Page 74 of The Battery
“How did you end it?”
I grew a cocky grin as my eyes slid sideways. “I can move anyonewhen I center my gravity right.” I dropped the amusement quickly enough. Rome wasn’t a fan of violence. “Idon’t condone what he said or did. I’m sorry that those things happened the way they did, and I wish I pressed management harder to have him traded out of the Brawlers.”
“Hey, man,” he turned on his stool to face me, “you don’t have to worry about any of that. You didn’t play last season. There’s no ill will toward you, all right?” He held out his fist. I tapped it with mine. “Okay. I gotta go make a call and then sleep. Tell Cody I hope he’s doing okay.”
I threw down cash for our tab, stood, and stretched. “Sure thing. And tell—Alex is your fiance’s name, right? Tell him I said hello.”
Together we walked out of the bar and toward the elevator. Rome said, “Hey, we should double date soon. That’d be fun.” I blew out air from puffed cheeks. Rome snickered. “Right. Newbie at relationships. This is a totally normal thing people do.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said.
We ascended to our floor, said good night, and popped into our rooms. We had an early game and I was already scolding myself for staying up too late. Still, I called Cody because I just couldn’t sleep without talking to the guy before bed.
When he answered the video call, my brow went up in surprise. “Jeez, what took you so long?”
He was in my bed. About a thousand pillows propping him up, but there he was. Tangled up in my sheets.
“Are you…?”
He sank a little lower in the bed and gave me a half-lidded smile. “Been waiting for you to call.”
I realized he didn’t have a shirt on. The patch monitor was still on his chest. It would come off soon after a solid month of him wearing it to monitor his heart.
I had been staring, soaking in the sight of Cody, half naked, lying in my bed. Dammit,withoutme.
“Did you freeze? Did I lose you?”
I blinked and cleared my throat. “What? No. No. Just… just wishing I were there.”
His voice lowered in pitch. “Why?” The way he asked. “And why are you still dressed?”
I braced my phone against the lamp on the nightstand and angled it so Cody had a mostly full view of my body. I stripped off my shirt and tossed it onto the bed. Hooked my thumbs on the waistband of my sweatpants. Teased him a little. Pulled them down just enough to show my pelvic bone. I was growing harder by the second and the outline was clearly visible through the light-gray fabric. I put my hands behind my head, leaned back a fraction, and flexed every muscle I could. I heard Cody let out a soft exclamation through the phone.
“When you coming home again?”
The distinct use of the wordhomegave me pause. I released the flex and recovered as quickly as the surprise had taken me. “Not soon enough,” I said in an effort to move my emotions forward. I dropped my sweatpants, grabbed my cock in one hand, and slapped it into the other. “You gonna wait for me?”
“What do you mean wait?”
Naked, I readjusted the phone angle and dropped into the bed so he had a side view of me. I stroked myself once and watch pre-come ooze from the head of my cock. I made sure Cody could see.
“I mean, you have to wait for me to gethome. You can’t do anything until I get back.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, butyoucan do stuff?”
I nodded as I relaxed into the bed and began stroking myself in earnest. “Yes. I can’t sleep, remember?”
“That’s not fair.”
“That’s the point.” Having him watch me was hitting the right spot for me. “I want you practically begging for it when I get back.”
He licked his lips. “So I have to just sit here and watch?”
“Yes.”
My other hand rubbed my inner thigh. My abs flexed methodically with the rhythm of my hand. Head dropped back into the pillow. I could hear Cody’s heavy breathing. I took a quick peek at the phone. Didn’t look like he was doing anything.
“Where’s your other hand?” I asked.
