Chapter 19
Oh my God, I’d told Archer I loved him. I crept my gaze to him as he laughed at something Myles had told him while we sat at the tables next to the wall. Dancing with him to that song had made me realize I had to tell him. He needed to know I was all in with him. And his reaction had been everything I could ever hope for. He’d almost made me lose my shit, but I held it together.
“Hey, I gotta piss. Be right back.” Archer kissed my cheek, squeezed my arm, then left with Myles.
Jonah eyed me, lifting the edge of his mouth, then sipped his beer and scooted his chair closer to mine.
Oh, here we go.“Hello, Jonah.” I gave him a quick grin. There was obviously something he needed to say without Archer around.
“Hello, Leo.” He skimmed his index finger over the lip of his beer glass. “So, how are you two doing?”
“We’re doing great.” I shifted in my seat to face him.
Mason strolled over to stand behind Jonah, placing his elbow on Jonah’s muscled shoulder. “We having the talk?” He glanced at Jonah.
“Yes, we are.” His brows knitted for a beat, then relaxed. “We all like you, Leo, but you’ve got to?—”
“I came out to my best friend today.” I held my palm up. I knew what they were going to say. If a guy was dating Axel and keeping it secret, I’d do the same thing. Okay, I would have done the same thing, had I known Remy was doing that. Jesus fuck, this was a weird dynamic. “I’m working on coming out to my brother and the rest of my family. I’ve already spoken to Archer about it. It’s…” I huffed sigh. “It’s complicated.”
Mason’s gaze met with Jonah’s, then he turned it on me. “We only want the best for Archer. He’s having a hard enough time with his dad not talking to him.”
“His dad isn’t talking to him?” My gut clenched for a beat. I sort of knew that, but it sounded different, more urgent coming from them. “He said he told his dad about me tonight. He said he left a message with him.”
Jonah eyed me. “Yeah, see, his dad calls at least every few days, especially after a game. But they haven’t spoken since?—”
“Since the Knot Me show at the casino. I know. I was there when he spoke to him last.” I let my gaze run over the table, the empty shot glasses. “The call ended badly, with Archer hanging up on his dad, but I didn’t think it would warrant the two of them not speaking.” Or maybe I wasn’t used to dealing with parents like his. Mine would never do that, would they?
“What exactly happened during the phone call?” Mason narrowed his eyes and leaned in.
“I think his dad told him to forget about hockey and school and go back to Minnesota to work with him.” I scoffed. “It was the night he was already down on himself about that stupid faceoff. I think he felt like he lost the game for you guys.”
“That’s bullshit. We’re a team and when we lose, it’s a team effort,” Jonah said.
“Dude, seriously?” With a half-smirk, Mason arched a brow at Jonah.
“You know what I meant.” Jonah scoffed and drank some beer. “Anyways, no wonder Archer hung up on him. Fuck, I’d do that, too, if my dad ever said that to me.”
“Yeah, but your dad isn’t a dick.” Mason sipped beer from his bottle.
“So, let’s keep an ear out. His dad should call him in the next day or so after Archer left that message. If he doesn’t, then I think there’s more to it.” Jonah pursed his lips. “I don’t know, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Yeah, okay.” I drank some beer. “I’ll help any way I can. You guys just say the word.”
“Thanks, Leo.” Jonah, dipped his head, then focused on me. “I know it’s hard and complicated, but Archer’s worth it.”
“I know he is. We’re in love.” Take that. I lifted my brows.
“Ho-ly shit.” A wide smile spread over Mason’s mouth. “Dude, I’m so happy for you both.” He did a little dance, wiggling his hips and pumping his arms.
“Me, too, man.” Jonah held out his fist and I bumped it with my own. “He deserves the love of a good man.”
“I’m determined to be a good man for him.” My gaze caught Archer and Myles winding through people and working their way toward our tables. Hopefully I’d given his friends what they needed to know and now they understood how serious I was about Archer.
