Chapter 13
After making breakfast for the house, I sat down at the dinette and called the rescue while Remy and Axel worked on the dishes. The phone rang a few times, then clicked.
“Hello, Arizona Humane Society,” a woman’s voice said.
“Hi, is this Delores?” I drummed my fingers on the table. I’d wanted to see Goliath again, but I also wanted more than anything for him to have found a home.
“It is. Who am I speaking with?” she asked.
“Oh, this is Leo Sandstrom. I was there about a month ago volunteering.” I crept my gaze out the patio doors, watching the morning sun filter through the branches of the mesquite tree in the back yard. “Uh, I’m calling about Goliath. Is he still there?”
“Oh, no, honey. He went home to a nice family out in Queen Creek a few weeks ago. They have a small ranch and loads of kids. It was perfect for him,” she said.
As a smile spread over my mouth, my heart soared. “That’s great news. I’m so happy to hear it.” I’d have to figure out something else to do with Archer today.
Axel, drying a frying pan, strutted my way. “What? What happened?”
“Just a minute.” I held up my index finger to him. “Okay then, thanks so much. Bye now.”
“Bye.” She hung up the phone.
I set my phone on the table. What the hell was I going to tell Axel and Remy about where I was going today? It might be time to tell them the truth. “I was just inquiring about a dog at the rescue. Turns out they adopted him out.”
Axel glanced at Remy. “You weren’t thinking of bringing him home, were you?”
“No, just going to see him.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. Fuck, I couldn’t tell them about Archer.
Remy turned from the sink, then wiped his hands with a paper towel. “You don’t just go to see dogs at the shelter. You would have brought him home.” He raised his lips in a smirk. “Are you still headed over there?” He lifted his brows. “Are we getting a dog today?”
“No, we’re not getting a dog today and no, I’m not going over there now.” I twirled my phone over the table. I had to tell them something.
Bending over, Axel stepped closer to me. “Were you going over there with Archer?”
Remy rounded the kitchen island, throwing the paper towel into the trash bin as he went. “Were you?”
I glanced from one to the other. They’d been talking about me and Archer, it was obvious. “Yeah, I was.”
“But now what?” Axel eyed me. “Why don’t you invite him over and we’ll, I don’t know, watch a football game or something? Don’t the Cardinals play today?”
I snapped my gaze to Axel’s. “You don’t watch football, and don’t you have band practice today?” Besides, if I invited Archer over here, there was no way they wouldn’t see what was going on between us.
“Oh yeah.” He scratched his cheek. “But still, Remy watches football and I’m sure he’ll be lonely while I’m off practicing with the guys.”
Remy scoffed. “I won’t be lonely. I’ll finally have some alone time and maybe I can get to the next level on Sons of Destiny.” He walked over and patted my shoulder. “You have fun with Archer today and don’t worry about us.” He shrugged. “If you want to invite him over though, that’s cool, too.”
“Yeah, we’ll see what he wants to do.” I picked up my phone and texted Archer.
Leo
Good news. Goliath was adopted out already. What do you want to do instead of going to the rescue?
The three dots blinked.
Archer
Awesome! How about we go out for lunch. I have more good news to share, but it should be in person.
Axel peered into my phone.
“Don’t eavesdrop on my messages.” I slapped my phone to my chest. We hadn’t said anything incriminating, had we?
With a tsk, Axel said, “Jesus, Leo, you’re so weird when it comes to Archer.” He strutted away, swaying his hips as he went. “Almost feels like you’re trying to hide something.”
My chest twinged. Fuck. “There’s nothing to hide. We’ve just become good friends.” And I wasn’t ready to say anything more. The longer this went on, the harder it was becoming to not tell them the truth. My phone chimed and I held it to my face.
Archer
How about we hit up a pizza place? I’m tired of eating healthy and today is my cheat day.
I tapped on my phone.
Leo
Sure, I’ll pick you up in an hour?
That would give me time to shower and then it would be time for lunch.
Archer
See you in an hour.
After my shower,I drove into the driveway of Archer’s house. As I turned off the engine, the front door popped open and Archer strolled out, all dressed up in a nice navy-blue sweater and thigh-hugging jeans. Damn, he was stunning in everything he wore.
With a smile playing over his mouth, he climbed into my car and leaned over the center console, cupping my cheek. “Missed you.” He planted a deep kiss on my mouth, his tongue sliding inside. A soft moan floated out of him.
My cock took notice and plumped in my jeans. As the kiss broke, I said, “Missed you, too.”
