Page 35 of Jockstraps & Newspapers

Chapter twenty-one

Going to chow town for pizza

Elliot

"We, uh…hashed it out," Cassie tucked some of her loose curls behind her ears.

Elliot beamed, scooping her up by the cheek. "That's wonderful, baby."

"Turns out, Havoc Green was a bit of a creep and Lyra ruined him socially so he'd leave me alone." Cassie leaned her cheek into his palm, eyes fluttering closed.

Elliot's heart fluttered as he stared down at her face with affection. She looked so happy. It made his chest swell…and for the first time, and to his relief, it was the only thing that swelled. He pulled her in for a tender kiss. "I'm glad you were able to talk."

"Me too," she croaked.

"Your voice is a little raw," he teased, tugging on her lower lip before kissing the tip of her nose. "I've got a fix for that."

"Oh, do you now?" she teased, eyes flashing open.

"Hey, now," Elliot wheezed as the tug on his loins returned. "I meant actual healing balm."

"Same thing." Cassie winked at him, taking him by the hand, and lead him through the restaurant to the back table.

He jogged after her, warmth flooding his pelvis and his chest. She slapped at the chair beside hers before flopping into her own.

Andromeda ordered two large pizzas for everyone to split and everyone grabbed bubbling mason jars full of soda before conversations filled the room.

Haylee and Katterina, the twins, were immediately on the hunt for answers.

When had Cassie and he met? How did it happen?

What was his favorite thing about Cassie?

Elliot could babble about his girl for ages.

"It's gotta be the eyes—no, the hair, love those curls…

hmm, wait, no, it's the way her nose scrunches up when shes angry or the way she flat out flaps her mouth when she's flabbergasted. Yeah, all of it."

Andromeda snickered, "Anything to say about that, Cassiopeia?"

"I do not flap!" Cassie scoffed, looking away into her mason jar. Blistered, tomato-red painted her cheeks as Elliot tossed an arm behind her chair.

"What about you, Cass? What's your fave thing about Elliot?" Haylee beamed.

"Oh! I bet it's the muscles, I mean, come on!" Katterina giggled sweetly.

"No, guaranteed it's the smile," Lyra winked at Elliot before tossing a straw wrapper at her sister. "She's got a weakness for people's smiles."

"I do not," Cassie squawked.

"Do too," Elliot purred in her ear, leaning close to her.

Cassie melted, twisting to catch his face before he could pull away.

She stole the air from his already battered and abused lungs.

Elliot reached across himself and her to stroke a finger along her jawline.

She leaned into his touch, the fight in her already melted away.

That's when he flashed her the biggest, shit-eating-ist grin.

"I mean, come on, my smile's pretty great! "

"Gah!" she huffed, slapping him hard in the center of his chest. Toad and Elliot wheezed with laughter. The whole table erupted into mad cackles as the Darling sisters all slapped at each other furiously. Cassie leaned in and kissed him hard on the cheek. "You do have a good smile."

"Then why'd you slap me?" He rubbed his bruising bones.

"You deserved it." They shared a knowing, teasing exchange before she ruffled his slightly damp hair on top of his head. "Besides, I think my favorite thing about you is how you treat everyone."

"Ooooooh?" Toad leaned forward. "He is pretty sweet-a-licious. I mean, Captain's always good to me."

"And his brothers. I know he cares about them even though they're all kind of estranged a little."

The pizza arrived and the conversation slowed as people ripped apart ooey, gooey pieces of cheese and crust. The hot oil, heavy cheese, and tang of a zingy tomato sauce hit the spot.

Elliot snarfed down several slices before he slowed down.

Toad, finishing only a few seconds after him, raised his soda glass to him. "To the first of the last games."

"May we not lose a single one," Elliot cheered as he clinked glasses with the Dragos. "Thanks, Toad, for being the best right-hand dragon."

"So, Toad, that's your real name?" Lyra cocked a brow, eyeing the green scaled man beside her.

"Not legally," he snorted, "my government name is Thodaious Devarie."