After a fun nightat the gay bar with Archer and his friends, we all found Ubers home, and everyone had retired into their bedrooms. I’d already texted Remy to let him know I was staying the night and just as I knew he would, he was happy to cover for me with Axel. I was pretty sure he was telling my brother I was out with the fictitious Angie. But I’d deal with that mess when the time came.
Archer handed me a bottled water he’d gotten for me out of his refrigerator, then led me into his bedroom, flicking on the nightstand lamp. “I’m really happy you decided to stay the night.” He twisted off the cap on the bottle and sipped it as he sat on the edge of his bed.
“Yeah, me, too.” I dropped in next to him, my dick waking. How much better was sex with him going to be knowing he loved me? I set my water on the nightstand, then placed my palm on his cheek and turned him to face me. “Archer, I am one lucky son of a bitch.” Leaning in, I crushed my mouth to his and slipped my tongue between his lips, tangling it with his.
With a soft moan, he drifted backward onto the bed, taking me with him, until he lay on his back and I was on top of him.
I pressed my cock, now hard and aching inside my jeans, against his and moaned. “Fuck, you feel good under me.” Nibbling his chin, I worked my way down his neck and kissed his collar bone while sneaking my hand under his shirt and up his muscled chest.
Arching his head back, he gasped. “Fuck me tonight, Leo.” He slapped his hands to my ass and rutted against me, biting his lower lip.
“Gladly.” As I pushed his shirt up to his armpits, I bit a trail across his chest, then sucked a nipple into my mouth while teasing the other. I loved his hard chest, the grooves in his abdomen, the way he squirmed under my touch.
With a whimper, he squeezed his hand between us and unfastened both of our jeans, then freed our cocks, pushing our jeans and underwear down our hips.
As my dick brushed his, sensation shivered over my skin and my breath caught. I sucked the other nipple into my mouth and flicked my tongue over the hard nub.
“Fucking hell,” he gritted out, grinding his cock into mine as a shudder rippled through him.
I thrust faster against him, my dick pulsing on his and precum dribbled between us, slicking our tips. As pleasure knotted in my gut, I moaned over his heated skin. I needed more. “Let’s ditch the clothes.” I sat up and unbuttoned my shirt, then threw it to the floor.
After tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it, he skimmed his hand over my chest and pinched at my nipple, a smirk creeping over his lips, his sleeve of tattoos running up one arm and across his chest. “You’re fucking hot, Leo, and you’re all mine.”
“Damn right I’m all yours.” I leaned in and gave him a hungry kiss, our mouths clashing and tongues tangling. As I broke the kiss, I slipped my jeans and briefs down and off my legs as he did the same. “Now, where were we?” I grabbed the lube from his nightstand drawer along with a condom.
“Wait.” Offering me a coy grin, he slathered lube on his fingers and lay back against the pillows. “Climb back on top of me.”
With a nod, I lowered my body over his, chest to chest, hip to hip. “What are you doing?”
“You’ll see.” He pushed on my hip, and I rolled slightly to the side to let his slick hand between us. Fisting both our cocks, he stroked them and thrust at the same time. “Fuck yeah.”
Sensation sparked through my body, and I fluttered my eyes shut. “Holy shit, that feels good.” I rocked my hips in time with his and gasped, then swallowed his moans with needy kisses, slanting my lips over his and devouring him, my chest burning with the need to consume him.
As he quickened the pace, he panted against my neck and trembled under me. “Leo, I’m getting close. Fuck me now.” He halted and squeezed the head of his dick.
Rising up to my knees, I squirted lube on my fingers.
He lifted his legs into his armpits, exposing his puckered hole to me.
My cock twitched and leaked precum. “That right there might be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” I had him, my hockey player, and he loved me. He fucking loved me. As I slipped my finger inside his hole, he grunted. “You okay?”
“Great, keep going.” His ass clenched around my pumping finger, then his dick jumped off his stomach and a thread of precum spilled out of the flared head. “Fuck, right there.”
