Chapter Nineteen
Kai
Friday
Lips brushed my cheek. A woodsy scent surrounded me. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. My eyes flew open. Ashton’s face hovered close to mine.
“Sorry to wake you, but I’ve got to leave for an early meeting. Steven’s making you breakfast. He’ll drop you off at the hotel before he heads to practice.” Ashton sat next to me on the bed.
I sat up, looking around. “Oh no. I fell asleep.”
The clock said it was morning. Shit. I hadn’t intended to spend the night here. The Aunties. Panic filled me and I reached for my phone.
I saw a text to the auntie chat.
Me
This is Ashton. Kai fell asleep watching a movie. We’ll bring them back tomorrow.
Following was a photo of me sleeping, carefully taken, so it didn’t look like I was naked in their bed.
Relief filled me, especially since there were pithy replies.
Auntie Mimi
“movie”
Auntie Cookie
You can keep Kai forever as long as you support their studies.
Auntie Kiki
Take care of them or you’ll feel my wrath.
Auntie Tiff
They look so happy.
“Thank you.” Was I a little mortified that I’m sure they all knew what really happened? Yes. But it was better than them putting out a missing omega alert.
Ashton smiled. “I’d hate for them to track you down and for us to feel the wrath of the aunties.”
“Auntie Kiki would probably smack you with a slipper.” I chuckled. “Something smells good.” I sat up.
“Steven’s a pretty good cook.” His look went bashful. “Can I take you out for coffee later? Steven has a late meeting so we can do that and then, maybe, if you want, the three of us can do something together?”
So endearing.
“I’d like that a lot. I also understand if you want to make it an early night because of the game tomorrow,” I said.
“We could always come back here?” Ashton offered. “Also, I think Steven wants to go to the indoor mini golf place.”
“We have options. Your game is tomorrow–and my last day.” Today would be the last time I’d get to really spend time with them.
My heart twisted. I liked these guys a lot. Too bad we live so far away.
Silly Kai, you just got over a break up. The last thing you need is more alphas. They’re just nice guys showing you a great time. You’re having some good sex. That’s it. After this, you’ll go back to Hilo and complete your last semester, and they’ll finish their season and go back to their cabin.
“I’ll find something for you to wear.” Ashton grabbed a T-shirt and some drawstring shorts, along with some socks.
“Thank you.” Without realizing what I was doing, I pulled him to me and kissed him, beard brushing against my face.
“Oh, I got you a Scented Scorpions shirt to wear to the game. It’s in the kitchen,” he added.
He had? Awww.
I kissed him again. “Thank you.”
“I’ll text you when I’m done at the rink and then I’ll pick you up at the hotel.” Giving me one more kiss, he left.
I helped myself to the shower, to scrub off the fact that I smell like sex and alphas. While I’m sure the aunties saw right through their whole, Kai fell asleep while watching a movie excuse, I didn’t need to come home smelling of the evidence.
Nice and clean, dressed in way-too-big clothes, and commando, I went to find Steven.
“There you are. I was just going to ask you how you wanted your coffee this morning. Breakfast is ready.” He was shirtless in only some drawstring shorts and socks, looking delicious.
“Too much creamer, preferably chocolate.”
“We have caramel, because that’s what Ashton likes in the morning. I honestly don’t care.” He handed me the bottle from the fridge.
“Caramel works. Wow I would’ve thought Ashton would’ve been the black coffee person and you would’ve been cinnamon creamer.” I added too much creamer to the large mug of coffee. The handle looked like a hockey stick, and it said Get Pucked on it.
Get Pucked indeed. Certainly, I got pucked last night.
It was good pucking, too.
Steven gave me a plate with eggs, bacon, toast, and potatoes as he sat down to the same, just a much larger portion. “I can make more.”
“This looks like something I’d get in the hotel restaurant.” The potatoes even had a little bit of rosemary on them. “I would have thought a hockey player would eat some sort of nutritionally balanced smoothie bowl or something for breakfast.” I chuckled as I put hot sauce on my eggs.
“That’s Ashton. I’m from farm country. It was all about the big breakfast. Eggs and pig, potatoes for carbs.” He put some jam on his toast.
I did the same and took a bite. Sourdough. Tasty.
“What do you usually eat for breakfast?” He shoveled eggs into his mouth.
“Eggs and rice. Sometimes soup. Leftovers. What kind of meeting did Ash have? He’s not in trouble right?” I asked, taking another bite of eggs.
“It’s defense talking about defender things. Just like later I have one for where we’re talking about forward things. The goalies will have a meeting where they talk about goalie things. We’ll have another team meeting where we talk about team things.” He took a bite of potato.
