I nod again. “Okay, and are we picking one of those up on the way home?”
His scowl is adorable, so I reach out and pinch his cheek. “You gonna take care of me, Snuggle Muffin?”
His scowl deepens.
“Gonna give me a sponge bath, Snickerdoodle?”
Scott groans.
“Spoon feed me chicken soup, Love Nugget?”
“Can someone pass me a bucket, I’m gonna throw up.” Scott sounds like he’s in physical pain.
“Don’t be jelly, Scottie. You can give me a sponge bath too if you want.” I wink at him, grinning at the rumble that sentence pulls from Artemis’s chest. “Like hell he fucking will.”
When I stepped out on the ice last night, I didn’t imagine waking up in a hospital in Cedar Rapids with a growling iceprince protecting my bed like a guard dog. But now it’s happened, and I’m stuck here for a few days, I think I kinda like it.
CHAPTER 45
Artemis
The last two days have passed by in a blur of snuggles and checking Xavier’s cognitive function to make sure he’s not going to die on everyone.
There’s been this low, electric buzz under my skin, like the universe is holding its breath, waiting to come along and ruin something.
Valentina has called every few hours to check up on him, the group chat has been rife with messages, and Xavier is every bit as fucking chaotic to live with as I had anticipated. And then some.
His clothes have somehow managed to infiltrate every inch of my space, the bathroom looks like he detonated a product bomb in there, and if it wasn’t for me bringing him all his meals, he’d have used every dish in the fucking building.
And I hate how much I like it, how easily he fills my space that was never meant to be shared, how natural this all feels.
Despite the unexpected distraction of having him here in my apartment, I’ve somehow managed to stay on top of everything. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
Even my hockey team took word of my new relationshipbetter than expected. Not that I’ve actually said the word relationship out loud. They just… assumed. And I didn’t correct them. Which might be the biggest tell of all.
Mikko: So happy for you, Cap. *kissing emoji*
Eli: Does this mean we have to cheer for the Wolves?
Ricco: I better get an invite to the wedding.
Levi: As long as you remember you’re a Raccoon… then I guess I’m okay with it.
Eli: I don’t think I can cheer for the Wolves, Cap.
Hudson: Called it. Mikko you owe me twenty bucks.
Eli: Please don’t make me cheer for the Wolves.
Ares: I think you broke Eli, Hermano.
Coach has given me a two-game benching, which I deserve for walking out on my team. He even admitted it was more to set an example for the younger kids so they don’t think they can just abandon the game willy nilly.
Willy nilly… like watching the man I-I—care for going down on the ice was akin to dipping out of the rink to pick up a milkshake and a burger instead of playing the game. Ugh. It grates on me, but it could be worse I suppose.
Self-control used to be my entire brand. Now look at me—derailed by one boy with a stupidly perfect smile and a wolf on his shirt.
January isn’t going any better for me in school than December did. It feels like everything’s so fucking fragile, grains of sand slipping through clenched fingertips.
