Page 15 of Operation: Ogre

I nudged his shoulder. “You don’t hate that, and you know it.”

“Yeah, but a little space would be nice.”

Space? His family? Not a chance. I chuckled. “We should sit down.”

“No,” he protested, pulling on my hand. “Look, there’s Aaron. Go get a drink and flirt it up.”

I glanced at him. “I’m supposed to be dating you. Why in the hell would I flirt with someone else? That’s not very loyal.”

“Fake dating. Jesus.” He rolled his eyes. “Now go. We have to make him jealous.”

This was such a stupid plan, and I had no idea why I was going along with it besides the fact that Chris acted so confident, and, well, it was Chris. How the hell was I supposed to say no to him? It was a trick I’d never learned. As our hands separated, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to learn that trick because I really did enjoy making him happy.

Aaron was next to a keg, talking to another player whom I didn’t recognize—the guy was wearing his uniform, making it obvious that he was someone close enough to Aaron—and laughing in his deep, gut-rolling laugh. For some reason, I couldn’t keep my eyes on Aaron. Instead, I kept looking over my shoulder and tracking Chris’s movements through the crowd. The way his hips moved to the music. The way he smiled and laughed. The bare skin of his midriff. The bop of his space buns. The way his full ass looked in his tiny shorts. The way he wound almost sensuously around people, as if it were a dance. Perhaps he should’ve taken up dance over soccer. He was very graceful.

“Jaxon!” Aaron greeted me, making me jump.

I’d forgotten about him. “Hey, Aaron,” I greeted, but my eyes were drawn back toward Chris, who was laughing at something a werewolf was saying. I wondered what was so funny. The gnawing hole in my gut swelled as I watched him smile at someone else. Why was he so happy with that werewolf? Had they slept together before?

“Don’t worry, man.” Aaron socked me in the shoulder. “Chris is fine. This is his element right here.”

I knew that. I just didn’t… like it. It would clearly be better if Chris were right here beside me.

“Coach liked your Bro-tein,” Aaron said. “He wants to buy it for the team.”

I groaned. Yes, a huge sale, but seriously? “Can you please not call it that?”

He guffawed, his stomach jiggling. “Why? It’s hilarious.”

“It really isn’t.”

“Yeah, it is.”

I shook my head with a smile. This had to be a “bro” thing I didn’t get. My eyes flicked back to Chris. He wasn’t looking at me, though. He was solely focused on the built werewolf. Was that his type? I’d never seen Chris with anyone, but I knew he was pan. Did he like that muscle-bound jock? Were they more than a one-night stand?

“Hey.” Aaron rested a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. “Trust me, Evander isn’t interested in Chris.”

“He’s not?” I asked, finally looking at Aaron again.

He grinned. “Nope. Chris is fine, but you can go back to him if you want. I get it. Instincts and all that. Ogre stuff.” He slapped my shoulder.

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn’t have a chance to ask because Chris playfully shoved the jock. When Evander touched Chris in return, my eyes narrowed onto the offending hand. “Yeah, talk to you later, Aaron,” I muttered, not paying attention to the chuckles that followed me.

I practically shoved people out of the way as I moved toward Chris. Soon enough, people got the memo and moved out of my fucking way. My pulse pounded in my throat, and my vision was completely locked on Chris touching that other man. When I reached Chris’s side, he grinned up at me and slid his hand into my grasp like it belonged there. My shoulders sagged as all of the tension rushed out of me, leaving me practically floating on air.

What had been my problem? Chris was fine. Overreact much?

“Hey,” Chris said, pressing against my side without prompting. “This is Evander. He’s on the football team. I don’t think you know him.”

I nodded, my words getting stuck in my throat. I wanted to chase this werewolf away from Chris, but I couldn’t talk. Instead, I stared as menacingly as possible at him.

He didn’t appear fazed in the slightest, smiling brightly at me. “I’m going to go get a drink. See you, Chris.”

When he pushed through the crowd, out of sight, Chris faced me. “You did so good talking to Aaron. I’m proud of you, big guy.”

Shock raced through me as my eyes widened. I had talked to Aaron as easily as I did my own or Chris’s family. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.”