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“I hate you right now, but yeah, I’m fine.” He grinned. I understood exactly how he felt and knew I would be the same. There wasn’t a part of me that doubted he was happy for me, but I also knew he’d rather have been the one walking out of this stadium the winner.
“You gonna introduce me to your parents so I can tell them how much I love their son?”
His cheeks pinkened, and damn, I would never get tired of getting that reaction from him.“Yeah. I’ll meet you after everything calms down.”
I nodded and waited until he turned and headed for their locker room before I did the same. We had press conferences up the ass, and all I wanted to do was finish up and be with my man. I heard some of their questions to Patrick, the media again bringing up the inquiry and what effect it had on his game tonight.
He’d played a perfect game and did everything right. Anyone who watched knew that Patrick and the whole team had played their fucking hearts out—but there was always a winner and a loser, and tonight, we got the W.
“We going out tonight to celebrate?” G asked after we were all showered and dressed.
“I can’t. My family flew out, and Patrick’s are here, too. I’m not sure what the plan is, but I’m hoping to spend most of the night in his bed. I’ll be there to get on the plane in the morning, but don’t be surprised if I’m not at the hotel tonight.”
They all laughed as I flung my duffle bag over my shoulder and headed out. I’d gotten my family passes and wasn’t surprised when they were in the hallway waiting when I left the locker room. What I was surprised to see was Patrick, his parents, and Candice standing there with him.
“Hey…” I said, gaze darting between everyone in the group.
“I’m so proud of you!” Mom pulled me into a hug. I kissed her cheek, then looked at Patrick over her shoulder, my gaze asking,You good?
He gave me a small nod.
“Congrats, buttface.” Zuri hugged me next, and I couldn’t help but wonder what Patrick’s family thought of mine. We were so damn different, but I loved my people for who they were and would never ask them to change.
“Thanks, brat,” I replied.
“Congrats, Tuck,” Kayla added, followed by Savanna giving her congrats, before Mom spoke again.
“Patrick introduced us to his family. We were just chatting while waiting for you.” Mom smiled.
“Hi. I’m Malik. It’s good to meet you officially.” I held my hand out for his dad.
“Charles,” he replied. “Nice to meet you, too. Didn’t you go to camp with Patrick when he was a kid?”
Wow. I was surprised he remembered. Maybe that was a good sign. He was clearly trying, and that was what mattered. “Yes, sir.”
Patrick finally spoke next, “This is Candice and my mom, Caroline.” He introducedme to both of them. Candice hugged me, but his mom shook my hand.
“I’m proud of him. He played a great game out there. Even when I was younger, he inspired me more than he knows.”
Patrick huffed. “Inspired you to hate me.”
“Nah. I just thought so. He’s the most dedicated player I know.”
Patrick took my hand as his parents looked at him, maybe trying harder to really see him than they had before. There was no doubting what I was saying, and I could tell they heard my message.
“We’re proud of him, too,” his mom replied. “He really is talented, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. He is.” I squeezed his hand just as Patrick’s dad asked if we all wanted to go out to dinner. I really wanted to take his son home and bury my dick in his ass, but of course, I wasn’t going to say that.
We agreed, and they took us out to a fancy place. At moments, the conversation was awkward, but we all found our footing, and again, I could tell his parents were trying to get closer to him, to understand him.
After dinner, they headed back to their hotel, and my family went to theirs. I palmed Patrick’s bulge while he drove, needing to touch him. “God, it’s been killing me to keep my hands off of you all night.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t. You had your arm around me nearly the whole time.”
“Does that bother you?” I questioned.
“No. I like feeling claimed by you, Malik. You know that.”
