CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX THEO
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THEO
“Dude, there’s someone on your left,” Cross barks at me, his voice echoing in the room. “Your fucking left!”
Shots ring out from the speakers in the walls and explosions sound in the distance. The couch shifts as Cross scoots to the edge, his spine straight as he stares at the TV.
“There’s no one on my left.”
“Your other left!” Shaw calls out, rocking up onto his knees from the cross-legged position he was in on the floor. A shot rings out and my avatar falls over. “Oh my god. You’re terrible at this game.”
The match ends and Matty groans as the score flashes on the screen. We lost, miserably. “I don’t think Theo lost that round by himself.”
“Thank you.” I cut my eyes at Cross, who’s not looking at me. “We all collectively suck.”
“Speak for yourself,” Shaw quips, pulling off his headset. “I was carrying the team.”
“Yeah, right, you wish.” Cross scoffs, shaking his head as he tosses his controller onto the couch. He leans back against the cushions, pulling out his phone and typing on the screen.
Laughter comes from the first floor, reminding me we aren’t the only ones here tonight. Lucy, Elena, Posey and Jade have taken up residence in the living room for the night while the four of us are tucked away in the basement.
“Wanna try again?” Shaw asks, glancing over his shoulder at the three of us. Matty and Cross nod.
“If you guys stop bullying me.” My phone vibrates from my front pocket and I pull it out. My chest warms when I see Lucy’s name.
“No one is bullying you, Simms.” Cross rolls his eyes. “You’re just clearly distracted.”
“As he always is now,” Matty chimes in.
I cut my eyes at the three of them, although Shaw’s the only one who hasn’t said anything. “You have no room to talk, Matty.”
“I’m not distracted.”
“Cut him some slack, boys. He’s got a baby on the way and a pregnant girlfriend to take care of.”
I look at Shaw, smiling as he nods my head, letting me know he’s got my back. “Yeah, exactly what Shaw said.”
“Fine.” Cross blows out a breath. “That’s a legitimate excuse.”
“Reason,” I correct him, opening my phone and the message Lucy sent.
Lucy
You said you have frozen pizzas in the basement freezer, right?
Theo
Yeah. Do you guys want one?
Lucy
If you don’t mind, that would be lovely.
Theo
I’ll be right up with one.
I push off the couch, leaving my controller on it. “I’m going to sit out this round. The girls need pizza.”
Shaw sighs, his shoulders sagging as Matty exits out of the waiting room and Cross grabs my controller to remove my account. “You sure you don’t want us to just wait?”
“No, you’re good.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how long I’ll be up there.”
“AKA: we’re lucky if he comes back down,” Shaw mutters.
“He wouldn’t just leave us down here.” Matty chuckles.
“He might,” Cross retorts.
I press my lips into a flat line. “I’ll be back down. Even if it’s just to kick your asses out.”
The sounds of explosions and gunshots come through the speakers, grabbing the three of their attention before anyone can talk anymore shit. I slip out of the room, stopping by the freezer to grab a pizza on my way up to the first floor.
As I step into the kitchen, laughter fills the air, drifting from the living room.
“Oh my god. I forgot how his hair looked in high school.” Elena cackles, her voice filled with amusement.
Jade snorts. “Who let him cut it like that?”
“He thought it was so good.” Posey laughs.
My eyebrows tug together as I set the box down on the counter and turn the oven on to preheat.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Lucy says. “Theo loved it.”
They’re talking about my haircut from high school. The epic mullet I had during my freshman and junior years. A bunch of the guys on our team had mullets and I ended up showing them up with mine. It was perfect. A work of art. A true beauty.
I walk over to the living room, pausing in the doorway. “What are you guys doing in here?”
Lucy’s eyes meet mine first, a soft smile on her lips. Posey and Elena both smirk at each other and Jade sips her wine nonchalantly. “Elena found your old hockey photos on the internet.”
