CHAPTER EIGHT
Jesse’s head was still spinning as he followed Gavin and Connor to the front of the HCI building. They’d both cleaned up and dressed in street clothes again while the camera crew got ready.
Jesse had spent the time talking to the PR dude, Tyson Short, who, despite the name, wasn’t short at all.
“So,” Tyson said. “We’re going to start by filming Jesse and Connor getting out of Connor’s SUV and Gavin greeting you, Jesse.”
Right, they were going to pretend like that little lecture in the gym never happened.
Gah, Jesse’s guts still squirmed at the fact that he’d accidentally hit on Gavin Racine. He’d honestly mostly been thinking about Connor when he said it, only half-aware there was another hot, fit guy there helping him train. He’d figured the dude was part of the strength and conditioning staff or whatever.
Since when did GMs help players work out? Apparently, Gavin did.
Fuck, he was hot though. With broad shoulders, big arms, and that salt and pepper Daddy vibe. Yummy.
But his lecture was way less hot. Way less fun than watching Connor blow his top. And honestly, Jesse felt like shit now. Because he wasn’t trying to be difficult.
He’d been freaking out about his car and then the cops had been dickbags and the ride share had taken forever and he was still worried that his baby was all scratched up in some impound lot and …
“Jesse? Are you listening?”
“Yep,” he said hastily. “The media crew will be filming Connor and I getting out of his SUV, then Gavin greeting me.”
“Yes,” Tyson said slowly. “And then we’re going to take you on a tour of the facility. Show you around. We’ll end up in the dressing room before you and Connor will get out on the ice and he’ll fire a few shots at you.”
“Uhh, I’ll have a little time to warm up, right?” Jesse asked. “Because I don’t want to end up on IR before training camp even starts.”
“Of course! How long do you need?”
“Thirty to forty minutes?” Jesse said. “I mean, I know I’m not going to be playing today but I’m feeling incredibly tight from the drive down from Toronto.”
“Got it.” Tyson looked sympathetic. “Not a problem. Are you good with us filming that? Your warmup?”
“Sure,” Jesse said, winking. “The more content the better, right?”
Tyson blinked. “Yes. Absolutely.”
They got through the arrival and intro shots okay, though Tyson kept having to remind Connor to smile.
Jesse tried not to snicker. His former captain, Dustin, had been great in front of the camera. Though according to everyone on the team, that had mostly been thanks to Charlie.
Thankfully, Jesse didn’t have to fake being impressed by the practice facility.
Toronto had been great too, but he liked the layout of the Harriers Community Ice Arena. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to see Gavin’s office overlooking one of the practice rinks. The dude did seem like a little bit of a control freak. He and Connor were pretty much made for each other.
Wait …
Jesse froze, glancing between them as they walked toward the gym they’d already toured, cameras temporarily turned off.
Gavin and Connor weren’t …
Jesse squinted, watching their body language while they talked about the tweaks Gavin wanted to make to the PK unit this season.
Gavin was openly gay and Connor was … well, Connor sure hadn’t acted like he knew his way around a man’s body when they’d hooked up. But was Connor interested in Gavin? They had been working out together, which wasn’t exactly normal GM behavior.
Jesse laughed, trying to imagine Pat Fleming in the gym with the team. Yeah, that never would have happened with his former GM.
Connor shot Jesse a quizzical look over his shoulder. “Something funny about a diamond formation on a PK there, Webber?”
“Nope,” Jesse said with a wave of his hand. “Just goalie stuff. Carry on.”
Connor squinted suspiciously but nodded, turning back to resume his conversation with Gavin. Jesse grinned at their backs.
He could get away with almost anything by calling it goalie stuff.
Hmm . So the working out thing could probably go either way. Either it was Gavin being super involved with the team—which seemed to fit his brand—or they were flirting. But if that was the case, Gavin probably wouldn’t be trying so hard to make sure Connor and Jesse were inseparable this season.
Perfect . Jesse would just have to be on his best behavior and take advantage of allll of that GM-ordered closeness.
