41. Lee

CHAPTER 41

LEE

Lee woke with a jolt. "I'm late. Fuck." He scrambled out of bed and ducked into the bathroom. With the door open, he heard Mac cursing up a storm.

"Fuck monkeys on a bullshit stick. Momma's gonna give me a whooping."

Drew cackled. "Your Texan's showing."

"Shut it, Drew. Momma's gonna kill me. I was supposed to open."

"Jeff's there. Your other cooks are there, and Amy's always there by seven. They're fine."

Mac growled. "I hate you. I love you, but I hate you right now. Where are my clothes, damn it?"

"Living room," Lee said, poking his head out and eyeballing Mac's naked butt as he ran from the bedroom. He raked a long glance down Drew's body. "You better get a move on, too, since you have to drive him."

Drew's eyes widened. "Shit. I do, don't I?" He sprang up and swapped places with Lee.

Once he was dressed and his bag packed, Lee hustled into the kitchen to grab a protein shake and throw a pod into the coffee machine. They gave him goodbye kisses while he was texting Yowie he'd be late and took off, slamming the door on their way out. He texted Coach Mike his apologies, too. He was out the door not five minutes later.

He should have known he'd get a ribbing the moment he walked through the weight room doors to join his line for warm-ups. Lee blushed under the catcalls and whistles.

"Somebody got lucky." Yowie sang, pumping his hips. "All night long. Oh yeah. Oh yeah."

Lee walked right over to him, smiled, and punched his arm. "Quit it."

"Young's got free rein to make your life miserable today, Matters," Coach Mike said from where he stood in the corner talking with Fitz. "I hope it was worth it."

Lee covered his eyes with both hands, but he didn't miss seeing the matching smirks on both Coach's and the GM's faces first. "I hate you all. I love you, but I hate you right now." He laughed under his breath, realizing he'd just repeated the same thing Mac had said to Drew that morning. He turned in a slow circle. "I humbly apologize for getting laid last night. It was definitely worth it, and I will accept my punishment gracefully." He put his hand over his heart and blinked at Coach with his best puppy-dog eyes.

The cheers were nearly deafening. Why did talking about sex turn men of any age into horny, hormone-driven teenagers? Lee rolled his eyes, remembering how his mom would say, "It's one of life's great mysteries."

"How about a deal, Coach?" Yowie slid over to stand beside them. "Lee turns that energy into a win for us on Sunday, and you and I will forget all about him being tardy today. We lose, though, you run wind sprints and lift weights till you ain't got nothing in you for those boys. They're gonna have to drag your tired ass out of here."

Lee grimaced. With as much ribbing as Yowie had been giving him, he'd forgotten that showing up late meant he'd be slapped with a fine. The money—ultimately a donation to one of the team's charities—was a drop in the bucket, but Lee prided himself on his work ethic. He'd rather give because he wanted to, not because he'd had sex all night and then forgot to set his alarm. Although… now that he thought about it…

"I like it," Coach Mike said. He clapped Lee on the arm. "Better warm up. Big game Sunday." He walked away, laughing his head off.

Lee groaned. He turned and stared daggers at Yowie. "I hate you."

Yowie grinned. "So you've said. Well, come on. You heard Coach. Warm up." He wiggled a finger at the treadmills.

"Loathe. Abhor. Despise." Lee rattled off every synonym he could think of as he strode toward his doom.

Caitlin wants to meet us after practice.

Lee reread the message from Drew. How, why, and every other question popped into his head. What the hell?

And then he realized he had over a dozen missed notifications from Caitlin, Fitz, and his mom. Lee dropped onto the closest bench to read them. He started with his mom as she'd be the least of his problems. Did he even have a problem? Nobody better label Drew and Mac as problems.

"You okay, Matty?" Anders bumped Lee's shoulder as he moved to his stall.

"I think so, but…" He waved his phone. "Looks like everyone wants a piece of me."

Anders snorted.

Lee huffed. He'd walked into that one. "Caitlin wants to see me, Drew, and Mac. ASAP."

Anders' smile faded. "Did someone leak a picture?" He sat next to Lee and bumped their arms together.

"I don't know… I don't think so. It might be about the arson."

Ander's eyes widened. "Arson? What the fuck?" He grabbed Lee's wrist. "Where? When? Holy shit."

"What's going on?" Yowie asked, standing in front of them in nothing but a towel around his waist. Jakes stood just behind him, looking on, also in a towel, his dreads falling in disarray around his shoulders.

"Someone set a fire behind the diner last night. I saw the guy running, saw the fire, and then ran inside to report it."

