Chapter 30
Tessa
It takes a few minutes for my heart rate to slow down. But when it does, my body suddenly remembers how tired it is. I yawn. “I’m about to fall asleep.” I turn my head to face him. “Will you sleep?”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to.” He squeezes my hand. “But I’ll try...for you.”
I squeeze his hand back. “Thank you.”
“Are you warm enough?” he asks quietly.
“Yes. I think you put off body heat.”
He chuckles quietly. “It’s because I’m a shifter. We tend to run a little hotter.”
“Yeah, you do,” I mutter without thinking about it. “I mean, your body temp runs hotter; that’s what I meant.”
“Sure.”
I close my eyes with a smile on my face, and it takes me just seconds to drift off to sleep.
I wake up sometime later to the sound of someone talking.
It takes me a few seconds to remember where I am, or what day it even is.
“Aw, they’re so cute together,” somebody says, and I freeze.
I can feel Slater’s body behind mine, and his arm is draped over my hip.
It’s honestly the most comfortable position I’ve ever been in.
“And look, our Slate is a cuddler. I knew he would be.” I finally recognize Quint’s voice.
“Get out before I throw you out,” Slater growls at him.
“Well, I drew the short straw to be the one to have to come in here and wake you both up to see if you want anything to eat before it’s all gone.
Slate, we know you don’t like to eat too late before a game.
” That wakes me completely up, and I jerk upright in bed.
Slater grunts, but I ignore him a moment.
“What time is it?”
Quint grins and leans against the wall. “I don’t know. What’s it worth to—”
“Quint, time.” I snap.
“Goodness, okay. It’s two-thirty.”
I turn to Slater in a panic. He whips the covers back and stands. I catch my breath...again, like an idiot. I was just in bed with the guy, and it still doesn’t prepare me for the flash of skin and muscle. “What’s wrong?” Quint asks.
“It’s two-thirty,” I remind him.
“So, his game’s not until six.”
“Yeah, and he has to be there three hours early,” I tell him.
Quint frowns. “Why so early? We don’t have to be at our games until two hours before.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t have Coach Goodwin for a coach,” I tell him. “How do you not know this?”
Quint’s eyes widen. “How do you know this?”
Slater comes up behind me, putting a hand at my hip. I immediately turn to him, knowing he has to go. “Are you coming with?” he asks, his voice urgent and low.
“No, go ahead. I’ll catch a ride with somebody here.”
He reaches around me and pushes the door closed, effectively knocking Quint out into the hallway. “Hey,” he complains, but Slater ignores him.
“I can’t believe I slept that long.”
I stare up at him. “You needed it.” I put a hand on his chest. “Have a good game, Slater. I’ll be there cheering you on. You guys have this.” He lowers his head, and his lips meet mine. It’s chaste and fast, but my blood still heats.
“Thank you.”
And then he’s gone. I take a moment after he leaves to catch my breath. When I walk out into the living room a few minutes later, Reid, Quint, Evie, and Zane all stop talking and look at me. “Okay, well, that’s not like completely obvious.”
Zane chuckles, and Evie gives me an apologetic smile. “We were just talking about you.”
“No kidding,” I say dryly.
“But it was good,” she hurries to add.
“It was,” Zane adds. His eyes meet mine. “We were just saying how good that Slater finally slept, and we have you to thank for that.”
“Or, he was just exhausted,” I counter.
“No.” Zane shakes his head. “Slate always has a hard time sleeping. We’re always trying to get him to sleep, but he’s always too wired.”
“Not today, though,” Quint says with a grin. “Not with our Tessa.”
“Here’s a tip,” Reid says, entering the conversation. “Maybe don’t call her ours if you’re attached to your extremities.”
“However you did it, thank you,” Zane says sincerely.
“Yeah, Tessa,” Quint continues with Zane’s words. “How exactly did you do it?” Reid smacks the back of his head.
“We just slept together,” I announce to everybody.
“We know,” Quint says, his eyebrows wiggling.
“I mean we just slept...nothing more—”
“We know, Tessa,” Zane says, stepping in to help me. “He’s just trying to get to you.”
I shake my head. “Are you all going to Slate’s game?” All four of them nod.
“You need a ride, Tess?” Evie asks.
“Yes, please.”
“Sure,” Zane replies. “We’ll leave a little before five, if that works.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ll be ready.”
I make my way back to Slate’s room to pick up and grab my phone. When I pick up my phone, there’s a message waiting from Slater.
Slater- I haven’t slept that good and that long in a very long time. Thank you.
I can’t help but smile at his words. I text him back really quickly before he puts his phone away for his game.
Me- You’re welcome. Good luck on your game.
I wait, but I don’t hear back from him. My guess is that he’s busy now.
I reread his text and smile again. The next two hours pass quickly, and soon it’s time for all of us to load up to get to Slate’s game.
I remember at the last minute that we won’t all fit in Zane’s truck. His only has four seats.
“Tessa, you can ride with Reid and me, if you want,” Quint offers.
Evie turns to me. “Is that okay? Zane has to run to his dad’s house for a few minutes, so we might be a little late. I know you won’t want to miss any of the game.”
She knows me too well. “Sure. We’ll save seats for you guys.”
“Thanks.”
She and Zane head to the door, and Quint turns to me. “Ready?”
“Yes. Let me just run to the bathroom really quickly.” I’ll be thankful when this week is done. This particular week always makes me emotional. I remind myself that hormones are just that, hormones.
