Chapter 16
SAM
As much as I want to get the rest of the story of Chase’s past and the douchecanoe that was dumb enough to let this man get away, I can’t help worrying about Isaiah. It’s been over an hour and still he hasn’t come back home.
“I think we should go out looking for him before it gets dark,” I mutter and drop my forehead to Chase’s shoulder. I’m above average height for a man, but Chase is at least four inches taller than I am which is insanely attractive to me.
Over the past month, we have been talking and texting, getting to know each other better.
And the fact that the physical package is just as attractive as the man underneath is killing me right now.
Part of me wants to strip him back down and just take him up against the kitchen counters – much like we were on the way to doing when Isaiah walked in.
I don’t even know why I didn’t stop Chase when I saw the kid in the doorway.
One look at Isaiah’s face and I knew he wanted us both.
It was intoxicating having an older man on his knees for me while the younger man obeyed my commands, forced to watch but not touch – not even himself.
I’ve never been into humiliation or voyeurism, but something about that moment just set me off and I want to explore it more with both of these men.
But first, we have to find Isaiah…
“Okay, has he developed any type of bestie on the team yet? He tends to latch onto someone at the start of the season and is inseparable from them unless they get traded away.”
I shake my head. “No one. The kid keeps to himself – doesn’t even talk to Roger despite the fact that the squirt damn near follows him around like a puppy.
The only person he interacts with outside of the coaches is Walendziewicz, but I have no idea if that’s because they’ve connected or if it’s just because he’s the other tendie. ”
Chase scowls at me and heads to the front of the house. I follow him, totally intending to apologize for whatever I said that upset him. Pulling his coat on, he turns to me.
“If he doesn’t have someone on the team to turn to, he’ll go where his comfort is. You take the arena. I’ll take the arcade at the mall.”
“The arcade?” I pull my coat back on and grab my keys off the hook on the wall. “Why would he go there? He hasn’t gone anywhere except games or practices since he moved in since he doesn’t drive and public transit doesn’t exactly make it out this far.”
Chase rolls his eyes and opens the door.
“Just because he hasn’t been there yet doesn’t mean he’s unaware of its existence, Sam.
And there is a thing called rideshare that he can use to leave without an escort,” he snarks at me before climbing into the driver’s seat of his car.
“As for why the arcade, he likes the fast paced action games because they help him stay sharp with his observation skills.”
I’m still standing in my doorway with my jaw practically to my knees while Chase pulls out of the driveway and heads toward the shopping districts.
I hurry to lock up the house, making sure to only lock the deadbolt that Isaiah can open with his code in case he ran out without his keys.
Tearing out of the driveway, I make my way to the arena.
It only takes me forty minutes to get to the arena, but I am not surprised to find it dark and locked up tight. I knew that he wouldn’t be here. Pulling out my phone, I start shooting off texts to him when my call goes straight to voicemail.
Me: please call
Me: we’re not mad at u
Me: u did nothing wrong
Me: I’m worried about u
Me: please answer me
Me: I’m sorry
While I’m not getting a message rejection, I’m not seeing that they are being delivered either.
I need to get back home. It’s not safe for him to be out here all alone, especially since he doesn’t know where anyone else on the team lives or where he could possibly go for the night.
All of the hotels are booked solid thanks to the holiday, and the few remaining rooms were snatched up by the Tridents for the night so that they don’t have to travel back to Tallahassee immediately after the game.
The Tridents… Jones!
I close out the texts with Isaiah and open up a new one with Brayden Kim. We send the obligatory holiday and birthday texts to each other, but otherwise I’ve never had a reason to reach out to him outside of our time at work.
Me: It’s Sam Talbot in case u don’t have my nbr saved.
Me: Charming took off and I need to get in touch w/ Jones
Me: U got his nbr?
BK: lemme make sure he’s good with u having it first
The suspense of waiting for a response is killing me, so I close out that text to check in with Chase.
Me: Anything?
Chase: Not at the arcade, the mall, or the movie theater
Me: how tf did u check the whole mall in under an hour?
Chase: the only stores he goes to are the ones that sell anime or K-pop related merchandise
Chase: that cuts down the number of places to check
Jesus Fucking Christ, of course he only goes to those stores. My heart is in my throat at the thought of something happening to him because of my fucking ego.
Chase: any luck at the arena?
Me: locked and dark.
I’m seriously debating calling the cops when I get an alert from my doorbell camera that there’s a person on my porch.
Opening up the app, I can’t stop myself from thanking every deity in existence at seeing Isaiah pushing open the door to go inside.
Closing out of that app, I go back to my text with Chase.
Me: doorbell cam just showed him at the house
Me: heading home to talk with him
Me: wanna join us and stay the night?
I don’t have an opportunity to read his answer before my phone is ringing with an unknown number. The area code isn’t local, but I’m familiar enough with it from the calls back and forth to Baltimore for the teams.
“Hello?”
“Sam Talbot? This is Eric Jones. Bray gave me your number and I figure it’s easier for me to call and save you the trouble of more back and forth.”
Knowing that Isaiah is home makes it a lot easier for me to breathe as I pull out of the parking lot of the arena to head back to the house. With the call connected to my car’s audio system, I am not waiting any longer to get back.
“Hey Jones. I just got the alert that he’s home, so I’m on my way there to talk to him. Sorry to trouble you.”
“About that,” he starts while my doorbell camera alert pops up on the screen and I swipe it away. I’m guessing Chase beat me back to the house. Hopefully, Isaiah lets him inside to explain his side of things while I’m stuck in the holiday traffic.
“Little Prince is coming to stay at the hotel with me for the night.”
I slam on the brakes and pull off to the shoulder despite the honking and angry shouting from the cars that were behind me. But… he’s home. He came home. Why would he leave again?
“I don’t know what happened between you and him tonight, but he should have been riding high after that third period. Instead, I got a call from him barely coherent through the sobs.”
Sobs?
“I need to talk to him, Jones. I need to understand what exactly happened tonight.”
I know I overstepped. I know I fucked up. What I don’t know is exactly how I fucked up. I need to know that so it won’t happen again.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I want you to get what you need, Talbot,” he growls at me over the line.
“Depending on what the kid shares with me when he gets here, I might decide Harrisburg is a nice place to relocate in the offseason if you get my drift. Charming is like a little brother to me, and I have zero patience for people who hurt my family. Get my drift?”
Swiping at my suddenly wet cheeks, I grunt.
“I understand. I won’t force him to talk to me if he doesn’t want to.”
Ending the call with Jones, there’s no point in fighting the tears falling from my eyes. The screen on my phone lights up to show a text from Chase. I open the app to read the few messages that he’s sent while I was driving.
Chase: I think we should give him time to cool off first
Chase: maybe we should cool off a bit as well