Hard Hit (IceCats 3)

Evan nods with a grin as Owen just laughs. “It’s funny how everyone hates him here, but he’s family to us. He’s a good guy, and our sister loves him.”

“I don’t doubt it, but you can’t like him here.”

They all laugh at my irrational request as I lean back in the chair. “The pizza will be here soon.”

I catch Dart glancing back at CC’s room, and I kick his shin. “No way, man. She’s off-limits.”

He gives me a dark look. “What the hell? First, Jaylin is off-limits, and now her? Who can I have?”

“Anyone not connected to me.”

He is put off by that, but I don’t care. “Speaking of Jaylin, how is that gorgeous dark-skinned goddess?”

I shake my head at him. “She’s good. She’s actually in Nashville to take her friend’s sister to college.”

Owen nods. “With Nico, right?”

“Yeah,” I say as Dart kicks his feet like a two-year-old.

“Cool, so is it official yet?”

“Official?”

“Yeah, you two a thing?”

Shit. Are we? I shrug. “I mean, I think we are.”

“Does she?” Owen asks, giving me a look. “’Cause, in my opinion, she doesn’t need any man. She could be using you for the D.”

“The D?”

“Dick,” Evan supplies, and I snort.

“Highly doubt it. She likes me,” I say, though not confidently. I find it hard to believe she’d want me. Someone that strong, powerful, and self-sufficient wanting me…yeah, it’s hard to believe. But then, I can still taste her on my lips. God, I miss her. I have to remind myself she told her mom about us. That she’s serious about us. That has to mean something.

“Cool. So, answer me this. You’ve hit it, right?”

I glare at Dart since I’m not the least bit surprised by his question. “That’s none of your business.”

He gives me a dull look as Owen says, “We’re homies. We can share.”

“We won’t, though,” I correct them, and Dart isn’t convinced.

“Come on. Just tell me, does she taste expensive?” Surely, he didn’t just ask me that. “Hear me out. I look at her, and all I see is money and all this, like, sexy naughtiness. So just confirm that she tastes expensive.”

She does. “No way,” I say as my phone dings with a notification. I’m excited that it could be Jaylin, but then I see it’s the pizza app, telling me the pizzas are ready. Shit, I picked carryout instead of delivery. I glance over to Dart and Owen. Evan is playing on his phone. “Who drove?”

“Me,” Dart says, still looking very much butthurt.

“Can you run and get the pizzas? I picked carryout.”

“Sure,” he says with a shrug. “Wanna ride, Owen?”

“Yeah. Regular place, Kirb?” he asks as he gets up and they start for the door.

“Yup,” I say, and I don’t miss Dart looking into CC’s room. He’s relentless.

When they’re out the door, I glance over at Evan, and he looks more annoyed than he did before. “Feeling left out?”

He shrugs his shoulders and I can tell he’s about to lie to me, but then he admits, “Yeah. They’ve become buddies, and I get it. Dart is more like Owen than I am. Just thought sharing a womb with Owen would give me the edge.”

I snort. “One would think, but Owen is a very free spirit.”

I actually get a grin out of him at that. “My mom says the same thing.” Pure homesickness creeps across his face. I looked just like he does now when I was living with my coach after my mom left me for her new family. I missed her, wanted her in my life, and the sheer rejection of her not wanting me was brutal. It’s way different for Evan; he is loved, hard. I know. I see the care packages his mom sends, and he calls her in the locker room. He’s a mama’s boy to the extreme.

I eye him. “You doing okay, man?”

He sighs heavily, putting his phone down. “Between you and me?”

“Absolutely. Everyone needs that teammate they can talk to about anything. I may be older, but I got you, bro.”

Evan nods, but he still looks unsure.

“I can help,” I say in a low voice, ready to tell him how I was homesick and how I got through it. “Believe me. I’ve been through it all.”

He meets my gaze once more. “I don’t know. I feel a little lost.”

Oh. Okay. Switching gears. I’ve felt that more times than I’d like to admit, but I don’t want to make this about me. “Okay. Why?”

He searches for the words he wants, but he comes up empty, meeting my gaze. His struggle is visible on his face. After a few moments, he looks down and says, “I can’t explain it and I don’t want to sound like a baby, but I miss my family. I feel like we’re a burden at my cousin’s house with the babies and all, and I don’t know… I just don’t feel secure. I don’t feel like everything is running smoothly.”