I arch a brow, glancing at the three of them suspiciously. “Are you guys stalking me?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” Lucy giggles with a shrug. “We were looking at everyone’s old pictures.”
“That mullet was so bad.” Jade laughs, shaking her head.
I cross my arms over my chest. “It was not. Do you know how many compliments I got for my hair?”
Elena snorts. “None of them were from any girls.”
“Again, not true,” I argue. “Plenty of girls liked my hair.”
A smile breaks out across Lucy’s face. “No, babe, that wasn’t it.” She chuckles. “They liked you because of your status, not your hair.”
The beep of the oven rings from behind me in the kitchen. “I should take that pizza back downstairs.”
“No, don’t.” Lucy climbs to her feet, stalking toward me. “The baby will be very upset.”
I snort, both brows lifting as she stops in front of me. “Are you the baby?”
She narrows her eyes. Elena laughs loudly and Jade spits out her drink. “No, I am not.”
“Are you trying to manipulate me with the baby?”
She takes a step closer, challenging me. “Are you going to withhold food from your pregnant girlfriend?”
“Ooh,” Posey calls out, “your ass is going to be in the doghouse, Simmons.”
“I can tell Coach to have him skate at practice, no pucks,” she adds.
Lucy smirks, amusement dancing in her blue eyes. “That’s tempting.”
“You wouldn’t.”
She bats her eyelashes at me. “Can I have the pizza?”
My expression softens. I wouldn’t withhold anything from her, ever. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
“You can have anything you want, love.”
She plants her hands on my chest, pushing up onto her toes as she presses her lips to mine. “Thank you.”
She’s my goddamn weakness and she doesn’t even know it. I’m absolutely powerless when it comes to her. On my fucking knees, ready to do whatever the hell she asks me to do.
My hands are on her hips and I slide one arm around her lower back, guiding her into the kitchen with me, ignoring the hooting and hollering from her friends.
They might be worse than the guys in the basement.
Maybe I should tell them to go downstairs and lock them all in the basement so I can just have Lucy to myself.
Or I could kick them out.
“Your hair didn’t look terrible, for the record.” Lucy smiles, leaning her head against my shoulder when we stop by the oven. Her smile fades, her eyes growing distant, her voice dropping. “The girls all liked you for more than just your status.”
I spin her toward me, lifting her and settling between her legs as I set her down on the counter. “None of those girls matter.” I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “They never did.”
She tilts her head to the side, her hands on my shoulders, eyes bouncing back and forth between mine. “Then why did you date them?”
“So, I’d stop thinking about you.”
The words fall from my lips without any hesitation. There’s no point in keeping it in anymore. The promise I made to her is broken. The line we drew has been well and truly crossed.
There’s no going back to whatever we had before this. We ruined our friendship, but maybe it’s for something better.
Her lips part and a shallow breath escapes her. “What?”
A slow smile lifts my lips. “I thought it would work.” I shake my head. “It didn’t.”
Lucy’s eyes search mine, confusion tangled in her irises. She lets out a breath and she’s about to say something when the basement door opens down the hall.
“Yo, Simms!” Shaw’s voice echoes into the kitchen. “I have another pizza. The guys are hungry too.”
“Can’t we get two seconds of privacy?” Lucy mutters, shaking her head as she lets out a soft laugh. “Jeez.”
“Want me to kick them all out?”
She giggles as I lean forward, my lips finding hers. “We can’t do that.” She nips at my lips. “We’re the ones who invited them all over. That would be rude.”
I shrug, kissing her again. “It’s our home, we can do whatever we want.”
She stills, her eyes flashing to mine as I pull back. “It’s yours, Theo. Not ours.”
My hands find her hips, lowering her off the counter. “It’s yours too,” I say softly, taking a step back and grabbing the pizza box. “For as long as you want it to be.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asks, her voice warm, eyes tender as Shaw enters the kitchen, muttering something under his breath about a text from his ex as he pokes his head into the living room.
My attention is on her. Only ever on her.
“Surer than I’ve ever been about anything else.”