“So, how about Spinelli’s Pizza down on Mill Avenue?” His eyes twinkled in the sunlight shining in through the windshield.
“Sure.” He was pretty damn happy about something. “Are you going to tell me what this good news is now, or are we waiting?”
“Waiting.” He gripped his big hand over mine, facing forward in his seat. “Let’s go.”
We strolledto the pizza place, hidden inside a brick building of small shops, and were seated into a corner booth by a hostess. The place had dark wood tables with red vinyl seats and a mural of an Italian archway with colorful vines climbing up the wall. I’d been here before with Alicia, but she’d only wanted to order a salad. Why go to an infamous pizza place to order salad?
“So, I like everything on my pizza. How about you?” He set his menu on the table, then perused the place.
“Good with me.” I was not like my brother, who only ate pepperoni and mushrooms on his pizza. The guy was notorious for it. I lowered my menu, my gaze catching on a waitress in black waiting on another table, one with a hetero couple sitting at it. Funny, now I was thinking like a queer person.
Facing Archer, I held his hand over the table. “So, tell me what this good news is.” I sipped water from my glass.
“You’re not going to believe this, but the new defensive coach for the Coyotes knew my mom.” His face lit up and his leg jiggled under table.
“Really.” I studied him. There was a lot more to this story. “And?”
“And he showed up after the game last night with an offer to let me try out for the team at their summer development camp.” Ticking his brows, he gave me an open-mouthed smile.
“Are you shitting me?” I squeezed his hand. “That’s great. Does that mean you get a deal?” I wasn’t very up on how hockey players got onto teams. Football was easy. Hockey seemed a lot more complicated to me.
“It means I have a chance at a deal. He said he’s been following my career, well, with my mom’s help.” He traced a circle on the table with his index finger, tilting his head. “I do have to prove to him that I’m worth it, though. It’s not a done deal. He said if I can play well the rest of the season, then I’m in.” His gaze met mine.
“So, is this some sort of posthumous favor he’s doing for your mom?” I winced. Fuck, that didn’t come out right. “Sorry, you know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I’d be given this chance if he didn’t know my mom.” He hung his head. “I have to really focus on my skills now and get shit down.” He fisted his free hand.
“You’re good Archer. I’ve seen you do amazing things out on the ice. You can do this.” I shook his hand between us.
“Yeah, as long as my dad stays out of my head.” He pursed his lips.
The waitress stopped at the table and took our order for a pitcher of beer and pizza, then left.
I wasn’t sure I liked his last comment. “What do you mean about your dad being in your head?” I inched closer into his side. All the excitement he’d had when we’d gotten here was gone.
With a huff, he said, “So, when I play a good game, he calls and congratulates me, but he always has something negative to say. But when I play well, it rolls off my back and I dig in and actually get better.” He shook his head, a slight sneer creeping over his lips. “But when I fuck up, he calls and gives me shit, tells me all the reasons I should quit hockey, you know.” His gaze snapped to mine. “You saw it.”
“Yeah, I saw it.” I knitted my brows. How awful. My parents had only ever been supportive of me and Axel. Even though it had taken Dad some time to accept Axel’s sexuality. But Axel had never seen it.
“So, then his voice gets in my head, and I fuck up even more. My practices suck and the next game is hit or miss.” He blew out a breath. “It takes time to recover and I’m sure it shows on the ice.” With a slow nod, he said, “That’s probably why Mr. Dupont wants to see if I can pull my head out of my ass the rest of the season before he extends an amateur tryout contract to me.”
I nodded. Yep, complicated. “Have you heard from your dad since the night you hung up on him?” He hadn’t said a word about it.
“No, I haven’t. He’s probably still pissed off at me.” He scoffed. “If he knew about Mr. Dupont coming to visit me…well, he’d probably try and tell me it’s a pipe dream and the only reason he’s giving me a chance at all is because he knew my mom.”
The waitress set down our pitcher of beer and two frosty glasses.
“It’s not a pipe dream, Archer. You can do this and I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble if he didn’t see something in you.” I poured the beer into our glasses and slid one toward him, then held up my glass. “Here’s to you joining the NHL next year.”
His lips quirked and he tapped his glass on mine, then sipped it. “God, could you imagine? Me. In the NHL.” With a shake of his head, he said, “I wouldn’t be a star player, not at first anyways.” He hooked a brow. “But I’d get some ice time as third or fourth line.” His smile widened. “I’d fucking eat that up.”