"Wait! No! The Maylor Devarie's? Like practically royalty Devarie's?" Elliot could see the shock and awe on Lyra Darling's face as Toad shrugged nonchalantly. Lyra let out a flirty scoff, slapping at his arm. "You didn't tell me you were basically a prince."

"I just…like playing ball, is all." Toad peeked at Lyra, watching her face intently as the lawyer eyed him suspiciously. "People treat me different if they know my parents are rich and own the field in the Maylor Kingdom. So, I just don't bring it up."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Toad, your secret is safe with us, isn't it?" Lyra looked around the table.

Toad tossed his head back, snorting. "Appreciate it, Ms. Lyra."

Elliot leaned closer to Cassie, whispering in her ear. "What are the chances that Toad has a shot with Lyra?"

"Oh, a hundred percent, if he asks, she's his, hands down.

You just gained a huge fan who will never miss a game," Cassie giggled under her breath, twisting to look at him.

As the conversation softened once more, the pair was left in their own little bubble.

Elliot's heart longed to see his own brothers at the table.

If they weren't already busy, he'd text them to see if they could make it.

Next game. He grinned at the idea of seeing the Bonesaw Brothers and the Darling Sisters munching down on some pizza, swapping stories, and having a good time.

Plus, seeing Toad shoot his shot with Lyra.

It made Elliot immensely happy at the idea.

"Next game, I want to invite Jessie and Rex," he blurted out.

"Do it, but maybe we should do it not in a restaurant.

We'll take up all their tables," Cassie whispered, glancing around.

"What about next game we bring home all the pizza back to my place?

I'll ask Lily if she's good with everyone coming over.

There's more than plenty of sitting room and that way we can linger as much as we want. "

Elliot grinned, peeking down at his Fae girlfriend. "You're a genius."

She kissed him on the wet nose before knocking his nose ring for good measure with a giddy chuckle, "A girl could get used to the compliments."

"My girl better be used to compliments," he retorted, nuzzling his nose against hers.

Cassie sighed dreamily. They lingered, listening to everyone around them.

The food was devoured, and the mood turned to a sleepy, affectionate quiet.

People began to disperse and Andromeda fought Toad on paying for the food.

It wasn't until Elliot and Cassie were walking, hand in hand down the sidewalk, that he broke their bubble. "Shall I take you home?"

Cassie peeked up at him, "You don't wanna stay the night?"

"I would love to," he confessed.

"I don't want to disturb Lily, but, I also don't think I can make it to your place before passing out.

" She yawned large enough, her jaw clicked.

Elliot heard it and he shivered with a chuckle.

There was a second where he considered offering to carry her to his place so she could sleep in his arms. Yet, there was something exciting about spending the night at her place.

They always crashed at his place. This was his chance to wake in her bed. Now, if only his heat could behave.

Thankfully, he didn't have much to worry about.

As they cracked open the front door to her apartment, all the lights were off, and Cassie slumped through the dark.

They dropped off all her equipment onto her desk, flopped down into her bed…

and they immediately fell asleep. With his girlfriend in his arms, the scent of her shampoo on her pillows, and frosty sheets, he descended into the dark.

E lliot woke with a stifled yawn and a stiff cock.

Something that normally he pawed at to get rid of.

However, this morning, someone was stroking it for him.

Well...stroking was a loose term. He woke, blinking sluggishly, as he felt his own traitorous hips rutting forward.

His cock was lovingly squished between two silky thighs, tender fingers rubbing and teasing his tip.

Cassie wasn't wearing panties or pajama shorts like the ones he was certain she went to bed wearing.

When he glanced down, she was naked. Back arched, her hair tossled against the fur on his chest. He shifted, only to find his left arm trapped underneath her head and his fingers wrapped around her neck.

His right was pressed against her soft belly, keeping her ass pressed against his lower abdomen.

"Cassie," he moaned, unable to stop himself from fucking the very thighs he fantasized about.

His hips rutted, broken thrusts and trembling limbs.

