Chapter 26 #2
His gaze swept the room, landing on me. He flashed a grin, prowled over to me, and slapped me on the shoulder with the hand that missed some fingertips. “All good with your errands, T? Missed you!”
“I could see that.” I pulled him into a hug anyway.
“Need cuddles, big boy?”
“Not from you.” I laughed, releasing him.
He made himself a hot dog, stealing an undercooked sausage from the grill and squeezing half a bottle of mayonnaise on the bread, his hand, and the floor.
“Oh, Kill! Almost forgot—this lady needs a friend.” I passed him the paper with Paula’s number. He gazed at it, then at me, his brows knitting. It was probably the tenth time I’d done it lately—dodging girls and shoving numbers at my friends.
“Why not? Not that I’m against your sloppy seconds. Or thirds. Fourths, however? Nope.”
Regardless, a second later, the piece of paper, smeared with mayonnaise, disappeared into his front pants pocket.
I fingered the label of my beer bottle. “This isn’t seconds or thirds.”
“Why don’t you use it? Is she thugly?” His eyes narrowed, and I shrugged, taking a bite from my burger. Killian didn’t like thin girls, so he’d coined a new term: thugly—thin and ugly.
I raised a brow. “Were any of those I passed you thugly?”
“No, they were as hot as Greg’s mom.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Greg growled, punching him in the shoulder.
The hot dog was sent airborne, flying out the window and landing on the main street downstairs.
Killian’s shit-eating grin vanished, and Greg cracked his neck once before they collided like the animals they were.
A dozen beer bottles smashed to the ground, the fridge door bent in, and a pizza ended up on the ceiling.
Laughter rumbled as the lads hooted at them. I sank onto the couch, opposite Callum, spreading my arms over the back.
I felt it then. A punch in my chest, so fucking strong that I doubled over. What the fuck?
For a second, I blacked out.
It was like lightning. It came and went so fast I wasn’t even sure it had happened. Still, I felt the beast shifting, growling, begging to come out.
Only then did I notice the fat hand waving in front of me. “You there?”
“Hmm?”
Killian tossed a controller into my lap. “You get so many numbers you can’t use them all, Thor?”
I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Nah, she wasn’t my type.”
None of them were. At least, not anymore.
Three pounds of wings and four burgers later, I strutted to my room. I didn’t feel like hitting the bar with the guys, but I still had a shitload of steam I needed to blow off.
Hooking a thumb under the waistband of my pants to pull them off, I changed into my green shorts with Terminator stamped on the side. A run around the arena and a visit to the weight room should be enough.
I grabbed my earbuds and placed an armband around my bicep. Then I snatched up my phone from where it had been lying abandoned on my bedside table, a half-empty box of mini waffles hanging from my lips. Messages flooded in.
Sister Friend 8
Hi Thor, any plans for tonight? Thanks for buying tea for Bellatrix, she feels much better! We’re still here if you want to hang out :)
Nancy Wereball
Good luck with the game on Sunday! I’m having a party afterward, if you and the gang want to join!
I twisted one mini waffle apart, licking at the apricot jam inside.
Short Hair from Pool
Fancy another match this week, Thor?
Stephanie GF Pack
Logan, baby, missed you. Want to come over?
Sister Friend 8
Or I can come to yours! Let me know! We got cold beers
Unknown Number
Hi :*
Six messages, all within six damn minutes.
I deleted them all with slight annoyance and threw another mini waffle into my mouth.
I scrolled through the other messages, crumbs on my phone screen. My sister, my father, and I always used our mind-link to communicate…until the old man felt the need to remind me of something in writing. Only then did he use his decrepit phone.
Big Feet
Your grandmother cried because she claims you never visit
I rolled my eyes before a smirk curled my lips. Gran knew how to wrap Dad around her cunning finger. I stopped falling for it after the time she had whined over the phone and made me feel so guilty for not visiting her at the hospital where she volunteered after I had promised her.
In my defense, I was away with the team.
So, I planned a surprise visit the very next day.
And what did I find? Gran fucking wasted with that friend of hers who always used to squeeze my cheeks when I was little and now always slapped my ass.
I chuckled at the memory of the two ladies singing ‘Take A Chance On Me’ by Abba with the karaoke machine I got her for her seventy-second birthday, drinking cognac like sailors who never saw land on purpose.
Trix
Thanks for the tea, you’re the best brother. Love you. Stay out of trouble for at least a night. Just one! See you tomorrow for our lunch xxx
Then, another from the old wolf.
Big Feet
Tomorrow I’ll come see your training with Leo. You’d better not be drinking from tomorrow on, Thor. We are at war, and I cannot tolerate losing to Alpha Clown
I rested my forearms on my parted knees, flicking the messages closed and ignoring the flood of notifications. My gaze darted to the door before I swiped a finger across the phone screen to look at the background picture.
I stared, unblinking, while a slow, stupid smile tugged at my lips.
It was her selfie. The one she’d sent me, with the pen trapped between her upper lip and cute nose.
“So fucking gorgeous.”