Chapter Fifteen

Two movies later and Tyler was tired of sitting still. Having a quiet Sunday had sounded like a good idea yesterday, but after a peaceful morning topped off by hot sex, he had the urge to do something. Anything.

He turned off Tarzan, then grabbed the rest of the clothes off the coffee table. After stuffing them in the bathroom hamper, he collected the empty pizza boxes and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. And the counters and the table. Stopped as he considered the mop hanging on the rack in the pantry. This was getting ridiculous. He had to get out of here. Hell, going outside and running around the block a few times could be fun.

Or how about not? He grabbed his phone from the dock on the kitchen counter, tapping in his code and checking the last callers. None since yesterday before the game. Everyone was spending time with their families before the team headed out to New York tomorrow. Which was cool, but either Scott or Luke usually called at some point to hang out. Of course, that was before they’d gotten arrested. A week should be long enough for people to forget about that, though?

Or maybe not.

Probably not if even Luke’s still keeping his head down.

They could be waiting for him to let them know he was in the clear.

Am I?

Yeah…who knew? He could always call his manager and run it by him. If he said yes, Chicklet and Raif would be fine with it. He had the number up on his phone, but didn’t bother pressing send. The conversation wouldn’t be pleasant and the answer would probably be no.

That run around the block was a lot more appealing. He wandered down the hall, glancing at the closed door of the main bedroom, then headed to his room where Laura had asked if she could chill when she’d lost interest in the Disney movie marathon.

“You bored?” Laura asked, looking up from her book. Tyler stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants and shrugged. It was kinda cool that Chicklet and Raif were taking a nap together—there was something comforting about how well they meshed, and submitting to them both was…incredible. But the idea of pissing them both off scared him more than a little. If he brought up wanting to go hang out with Luke and Scott…

“I was thinking of going to the gym.” Both Doms would approve of that. Working out was all productive and shit, and they’d want him to keep himself occupied, right?

Laura put down her book and sat up, patting the space on the bed beside her. “You miss your friends, don’t you?”

Tyler plunked down and shrugged again. Laura was all about following the rules. She’d probably tell him he’d get to see them again soon if he was a good boy. The idea made him even more bored. This whole behaving thing was gonna drive him insane. He stared down at his hands, smiling a little as Laura slipped her soft little hand over his.

She’d been there for him a lot lately, been one of the few people he could talk to. He might as well be honest with her.

“I get why I shouldn’t hang out with them. We get in any more trouble, and one of us will probably be shipped out to another team this summer. I don’t feel like dealing with a lecture though.”

“You need Chicklet’s permission to go see your friends?”

He frowned. True, Chicklet got annoyed when he acted like she needed to approve everything he did. And Raif treated him like a grown-up too. Wasn’t about that though. He didn’t want to ruin an awesome day by disappointing them. And they would be disappointed if they found out he wanted to go against the people who managed his career.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Then just go!” Laura bumped his shoulder with hers and laughed. “Tell them you’re going to the gym if you’re worried about how they’ll react.”

Lie to Chicklet? All right, he wasn’t that stupid. “Hell no. I choose life. She’d kill me if she found out.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Meet the boys at the gym—that way it’s not really a lie.”

Also true. He held the tip of his tongue between his teeth, thinking it over. He couldn’t stay at the gym with Luke and Scott, they’d all get in shit, but he could do a quick workout and then they could find somewhere to hang out where the press and their fans wouldn’t be all over them. Luke would figure out something interesting to do. He always did.

“You’re right…hey, could you tell them when they get up? I am going to the gym, so it’s not like you’re lying for me. I just won’t tell you where else I’ll be, so you can honestly say you don’t know when I get back late.”

“Not too late. You don’t want them to worry.”

“I’ll be back by midnight.” He grinned and pulled her into his arms to give her a tight hug. Was good not to have her mad at him. He’d missed having moments like this with her. He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Laura.”

She went still, letting out a soft laugh. Sounded maybe a little nervous. She was probably hoping Chicklet wouldn’t figure out she knew more than she was gonna tell her and Raif. But she smiled sweetly as she looked up at him. “I love you too, Tyler. Now get going before they wake up. You’re a horrible liar.”

He rolled his eyes, but his heart beat fast as he got dressed and slipped out of the bedroom. There was no way around it—he knew he was being sneaky. But what the hell, Chicklet would probably be amused if she found out, even though she’d pretend to be angry. And no matter how much he’d hate being punished by her and Raif, part of him looked forward to it.

If this wouldn’t be the first time he earned discipline from them for doing something stupid, there’d be another first. And many more times after that. They couldn’t have fun reining him in if he didn’t run a little wild.

If they wanted someone tame, they wouldn’t both have chosen him.

* * * *

Raif had slipped back into Chicklet’s bedroom, quietly shutting the door, just before Tyler came out into the hall. He’d heard the exchange between Laura and Tyler and all his protective instincts were on high alert. With good reason. One thing no Dom tolerated from their sub was lying, but Tyler had been in exactly the right place for Laura to convince him a little white lie wouldn’t be horrible.

She’s quite convincing when she put her mind to it. Raif wished he hadn’t left them alone. Hadn’t given Laura the opportunity to play her games with Tyler.

If Chicklet didn’t already know what was going on, she’d be very upset that Tyler felt he couldn’t be honest with her. She probably still would be—more so if Tyler got himself arrested again, or suspended, or got into God knew what kind of trouble with his friends. He was restless and both Luke and Scott were likely feeling the same. What they considered “fun” could mean anything.

He held a finger up to Chicklet as she shot him a questioning look from the bed. Then he pulled out his phone. “Zach, I know I shouldn’t be calling, but…I need you to do me a favor.”