"Shit. Is everyone okay? Was the diner damaged?"

Lee shook his head as another notification popped up on his phone. "Just the dumpster, but I gotta hurry. My guys are meeting me upstairs. Caitlin called us in."

"Caitlin? Well, go, man. Don't keep her waiting." Yowie's urgency was kinda funny. Lee watched as Yowie pulled Jakes toward the shower while telling Anders to leave him alone so he could get ready. Anders spun up and away, leaving Lee to get undressed and into the shower.

Twenty minutes later, Lee was dressed and striding toward the elevator. He pulled out his phone and opened his messaging app.

Mac:

She wants to meet me?

Drew:

Yeah. The article mentions Lee, and there's a picture of us huddled together with you and your family. It's a ‘mountains out of molehills' deal, but she wants our decision sooner rather than later. [article link attached]

Lee debated about opening the link but opted to read the rest of Mac's tribulations as he stepped into the elevator.

Mac:

Okay. I'll be there.

OMG. Traffic is a freaking nightmare. I'm gonna be late.

Holy cow, this place is huge. How do you not get lost? Where the hell do I even park?

I think I'm lost… Oh, here's the entrance.

I've got an official family badge! How cool is that? Tom is such a sweetie. Coming up the elevator now.

The doors opened and disappointment hit Lee. He'd somehow thought his men would be waiting for him when they opened. Realizing his ridiculousness, he hurried toward Caitlin's office.

"I'm here."

"Lee!" Mac burst from his seat and then froze, biting his lower lip. Lee went to him and opened his arms for the hug he could tell Mac wanted to give him. They hadn't talked about PDA, but he wasn't one to ever care, and he didn't think they did either. It was just another piece of their relationship that they hadn't yet had a chance to discuss.

Mac hugged him fast and kissed his cheek before passing him off to Drew for the same.

"Thanks for meeting with me so quickly," Caitlin said, starting right in. "Have a seat. Drew and Mac brought me up to speed on the fire and that you discussed using Casey West's Football Fandom platform but haven't come to any decisions yet."

"Have we missed anything?" Fitz asked as he entered, followed by Coach Mike, Head Coach Emilio Oliveira, Special Teams Coach Jaxon Ross, and Dr. Rosie.

Lee stood up quickly, shocked to see them all there. Drew and Mac did as well, looking just as stunned.

Caitlin stood. "Let's head to the conference room."

Fitz led the procession across the hall, where they took seats around a large conference table. Lee might have found it funny that his men put him in the middle, but with the stern and worried expressions on the Trooper's upper management's faces, he felt protected instead. Mac and Drew had his back, and that meant everything to him.

Caitlin led the discussion, starting with Mac giving a recount of Katy, Troy, the restraining order, and the fire. "And everything's good now?"

Mac nodded, and when Lee reached for him, their fingers tangled tightly. "Just some scorched cement. Troy's still in the wind, but the police are on it. Officer Daniels is running point if you need to coordinate anything with the station. I swear that guy is dumber than a post. The police station is located at the end of the block and my family treats every officer who walks through the door with respect and admiration. Plus, Officer Daniels and my sister are dating now that Troy's out of the picture… or well, you know." Mac's shrug and faint blush had Lee grinning softly at him. He pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. He knew intimately how dark and how far that flush could get.

"And how was business today? Busy? Busier?"

"You're asking because of that picture and article, right?" With Caitlin's nod, Mac continued, "I didn't notice. Maybe a little busier. I did notice it was a different type of crowd, but it's also a weekday, so maybe tonight will be different. Once people see it, read it, and get out of work. I forwarded the article to my family and Officer Daniels, so I think we'll be okay. I'm not worried."

The way Mac fiddled with Lee's fingers while he spoke made Lee wonder if maybe he was lying, just a little bit. Lee wouldn't be surprised… Hell, he'd be worried if something he did affected his mom's business. Too much of a disruption to any business could become its killing blow.

Lee gave Mac's hand a light squeeze as he leaned over and pressed his forehead to Mac's temple. "I'll pay for any extra security or cameras or whatever safety measures you want if you think you need them."

Mac patted his cheek. "We're okay. This is Troy's doing, anyway, so why should you pay?"

"You're forgetting about the picture, not that I've seen it yet, but yeah, once we do the interview…"

Caitlin cleared her throat. "So you're going to meet with Casey West?"

Lee glanced at his men, who nodded. "Looks like."

Fitz drummed his fingers on the table, wearing a sly grin. "And it looks like Pride Night is a go."