Connor might be hesitant to hook up with Jesse now that they were on a team together, but Jesse had a feeling that wouldn’t last for long.
Really, who could resist him when he put his mind to something?
Connor tried not to stare while Jesse used a foam roller and lacrosse ball on his muscles, then shifted to some active isolated stretches. But it wasn’t as easy as Connor would’ve liked.
There was something about the way Jesse moved, the intense concentration on his face …
Connor resumed cycling, aware, painfully aware that there were cameras all around him. They were focused on Jesse, yes, since he was the exciting new addition to the team, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t catch him staring at Jesse in the background.
And Connor didn’t want to make any bets that his expression was professionally assessing, the way Gavin’s was. As pissed off as Connor had been this morning, the sight of Jesse stretched out naked in a bed and squirming under his hands had been tempting.
Dangerously tempting.
But Connor had to keep his distance. He’d already screwed up by letting Jesse’s charm lull him into a false sense of security about him arriving on time this morning, and look how that had worked out.
No, it had to be all business, no pleasure.
After the active isolated stretches, Jesse moved on to ankle mobility, which, thankfully, wasn’t that exciting. But Connor’s resolve wavered when Jesse got down on his hands and knees. When he widened his stance, Connor had a sudden flash of memory of Jesse on his hands and knees on the hotel bed, Connor’s dick disappearing into the tight clench of his ass.
Connor went hot all over, sweating and breathless in a way that had nothing to do with the stationary bike he rode.
It got worse from there, when Jesse went into a V sit position, doing some stretch that involved kettlebells and a rope and … Connor looked down at the digital readout on the bike, feeling the sting of salty sweat drip into his eyes as he pedaled harder.
But his gaze drifted up again in time to see the curve of Jesse’s ass when he got into a long split-squat position.
He’s your teammate! Connor reminded himself viciously. Your responsibility. The team dynamics and your captaincy are riding on you staying away from Jesse Webber.
But he couldn’t tear his gaze away. Couldn’t do anything but stare when Jesse shifted into an active warmup, twisting and bending, strong and flexible in a way that made Connor stare dumbly, awed and horny.
It wasn’t like Connor had never seen his tendie warm up before, but it had sure as fuck never been a guy he’d had sex with. All Connor could think about was Jesse’s body under his hands and the sounds he made and …
Connor shifted on the bike, his dick suddenly pinching where it was crammed into his underwear at an uncomfortable position now that he was growing hard. He got off the bike and did a few stretches of his own, just enough to loosen him up and force himself to think of anything but Jesse’s body.
Enough to make his dick soften and his focus return to the task at hand.
Connor kept his head down while they changed in the dressing area and when he was on the ice, he could finally breathe.
Here everything made sense. Everything was normal . He was a guy who played hockey and nothing more.
Connor was amused to see Gavin get on the ice too, dressed in a team tracksuit and a pair of skates. He was still good on them, sure and deft, and Connor idly wondered how much he skated these days.
“Alright,” Tyson called out. “Take a few warmup laps, O’Shea, and Webber, you do your goalie thing.”
Jesse laughed, loud and bright, and the sound echoed around the nearly empty rink. “Sure, I’ll do my goalie thing.”
Connor smiled as he skated a few laps, letting his muscles warm up and his body sink into the familiarity of the movement. That smile widened when he saw Jesse doing his little side-to-side goalie shuffle in front of the net they’d set up.
Goalie things indeed.
“Whenever you’re both ready, let’s have you fire some shots at Webber, O’Shea,” Tyson called out.
“Ready,” Jesse called out, hunkering into position. He was a hybrid goaltender, shifting between stand-up and butterfly positions, and he’d been terrible to go up against in the playoffs last season when he’d filled in for Makarov. Jesse was fast and skilled, with a cool, unflappable demeanor that didn’t see him melting down easily.
Wildly different than his personality off-ice.
He was a silly sider too, shooting with his left hand and catching with his right. Most goalies were the opposite.