“That makes sense. There wasn’t a whole lot of strategy on my swim team. It was more like swim fast.” I took a sip of my coffee.
He thought for a moment. “That sounds like a fair strategy.”
“I’ve never been alone with just you.” I gazed at him over my coffee cup.
“Now you can tell me all the things you didn’t want to say in front of him,” Steven laughed.
“I want to steal his scrunchies. He has a really impressive collection.” I took another bite of egg.
“He does. A lot of them were given to him by fans,” he replied. “If you need one, take one. Just show me first, so I can make sure it’s not super special. You can always send him a picture and tell him you’re kidnapping it, and he has to bring you a ransom when he takes you to coffee.”
“I like that. I won’t be crossing the line right?” I was still getting a read on these guys.
He waved me off. “No, because you’ll give it back. It’s when people take the special ones and don’t give them back that makes him mad.”
“Noted.” Kidnap a scrunchie? What would he bring me for ransom? Since we were going to coffee, maybe he’d buy me a pastry.
A pastry would be a very good ransom indeed.
“Last night was amazing,” I told him.
“You liked that?” Steven gave me a kiss, his lips tasting of bacon.
Tangling my hand in his hair I held him to me and kissed him a moment longer.
“You literally made my fantasy come true. It was incredible.” For two guys who claimed they hadn’t really dated in years, they had some good moves.
They’re not yours.
Steven’s forehead rested on mine, picking up my doubt. “Whatever that was, it’s okay.”
His comforting grassy scent surrounded me.
“I guess I’m a little sad because tonight is really the last time we get to do something and then tomorrow you’ll have your game, and then I’ll have to go to the airport.” I sighed. Yeah, not looking forward to seeing my ex. Or my ex friends.
“There’s a comic expo in Honolulu over the summer. I’ll get you the dates. If you’re around, maybe you could come over to that island and we can be matching?” Looking bashful, he focused on finishing his food.
“I like that. I have some ideas.” I showed him some ideas and some pictures of group costumes my friends had done.
We spent the rest of breakfast looking at pirate costumes. An alarm went off on his phone.
“Sadly, I need to get dressed, so that I can drop you off before I have to go to practice,” he apologized.
“No worries, you need to be on time.” I did the dishes while he got dressed.
Then I slipped into the bathroom and looked at Ashton’s scrunchie collection.
Steven came up behind me and put an arm around my waist. It felt natural… comfortable…
…right.
“I think you should steal this one.” He held up a burgundy, velvet scrunchie with little beads on it.
“Does he have a flannel shirt that matches it?” I could see it–burgundy shot with gold, something you’d wear at Christmas when you needed to be dressed nicely but still wanted to wear flannel.
Steven laughed. “I love that.”
I took a picture of the scrunchie and texted him.
Me
I’ve stolen your scrunchie. If you’d like it back, please bring ransom when we go to coffee. Have a good practice. XOXO.
I grabbed my shirt. People had signed it? Wow. I texted my thanks.
Steven drove me back to the hotel. I checked my phone. The Aunties already had breakfast and were by the pool, drinks in hand.
“Thank you for everything. I had a great time. Have fun at practice.” I gave him a kiss and then I got out of the car and went into the hotel.
Up at the hotel room, I changed into a swimsuit and then went back down to join the Aunties.
“There you are. I was beginning to think you ran away with them,” Auntie Kiki said as she sipped her drink.
“I fell asleep while watching a movie.” I told them about dinner and the club.
“They’re nice boys? They pay for everything?” Auntie Tiff asked.
“Yes and yes, but I’m not interested in them because they pay for things. They’re nice people. Ashton’s family is in logging, and we have a lot to talk about. Steven is just fun and goofy. How many alphas will climb trees with you?” I said as the server brought me my usual cocktail.
“You like them,” Auntie Cookie teased.
“If we didn’t live across the country from each other, I might date them. At the same time, I shouldn’t date people right now, because I need to get over my ex.” I felt like I kind of already had.
“Hockey.” Auntie Kiki thought about it. “The game tomorrow will be nice. That was nice of them to let us come, too.”
“I bet you came last night, then fell asleep on the couch,” Auntie Cookie teased.
“Auntie.” No, I wasn’t talking about my sex life.
“You’re a single adult and on spring break. Go get it, I guess.” Auntie Mimi laughed.
I put a hand over my face. “Please don’t say that.”
“Are they better in bed than your ex?” Auntie Tiff asked.
“Not talking about that.” The answer was yes.
“Are they taking you out tonight?” Auntie Kiki asked.