Page 83 of Shift Change

I leaned my forehead against his. “Maybe not. But in a way, it kind of is, right? If they didn’t care about us, they wouldn’t be here. Yes, they’re being jerks, but they’reourjerks, and they’re not judging us. Why not admit it?”

“Tell them?” His voice was barely more than a breath against my lips.

I nodded. “We’ll take the lead, reset the script. They’ll chirp us, but it’ll be our story, not theirs. And come on, it isn’t like they don’t already know.”

He licked his lips, and a slow smile spread across his face. “You’re brilliant, Chuck. I’m not ashamed either. If you’re willing to go out there and look those bastards in the eye with me, let’s give them something real to talk about.”

“I’m in. Ready?”

“Almost.” He traced a fingertip along my cheek, then across my lips. “First, I need a kiss.”

He cupped the back of my head and teased his tongue along the corners of my mouth. When I swept my hands down his back, he kissed me. We were chest to chest, all warm lips and colliding tongues as we shared the kind of kiss that left no doubt who we belonged to.

A tingle raced up my spine and bloomed through my chest until I couldn’t help smiling. This was my Nate, and even if we didn’t know what the fuck we were doing, we knew we were in love.

We didn’t rush it. The boys had interrupted us, so now they could wait. We took our time, kissing until we’d filled the tank with enough fire to face whatever was waiting out there. When we finally broke apart, we laced our fingers together and headed for the living room. They were sprawled across the furniture, talking about our upcoming roadie, but the moment they saw us, they straightened like a platoon of Marines.

“It’s about time,” Riley said. “We didn’t want to think too hard about what you were doing in there.”

“They wouldn’t do that in the kitchen,” Logan said.

“Oh yes, they would.” Harpy looked for all the world like a demon-possessed angel. “Wouldn’t you, guys?”

“Can it, you fuckers.” Nate had put a no-nonsense edge in his voice. “Dog and I have something to tell you.”

Gabe, who was lying with his head in Brody’s lap, sat up. “Don’t let us stop you, then. We’re all ears.”

“Dog and I are…” Nate glanced at me, then grinned at the guys. “Chuckand I are a couple. We’re in love.”

“We are,” I added. “We don’t understand how it happened, but there’s no denying how we feel, so we’re rolling with it.”

Nate’s grin took over his face. “And we can use your support, so stop being assholes and come give us a hug.”

In a move that had to have been rehearsed, they all made a big show of yawning. A few threw in shrugs for good measure.

Harpy beamed at us. “On behalf of everyone, I have two things to say. One, tell us something we didn’t figure out before Christmas. And two…” He looked around, motioning with his hand, and everyone joined in. “Congratulations!”

Whooping like they’d personally orchestrated our relationship, the guys swarmed us. After a barrage of friendly words, so many slaps on the back I was sore, and enough good-natured ribbing to last a lifetime, they gave us some breathing room. Nate and I dropped onto a loveseat and immediately became part of the conversation—shooting the shit, laughing, and settling into the kind of easy camaraderie that always made a team feel like home.

“Which way did it happen?” Packy asked. “Did the wide-eyed rookie win Holky’s heart, or did the veteran player work his magic on the new guy?”

“Maybe a little of both,” I said, as deadpan as possible. “You know, we were macking on each other that first day. Spilling coffee is our secret love language.”

“That’s right,” Nate said. “Getting the shit burned out of me with a scalding beverage turns me on like nothing else.”

I nodded. “And spilling on Nate really does it for me.”

The guys’ raucous laughter made me jump.

Shit. What did I say?

Logan waved a hand in the air. “TMI, boys. Don’t need to hear about youspillingon each other.”

“I don’t know,” Riley sing-songed. “It’s kind of hot.”

Logan smirked at him. “You’re into that, huh? Getting spilled on, or spilling?”

“Maybe both. I’ll have to try it.”

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