“Hey, are you a leftie off-ice?” Connor asked, curious. Not all goalies who shot with their left and caught with their right were left-handed, but most of them were, preferring to use their dominant hand to shoot with.
Jesse nodded. “Yeah. I’m a leftie.” He smacked his catcher with his glove.
“Huh.” Because what else did Connor have to say to that? And why did he care anyway? Even if he was now remembering that it had been Jesse’s left hand that had wrapped around his cock, sure and strong as he sucked Connor off.
“You want me to shoot from the neutral zone?” Connor asked Tyson, skating up to the red line. Because work. He was working now. Not fantasizing.
Fuuuck .
“Yeah, that’ll be good,” Tyson said. “Gavin, you feed the pucks to O’Shea.”
And Connor nodded because, okay, now he could see why Gavin was out here.
The passes from Gavin came quickly, clean and landing right in the center of Connor’s tape. He fired the pucks at Jesse, scowling when he batted the first half-dozen away like someone swatting and killing an irritating fly, his wide grin clear and bright, even behind the cage of his mask.
Connor began to move more, skating toward the net like he was practicing shootouts, whooping with triumph when he finally got one in over Jesse’s left shoulder, gloved hands and stick raised in the air.
Jesse pushed his mask back and scowled, reaching for the water bottle tucked in the top of the net. “You got one , O’Shea. You’re not that good.”
“Yeah, I am,” Connor said, baring his teeth. “ Watch me.”
Jesse shot some water at him in retaliation.
But although Connor definitely got more pucks in the back of the net after that, Jesse caught or blocked more than he would have liked. By the time Tyson finally called it, Connor was fired up, eager to see what it would be like having Jesse on their team this season.
He looked good in the black, red, orange, and yellow team colors.
Connor and Jesse were both flushed and laughing as they skated toward the still-rolling cameras. “Welcome to Boston, Webber,” Connor said with a smile, tapping Jesse on the pads.
It was in the script for him to say but he meant it. However weird shit had been with Jesse so far, this part of it was going to be good.
Jesse was good.
“Thanks, O’Shea,” Jesse said, bumping his catcher into Connor’s glove, his eyes bright and happy. “Glad to be here.”
They wrapped up filming after that and Connor was the first in the shower. He soaped off, hoping to get in and out before Jesse even got his gear off. But Connor was still scrubbing his hair when Jesse sauntered in the wet room and cranked on the showerhead across from his.
Jesse’s gaze was blatant and appreciative when he raked it over Connor’s body.
Connor’s skin went hot, hotter even than the water falling on his shoulders, and he bit out an oath and turned away before his cock could give him away.
Even then, he could feel Jesse’s gaze on his skin. And, God help him, he liked it.
Things with Viv had been rough for a long while before they split.
None of it was that surprising. He’d been gone a lot and she was home with three kids, one of whom was getting serious about his hockey. That wasn’t a recipe for a good marriage, though somehow, his father and two of his brothers had managed it.
Connor was the only one who’d failed.
He ducked his head, letting the water wash the soapy bubbles away. Fuck . There was a mood killer.
He finished his shower quickly after that and when he turned, he saw Jesse staring at him. He’d half expected him to be putting on a show, stroking his cock while he pretended to soap up or something, but to his surprise, Jesse simply stared, brow a little furrowed.
“Everything okay?” Jesse asked quietly, barely loud enough to be heard over the rush of water.
Connor nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
Jesse frowned, like he was about to argue, but all he said was, “I am sorry about this morning.”
“I know, Webber,” Connor said with a tired sigh. “I know.”
Because that was the thing. He was starting to think that maybe Jesse was a magnet for disasters.
It didn’t mean he was off the hook for being responsible and on time. But maybe Connor needed to figure out a way to help the kid instead of yelling at him.
“Hey, you wanna grab a late lunch on the way home?” he asked, wrapping a towel around his waist. “I can show you a bit of the city after.”
Jesse’s expression brightened. “Yeah, I’d like that.”