I rubbed over his internal spot, again and again, and added a second finger, stretching him while hovering over him. I wanted inside him. Now. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
“Fuck it, I’m ready.” With a faint smirk, he handed me the condom. “Fill me up, Leo.”
As I sat back, I rolled the condom over my cock and said, “I’m getting tested this week. I don’t want anything between us.” I crawled between his legs, nudging my cockhead into his hole, and propped myself on my elbow, gazing deeply into his brown eyes, my heart exploding with emotion. In this moment, he was everything to me. “Archer, I love you.” I slowly pushed inside his hot, tight hole.
“Fuck, Leo, I love you. So much.” Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he pulled my mouth to his and smothered me with needful kisses, our lips slanting and tongues sliding together.
My balls touched his ass and sensation shuddered over me. Holy fuck, don’t lose it already. Holding my hips still, I held onto him, kissing him with abandon.
He squirmed under me and hooked his ankles over my hips. “Do it, Leo. Fuck me. Fuck me hard.” His breath hitched.
As the initial surge passed, I pulled out, then pushed into him in quick, shallow thrusts, while kissing him. His hole clenched around me, and his hot dick pulsed against my stomach.
“There, right fucking there. Faster, Leo.” He held me to him, and his panting breaths whispered over my ear.
I quickened my pace and thrust into him, tension coiling inside me, my climax building and tightening my balls. I fought to hold back as heat shuddered over my body. “I’m close, Archer. You feel so fucking good.”
“Come, Leo,” he said on a ragged breath. Reaching between us, he pumped his dick and quivered below me.
“Jesus, fuck,” I gritted out as my orgasm blasted through me, tingling from my balls and up through my spine, curling my toes. Over and over, pulses of pleasure surged inside me.
As he cried out, his face tensed and his mouth dropped open, then hot cum painted both our chests. His ass tightened around me in waves, milking every last drop from me.
When it all slowed, I fell on top of him, droplets of his cum coating our skin. As I fought to steady my breath, I curled my finger in a lock of his blond hair. “Making love to you is always the best.”
He kissed my head. “Always and every fucking time.” Draping his arms around me, he lowered his legs. “I’m so lucky to have you, Leo.”
“I’m lucky to have you.” I lifted my head and set my chin on his chest my gaze raking over his angled chin and the pout of his generous lips. “Who’d have thought the first day at the rescue the two of us would fall in love and I’d be…I’d be head over heels for a hockey player.”
“Why not a hockey player?” He brushed his finger pads in a circle over my shoulder.
Shrugging a shoulder, I said, “I don’t know.” I chuckled. “I think all the blood is still in my dick and I don’t know what I’m saying.” I was definitely still hard.
He wiggled his ass and hooked a brow at me. “It’s not going down yet, is it.”
“Nope. I think it wants to go again.” I quirked the corners of my mouth and pushed my cock deeper inside him. “I think I’m stuck.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He chortled and patted my back. “Get off me, so we can get to the part where we’re snuggling all night together.”
“Yeah, fine.” I slid out of him and sat up on tucked legs, then pulled the condom off and tied it.
We rushedinto Archer’s bedroom from the hallway, all wiped up, and I slapped his naked ass, the clap sharp in the room.
With a barking laugh, he rubbed the red mark on his ass cheek. “Ow, what the hell was that for?”
I hooked my arms around him and play-bit his shoulder. “Nothing. You have a fine ass and it needed to be slapped.” I chuckled, my heart light. “Are we sleeping naked, or do you have some pajama bottoms for me?”
After kissing my cheek, he pushed me off him and rubbed his chin, looking me up and down. “I think I like you naked.” Snatching my wrist, he pulled me to his bed and threw the covers off a corner of it. “Get in.”
“Yes, sir.” I mock saluted him, then climbed into the bed, between the cool sheets, and shivered. “It’s cold in here. Get in.” I held the covers open for him while he crept in beside me. As I was lying on my back, he edged into my side and rested his head on my shoulder, a hand on my chest.
