Page 2 of Announcing Love
“The games are too long.”
Tip shook his head, but his smile hadn’t budged. “That’s fair, I guess. What do you enjoy?” He pulled into the parking lot of the wireless store, resenting the short drive. Tip glanced Artem’s way.
Artem stared at him in a way that made his heart skip a beat. Interest turned into full-blown obsession in a glance.
“Damn. My phone is broken. I can’t take a picture.”
A smile exploded across Tip’s face. “Of what?”
“You. You should see you.”
Oh, goddamn. He was weak. Tip grabbed his phone from the center console and unlocked it before passing it Artem’s way. “Show me what you see.”
Artem was an art major. Tip knew a ridiculous amount about someone who barely knew him. It was impossible to miss the dreamy way Artem looked at everything.
“Look toward the store.”
Tip did as told, staring at the building as he had while parking.
“Okay. Now look at me.”
Artem took more pictures before he leaned close to share the outcome. “Look at the way the full moon falls just in the corner of the window while the neon light highlights the outline of your face.”
Tip never would’ve studied the picture as closely without Artem painting him a picture that changed how it looked.
Artem swiped to the next one. “Then you looked at me.”
Tip stopped breathing. He tried to see again the same details Artem pointed out earlier. All he saw was pure longing. Tip looked at Artem in a way he was certain he had never looked at anyone before. It wasn’t lust, even though he definitely had that. Tip couldn’t find a word for his expression. This was something new.
“I’m programming my number in your phone and texting these to myself. You should let me paint you sometime.”
“Paint me like one of your French girls, Jack.”
Artem looked at him, confused and with laughter in his eyes at Tip’s sudden impression of a girl. “What was that?”
“I guess you’ve never seen that movie.”
Artem shook his head, but his laughing smile didn’t dim. “I haven’t, but I’ve seen the memes. It was the bad impression that caught me off guard.” He handed Tip back his phone. Artem’ssmile turned wicked. “But I’ll paint you nude anytime.” With that left hanging between them, Artem climbed from the car. Tip watched him go while biting back a whimper. Damn, he had a nice ass. Tip had to make sure these people kept Artem’s number the same. No mix-ups. They would definitely see each other again. Tip would strip for him anytime.
Chapter Two
SurgeMediaArenahadbeen Tip’s second home for a majority of his adult life. No one knew how thankful he was to still be with the same organization, even after retirement. His body still hurt, and he still wanted to be on the field with his teammates. His family. Those days were over, but he wasn’t done.
He strolled through the stadium, killing time before he needed to get to the booth. The moment Tip spotted Sacha, a thrill rushed over him. That meant Artem might be there too.
A bright smile lit Sacha’s face when he spotted Tip. He headed Tip’s way, pushing his grandmother’s wheelchair along the way.
Tip met him halfway. He opened his mouth to say hello.
“Look, Sacha. It’s that sexy man who wants to have sex with Artem.”
Heat flooded Tip’s face. Tip never blushed. The day he had shown up to apologize to Sacha, his grandmother had invited Tip inside. She was one of a kind.
“Hello, Baba. How have you been?”
“Old. What about you? I don’t think you’ve talked my grandson out of his clothes yet. He doesn’t have that glow.”
Jesus. He never knew how to deal with her.