A few minutes later, I'm sitting in the backseat of Quint’s car. It’s surprisingly pretty normal. It's a four-door SUV that’s really comfortable. “Reid, do you have a truck?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No.”
“You two didn’t want to keep the truck theme going?” I ask.
“Trucks are gas guzzlers,” Quint says. “I’m happy with my vehicle; I get way better gas mileage.”
“Same,” Reid says.
“What kind of car does Riley drive?”
“Riley?” Quint asks. “Zane’s sister?”
I catch my mistake right away. “Yeah. I was curious if she followed in the same path as her older brother.” I glance at the back of Reid’s head, but he doesn’t respond.
Thankfully, Quint continues on without picking up on anything.
I forgot for a brief moment that nobody knows about Riley being Reid’s mate.
Evie figured it out and told me, and we both swore to Reid we wouldn’t tell anybody.
I glance out the window cringing at my mistake.
Riley is Zane’s younger sister and Reid’s mate.
Evie gave me all the details. Riley doesn’t know it yet.
That's because she isn’t eighteen yet. She’ll know as soon as she turns eighteen; Reid found out when he turned eighteen a few years ago.
She’ll be here at FMU next year, and Evie and I have already promised to look out for her.
Of course, I guess she won’t need much looking out for if she shifts into a wolf.
I’ll have to ask Reid if she’s a shifter.
I would imagine she is, since her older brother is; but I really don’t know.
I still don’t know everything there is to know about their world, although Slater has been imparting his knowledge to me on our walks during nighttime security shifts.
When we get to the game, it doesn’t take us long to get through security and then to the bleachers.
I’m happy to see it’s pretty full since it’s a playoff game.
It always makes me sad that the soccer games aren’t as well-attended as the football games.
But today is looking a lot better. We save seats for Evie and Zane, and I watch the field, waiting for the team to come out.
Only when I finally lay eyes on Slater, do I find myself relaxing.
He looks zoned in and ready. I’m really hoping that sleep did him some good today.
Quint must be thinking the same thing, because he turns to me.
“I’m so glad you got him to sleep, Tessa.
We’re always fighting him to get more sleep, but he is so stubborn. ”
“Why doesn’t he sleep?”
Quint shrugs. “He’s just always struggled with sleeping. Apparently, you’re the magic cure,” he says, nudging my elbow.
I laugh. “Right.”
“I’m hungry; I’m going to go get some snacks,” he says as he stands. “Want anything?”
“I can’t; I’m too nervous.”
“Why are you nervous?” Quint asks.
I stare at him. “Because this is the quarterfinals. If they lose; they’re done.”
“They’re not going to lose,” Quint says in response.
“I know.”
“Then why are you nervous?”
I don’t even look at him this time. “Quint.”
“Yeah?”
“Go get your food.”
He laughs. “Yes, Ma’am. Reid?”
“I’m good.”
Then Quint disappears, leaving just Reid and me. I turn to him to ask my question. “Is Riley,” I pause. “You know, one of you guys.”
He doesn’t turn to look at me. “Yes.”
I chuckle to myself. “You must have had a good laugh when Evie and I volunteered to look after her. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to need any help on that front, especially from us.”
He looks at me with that serious look he’s always wearing. “She’ll need friends, though.”
“Well, we can do that for sure.”
He chuckles, and it surprises me. Then he stands to his feet and moves over a seat. I stare at him. “Do I smell?”
He shakes his head, still smiling. “No. Slate’s not happy we’re up here alone together.”
I shoot my head back to the field. Slater is currently doing warmup drills with his team. “How does he even know?”
“Trust me; he knows. I know any time any guy even gets close to Riley.”
His words surprise me. “Really? But you’re so calm and level-headed.”
He nods. “I am. But not with her. If anybody ever hurt her,” he pauses. “Let’s just say they wouldn’t be breathing for long.”
I stare at him and feel goosebumps break out on my skin. “Okay, that was...terrifying.” He shrugs, not even trying to defend himself. “But she doesn’t know any of this, right?”
He turns to look at me then. “No, and you can’t tell her.”
I lift my hands in surrender. “I won’t. I promise. But,” I pause. “Why haven’t you told her?”
“It’s not my place. She has a life to live. She’s still finishing high school and enjoying life. I don’t want to tie her to me and have her miss out on so many important things. I want her to enjoy everything. When the time comes, she’ll figure it out. When she does, I’ll be ready for her.”
I wave my hands by my eyes. “That was so beautiful; I think I might cry.”
He smirks and shakes his head. “No, you won’t.”
“No, I really might.” I sigh. “Are you going to love having her here next year?”
“Yes and no. I’ll be happy to finally have her close, but I don’t relish the idea of all these other males being around her.”
“Maybe the guys will leave her alone.”
He turns to me, eyebrows raised. “Have you ever seen Riley?”
“No.”
He opens his phone and pulls up a picture and hands it to me. I take in the gorgeous girl in the picture. Tall, long blond hair, perfect figure, athletic. She’s beaming at the phone, and Zane has his arm around her, kissing her cheek. I hand him back the phone. “Yep. You’re in trouble.”
“She’s also too tenderhearted for her own good and the kindest soul you’ll ever meet.”
I stare at him. “She’s like a modern-day Mother Theresa,” I whisper. Reid cocks his head to the side like he’s about to disagree and I add, “But young and pretty.”
He gives me a look, like I have a few screws loose. Which in all fairness, I probably do. “Sure.”