocks.” I shoot her a skeptical look. “I know your mind has been racing all morning, so why don’t you just tell me what
you think we are, and I’ll tell you if I agree with you.”
Her shoulders shake with silent laughter as she looks down at the dragon in her hands, running her fingertip under his jaw
in slow, steady strokes. “Well, I made a little list this morning.”
“A list?” I ask, frowning at her. “Let me guess, you wrote it down in one of your little fuzzy notebooks.”
Her eyes narrow. “No, just in my head . . . because I was surrounded by my family.”
“Of course.”
“But my list was of all the reasons we do not work.”
“Let’s hear them,” I state, turning to give her my undivided attention.
“You’re hoping to move back to Ireland. You’re my best friend’s brother. We’re total opposites. We work together. We’re super
young.”
You deserve better than me, I silently add.
“So, because of all that, it makes sense that this should just be a fun little summer fling. Casual. No labels.”
“A no-labels label?” I ask, brows arched knowingly.
“Exactly.” She nods and beams back at me. “Which is something new for me. And it’s fun to try new things.”
My eyes narrow as I nod, accepting her no-label label.
Casual is good. If we’re just a casual summer thing, then I don’t have to worry about telling her about the past and how I used to follow her home on a regular basis.
We can just focus on the now. And right now, I would really like to see her naked again.
“Right . . . well then. I think it would be fun for me to put Rugby back in his cage and fuck you for the next hour if that sounds alright to you.”
Her cheeks flush a stunning ruddy color. “Works for me, Double D.”