I wrapped my arm around him and kissed his head. “This was pretty much a perfect night, don’t you think?” I swooned in the warmth of his bare skin against mine, thinking on the evening. “Except for your friends grilling me.”
“What?” He lifted his head, studied me for a beat, then set it back down. “What did they say?”
“Oh, they wanted to let me know they were looking out for your best interests. I told them about coming out to Remy and that settled them down.” I gazed up at his ceiling, the glow of his nightstand lamp making odd shadows across it.
“Yeah, I’m not surprised. They were warning me about you coming out, too.” He toyed with my nipple. “But you have a plan and I trust you.”
“You should.” I twirled a curl of his blond hair in my finger. The holidays were coming up. Would he have to go home? “What are your plans for Christmas and all that?”
“I have a plane ticket to go home to see my family.” He sighed. “I hope my dad isn’t a total dick the whole time.”
An ache tugged at my heart. “How long will you be back there?” It would have been nice to spend our first Christmas together, but I couldn’t ask him not to see his dad. Especially after what Jonah and Mason had told me.
“I go back for the week of Christmas, then I’ll be home for New Year’s.” He kissed my chest, then raised his head to peer at me. “We can spend New Year’s together.”
“Good. I’ll plan something fun for us.” I let a grin creep over my mouth. “What about your games?” I knew he was due to have a couple of away games this next week.
“We play Cornell at Lake Placid this weekend. Pretty cool, huh?” He propped himself up on an elbow and focused on me. “No games the week of Christmas and as I said, we’re home the week of New Year’s.”
“Okay, so…” I dipped my gaze, then came back to his stunning brown eyes. “When can I see you?” I worried my lower lip. Was it too soon for me to want the hockey season to be over, so I’d have more of him?
He wrinkled his brows. “I have finals and then the away games. Next Sunday before Christmas? I can see you before I leave on Monday.” He twisted his lips. “I’d ask you to come with me to Minnesota, but?—”
“No, it’s too soon and it sounds like you have some things you need to work out with your dad.” But hell, if he’d ask me, I’d go. My chest pinched. And what would I tell my family? “Plus, I think my mom would lose her mind if I told her I wasn’t going to be here for the family Christmas traditions.” In fact, I’d never missed them.
“Yeah, I get it.” With a frown, his gaze slid to my chest, and he brushed his fingers around my nipple. “Do you get a tree for your place? Maybe we could um, go to a Christmas tree lot together.” The edge of his lips tugged up.
“What?” I freed a soft chuckle. What an odd request. “We haven’t gotten a tree, but maybe it’s time we did.”
“Yeah, when I first met you, Jonah said you reminded him of the kind of guy that was in those Christmas Hallmark movies.” Shaking his head with a smile, he rubbed his eyes. “He asked if we were going to be having hot chocolate at a Christmas tree lot.”
“Oh.” A choked laugh sprang from my throat. “Yeah, I’ve watched those with girlfriends before.” I thought a moment. “Wait, so I look like one of those small-town guys in flannel?” I cocked a brow. “But I don’t wear flannel.”
“No, silly.” With a giggle, he tapped my chest. “I’d say you have more of the nerdy, but hot metro-sexual look down.”
I shifted my head over the pillow. “I do work with numbers and spreadsheets, so I guess you’ve got me there.” I squeezed him to my chest. God, I loved him more by the minute. And times like these were so special. If only we could have more of them.
“I wish I’d have known you back when I had to take Calculus. Damn, that was hard, and I could have used your help.” He slid his leg over both of mine, pressing his dick to my hip.
“Yeah, that was easy for me. My statistics and database classes were a little hard for me, but I think I had a bad professor.” Yeah, I’d blame it on the teacher. I kissed his hair, my eyelids growing heavy. It was way later than I’d usually stayed up, but I didn’t want this moment to end. “So, what have we got for me to make in the morning for breakfast?”
“The guys like those high-protein pancakes and breakfast sausage. We get it all from Costco in huge boxes.” He relaxed against me. “Leo? I’m getting sleepy.”
