Page 8

Watching Bandit score never got old. His pride and excitement could practically be felt through the TV.

Bandit had offered him tickets since it was a hometown game, but Sacha had to stay with Baba, and actually going to a game was too much for her.

Baba talked nonstop about Bandit when he wasn’t around.

Bandit had jumped into their family and became one of them like he had always been meant for Sacha. It was nice. Baba adored him.

He supposed Baylor knew they were a couple by now. They never talked about it, and Baylor stayed wrapped up in his new marriage. Honestly, it was the best scenario as far as Sacha was concerned. He didn’t want a big discussion over the matter. Sacha just wanted happiness.

Bandit scored.

Baba moved closer to the TV, nearly an inch from the screen.

Sacha huffed but didn’t bother complaining.

Baba poked the screen. “I don’t like that one. That one keeps touching our man.”

Sacha swiped his hand over his mouth, hiding a smile over Baba calling Bandit their man. He tried reassuring her. “They’re teammates and they’re winning. It’s common to slap each other’s asses and whatnot.”

With a shake of her head, Baba reclaimed the chair she had pulled close to the TV. “No. That one takes advantage. His hands are always stealing gropes. Any excuse, no matter how small. Trust your baba. That one is no good.”

Sacha shook his head and went back to watching the game.

Unfortunately, the seed had been planted.

Sacha couldn’t stop watching the dark blond with wandering hands.

Baba was right. It was odd. He slapped Bandit’s ass over every small thing.

Big things had the guy hugging him from behind.

His actions more than bordered on inappropriate.

They were downright pissing Sacha off. He read the guy’s number and searched online to get a name.

Tip Ramos. He was nearly thirty. One of the oldest members on the team.

To Sacha’s disgust, he was handsome. His net worth put Sacha to shame, making him look exactly like the pauper he was.

Sacha felt sick. He had always known he couldn’t compete.

Seeing Bandit’s options firsthand was different.

His chest hurt. The game was definitely ruined.

Even when they won, Sacha couldn’t bring himself to cheer.

Artem came through the door and Sacha immediately headed for his bedroom.

He wanted to feel bad about not letting Artem as much as sit down before shifting responsibility to his shoulders, but Sacha felt heartsick.

Things had been so intense with Bandit. Sacha hadn’t even considered Bandit might cheat.

That seemed crazy now that he thought about it.

Bandit had all the opportunities in the world, while Sacha simply added Bandit to his daily juggling act. Why would Bandit stay faithful?

Sacha rubbed his temples and paced the floor.

They hadn’t made plans for tonight since Artem hadn’t known what time he would be home.

Sacha wanted to text Bandit and beg him to come straight there, but he was a little scared of himself.

There was no way he could hide the growing desperation inside him.

He had been so certain they were headed places, but now he saw every crack.

They had been dating for four months and Bandit hadn’t said he loved Sacha or talked about their future.

Maybe that was normal, but they felt hotter than anything Sacha had ever experienced.

He thought they both felt it—like they had each met the one.

Now he felt dumb. They hadn’t actually set boundaries for their relationship.

Maybe Sacha didn’t even have a right to be angry.

Could he expect Bandit to be faithful when he had never said he expected as much?

Everything felt like a nightmare. They had to talk.

Sacha found his phone. He doubted Bandit was anywhere near able to text him back yet, but Sacha had to try.

Sacha: Yay! Congratulations on your win. How do you plan to celebrate?

There. He didn’t sound crazy. Sacha simply sounded like a boyfriend, gently inquiring what Bandit would do next.

He paced and chewed the side of his nail.

Sacha didn’t want to beg Bandit to come over.

He needed Bandit to choose him. The phone buzzed, nearly sending his heart flying out of his chest. He scrambled to open the text.

Bandit: Hey baby. Thank you. I’m headed to Area 9 to get drinks with Tip.

Fuck! Area 9 was a club downtown that catered to the upper class. Sacha had set up weddings there. That was the only time he ever stepped foot in the building. He didn’t fit there. Still, Sacha tried not to slip into insanity. That was unattractive and so much was already stacked against him.

Sacha: Okay. Have fun. Miss you.

Bandit: Will do. Miss you too.

Okay. Sacha told himself that was enough. Bandit missed him. Surely he wouldn’t have said as much if he didn’t mean it. Except Sacha had said it first and cornered him. Goddamn it. He couldn’t do it.

Sacha: You know that Tip guy has a thing for you, right?

As soon as Sacha hit send, he regretted it. Why had he done that? This was a bad look.

Bandit: No, he doesn’t. We’re just teammates and friends. The two of us have been on the same team longer than any other players. That’s it. He just needs me tonight.

In other words, Bandit fully intended to go on a date with another man, even after having the truth pointed out to him. Sacha fought a growl. Bandit had always been a blind one.

Sacha : He touches you too much. I don’t like it.

Bandit: Baby, I can’t tell a teammate not to touch me.

He was right. Sacha tossed his phone on the bed.

His chest hurt. He had lost. If Sacha pointed out the obvious and Bandit still argued, that only proved this was a purposeful act.

He chose Tip because that was exactly where he wanted to be.

Sacha didn’t know why he had been so blind, but he was tired.

