27. Scott
CHAPTER 27
Scott
JANUARY 8TH
I f we hadn’t all agreed to meet for tacos at Guac ‘n Roll, Athena’s family’s restaurant, I’d still be naked beside her. Actually, I’d be buried inside her to the fucking hilt. I want to make her make all of those dirty little noises again.
We came to the restaurant together, but no one needs to know that. There have been times she’s been here studying, and I’ve arrived to meet her brothers, and we’ve chatted while I’ve waited.
This is no big deal.
Except while I’m standing here, I want to tuck her hair behind her ear. I want to tip her head to the side so I can drag my teeth along the column of her neck and drag those obscene little moans from the back of her throat as she whimpers out my name.
Shit. Don’t get hard while waiting for your friends.
Hopefully the staff haven’t picked up on anything. Last thing I need is Abuelita’s sous chef knowing I railed her granddaughter last night. He’s a gossip.
“You’re staring.” Athena sips her fruit juice, pretending she’s not feeling it too. This unparalleled, animalistic, and damn near uncontrollable need to strip off naked and stick our bodies together again. “They’ll know.”
“How will they know?”
“They’ll know, Scottie.” She glances over at her Abuelita in the corner of the kitchen but she’s looking the other way.
“How will they know?”
“Because you’re looking at me like I have the secret to eternal life.”
“Oh my god, do you?”
That makes her laugh, and the sound is worth it. My phone buzzes against my ass. See if these fuckers are going to stand me u—wait. That would be totally fine by me. I’m here, I showed up, no questions could be asked about where I was while they all had lunch together. But if they cancel, I’m golden.
The name on my screen isn’t one of my hockey brothers. In fact, it’s not anyone who’s name I want to see. My cousin’s asking for money. I ignore him, delete the message, and as I move to put my phone back in my pants, it buzzes again.
Mom: Your cousin Christian’s been arrested.
She missed a word: again. My cousin Christian has been arrested again . Felony larceny last time. As curious as I am to know how shit a criminal my cousin is or remind Mom of the irony that someone called Christian could be such a stain on humanity, I don’t want a reminder of my life right now.
I’m in a sex bubble with Athena, and even though her brothers are about to arrive any moment and make me leave her side to eat with them, I don’t need the trip down family history lane.
The guys crash through the door in a blaze of sound and a blur of movement. No one on the team loves anything more than coming to Guac ‘n Roll for food. It’s the best in town, bar none. And I’m not simply saying that because it’s run by the family of my best friends, and my girlfriend.
I grin at myself. Girlfriend.
Athena de la Pena is my girlfriend. At long fucking last, too.
Ares gives me a not-too-subtle wink behind Athena’s back while his brothers are focused on pulling a couple of tables together. My cheeks heat, but I simply roll my eyes and turn to Athena. “The loud, smelly boys have arrived, so I need to go eat with them.”
She grins at me. “You know you’re a loud, smelly boy too, right?”
I nod solemnly. “Sure, but I’m your loud, smelly boy.”
The eye roll she bestows upon me is worth it.
I sit with my back to my girl, because if I don’t, if I sit facing her, I’ll stare at her the whole time, and we haven’t yet had The Talk. Does she want people to know? If not, we may have an issue because I’m pretty sure the happiness is written all over my face.
Especially because Ares keeps casting me not-too-subtle questioning looks. He can’t be that astute, can he? I mean, he knows I like her, fine, more than like her, but how can he have worked out that I’ve taken the next step already?
My face gets hotter under his gaze. He’s probably not even staring at me, he’s probably looking at something, or someone behind me, but it feels like he’s looking at me, analyzing me, peering into the depths of my soul.
And while I have nothing to feel guilty about, there’s every chance they might think I’m hiding it from them, and we never hide anything from each other.
As I shovel potatoes bravas into my mouth, without a second thought to the impending heartburn at the speed with which I’m consuming these spicy carbs, my brain runs wild with visions of the trio of brothers kicking my ass over their sister.
Speaking of el diablo, she appears next to me, smelling of temptation and sin.
“Who ordered the fish tacos?”
Ares is definitely watching me right now. There’s a gif where a guy’s got streams of sweat pouring down his face like he’s guilty of something. That’s what I feel like right now.
Don’t look at her.
Do look at her. If I don’t it’ll look weird because we’re friends. But if I look too much that’s weird too.
Fuck sake. I’m losing my mind overthinking everything. We definitely need to have a talk about this, because I’m tangling myself in knots, and she might not even care if they find out.