Chapter Eight
Maki
“What was going through your head during that last play?”
I look over at the interviewer for a moment before giving my honest answer. “I really didn’t want the ball to hit the floor.”
She gives a little laugh before patting me on the back. “And you didn’t. Thank you again for the interview, Maki. Great game today.”
“Thank you,” I say before walking away, heading towards the locker room. Thankfully, most of my team is already here, getting showered and changed. We’ll do a post-game analysis tomorrow morning, but the rest of the night is ours.
“So,” Bo says, practically bouncing up and down with his excitement, waiting for everyone to be done.
He’s the only one who doesn’t shower after games but that’s only because he’s a merman.
He only bathes when there’s an available tub for him, knowing he’ll be stuck with fins and a tail until he’s completely dry again.
“Your boyfriend is coming along tonight, right? I can’t wait to meet him! ”
“Rin will be coming, yes. So long as everyone is okay with that still.”
“We are,” Oli says, coming out from the shower with a towel around his waist. “I’m gonna get a selfie with him for my social media! People are gonna love this crossover.”
“We’re all looking forward to meeting him,” Daniel says, squeezing my shoulder.
I nod before digging into my locker for my phone. I send Rin a quick message, letting him know we’re all changing and that we’ll be out soon. I let him know the best place to meet us. I already informed the security guard at that location to expect them.
My body still feels high from the game but I know I’ll be sore tomorrow.
Especially after that sliding dive. I’m sure that interviewer was hoping I had some inspirational quote to say, something like ‘I just couldn’t let my team down’ or ‘I was going to do everything in my power to save that last point’ but in all honesty, every time I’m on the court, all I care about is keeping the ball from hitting the ground.
If it never hits the ground, the other team can’t score a point.
“Great final play,” Amour says as we pass each other by the shower. “Your reaction time has never been better.”
“I bet it’s because he knew his boyfriend was in the stands watching,” Sullivan says with a chuckle. “You were on fire tonight, Maki.”
“I always play hard,” I tell them with a frown.
“We’re just teasing you,” Sullivan says softly. “We know you played your hardest but that final play? The triple save? That was showing off,” he adds with a wink.
I get into the shower, letting the hot water run over my sweaty body. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I was playing even harder than usual in order to impress Rin. I really, really wanted to win, even more so than usual. I didn’t want him to regret taking the time to come watch me.
I’m finding myself drawn to Rin in ways I’ve never felt before.
Whenever I think about him, my chest grows warm and tight, like my heart doesn’t quite fit right.
Whenever we speak, I can’t stop smiling.
We’ve kissed just the one time but I can’t stop thinking about kissing him again.
I can’t stop thinking about what else we’d do if we went further than kissing.
Making quick work of my shower, I head back into the locker room to get changed. The sound of a blow dryer makes it hard to talk. Oli never leaves the locker room without looking his best. He says he has an image to uphold, whatever that means.
“Amour,” Bo says, a whine to his voice. “Please come out with us? Pretty please with sugar on top?”
Amour looks like he’s about to say no but then Kurstin joins in, giving Amour his best set of pleading eyes. “Just for one drink? We’ve missed you lately.”
“You see me at practice every day,” Amour says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I know that,” Kurstin says, “but I mean outside of practice. Come hang out with us.”
Amour lets out a long sigh. “Let me make a phone call,” is what he says before stepping out into the hall. Half the time, Amour says he’s going to make a call and then just leaves without telling anyone. Half the team is certain he has a secret mate at home, but I don’t think that’s it.
By the time I’m dressed and ready to go, everyone else is ready as well. We step out into the hall, finding Amour waiting for us. Bo and Kursten practically jump on him with how excited they are.
“This is why I always just go home,” Amour deadpans, making the other two settle down. Then he smiles softly when they’re not looking.
We make our way towards the backdoors and find Rin, Kei, and Rodney waiting for us. Rin looks nervous, Kei has a frown on his face, and Rodney looks almost as excited as Bo usually does.
“Hi,” I say softly as I step up to them. Rin smiles up at me.
“Hi. Great game out there! I think I’m officially a certified volleyball fan,” he tells me, his face lighting up in the way I’m used to seeing on our date. He’s so gorgeous when he smiles like this.
“That makes me very happy to hear.”
“Introduce us,” Oli says, jumping in. “Hello! I’m Oli! It’s lovely to meet you, Blue. The day Maki joined your stream, I was there, helping him make his account.”