“Yeah, you’ve had one hell of a long day.” Shit, he’d even played a full game of hockey tonight. “Let’s turn off the light, but stay just like this, okay?”
“Yeah.” He switched off his lamp, then snuggled into my side with a rumbling sigh. “I love you, Leo.”
“Love you, too. Goodnight.” I pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then shut my eyes. Best night of my life.
The next morning,after a round of very satisfying blowjobs, I pulled the drawstring tight on a pair of sweats and put on an oversized sweatshirt Archer had given me, then trudged into the kitchen to make breakfast. Everyone else was still asleep, as far as I could tell. I rummaged through their kitchen, which looked original to the 1980s home, finding bowls, and frying pans.
Archer ambled out of the hallway in his ASU athletic sweats and combed his fingers through his unruly bangs. “Need some help?”
“Nope. I’ve got this.” I poured the pancake mix into a bowl, then water, and stirred it with a whisk. “I do this all the time for Remy and Axel at home.”
“Yeah? They’re lucky bastards.” He kissed my cheek, then stepped to the coffee maker. “I’ll get the coffee started.”
“Don’t make it taste like mud this time.” Ace strolled into the main room, his almost black, curly hair framing his dark eyes. “Your coffee was so strong, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.” He dropped into a tall stool at the kitchen island and set his thick forearms on top.
“That was back when we were studying for mid-terms, and we all needed it.” With a scoff, Archer poured ground coffee into the filter, then shut it.
“How much coffee did you put in there?” Ace pointed at Archer.
Archer halted at the sink, holding the glass carafe. “Not that much.”
I strolled to the coffee machine and opened the filter. The beans were filled to the top. “Holy fuck, Archer, you’re going to kill us.” With a sharp laugh, I pulled the filter out and emptied some of the beans into a trash bin.
“Leo, don’t ever let him make the coffee.” Ace chortled.
“Fine.” With a shake of his head, Archer filled the carafe with water.
“There, that’s how much coffee should be in there.” I held the filter up to him, holding back a snigger. Note to self, always make the coffee first, before he can get to it. Staying the night was teaching me so much more about him.
“Yeah, okay.” He poured the water into the machine and stepped away.
I slid the filter and grounds back into place and turned the machine on, then set two frying pans on their stove and took the sausage out of the refrigerator.
“So, Ace, don’t you have some big assignment due for your ethics class?” Archer joined him at the island.
“Yeah, it’s pretty much done though.” Ace slumped his shoulders.
“What are you studying, Ace?” I poured pancake mix into a pan, then set sausages onto the other pan. I’d finally get to know his best friends outside of the rink and the bars.
“Business with an emphasis on finance.” Ace smirked at me. “I need to know how to handle all that money I’m going to make when I get my NHL contract.”
“You going free agent out of school?” As I turned sausage in a pan, I glanced at him. The guy was the starting goalie. Should he have already been drafted?
“Yeah, have to.” Ace stood up and strolled through the kitchen as the coffee maker spattered with the last of the water. “They don’t draft goalies before college. We need time to mature and age.” He chuckled. “Like a fine wine.” He poured coffee into a cup, then added creamer that Archer had placed on the counter.
“Oh,” I said with a nod. I’d never figure out how this all worked. “So, where are you from, Ace?” He had sort of a country drawl I couldn’t place.
“Montana.” Ace leaned with his ass against the counter.
“Yeah, his family owns a ranch up there.” Archer took his seat at the kitchen island and held his coffee cup in both hands. “Probably why he’s so big and so quick. He had to outwit the fucking cows.”
Ace gave a quick snort. “My dad started me on hockey when I was six. He thought I was too sissy and figured being hit with a puck over and over would toughen my ass up.” His eyes twinkled. “Best thing dear old Dad ever did for me.” He sipped his coffee. “Also gave me the reflexes I needed to dodge the bullies who wanted to beat on me for being gay.”
