“Mostly. I can walk a lot easier now and my ribs don’t completely hate me.”
“Well, at least that’s some good news. How much longer until you’re back to normal?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I have my appointment with the doctor tomorrow so hopefully I’ll know a bit more then, but I’m feeling really good. Maybe a few weeks and I won’t even feel it anymore. But I’m going to ask him if I can come back to school-”
“Oh, shit,” Nessa says as the side doors open wide and the Aston Creek Mambas come tearing out with the approval of the crowd. “Are you ready for this?”
My eyes lock on Slade as he comes bounding out, looking like a mother fucking boss. Girls squeal and have to start fanning themselves as others scream his name, desperate to have his eyes on them if only for a second and just like that I know I made the right decision. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.
I lean into Nessa. “Hell yeah, I’m ready.”
Slade gets to center court and turns on his heel to face the basket. He shoots and the ball sails straight through the hoop, making the cheer team go absolutely nuts.
There’s nothing I love more than the atmosphere of these games. The way the crowd cheers for my boys is one thing, but feeling their support and the love of the crowd wanting nothing more than to see them succeed means the world to me. Don’t get me wrong, watching Slade jump around in the loose shorts is also pretty fucking great.
Slade keeps his eyes on his ball watching as it falls to the ground and when Damian scoops it up and runs off, Slade breaks off in a jog. His eyes are down and he looks as though he’d rather be somewhere else. His mind isn’t here and something tells me I know exactly where it is.
He jogs past me and as if feeling my gaze on his body, his eyes lift and lock onto mine. Everything settles within me. It’s like a wild ride whenever he’s not around, but when he is, and those dark depths are on mine, the ride just seems to get better.
Slade comes to a screeching halt and stares at me for a minute, trying to mentally do the math on how the hell I would have gotten here. Understanding dawns and the confusion turns to rage as his glare slices across the court to his best friend who I’ve noticed has been a safe distance away from Slade since breaking onto the court.
Deciding to deal with Damian later, Slade strides toward me and I swallow back excitement. I love that look in his eyes. The one that promises that I’ve been a bad, bad girl who needs to be punished.
Slade steps up in front of me and usually, he’d pull me up to meet him but he drops down, coming to me. He places his hands on my knees and leans in nice and close, making sure I don’t miss a second of that lethal stare. “You want to explain why the fuck you’re sitting by my court?”
“Because I couldn’t possibly miss the chance to watch my man dominate it.” I lean closer, letting my lips briefly swipe across his. “You know how hot it gets me watching you in action.”
He groans low in his throat as his fingers bite into my knees. “You’re fucking lucky the game is about to start and I can’t get you home in time. Don’t move a fucking muscle. If I see you jumping around like a fuckin idiot and making your leg worse, I’m going to bend you over my knee and spank that delicious ass in front of the whole fucking school, you got it?”
I bite down on my lip. “Either way, you promise to do that when you take me home tonight?”
He grins and just like that all is forgiven. “You bet your sweet ass, I will.”
Slade’s hand curls around the back of my neck and he holds my lips to his, kissing me deep and swiftly before pulling away. “I hate seeing you here, but I’m not going to lie, knowing your eyes are on me is pretty fucking thrilling.”
I smile up at him. God, I fucking love this man. Nessa scoffs in disgust. “Just go and warm up before I barf all over you.”
Slade’s eyes go wide and as if realizing what she just said, Nessa slaps a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean that literally. It’s just a saying.”
“Never know with you,” he says with a teasing chuckle. “So, what’s going on with you and Damian? Is this whole hurling on each other your fucked-up foreplay? I know you’ve both got your kinks, but that shit’s just taking it too far.”