Out of Bounds

8

Shiloh woke up feeling like his head was about to crack open. A sharp pain throbbed behind his eyes, and even the smallest movement made him groan. He slowly glanced around, and his heart started beating faster when he realized he wasn’t in Groove Club.

Did something happen while he was out cold and drunk?

His thoughts were instantly filled with negativity, each one worse than the last. But then his eyes landed on a familiar painting hanging on the wall. He knew that painting.

His heartbeat slowly began to settle.

"Why am I in Archer’s condo?" he whispered to himself.

Shiloh had no recollection of what happened after the drinking game. Everything after the last bottle was blank. He didn’t even know who won in the end.

The door suddenly opened, and Archer walked in, carrying a tray with food, a drink, and medicine. He looked freshly showered and completely at ease, which only annoyed Shiloh more.

"Why am I here?" Shiloh asked as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, one hand pressing against his temple.

"Well—"

"Wait," Shiloh cut him off. "Who won?" he added quickly.

Archer raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Here you are, sitting in my bed with a raging headache, and you’re asking me who won the drinking game?" Archer said, shaking his head.

Shiloh glared at him despite the pain shooting through his skull. Of course he wanted to know. His reputation—and his teammates’—were at stake. Winning or losing against Brighton wasn’t something he could simply ignore.

He crossed his arms stubbornly, even though the movement made him wince from the pounding in his head.

"Answer the question, Archer," Shiloh said firmly.

"Two of your teammates won their rounds," Archer replied calmly. "And I won ours." Shiloh couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment that hit him. His jaw tightened slightly.

When will he ever defeat Archer?

"You don’t remember what happened last night?" Archer asked, staring at him blankly, as if trying to read his expression.

Shiloh lowered his gaze and bit his lower lip, avoiding eye contact.

"I do," Shiloh lied.

"Really?" Archer questioned, one brow lifting in amusement. "So you remember that you puked in my car?" he added with a mischievous smile.

Shiloh’s head snapped up, his eyes widening slightly before he tried to mask it. The silence that followed only made Archer’s smile grow wider.

"I did?" Shiloh whispered, his face instantly heating up.

"Oh, I thought you remembered?" Archer teased, clearly enjoying his reaction.

Shiloh looked away quickly, crossing his arms over his chest as if that could hide his embarrassment.

"I remember! And I’ll pay for the car wash," he insisted.

Archer walked closer and placed the tray on the bedside table before sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Shiloh carefully.

"Do you also remember giving me an amazing blowjob last night?" Archer asked casually.

Shiloh’s head snapped toward him, eyes wide in shock before narrowing into a glare. Without hesitation, he grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at Archer.

"I never did that!" Shiloh denied, his face turning even redder.

Archer caught the pillow easily and smirked before standing up.

"I was just teasing you," he said lightly.

But Shiloh didn’t fully believe him. His mind raced despite the headache. Did he really do something like that while he was drunk?

Archer slipped his hands into his pockets and glanced at him.

"But I did win our bet, Alexii," he added, his tone turning serious again.

"What do you want?" Shiloh asked, clearly sulking.

"I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll claim it at the right time," Archer replied calmly.

"It has to have an expiry, Archer! You can’t hold that over me forever!" Shiloh argued, frowning.

"Alright," Archer said with a small sigh. "It’ll expire at the end of the year. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

Shiloh pursed his lips. A year was long, but at least it wasn’t indefinite. After a few seconds, he gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine," he replied.

Archer handed him the medicine and a glass of water.

"Take this. I’ll drive you home after," Archer said.

Shiloh took the medicine without another word. Once Archer left the room, he quickly reached for his phone on the bedside table. The moment the screen lit up, he groaned.

Dozens of missed calls and messages flooded his notifications—mostly from his teammates and family.

He opened the message from Coach first and replied immediately. Thankfully, training was scheduled later in the afternoon.

Next, he checked Kayden’s messages. The first one asked where he was. The second was a photo of their team inside one of the club’s rooms—some of them still asleep, sprawled across the beds and floor.

As soon as Shiloh replied, Kayden called. He answered after a few rings.

"Where were you?" Kayden asked immediately. "I woke up in one of the club’s rooms and didn’t see you." He groaned loudly.

"f**k, my head’s killing me."

"I was out," Shiloh replied shortly, his tone dismissive. There was a brief pause on the line.

"Who won?" Kayden asked.

"Brighton," Shiloh answered. Kayden cursed under his breath.

"What do they want?" he asked next.

"I don’t know. I haven’t seen them today," Shiloh replied, rubbing his temple.

"I don’t think I can participate in training later," Kayden muttered, groaning again.

"You tell me," Shiloh said with a small chuckle. "I’m not going to class today," he added.

"You’re ditching?" Kayden asked.

"My head feels like it’s splitting open," Shiloh replied. "I’m going back to sleep. I’ll see you later," he added.

Without waiting for another comment, he ended the call and leaned back against the headboard, letting out a long sigh.

Shiloh lay back down and closed his eyes, the exhaustion pulling him under almost instantly. He completely forgot that Archer had said he would take him home.

When Archer opened the door a few minutes later, he paused at the sight of Shiloh sleeping soundly on his bed. His earlier irritation softened slightly.

He shook his head with a quiet sigh, walked over to the bedside table, and took the tray. After setting it aside, he gently pulled the blanket up to cover Shiloh properly before stepping out of the room.

His phone buzzed repeatedly in his hand—messages from Dmitri, and the rest of the Brighton friends asking about what happened and where he was. Archer ignored them all.

He couldn’t exactly leave Shiloh alone in his condo.

Instead, he sent a message to their coach, informing him that he wouldn’t be attending training today due to an important family matter

.

The coach agreed, but not without a condition—Archer would have to double his training the next day.

Archer smirked faintly at the reply before placing his phone back on the table.

After a moment of hesitation, he returned to the bedroom. Shiloh was still fast asleep, breathing evenly, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Archer walked to the other side of the bed and lay down beside him, keeping a reasonable distance. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before closing his eyes.

Within minutes, the exhaustion from the night before finally caught up to him, and he drifted off to sleep.