“Shit, really?” I flipped a pancake and faced him. “I’m sorry. That’s not cool. My brother got beaten up once in junior high.” With my chest heating at the memory, I said, “I tore the fuckers up. They never touched him again.” But Axel had never been the same. It was when he’d taken on his cocky, give-no-shits personality.
“And we saw him play in juniors and knew we had to bring him with us.” Archer set his coffee on the counter. “With him being as good as he is, it wasn’t a problem.”
“And don’t forget all the hard work my dad did to get us here.” Tyler strolled out of the hallway, his dirty blond hair swaying at the top of his bare shoulders, his sweats hugging his hips at the bottom of his washboard stomach. Tattoos littered his chest and shoulders.
“There’s our star.” Ace shook his head with a sharp laugh. “His dad helped all of us get here.”
“Yeah? How’s that?” I poured more batter into the pan, then made myself a cup of coffee.
“Tyler’s dad is a coach in juniors and his brother is in the NHL. Plays for the Rangers.” Archer held out his arm.
Tyler walked into Archer’s side, then kissed his head. “How ya doin’, man?”
“Great. Leo is making us a banquet this morning,” Archer said, wagging his brows.
“So, Tyler comes from a hockey family?” I eyed him. He got a lot of ice time, too and played right defense when Archer wasn’t playing.
“I do. I’m holding all the scouts back though. I want to weigh all my options and hit the NHL when I’m ready.” Tyler left Archer’s side to walk to the coffee machine.
“That’s your brother talking.” Ace huffed a laugh, then drank more coffee.
Myles stepped into the room wearing a black fleece and joggers, rubbing his eyes, then stopped and focused on us. “Damn, sure smells good.” He strode into the kitchen and peered over my shoulder at the stack of pancakes on a plate on the counter and the browning sausages. “Fuck, am I hungry.” He raked his fingers through his longer blond bangs.
“Tell Leo your story, Myles.” Ace arched a brow at him.
“What?” He stared at Ace for a beat. “Shit, is that coffee?” He rushed over to it and poured himself some, then eyed inside the cup. “You didn’t let Archer make this, did you?”
“Oh, fuck off, Myles.” With a scoff, Archer shifted in his chair.
I set a pancake on the stack. “I uh…” I glanced at Archer, then leaned in close to Myles. “I poured some of the beans out of the filter before he made it.”
“Thank God. The dude almost killed us off one time.” He poured creamer into his coffee and took a sip. “Mmm, good.”
“Myles.” Ace tagged Myles’ arm. “Tell Leo your story. We’re letting him get to know us better.” He threw a swift grin at Archer. “For Archer, since they’re all lovey-dovey now.”
With a glance at me, Myles said, “I uh, I’m from Canada, eh?” He chortled. “Vancouver. My dad does legal stuff for the NHL, draws up contracts and shit.” He sipped more coffee. “God, I needed this.”
“His dad pulled some strings to get him here, but doesn’t know he wanted to be here because of us.” Archer pursed his lips.
“I’m not out to my dad.” He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon jug of orange juice. “Anyone want some OJ?”
“Oh, hell yes.” Tyler said and grabbed some glasses out of a top cupboard.
“Myles’ gayness is the best kept secret there is around here.” Ace wrapped an arm around Myles’ shoulder and squeezed him to his side. “We’re letting it be for now.”
“Sounds like my brother’s friend Gabe.” I plated the sausage and turned around. “When Gabe came out to his dad, it was a bit of a shitshow, but it’s all good now.” I perused the dinette. “Food is ready. All we need are the fixings and shit.”
“Oh, right.” Archer jumped up from his chair and everyone moved quickly around the kitchen, grabbing plates, silverware and syrup.
Jonah and Mason ambled out of the hallway, both covered in sweats from head to toe. Jonah said, “Breakfast ready?”
“Hell yes.” I set the pancakes and sausage on the table and sank into a chair next to Archer, who’d already poured me an orange juice. As I plucked my knife and fork off the table, I scanned over the bunch. They were so close and from all over the country. How lucky they were to have each other. Gaining their full acceptance of me was something I would work on over the coming months.