“I never smell like shit.”
“You always smell like shit.”
He sucks in a breath, pretending to be offended, but we both know the truth. Damian is one of those guys who takes pride in himself. He’s manscaped, his hair is perfectly placed, and he always smells like a wet dream with a splash of cologne. If I wasn’t so crazy about Slade, I’d be trying to get into his pants.
We make our way downstairs and I start rifling through his kitchen as Damian places the eaten lasagna down on the counter. “What are you doing?” he grumbles, sitting his ass at the dining table and watching me through narrowed eyes.
“You just ate your family’s dinner because my boyfriend beat the shit out of you. I nee-”
“Woah,” he cuts me off, holding up a hand. “Slade did not beat the shit out of me. I beat the shit out of him.”
“Right,” I grin. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Fuck you,” he says. “You and Slade are a match made in hell.”
“Why thank you,” I tell him with a beaming smile, loving the compliment. “Now get over here. I’m not going to let your family starve tonight because you had to spend the afternoon sulking over your insecurities.”
Damian gets up and makes his way into the kitchen, grumbling under his breath. “I resent that,” he says. “I don’t have insecurities. I’m the most confident mother fucker around.”
“Except for when it comes to Nessa.”
“You’ll see, as soon as I get that shit sorted, I can go back to my usual self and then you and Slade better watch the fuck out because I won’t be putting up with your bullshit much longer.”
“Uh-huh,” I laugh, pulling out some new dishes, pots, and pans while Damian searches through the fridge.
He starts pulling out all sorts of shit that I’d never cook together as though he knows exactly what he’s doing. “So,” he questions, sounding a lot more like the normal Damian that we all know and love. “How the fuck did you slip your leash? I figured Slade would have been glued to your ass for the foreseeable future.”
I let out a groan and grab a chopping board and a knife. I have a feeling the rest of my afternoon is going straight to hell.
Chapter 18
I hate being mad at him and sitting at the sidelines watching him dominate the court. It makes it really hard to stay angry..
It’s only been a day of making him pay for his crimes but it’s been a day too long. I think he gets it though, actually, I’m pretty damn sure he got it when I walked away from him on the court and told him not to follow me.
I received a few messages from him through the afternoon and by the time I made it home, he’d left me alone. That is until night fell and he insisted on staying the night at my place. His excuse was that his dad was home to protect his family and that he wanted to be here to protect mine, seeing as though Blake couldn’t and Ben wasn’t around.
Shay fell for his bullshit and luckily for me, she made him sleep on the couch, but unluckily, he has zero respect for boundaries and snuck his stupid ass into my bed as soon as Shay fell asleep. To be honest, I didn’t really mind. Who am I kidding? I didn’t mind at all. I love having his strong arms wrapped protectively around me despite thinking he’s a dickhead.
Tonight’s game has been another good one. We’re nearly halfway through but it’s already clear that my boys will come out of this undefeated. I’m not going to lie though, not having Blake jumping around and showing the world that he’s a fucking star is kind of depressing. I miss him.
I only saw Blake this afternoon and I don’t doubt that one of his teammates on the sidelines currently has him on facetime watching the game, but he should be here. Being here without him just feels so… wrong.
I watch Slade as he runs up and down the court with Damian. They made up the second I left Damian’s place yesterday afternoon and I freaking hate it. Don’t get me wrong, I love that they’re able to put their bullshit aside so easily, what I hate is that I don’t have the ability to do it myself. I’m a grudge holder and I freaking love that about myself, but there are times like this where I’d rather be on my feet screaming and cheering Slade on and I can’t because I’m too busy being a stubborn asshole.
I hate seeing the boys fighting, I hate that they hurt each other, and I hate it more that Slade used Damian’s uncertainty for Nessa to do it. God, boys can be such assholes but for some reason, I need them in my life more than I need to breathe.