He was already close. Cassie was slick. Her wetness coated his shaft as he brushed against it with every rock of his hips.

Cassiopeia whimpered and his stomach clenched.

Elliot broke, spilling through her thighs and coating the satin sheets. "Shit."

"Shh," she giggled, reaching up to put a hand over his mouth.

He grunted into her palms, riding out his orgasm between her legs.

It didn't solve the knot; he was still hard as marble statue.

However, it did run a chilly shiver down his spine.

Elliot shifted, trying to kiss her hands or her head or her face, only to go deathly still. Something was tugging at his horns.

"Cwassie," he murmured into her palms. She pulled her hands away and he croaked, "My horns."

"Huh?" She shifted and immediately clamped her hands over her mouth.

The sweet, but hysterical giggles filtering out through her palms as she scrambled up onto her knees.

Elliot tried not to bark with laughter as she had to mount him just to untangle him from the wooden slats of her headboard.

She snorted, "Welp, I'm not getting the security deposit back. "

"No," he whined in a hush, "I can fix it."

He wiggled them straight down the bed, embarrassment burning across his chest and cheeks. Cassie planted her hands firmly against his chest, trying to keep her cackles under her breath. "Don't worry about it, big fella, I didn't even think about it. It's just plaster, I can fill that in."

"Baby, let me fix it," he pleaded. "That's two of your things I've ruined."

"Ha, please," she rolled her eyes. "It's not ruined, it's just not Minotaur proof. I'll get a car with a sunroof and we'll sleep on the other end of the bed. Not that big of a deal, Elliot…what is a big deal, however…"

Her seductive, mischievous gleam returned to her eyes as she glanced down to the heavy cock pressing against her.

She sat up on her knees, grabbing him by the knot, and leveled him with her cunt.

Elliot bucked upward, head tossed back. The tips of his horns carved trenches in the slats of her headboard.

It made him flinch as he feared for her furniture.

Thankfully, Cassie didn't care, nor did she notice as she sank down onto him with feverish delight.

Fuck did he like it, love her, want her, enjoy her pleasure.

Cassie did not hesitate, and it drove him to madness.

Cassie pressed her palms against his chest to keep herself up.

Elliot took ahold of her hips, rocking her into a rhythm they could both sustain.

Hair tossed back, her ringlets were a mess of tangles and frizz.

She looked too pleased, chewing on her lower lip to keep her sounds trapped inside.

Sounds he'd so greedily coveted when they were at his place.

They could be loud, howl to the moon and scream the other's name.

At her place, however, clearly the walls were paper thin.

Elliot spared a fist to his mouth, chomping on his knuckles to keep from lowing.

It only muffled the sound for a moment before Cassie had to cover his mouth.

It was probably the sexiest yet silliest thing as she tried not to cry from laughing, and he tried to be quiet.

A knock sounded against the door, "Hey, I'm uh…gonna go grab doughnuts and coffee from the cart, three blocks up. So y'all can be loud, just uh…you know, finish up within the twenty minutes it's going to take, huh?"

"Lily!" Cassie cried out, wheezing for air.

"What? The walls are thin. You both just get it out of your system, okay, love you, bye!"

Cassie collapsed against Elliot, howling with laughter.

He planted his hooves flat against the mattress, thrusting up into her as she cried into his chest. By the time they both reached climax, she was choking on her own tongue and he was swiping away his own tears with the back of his hand.

Cassie didn't take his knot but he softened anyway.

His heat was easing. He returned to the field for a moment, his mind replaying the moment.

Golden glitter and a cloud of confetti filling the air.

Cassie, in all her glory, red in the cheeks and smiling broad enough to hurt her jaw.

He took ahold of her head. I love you . He mouthed it, unable to say it out loud yet.

But it took a burden off him to even mouth it.

And she looked at him with such awe, he hoped she felt it.

As he returned to the moment, rolling them over so they were both covered in sweat and cum and sticky sheets, he hoped she felt how much he loved her.

And one day he'd have the courage to say it out loud. But for now, it was enough.