“And you’d be a Coyote, so you’d still be in Arizona.” Wagging my brow, I sipped my beer, then almost choked on it. What the fuck was I hinting at? That we’d still be together next year and maybe the year after that? We weren’t even technically boyfriends yet. Yet? Fuck my head.
“Exactly. I’d be right here…with you.” He grabbed my cheek and pressed a long, deep kiss on my mouth, then freed me. “I’d have it all.”
I cleared my throat. I’d have to figure out how to come out of my fucking closet first.
The waitress set down our pizza and a few plates. “Enjoy.” She strolled off.
I pulled a slice onto my plate. Come to think of it, Thanksgiving was coming up fast, like in this week. Do I dare ask him to have it with my family? “You uh, you said you and the guys cook a big turkey for Thanksgiving, right?”
“Yeah, I think Ace already bought a bird.” He bit into a pizza slice, then licked sauce off his finger.
My gaze chased his tongue and heat burned in my belly. We needed to find time to be together before this day ended. I thought back on Archer’s discussion with the Coyotes’ coach. “Hey, what was this coach’s name again?”
“His name is Richard Dupont.” He gulped down some beer.
I picked up my phone from the table and ran a search on his name, then clicked on the images tab. I stared at a photo of Richard when he was younger. “Um, Archer, this guy sort of looks like you.” I held my phone out to him.
“Huh?” He peered at the phone, then took it from me. “No way, dude, his nose is way bigger than mine.” He set the phone on the table.
“Has the same eyes though and the same…body, shit. Look at those muscles.” I bit into my pizza and scrolled with my free hand. “Looks like he played minor league hockey and was a…” Did I read that right? “Was a road cycler in the Olympics?”
“What?” With the hint of a smile playing over his lips, Archer flicked the phone back under his face, sliding it across the table. “Would you look at that. I’m sure there’s a story there. He said he went to the Olympics with Mom.”
“Is that where they met?” I washed down pizza with my beer. Shit, I’d totally forgotten about Thanksgiving after getting turned on by his tongue.
“Don’t know where they met. Mom never said. She didn’t really talk about him to me.” He ate a bite of pizza and swiped the screen of his phone.
“Okay, so…” I grabbed his hand, stopping him from scrolling on his phone. “Archer, I have a question for you.” My pulse beat a little faster. I didn’t know if I could promise him much, but I could at least invite him over. “Would you want to come to Thanksgiving at my family’s house this week?” Or maybe it was tradition that he spend it with the squad?
With his eyes widening, he said, “Leo, does that mean you’re um…” He flicked his tongue over his lower lip. “You’re um, thinking of coming out to them?”
With a heavy sigh, I hung my head. Shit, I should have known he’d go there. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.” I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand. “I guess I thought it would be nice to spend the day with you since you’ll be in town and won’t have a game.” I should have thought this through better. I snuck a peek at him, frowning. “I mean, I’d have to find the time to come out to everyone by Wednesday and then introduce you to my parents right after and?—”
“Naw, I get it. It’s too much, too soon.” He clenched his jaw for a beat, the muscle bulging. Inside a chuckle, he said, “We’re not even boyfriends.” He slipped his hand out of mine and drank his beer, then set it down. “You know, you could come to my place and feast with us. You can make the gravy.” He gave me a forced smile.
I looked him over. His response sounded like a no. Like a, I’m not meeting your parents unless you come out response. I couldn’t blame him. “Let me think about it, okay?” I tugged a new slice of pizza onto my plate. What excuse would I give to my parents? To Axel and Remy? “It might sound weird if I tried to tell my family that I’m spending Thanksgiving with my new friend and not them. Sorry.”
“Shit, Leo, I’m sorry. I’ll come over. I’ll meet your parents as a friend, okay?” He squeezed my hand over the table, studying me.
“Are you sure?” My gaze searched his face. I didn’t want to hurt him, but he was right. This thing we had was too new for me to be coming out and dragging him to meet my parents.
“I want to spend the day with you. That’s what’s important. We have time for us to be solid so you can be ready to come out. I seriously don’t want to pressure you.” He kissed my cheek. “Maybe we can all watch football together, you and me and Remy and your dad? I assume he watches football?”
“He does. You were right to leave Axel out of that lineup.” With a sharp laugh, I shook my head. “He’s going to be all whiny about it. You watch.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to meeting your parents.” With a soft grin, he lifted his chin. “Tell me about them.” He ate more pizza.
