Page 137 of Playing to Win
Ugh, I hate this.
By the time the team is out of the locker room and ready to head out, we’re already gone. Waiting for them back at our apartment because who wants to go to Logan’s to celebrate? We lost.
This is new territory for Ace and I’m nervous. He’s been on such a winning streak and I don’t know how he’s going to feel. Will he be sad? Mad? Frustrated? All of the above.
Probably.
We order a couple of pizzas because we both agree the guys should eat their feelings and by the time they show up, Natalie and I are both anxious, worried over their reactions.
But they enter the apartment like they both live here, laughing and talking.
“I’m starving,” Derek announces, his gaze zeroing in on Natalie who stands helplessly in the kitchen. He goes to her and hauls her into his arms, giving her a long, vaguely inappropriate kiss that I have to turn away from so I don’t just blatantly gawk at them.
The moment I turn, Ace is right there, his arms held out like he wants me to walk into them so I do. He holds me close and I cling to him, breathing in his delicious clean smell, trying to communicate with him without words that I’ve got him. It’s okay to lose a game. He’s still amazing.
“Those fuckers were sneaky,” he murmurs into my hair.
I pull away from him slightly so I can look into his eyes. “I hate that they won.”
He shrugs those impossibly broad shoulders of his. “You win some, you lose some.”
Hmm. He’s being so cavalier about it, which isn’t at all what I expected. “I thought you would be upset.”
“I’m pissed that we lost, can’t lie about that, but what can I do? We still played a great game. In the end, they got the better of us,” he explains.
I touch his cheek, his stubble prickling my palm. “I’m proud of you.”
“Oh yeah?” His brows shoot up.
“Yes.” I drop my hand from his face. “Your reaction is very…mature.”
“I learned from the best.” He ducks down and kisses me and it turns passionate in an instant. I circle my hand around the back of his neck, keeping him in place as I part my lips for his seeking tongue—
The doorbell rings and we jerk away from each other, me smiling helplessly. “We ordered pizza.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” Derek groans, tearing away from Natalie and stalking toward the front door. “I’ll pay for it. That way you guys can’t be pissed if I eat most of it.”
Natalie and I share a secret look. We ordered three pizzas just in case because we’re not dumb.
Ace and I end up locked away in my room after we devour our late dinner, the two of us automatically shedding our clothes before we dive beneath the covers. Drawn close together so we can warm each other up.
And do…other things.
Eventually.
“It was fun, watching you play like a normal spectator,” I tell him.
“I like the photo you sent me, decked out in your Townsend gear,” he says, nuzzling my cheek.
I’m currently wrapped up in his arms and he’s behind me, our bare legs tangling, his erection poking at my butt. “I wish we could’ve met out on the field after the game and taken photos together.”
“No way were we hanging out on that field for long,” he mutters. “We had nothing to celebrate.”
I squeeze his arms that are wrapped around my middle and wiggle my butt, bumping against his cock. “You still played amazing.”
He’s quiet for a moment and I savor the stillness in my room. The way his big body is curved around mine, protecting me. Savoring me.
“I appreciate you saying that,” he finally says, his voice soft, and when he lifts up, I turn my head, pressing my cheek against his chest.
