Page 101 of Stumped

“Is that what you’re doing for the Renegades?”

Elias grins. “She’s making me look good, Dad. That’s all you need to know.”

“I’mtryingto do that. He’s making my job difficult,” I tease.

His family cracks up and Elias winks at me, before turning back to his food. His father asks me a few more questions and it feels good to talk about what I do. Almost everyone I talk to already knows about my job, so this is a nice change. I don’t even realise we’re so focused on our conversation everyone else has finished eating and the table’s cleared until dessert is set out.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, standing up awkwardly.

Rachel smiles. “You’re not to lift a finger. You’re new to the familyandElias says you work too hard, so consider this a proper break.”

New to the familyhits me in the feels and when I look over at Elias, he’s smiling proudly. I roll my eyes and hold up my dirty hand. He nods for me to follow him and I excuse myself from the table. When I reach him, he slides his arm around my waist and guides me down the hall and into a powder room.

“What are you doing?” I ask as I wash my hands when he closes the door behind him, locking us inside.

“Stealing my girl away from my family.”

“Not into sharing, superstar?”

He shakes his head and cages me against the sink. “Don’t you remember what I said the night we met, peaches?”

“Why don’t you remind me.”

Smirking, he closes the gap between us and drops his voice. “I said you make me greedy and possessive. I never want to share you, because I wantallof you.” Kiss on my neck. “On my tongue.” Kiss against my jaw. “On my fingers.” Lips against my cheek. “On my cock.” His mouth covers mine and I moan, goosebumps spreading all over my body as he presses against me. “I need all of you all the time, Vera.”

“All yours, superstar.”

“Mine,” he whispers.

“Mine,” I reply and he grins, nipping at my bottom lip. “Now, release me so your parents don’t think I’m a heathen.”

He laughs and steps back, adjusting himself. I smooth down my hair and after copping a feel, I head back to the dining room. Even though his siblings flash me knowing smiles, I ignore them to focus on the delicious coconut soufflé that’s served.

And the warm smile on his mother’s face when she says, “So glad he met you, Vera.”

Thirty-Three. I’m a fucking winner

Elias

It’s Finals Day and it feels like the morning of my last board exam. Butterflies take residence in my stomach and my heart’s racing. Plus, I’m sitting in a bed alone. Technically Bash is in the other bed, butmy bedis empty. As is tradition, the whole team is staying at the same hotel. We bonded over dinner last night before Coach gathered us to watch game tape and discuss strategy.

But I miss Vera.

After spending the last few days together and introducing her to my family, not having her with me is like missing a limb. This was also the most emotionally charged week of my life and she was a big part of it, so I want her.Needher. We talked for a bit last night when I got back to the room, but given my early morning start, she sent me to bed before ten p.m.

Reaching for my phone, I find a couple of reminders from Farhad about press appearances and after acknowledging them, I open the texts from Vera.

Peaches

In case you needed a reminder—you’ve got this in the bag. This day is what you were resting and training for. I’m so proud of you, superstar. I love you.

Winning this one for you, Vee. Love you more.

Peaches

Once I’m ready, I get Bash out of bed and we head down to breakfast. Because this is thebigmatch, everyone’s on edge and hyper. But seeing the entire dining room filled with blue and yellow fills me with so much joy. As I eat, I watch my teammates head off for press, some of them still half-asleep. We’ve got a few hours before we need to be at the stadium, but early mornings are expected. When it’s our turn, Bash and I make sure to carry our coffees with us. Some of the journalists write for newspapers and set voice recorders on the table, others come with cameras and makeup teams to touch up our faces. The questions, as expected thanks to Farhad prepping us, range from how we’re feeling about the match to my relationship with Vera, to Bash and my partnership and finally who will be in the stands to watch us today.

Training was lighter than usual. There would be no point having injured players step onto the field on the biggest night of the season. But between batting practice and a thorough session with Dr. Theo, my body is jelly.

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