The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 7

I stared, lips parted, as the boy with the saddest yet the most beautiful eyes rose from the water, pushing back his hair with his right hand and reaching for the golden wreath with his left.

He was n a ke d except for some very tight boxers that did little to hide his large...

I quickly quelled my thoughts before it could go on, but it was impossible as my eyes trailed after the water that slid against his muscles, how it went down from his incredibly large built body to his abdomen. Or how his hair stuck to his angelic face, gleaming from its dampness. He seemed to glow, his gorgeousness making everyone stop everything to stare.

The humming in my veins increases slightly once more, a slight buzz that makes me dizzy.

I didn't even notice that he was competing.

"He kinda looks like he should be on top of a Christmas tree, doesn't he?" Miss A whispers to me.

I couldn't take my eyes away from him. "Because he looks like an Angel?"

"Because he's fucking perfect. Look at him." She says, staring at him too. "He's golden. He's... just so good looking."

I couldn't help but agree.

He is golden. And very good looking.

A bright, dazzling thing that I couldn't look away from.

"That guy," Miss E says from behind us. "He's supposed to be obscenely rich and has a high position... if you know what I mean."

An Alpha? I almost asked but stopped myself before I could say the words. Instead, I tilted my head to the side, trying to read him. He did look like it though... "But why would someone like that look so depressed?"

"Yeah, I suppose he's kinda mysterious." Miss E was ogling at him- I suppose we all were. "Anyway, it's his first year and already there's a long line to get to him. You know how girls can be nasty with guys like that."

"Oh. Okay. I'll be careful not to hurt him when I start violently crump dancing underwater." I said with a laugh, though my eyes were still on him.

The organizers on the dock congratulate the beautiful man with sad eyes, calling him 'Mister W'. They mentioned the honor and respect he had won, while the entire time, Mister W looked even more sad than he was before, his lips were turned down and his eyes were hidden by his hair as his head was tipped forward.

For someone that just won the first game of the week, he should be proud and somewhat boastful, but he was none of that.

I replace myself looking at his wrist, checking to see if he had someone's bracelet on but his wrist was bare, wearing no one.

The mystery surrounding him just got even bigger.

"Hey," It was O, swimming towards me.

"Hi," I smiled as he floated beside me, the heat of his body close.

He looked sheepish. "I'm sorry-"

"You were great. The brawn and brains, the best among the rest." I told him, remembering my promise.

"But I didn't win." He says, startled. "I don't deserve..."

I shrugged, taking his hand from under the water and giving it a squeeze. "I still think you are."

He affectionately squeezes my hand back. "You're my girl, X."

I tried not to blush at his teasing words.

"Mister W, who will you crown with the golden wreath?" The organizer asked loudly, gesturing to the girls floating around the wooden dock they were on.

For the first time, he looks up and I am struck by the cold beauty of him. He was truly perfect, his face shaped and sculpted like the Gods personally made him.

His beautiful eyes scanned the area, something behind me caught his eyes before he stiffened.

And then his eyes were on me.

"X," He says in a voice so low and so deep that I barely caught it. "I chose Miss X."

There was de a d silence.

The kind of silence that all I could hear was the water rippling against us.

Seconds passed before heads started to turn, searching and replaceing me.

I didn't believe it at first.

Because it can't be.

Surely we all heard wrong.

I let it go, forcing a smile as I turned to O, who was beside me, but even he stared at me and I knew it was real.

The man with the sad eyes called me.

X, he said.

I was dumbfounded and frozen as I gaped towards the dock, the eyes that watched me weighing me down. My chest tightened even more when I saw that Mister W was still looking at me.

Waiting.

For me.

"Miss X, may you please join us so we can crown you?" The organizer says gently.

I felt everyone beside me slowly inch away, leaving me in the middle. All except for O, who stayed where he was.

"Miss X?" The organizer tried again.

I glanced down at my exposed chest and then up to the dock.

Mister W saw this and must have sensed my unease because he whispered something to the organizer, something I wouldn't hear. The next moment, I saw the organizer shrugging off his coat. Mister W takes this and steps to the edge of the dock, his hand outstretched for me to take.

My heart thumps at this, wondering quietly how this happened. I suddenly felt lightheaded as I stared at his hand, but everyone was already waiting for me and I could do nothing else but swim towards his outstretched hand until I was close enough to take it. His grasp is strong and his palms are overly calloused. The hand that took mine is etched with scars that look to have many stories behind them. As much as I tried not to, I felt each of the cuts and calluses on his hands, marvelling at how much bigger they were compared to mine. For a few silent moments, he seemed to do the same, marvelling at my hands.

Clasped together, his hand was warm and gentle to touch as he pulled me up and quickly wrapped the coat around my shoulders once I was on the dock.

He didn't look away from my eyes as he did so, even if I knew my hair was out of place and I wasn't the least bit modest.

But I do hear him mutter a low, "Fuck,"

I didn't ask about it, pretending not to hear.

As if in a dream like state, I was suddenly standing beside him. He was taller than me as I looked up at him, the questions were still at the tip of my tongue. But there was no chance for that because the organizers were already starting to talk about the wreath to be placed on my head.

"This year's golden attendee is Miss X!"

I feel the weight of the flowers on my head as Mister W gently places the wreath on me. His eyes were on mine again and I felt so utterly small under his gaze.

As he took a step back for me to receive the applause, I was quick to replace Miss A in the water. She's been every year's golden attendee and I didn't want to cause any kind of tension with her by being up there, but as I see her clapping and smiling happily, the weight on my chest eases.

"Yes, X!" She cheers loudly. "You deserve it girl!"

O was behind her and he too was clapping for me, a small smile on his lips. I can tell he was truly happy for me, but I can also sense something... something wrong.

Before I can figure it out, the crowd chants for something and it takes a moment for me to understand what it is.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!"

I froze, my stiff body almost making me drown.

K-kiss?

What?

"Ah, yes!" The organizer says, eyes wide with excitement. "Usually, the winner of the first game gets to receive a kiss from the girl he crowns, but of course it's not required..."

I appreciate how the organizer didn't force it, merely saying it was the usual and giving me a way out of it.

It didn't make it easier to accept though.

Even Mister W looked startled, shaking his head.

But he had won and he crowned me.

And it should be innocent enough...

Just as the cheers got crazy loud with the attendees around the dock splashing water up at us, I took Mister W's hand. My heart was rising and just as I was about to chicken out, I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a light kiss on his cheeks. His pale cheeks suddenly turned red or maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

Whistles and cat calls exploded in the crowd as I pulled away quickly and fought the heat that rushed to my face. I take my hand away from him, fisting them tightly into a ball.

Mister W surprises me by touching my fist tenderly and offers what I think is his version of a smile. I relaxed a little, giving my own smile.

My hand still felt warm from where he had grasped it, and a blush crawled up my neck as I thought of the contact, innocent as it was.

Our eyes still on each other, we rushed forward, jumping into the lake and letting the cool water wash over us. My hand to my head to make sure the wreath was in place, I broke the surface, giggling to myself.

I took deep breathes of air, only to replace myself surrounded by A and the others, but when I looked around hopefully, Mister W was gone, leaving me as he swam back to shore.