“Oh,” Rin says, his eyes widening. Then he holds out his hand, looking more at ease. It’s like he’s slipped into his streamer persona right before my eyes. “Always nice to meet a fan. And I’ve gotta say thank you for helping Maki join the stream,” he adds, giving Oli a little wink.
We all make introductions before finally heading outside. The air is crisp which feels nice against my skin.
“Would you like to ride with me?” I ask Rin.
He looks over at Kei and Rodney. “Do you guys mind meeting us there?”
“We don’t mind,” Rodney says, throwing Rin a wink. Rin makes a noise at the back of his throat, shaking his head at his friend.
I lead Rin to my car, opening the door for him. He gives me a soft smile before ducking in. After tossing my gym bag in the back, I follow him inside.
“Maki,” he says softly, turning in his seat to look at me. “You played so well tonight. It was amazing to watch.”
Rin isn’t the first one to say that to me tonight, but his words hit harder than anyone else's. My chest constricts almost painfully as I stare at him.
“Thank you.”
“It was so infectious,” he explains with a grin.
“Being surrounded by everyone cheering for you and your team, getting to meet your mascot, buying your jersey,” he says, gesturing at his front.
“I understand why people get into this sport. I had so much fun tonight. Thank you so much for the tickets.”
My eyes glance down and that’s when I notice that Rin is wearing my jersey. The black five reads across his chest and I know without him turning around, that my name is across his back.
My cock has never grown so hard so quickly. Seeing Rin in my jersey is doing something to me, something I’ve never felt before. I want to kiss him. I want to be on top of him. I want to touch him while he’s wearing nothing but my jersey. My actual jersey.
“You’re welcome,” I say, ignoring the way my voice breaks on those two words. “Can I kiss you?”
Rin’s eyes widen but he nods, his lips turning up in a soft smile. “Yeah, Maki. You can kiss me. You can kiss me whenever you want.”
I want to kiss him right this second and so I do. We meet in the middle, hovering over the stick shift. I cup Rin’s face as our lips meet.
Just like always, the kiss leaves my body feeling hot all over.
Kissing Rin makes me happy, almost as happy as volleyball makes me, though it’s a different sort of happiness.
He makes a soft sound against my lips and the warmth inside my belly suddenly flares with something hotter, something brighter.
My cock is so hard it presses against the zipper of my pants almost painfully, throbbing with want.
When Rin opens his lips, I follow the motion, copying him.
When his tongue presses into my mouth, it’s my turn to make a broken noise.
I want him. I want to feel more of him. I want to lie in bed and kiss him for hours.
I want to see what he looks like under his usual hoodies and jeans.
I want everything with Rin. I want him to be mine. I want to mate with him in the way only an undine can.
Gods, maybe I’m going about this all too quickly. We haven’t known each other for very long, but somehow, I care about him so deeply. I’ve never felt this way about another person and I’m not sure I ever will again. Something inside of me simply knows; Rin is mine.
“Rin,” I breathe out against his lips, forcing myself to pull away.
Rin clears his throat, looking adorably rumpled. ”Sorry. Got carried away.”
“That’s okay.”
“We should go. I don’t want everyone knowing we sat here making out instead of joining them for dinner,” he says with a chuckle.
I force myself to turn in my seat and start the car. My heart is hammering inside my chest and my stomach is a mess of twisting, turning nerves. When I look over at Rin, he smiles back. That’s enough to have everything slowing down.
Rin reaches over and holds my hand when I don’t need it for shifting. I could get used to this.
The place we’re going to knew we were coming and has a table big enough for us. I sit down, pulling Rin down next to me. Oli quickly slides into the seat next to him.
“Ivan! I saved you a spot, darling!”
Rodney and Kei sit down across from us. Rodney looks at Oli with a frown and Rin just shrugs.
“Don’t call me that, asshole.”
“Don’t be so mean, Ivan!”
Amour sits down next to Rodney, Kurstin and Bo following behind him. Daniel and Sullivan come and sit next to myself and Kei. Kent finds a spot next to Ivan.
“We should take a selfie, for our social media,” Oli says to Rin.
“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Rin says. “I just ask that you don’t use my real name, please.”
“Oh yeah, no worries there,” Oli says right away. “I know how important these things are. I think we all do,” he says and the people round the table all nod along in agreement.