Sullivan also gets to come in as setter for a little bit which is exciting for him. I’m pretty sure my throat is going to be sore tomorrow from how loudly I cheer for him.
After four sets, the Nanio Ninjas come out on top. We stand up, cheering on our team when the game comes to a close.
“Let’s wait for the crowd to die down and then head to the locker room,” Rin says, finishing the last of his beer. “Maki said we’re welcome to join them for dinner again tonight.”
“I hate to ask,” Aspen says, leaning down from his seat. “But can we follow you to the locker room? Kent said we were welcome to come say hi to him after the game but we’ve never been there before and don’t know which way to go.”
“Yeah, come on,” Rin says. He looks over at Rodney and they seem to have an unspoken moment together. They’re suchgossips, I’m sure they’re creaming themselves over this little piece of tea.
We make our way out of the stands and through the arena where we’ll be able to meet up with the team. As we go, we run into Shiloh, still in his uniform. I would like nothing more than to kiss him breathless and peel him out of his clothes, but that’ll have to wait. I amnotabout to share that part of him with anyone else.
“Hey, guys! I’m so glad you were able to come together,” Shiloh says, hugging Aspen. Aspen blushes.
“Kent gave us the tickets,” Aspen says with a grin. “Hey, are you busy now? Want to come have dinner with us?”
Shiloh looks over at me. “Is that okay?”
I startle, staring at him for a long moment before replying. “What the fuck? Don’t ask me for permission.”
“I just thought, since you’re here, you’d wanna hang out.”
“Of course I want to spend time with you, but your friend just asked you first. Don’t ditch him. And don’teverask me for permission like that again. You’re a grown man and I’m not your babysitter.”
Shiloh looks away but his shoulders seem to relax. He gives Aspen a little smile. “Well, you heard the man. Looks like you’re stuck with me tonight.”
“Hell yeah,” Aspen says as we make our way to the locker room.
I step next to Shiloh, softly adding, “I’m sorry if that came out too strong. You’re always so independent, Shiloh. Don’t change just because we’re together.”
“No, you were right. It’s a stupid habit I picked up from Stevey,” he says under his breath. Then he looks away. “Just forget about it. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. We’re probably all going to the same place. Wanna hang out after dinner?”
“Sure. You can come have a sleepover at my place if you want.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat, ignoring the way my heart races from that simple statement. “Yeah, okay.”
“Cool,” he says, giving me a small smile before he’s gone, running over to where Aspen and Winter are talking to Kent.
After meeting up with the team, we head to a bar where we can order food and drinks. Sully grabs my elbow, dragging me to the bar away from everyone else.
“Hey,” he says with a huge grin. “Nice jersey.”
“Thanks. It’s some asshole who serves kinda good.”
“Kinda good,” Sully says with a grumble that makes me snort in amusement. “You’re such an ass.”
“Never said I wasn’t.”
Sully turns to the bartender, ordering us each a beer. Maki is always very strict about his diet but the other people on his team tend to let themselves cheat on their diet, including a beer from time to time. I had a beer at the game so I’ll stick to nursing this one beer for the rest of the night so I’m fine to drive home later.
Sully turns back towards me, leaning against the bar. His cheeks are red and he bites on his bottom lip. I turn to see who he’s looking at, completely unsurprised when it’s Daniel.
“Spill.”
He lets out a deep sigh. “How are you and Shiloh?”
“Good,” I say. “We slept together. Now we’re dating.”