Life had just fucking beat him. He never got to do anything fun while also watching Bandit choose someone else.

Everything was responsibility and the weight of everything crushed the breath from his chest. He headed for the kitchen.

Dana helped Baba cook. Artem did his homework at the table.

Sacha opened the freezer, grabbed a full bottle of vodka, and headed back to his bedroom without looking anyone’s way.

He would lock himself in his bedroom and give himself one night to mourn.

Tonight, he couldn’t handle anything else.

Bandit texted several times and called enough to make himself look crazy.

Sacha wouldn’t acknowledge him. He wasn’t good at relationship type stuff and Sacha had never shown a hint of jealousy before.

Bandit was at a loss. Music thumped around him.

Tip stayed glued to his side. At first, Bandit chalked it up to them being there together, but Sacha’s claims ate at him.

“Do you want to dance?”

Bandit glanced Tip’s way at the offer. He didn’t look like a guy coming onto him. Bandit didn’t know what to think. “No thanks. I’m a little tired tonight. Hey, I’m going to step outside for a second. I need to make a call.”

Tip nodded. If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. As Bandit stepped outside, he swallowed his pride and texted Artem.

Bandit: Do you have any clue what’s up with Sacha? I’m getting worried. He won’t answer the phone.

Artem: Don’t know. I’ve been busy with homework. He stormed through here a couple of hours ago, grabbed some vodka, and locked himself in his room. I figured it was work related. His job can be pretty taxing.

Fuck his life. It was that bad. He didn’t know what to do. Like he had said, he couldn’t tell a teammate not to touch him. Not only was that humiliating, it was ridiculous. That was part of the game. Part of his job. Nothing had changed in four months. He didn’t understand why it was a problem now.

“Everything good?”

Bandit startled as Tip appeared at his side. “Yeah. I just had to check on something.” He needed someone to talk to, but it couldn’t be the guy who was the problem. That seemed counterintuitive.

Tip smiled. “Cool. Since you’re not in the mood to dance, you should come back to my place.”

Goddamn it. Sacha had him questioning everything. Not once had he bailed on his teammates if they needed him. When Tip had invited him out, he had seemed off. Sacha hadn’t felt like he could abandon him.

“Um.” Bandit didn’t know what to do. “I kind of have to take care of something, and—like I said—I’m pretty exhausted.”

Tip’s smile grew. He was closer, and Bandit didn’t think he had seen him move. “That’s okay. I can take you to do whatever. Then I could do all the work.”

Bandit’s mind stuttered to a stop. He didn’t want to misunderstand. “What work?”

Tip laughed. He shuffled even closer. “Come on, Bandit. You know I’m retiring after this year. Pretty soon, we won’t have anything holding us back. We can stop toeing the line.”

Bandit’s mind raced in so many directions, he couldn’t catch a thought. Had they been toeing the line? What had he been doing that looked that way? What the fuck was happening?

Before Bandit saw it coming, Tip swept in for a kiss. Only the shock held him still for long enough for Tip’s lips to land. He immediately took a step back. “Damn, man. I’m seeing someone.”

Tip’s hazel eyes showed his hurt before he straightened away. “I thought…”

Goddamn it. Sacha had been right about everything. Still, he had games left to play with Tip. He had to smooth things over. “I’m sorry for whatever I did to give you the wrong impression. I’ve got a good thing going and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“You never bring anyone around. There’s nobody at our games.”

That was hard to explain. “He works a lot.” Okay. Maybe it wasn’t that hard.

A deep line appeared between Tip’s eyebrows. “Why? He has you. This is starting to feel like a made-up guy.”

Well, it was official. Bandit had failed on every level with Sacha. Even Tip knew it, and he thought Sacha was imaginary. Bandit rubbed his forehead.

For lack of any idea of what to do, Bandit woke his phone and showed Tip his wallpaper. It was a picture of Sacha and him together.

Tip eyed the phone. He blew out a low whistle. “Okay. I see your point.” His gaze shifted to Bandit. “Still, I have to say, for someone who doesn’t want to fuck up anything, you’ve been throwing off a lot of strong signals and you didn’t hesitate to accept this date.”

Bandit pinched the spot between his eyes. “I didn’t know it was a date.” He dropped his hand. Bandit didn’t want to deal with this. He wanted to find Sacha and plead his case.

Tip took a step back. He looked uncomfortable. “All right. My bad.”

“Let’s forget this happened.”

Tip nodded. “Okay.” It didn’t sound okay. Tip walked away, proving his thoughts correct.

Bandit turned his chin up and stared at the sky.

He thought he always tried so hard, but being the good guy had bitten him in the ass.

On top of that, it looked as if he should’ve been offering some sort of financial support to Sacha.

He hadn’t thought Sacha would ever allow that.

His pride would never. From the outside looking in, it just seemed like he let Sacha down on every level.

He didn’t bring him to the games. He didn’t help alleviate his burden.

It seemed he also went on dates with other men.

Goddamn it. He tried again to call. Bandit was determined to admit Sacha had been right and throw himself on his mercy.

As his call went unanswered, Bandit had to admit the truth.

He had destroyed the best thing to ever happen to him and he hadn’t even known he was doing it.