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Hawke takes my hand, lifts it up to examine the end of my thumb, and then bends down to press a kiss on the tip "That wasn't a little curse that popped out You screa ready to slice you to bits"

"And you burst in to save me," I say as I step in closer to him

"Always," heain Except this tiue flicks out and licks the end, while his other hand coe ofI could do to you to take your mind off this little thumb injury"

I release the cookie and jerk backward froaze quickly, but not before I see his eyebrows knit together in confusion Grabbing my tray, I kick the chair back in toward the table androom I'll catch you later"

"Later," he says softly, but I don't look back at him

Chapter 7

Hawke

I place the last stack of plates onto the shelf and shut the cabinet The kitchen is now officially unpacked I look around wearily at the e tape scattered all over It all needs to be cleaned up and I still have et done today because I e football It's opening gaet nor fully appreciate the sport, it's what guys do when they hang out together

It's okay if I don't get ht for the tea caame on Monday, so I'll just make sure my bedroom door stays shut so no one can see the mess inside And personally, I'm quite content to live out of my boxes for a while I mean, truly, what does it matter if I pull my underwear from a box or a drawer?

We had our last scri and I expect the coaches are hard at work right nowthe release notifications Those poor dudes that just didn't cut it will get sent back down to the minors I feel for them more than they'll ever know because I've been there Felt what they're feeling today when soh to play with the big boys

I obviously iven, and Coach has had ht alongside Alex and Garrett on Monday e travel to Chicago for the preseason gaCup chareats like Cross heaven

I start to pick up the newspaper that had been cushioning my kitchenware for the move I downsized tre and learning I bought ue, a monstrosity of six thousand square feet I learned that's a lot of fucking house to keep clean It was also a lot of fucking house to pay for when I basically lived in no

more than nine hundred square feet of it

So I bought a h half the size of et rid of a lot of furniture as well I just donated it to a veterans' charity because it was easier than trying to sell it Still, there's plenty of room for a party tomorrow since it's just my teammates and their better halves, and I have a kick-ass back deck that spans the entire length of the house I'll set tubs of beer out there, and with the ate out there rather than inside

It doesn't taketo clean up the rest of the kitchen I break the boxes down, shove thee, and glance at et a quick shower before heading over to Dave's

I wonder if Vale will be there Considering what I know, I'ht End of a eek, and when everyone should be relaxing, I' And da of her and Dave struggling I hated eventhe look of disdain on her face when I offered to help I hated it because it truly showed me that despite the olive branch--despite the truce--there are still hard feelings

No clue why she's the one that has theht now, I figure she's just being defensive And besides, I plan to hit Dave up tonight with the same offer I expect he'll decline, but he won't be nasty about it

When I hit h some boxes and pull out clean underwear, a pair of faded jeans, and an old vintage Mountain Dew T-shirt with a few holes in it Not dressing to iht as well be corab ive it a quick check I see a text e from Michelle and a quick smile comes to my face

How's life in Carolina?

I toss my clothes on the bed, sit down beside thereat here Where are you?

She i as there's cell service or Wi-Fi, the woh Flew in yesterday