I shifted in my seat. What could I say about them? “So, like I said, Mom is a fifth-grade teacher and Dad owns a tax business. Dad is a numbers guy. Maybe that’s where I got it from.” As my body relaxed, I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.
“Ah, because your job involves lots of numbers.” He nodded. “I get it.”
“Yeah, and spreadsheets and databases, all the fun stuff.” With a giggle, I leaned into him. My nerdy side was about to come out, but I’d keep it in check. “Anyways, Mom left work for a while to raise me and Axel. That’s how she met Remy’s mom. They were in a stay-at-home mom’s club and the moms would get together with us kids, or sometimes go out for dinner together without us.”
“To get a break from you heathens.” Holding his beer to his lips, he snorted. “I’d love to have seen what you and Axel were like growing up.”
“Well, Axel is four years younger than me. But I swear to God, he proclaimed his attraction to boys and men as soon as he could talk.” Shaking my head, I barked out a laugh.
“How did your parents take it?” With his grin waning, he tapped his index finger on the lip of his beer glass.
“Mom was cool with it. It’s like she knew.” I sucked in a breath. “Dad, on the other hand.” I lifted my brows and whistled. “He was sure Axel had seen something on TV that was causing it and he’d grow out of it.” I sipped my beer. “Axel was never shamed for being gay, but my dad didn’t accept it right away like Mom did.” And I was pretty sure me and Mom were the only ones who saw that side of Dad. Shit, was that why I was having so many problems coming out? Was there some fucked up shit in my psyche from it?
He ran his fingers up and down the condensation of his beer glass. “My dad was livid.”
Dropping my mouth open, I cut my gaze to his, my heart stinging for him. “I’m sorry. You said something about him calling you a fag.” Was I going to hear the whole story now? I wanted to hear it. I wanted to know all about him.
“Yeah.” He scowled. “Truthfully? I came out to him because I’d decided to start dating only men and I thought Milo was going to be the guy. You know?” His lips bowed down.
I squirmed in my seat, heat flaring in my chest. I couldn’t be jealous of Milo. There was nothing between them anymore. “Uh-huh.” I nodded, fixating on him.
“I was sure Milo was going to be my first boyfriend, so I figured, what the hell? Get the formalities out of the way with dear ol’ dad. But then he was such an ass about it.” He hung his head, tracing his index finger back and forth on the table. “And then Milo showed up at our first date with Ryder and I knew it wasn’t meant to be.” He gulped down his beer.
Fuck, he’d cared a lot more about Milo than he’d let on. “Did Milo know any of this?” It wasn’t like Milo to be a dick to anyone. He was one of the nicest guys in the band, as far as I could tell.
“No, I didn’t have the heart to say anything to him.” He threw his arm up in air with a huff, then sank into the seat, tipping his head on the back of the cushion. “As soon as I saw him with Ryder, it was like his whole being lit up, body and soul. I knew it wasn’t going to work out for us and I sure as shit wasn’t going to get between them.”
Squeezing him into my side, I said, “That was pretty big of you.”
He turned his head to gaze at me. “Yeah, I’m not a drama queen.” His lips curled in a soft smile. “I may be a queen?—”
“But not a drama queen.” I tickled his side.
With a sharp giggle, he jerked away from me. “Stop it.” Twisting on the seat, he held both his hands up to me. “Don’t you dare get any ideas.”
“You’re ticklish. Like really ticklish.” I wiggled my fingers at him, inching toward him. I was going to have fun with this later.
“Only Jonah knows about that, and sometimes I hate him for it.” He mock glared at me. “Are you going to put your fingers away?”
“If you come back here and sit next to me, I will.” I faced my plate and set my forearms on the table, then peeked at him. It was going to kill me, but I wasn’t going to tickle him again…in the restaurant.
“Okay.” Slowly, he shifted into his place next to me, watching me. “Don’t try anything. I’m warning you.”
“I won’t.” I sniggered, covering my mouth with the back of my hand. “But really, who’d have thought a big tough hockey player was that ticklish.” The fact was, it made him human and even more adorable to me.
“So, let’s eat up and walk it off in the shops. What do you say?” He eyed me, then ate more pizza.
“Sounds good to me.” I drank some beer, thinking on the rest of the day. “What about dinner? Maybe we could stop at the grocery store, and I could cook for everyone?” I’d finally get my chance to show off my skills in the kitchen for him.
“Hell yeah. I’ll text the guys and see how many of them will be home. Sometimes they all go out for the day.” He gave me a warm smile.