Chapter 20 #2
“Really?” he asks, pocketing the card without glancing at it. “You look scandalized by it.”
While I’ve been with other women sexually, it’s always been forced. However, that’s not my issue. I’m just getting a really odd vibe from her. Santo and Caelia must have already returned to their seats, because Easton is the only one waiting for me.
“I just feel weird about it,” I explain, shaking my head as I wrap my arms around him and breathe in deeply. “She said she was new in town and seemed as if she might want friends? However, she said she could tell I didn’t have alphas and wanted to shoot her shot.”
“How does she know that?” Easton asks, hugging me tighter. “I’m obviously right here.”
“Can people…smell when omegas are bitten and mated?” I ask hesitantly.
“There are some who say the scent of an omega changes when they’re mated. But, these are usually people who know the person beforehand,” he says. “It sounds creepy from a stranger.”
“Yes!” I exclaim, allowing him to tug me into walking as he continues to hold me. It’s a little awkward due to the differences in our sizes, but I can tell he’s concerned. “Thank you. That’s what is bugging me about it!”
“We’re using the restroom in the VIP lounge from now on if you need to go,” he grumbles. “Clearly people can’t act right.”
He believes me. I don’t know why I thought he would have issues understanding my concerns. I have a problem, which is now his as well.
The Scented Scorpions play hard the last period of the game, but it’s not enough. I cheer loudly as Troy assists his captain to score a goal, and the final score ends up being ten to six. I also end up chatting a little more with Caelia, and find I need time to ease into a conversation.
The art of chit-chat isn’t easy for me. By the end of the game, I’m tired but also energized. I can’t wait to see Troy, and the guys walk me down to a place where we can wait for him to finish showering. They also find me a chair, and I eagerly sit, despite sitting for the entire game.
While I’m doing better, my energy levels wax and wane with my social battery as much as my physical activity.
Lyle’s fingers dig into my shoulders as he massages them and I’m falling asleep by the time Troy jogs out to us.
“I’m so sorry,” he says quickly. “I had to talk to the press with Teagan.”
“You both had an awesome game,” I mumble, blinking my eyes. “I’m really proud of you.”
“That’s code for ‘I’m sleepy but also trying to be enthusiastic’,” Silas chuckles.
“I don’t want to walk anymore,” I pout, holding my arms out to Troy.
“Poor baby,” he grins, handing off his bag to Easton. “Up you go, sweetheart. Did you have fun?”
His strong arms flex as he picks me up and he glances in a mirror to catch the back of my shirt as I nod against his shoulder.
“Are you wearing my name, Alisa?” he asks, grinning.
“Mmhmm. Yours,” I say, snuggling against him. “I met Caelia. She’s really nice.”
“I was hoping you might see her,” he says, starting to walk with our pack.
“She brought her baby,” I add.
“Cae sent me a photo. They’re so cute together. Her alphas are ridiculously jealous about our friendship,” he says.
“Santo growled when your name came up and scared Alisa,” Easton says. “She ended up in my lap for most of the game. Not that I’m complaining at all. I live for cuddles, and it made it easier to answer her hockey questions.”
“I’m still very jumpy around strangers,” I sigh. “Growls usually lead to alpha barks in my experience.”
“Santo would rather cut out his tongue than alpha bark someone,” Troy says, burying his face in my hair. “There’s no way you could know that though. I’m sorry he scared you.”
“I need to get over it.”
“No, you don’t,” Silas says, pushing open the door and holding it. The air is only slightly warmer than the stadium, but Troy is warm. “All you need to do is live your life, baby. If other people are annoyed by it, they can get fucked. There’s not a timer on how long you need to heal.”
“Hear, hear,” Lyle murmurs as we walk toward the parking lot.
“Will you drive home with me?” Troy asks.
“I’m already in your arms,” I giggle. “Isn’t possession nine-tenths of the law or something?”
“Alisa,” Lyle laughs. “You’re not wrong, but damn. Using the law against us. I’ll see you back at the house.”
My cheeks hurt from smiling as Troy opens the door to his vehicle and sits me inside. Despite how hard socializing with others is for me, I still had a really good time.
“Did you talk to the media because you were a bad ass on the ice tonight?” I ask Troy once he’s inside.
“Yes,” he grins. Ugh, those dimples. “Our PR manager is trying to push the narrative that I’m not a pity hire.”
“It’s not hard to push when it’s true.”
“God, I fucking love how you see me,” he murmurs, turning on the vehicle.
I blink dumbly at him, but he continues as if he didn’t just say what he did.
“I let her know there could potentially be some backlash from my ex,” he explains. “We’re trying to keep people focused on hockey and not the dumpster fire called Ella.”
My lips twitch because that’s exactly what Ella is. There have been a lot of conversations at home surrounding her, though most have been about untangling Troy from her financially. The omega is petty, and if she drops the sex photos she swears she has, it could be bad for his career.
“You didn’t consent to the photos or anything from that night,” I remind him.
“I know, but that’s not how people will see it.
Klepton, our newer player, left his last team because of a huge scandal that paints him as the assailant,” Troy says.
“Someone came to our game a few nights ago with a poster saying he was a rapist. I don’t know what to believe, but the guy plays like he’s trying to outrun some major demons.
He was acquitted of the charges, this has to be enough for me. ”
“That’s terrible,” I breathe. I don’t have anything else to say because I don’t have any of the facts. Troy obviously has looked into it more. The world is full of bad people, but there are also two sides to a story.
“Hockey and public opinion drives our current owner. As for Ella, she refuses to answer any of Lyle’s questions about the possible photos she was sent, even when he said he’d find a way to sue her if they found the light of day.
There are some rumors the owner has some shit going on and is trying to minimize his negative press footprint.
I think that’s ridiculous after he took on another player with his own shit, but I’ll never understand how people with money work.
“I need to stay in Savannah. My life is here now. I’m going to look into some community service options in Savannah to at least help the public opinion side do things,” he explains. “I don’t want to give him a reason to want to trade me next year.”
“Like what?” I ask. My heart clenches at the thought of him having to leave, and he squeezes my hand as he thinks.
“I read that the new outreach center for vulnerable people needs people to paint for them,” he says. “I can do manual labor and also feel as if I’m making a difference.”
“Silas mentioned the center. It’s called Rise Up, right?” I ask.
The organization wasn’t open yet when I was homeless, but I really hope they can get the word out to people. Shelters are almost impossible to use due to these so-called quotas they swear they need to reach.
“It is. I wish it had been open when you needed it,” he mumbles, reading my mind in a way. I’m kind of transparent.
“I’m glad it’s available for others,” I shrug. I can’t wish for something different or turn back the hands of time. “Um. I may have lied to Caelia about how we met.”
“What did you say?” he asks, taking a turn.
“I told her we met through Easton. I couldn’t very well tell her the truth.”
“I’ll make sure to remember this if she ever brings it up,” he says. “This is your past, Alisa. No one needs to know shit about it.”
I relax as he drives, barely waking up as he lifts me from the car once we’re home.
“I fucking love seeing her in this,” he says. “It makes me want to eat her pussy until she wakes up. I probably shouldn’t, huh?”
“I happily consent to sleepy orgasms,” I mumble, feeling his chest move as he chuckles.
“Then that’s what you’re getting, Little Fighter.”