Chapter 20
SAM
Chase most definitely shocked the hell out of the kid, but I can’t deny that he looks absolutely adorable like this. Now that it’s been put out there that a throuple is on the table, I don’t think I can accept anything less.
“I think...” Isaiah finally starts, but stops. It takes a few more attempts until our meals come out for him to continue.
“I think I cracked my head on the concrete at the airport and this is all just a vivid coma fantasy.”
Chase lets out a bark of laughter while I struggle not to choke on my french fries.
“Sorry, Mr. Talbot,” Isaiah murmurs while his cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink.
Thinking back over the last month, I’ve seen that shade of pink tinge his cheeks many times but I always just assumed he had been working out.
Now that I know he blushes so easily, I want to see just how much of his body changes colors when he’s being shy like this.
“For God’s sake, Kid. Call me Sam already,” I tell him for the millionth time. “I’m only four years older than you.”
He nods but keeps his eyes on the table while he eats his food.
“And you should start calling me Chase,” the man next to me adds. “Mr. Kinsey is what I expect to hear from children, not men that I am hopefully starting a relationship with.”
I’m transfixed watching the emotions play across Isaiah’s face. Was this expressive man hidden underneath the secretive loner I’ve been living with for the last month? When he shyly scratches the back of his neck, I damn near melt in my seat.
“If... If...” he stutters a few times before taking a swig of his freshly refilled soda before wiggling in his seat to sit up straighter.
“If I call you both by your first names, could you...”
He snatches his drink up again to drain about half of it in one go.
Chase sits next to me with an indulgent smile, so I wave him on.
If we don’t move this along, we might as well stay here for dinner as well.
I definitely wouldn’t mind some extended time with both of them in a hotel, but I would prefer it was planned in advance and not with the price inflated five times for the holiday.
“Sam... Chase...” he swallows hard and sets his drink down on the table. “Could you call me Izzy?”
There has to be a limit on how adorable a grown man can be. His smile lights up the room when both Chase and I nod, and he does this little hapy dance in his seat that brings a chuckle out of me.
“But like, can it just be between us? I don’t know if I want the guys on the team to call me that.”
I assure him that I will keep calling him Isaiah while we are at work, and he relaxes.
The rest of the meal is spent with Chase and Izzy covering their years apart, and I can’t believe I’m looking at the same guys I thought I knew yesterday.
I’m no longer surprised by the change in Isaiah, but Chase has opened up a part of himself that he was holding back.
Over the last month, I realized that he built up a wall between his past self and his current self, and so far I’ve only glimpsed pieces of his past through the window he’s allowed me to peek through.
Izzy, being a part of that past, is bringing that wall down before my eyes.
“I’m so glad Wally got him banned from our games,” Izzy’s growl cuts through my thoughts. “I don’t know how, but he’s even banned from our away games.”
Chase drops his fork at that. Leave it to the kid to get the foodie to stop eating.
“How the hell do they ban him from away games? Tim must be fuming.”
Izzy shrugs and pops another sweet potato fry while I finish off the last of my chicken sandwich. Chase is still in shock after the server drops off the check.
“Walendziewicz has been in the league for about a decade at this point and collects favors like fucking Pokemon,” I explain and hand my card over to pay.
“The man is damn near magic with what he can accomplish. Just don’t ask him to play more than two nights in a row unless you want a Jekyl and Hyde situation in the net. ”
Izzy laughs and finishes off his burger before continuing.
“I wanted to go up in the stands when I saw him at the game with Bitchy and you were nowhere in sight. How dare he cheat on you! You’re like the most perfectest man ever.”
The contrast of pink with the silver and blond scruff on Chase’s face is a sight I want to see with my sheets as a background. Sooner rather than later.