Page 196 of Nyx

He walked up to speak to me, which isn't unheard of, but it's also not common either. Everyone includes me in the meetings, and work is never an issue, but a lot keep their distance in situations like this. It's not that I think they are scared to approach me. The men and women of Cerberus aren't scared of many things, but I do feel like a lot of them keep their distance because they think that it's something I want. I'm not exactly the most approachable person in the room.

"I wanted to come and thank you for helping today," he says. "But I got distracted by the potato salad."

"No problem. I needed something to do, and I can only take apart my bike and put it back together again so many times."

"We've been tossing around the idea of starting a couple of softball teams," he continues. "We have enough people that if everyone got involved, we could have enough teams to even have like mini tournaments."

I freeze with my fork a few inches from my mouth.

He looks at me, his smile growing wider before he laughs.

"Not a softball fan, I take it?"

I lower my fork back to my plate.

"Are you asking because you want to know if I want to be on your team or if you want to offer me up to another one?"

He shakes his head. "It's all in good fun. No one team in particular is going to go out and recruit who they think is best so they can try and win every game."

"I don't think I should participate then," I mutter, placing my plate on a nearby table and grabbing my bottle of water.

"Why's that?"

"I'm incredibly competitive. Don't know if I could turn that off. Wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's fun."

He's silent for a moment, eyes roaming the room as he considers what I just said.

"And if Juliet were on an opposing team, would-"

"Did she agree to play?" I ask in a rush, realizing I spoke too quickly for it to go unnoticed.

His cheek twitches like he's trying to hide a smile, but thankfully, he doesn't turn his eyes back in my direction.

"If she were on a different team, would you be hateful and too competitive so she wouldn't have a good time?"

"Why couldn't she be on my team?" I counter, not answering his question because it would be a waste of breath. The man is too damn observant not to know the answer.

"We're splitting couples up," he says. "We think it would make it more fun. Should we put her on your same team?"

"Did you ask her?"

His grin is wider when he looks in Juliet's direction.

"She wanted to know if you wanted to be on her team or another team."

I look across the room, my eyes finding her immediately, and just like she had before we ended up in my room last night, she looks in my direction as if she can sense me watching her.

Her cheeks grow even redder when she glances from me and notices Thumper standing beside me.

"Do you want to be on her team?" he asks again, the words slow as if he wants her to read his lips.

"No," I say and shake my head, loving the way she tries her best to hide her grin by rolling her lips inward and clamping them between her teeth.

"Well, shit," Thumper grumbles. "I guess I owe Legend a hundred bucks."

"Excuse me?" I say and look in his direction.

"Legend said you two were an item. I said no way. That would never happen."