Page 124 of Next Level Up
“Yeah?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah, you handled everything, not just the match.”
I swallow. “I didn’t do it alone.”
“I know,” he says. “But you still had to do it.”
Tate shifts on the bed, the sound of the mattress creaking faintly through the open door. “Are you two done being soft, or am I getting up to interrupt it?”
“Stay where you are,” Carter calls back without looking away from me. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I am,” Tate answers. “That’s why I’m not moving.”
I let out a quiet laugh, the sound easier now. “Go lay down,” I tell Carter. “Both of you. I’ll be out in a minute.”
He hesitates, just briefly, then nods and pushes off the doorframe. “Alright. Don’t fall asleep.”
“No promises.”
He leaves the door cracked behind him, and I hear the bed shift as he settles in next to Tate, the two of them moving around each other.
“You good?” Carter asks him.
“Yeah,” Tate answers after a second. “You?”
“Yeah.”
Silence follows, and I sink a little deeper into the water, letting their voices fade into the background.
When I step out of the bathroom, the room is dim, the lights turned down low enough that it feels like a different space than when we walked in.
Carter is stretched out on one side of the bed with one arm tucked behind his head, the other resting across his stomach. Tate is beside him, half on his side, half on his back, like helaid down and didn’t bother deciding which position he actually wanted. They both have their eyes closed.
I pause for a second in the doorway, a towel wrapped around me, and just watch them.
“Done staring?” Tate asks without opening his eyes.
“Maybe,” I answer, stepping into the room.
Carter turns his head toward me, his gaze softening immediately. “You look better.”
“I feel better,” I admit.
“Good.”
I move toward the bed slowly, not rushing it, and sit on the edge between them. The mattress dips slightly under my weight, and both of them adjust without thinking, making space.
“You still riding it?” Tate asks, opening one eye to look at me.
“A little,” I say. “It hasn’t gone away yet.”
“It won’t for a while,” he says. “That’s normal.”
Carter reaches out, his hand settling lightly against my back. “We’ll leave for dinner soon,” he says. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, I know Cassie will understand baby.”
I shake my head. “No, I want to. I think I need something normal before everything hits again.”
“That’s fair.”
