Chapter Three
A Guy’s Hockey Team Can Be His One Flaw
Ender
“Connor, let’s go. You’re going to make us late!
” This man takes longer to get ready than anyone I’ve ever met—including Lanie, who starts getting ready an hour before she goes to the grocery store.
I feel sorry for Jackson on nights like tonight when you can expect a three-hour delay from her.
I can only imagine the time crunch he’s been in today, trying to get her to The Garden for her birthday get-together.
I’m glad it’s only him and Dakota coming to hangout.
I really have been trying to get over this attachment to Kaden—even though I know it’s more of a codependence thing than anything else—but I’m still not ready to meet his boyfriend.
My feelings for him had been slowly changing into purely platonic since we started college, until the night he kissed me.
I almost stopped him—I should’ve stopped him—but all those old feelings hit me like a freight train, and I gave in way too quickly.
Do I regret it? More than I would like to admit.
When we stopped hooking up, it left me empty.
I’d rather have never had him at all, than be left feeling like I’m missing out on something special.
“Ender, let’s go. What are you doing? We’re going to be late.” Connor’s snark breaks me out of my thoughts.
Without giving him the satisfaction of a response, I get up off the couch and walk out the door. Still, the little asshole is proud enough of himself to laugh loudly.
I turn on my playlist quickly after starting the car, hoping it will drown out Connor’s running commentary about his latest trysts.
When we got home from the concert in Atlanta yesterday afternoon, he barely had time to shower before he was running out of the door to meet a guy he had hooked up with last week.
Apparently, this guy has ‘potential,’ and he wants to see him again.
Sad to say, I doubt he’s the one for Connor.
I’m not saying my best friend is hard to please, but he’s a little high maintenance.
There haven’t been any guys—or girls—who’ve come close to fulfilling the role—they always lack what Connor needs in a partner, or they can’t put up with all of his antics.
Luckily, when we pull up outside Kaden’s apartment building, he’s waiting outside.
“About time you guys showed up. Let me guess—Connor changed his outfit five times?” Kaden knows him so well.
“Close. Six times, but who’s counting?” That earns me a slap in the stomach from Connor.
“Ha ha, very funny. I can’t help that I have impeccable taste in clothes and a difficult time choosing the right outfit for each occasion.”
“Connor, we’re going to The Garden. You know it’s nothing fancy.” Kaden and Connor launch into a debate about what type of location or occasion justifies changing your outfit six times. I drown them out and focus on the music still playing.
We’re lucky it’s not busy when we get to the bar, and we snag a few couches off to one side of the room that give us a nice view of the dance floor, while still keeping us close to the main bar.
“I’m going to get drinks.” Kaden motions to Connor. “The usuals?” He doesn’t wait for my answer—he knows I always get the same IPA when we come here. This bar has over fifty beers on tap, but I have a hard time with change, and little things like trying new beers are no exception.
“What’s up, boys?” Faith slides onto the couch beside me.
“Are you ready to deal with the lovefest that is Lanie and Jackson? I swear, it’s sickening watching—and listening to—them every night.
” With a look of nausea on her face, Faith continues, “That guy’s dick must be like an elephant’s trunk if you were to go by the noises you hear coming from Lanie. ”
Faith is only slightly more filtered than Connor when she’s in a good mood. This isn’t one of those times.
“Definitely not ready for the excessive PDA that’s going to be on full display all night.” I don’t add that I’m glad it will only be Lanie and Jackson and not Kaden with Luke, too.
Kaden comes back with drinks for all of us, including Faith. He’s good like that.
“What’s going to be on full display all night?”
“Your sister and her velcro other half. Those two are inseparable, and it’s nauseating.”
“Faith, you’re just jealous you don’t have a Jackson in your life.” Connor is poking the bear. He knows better than to do that, even when she’s not her usual crabby self. It’s funny how her two personalities are a combination of Connor and me on a good day.
“Fuck all the way off, Connor. You know nothing about my relationship status.” Faith has just opened herself up to a world of trouble. That’s like waving a red flag in front of a charging bull.
“Oh, so there is a relationship there to have a status on? Do tell, princess.”
And there it is—now he’ll never let this go. From the corner of my eye, I catch someone approaching us. He’s kind of hot. The newcomer leans down and whispers in Kaden’s ear from behind him and making him jump up.
“Holy shit, you scared me.”
Please tell me this isn’t who I think it is.
“What are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you were coming tonight.” Kaden definitely knows him; it must be Luke.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Fucking hell, I wasn’t prepared for this.
“Ummmm, what’s going on here?” Faith interrupts their moment.
“Faith, you remember Luke. From the Christmas party we went to?” I guess he hasn’t told Faith that he was seeing this guy.
“Of course I do. How could I forget Jackson’s hot-as-fuck older brother? My question is, how did this happen?”
“Story for another time. Guys, this is Luke. That’s Ender and Connor.” Kaden skips straight to the introductions without answering Faith.
I give him a half-wave in greeting and go back to my beer while they continue talking. I can’t help noticing an even more beautiful specimen of a man approaching us. He’s totally out of my league even if he is gay, but that won’t stop me from appreciating the eye candy.
“What’s so funny there, brother?” Wait, what? Is this sandy blond haired, blue-eyed guy, Luke’s brother? From how Faith described him, I thought Jackson looked like Luke, with black hair and green eyes.
“I was telling Kaden how hot Luke is; seems it runs in the family.” Connor is ready to pounce before they even get to shake hands. “Connor. Nice to meet you, gorgeous.”
“Gabe. Likewise.” He winks at Connor.
Gabe—Luke’s business partner and friend. That makes more sense and confirms his queer status. Kaden has already given us all the details about him.
“Connor,” Kaden scolds. “Can you stop hitting on everyone for, I don’t know, thirty minutes maybe? Is that possible?”
“Timer starts now, then all bets are off.” My sarcastic asshole of a friend actually sets a timer on his watch.
Gabe starts walking backward from our group toward the bar.
I see his lips moving, saying something to Luke, but I don’t hear what he’s saying.
I’m too busy staring. It’s like every angle of his face was sculpted by an artist whose intent was to create perfection—and that’s saying a lot because I don’t usually find anything remarkable about most guys we meet.
When he turns around, I can’t help but admire the perfectly plump, rounded ass he’s packing—and apparently my dick agrees.
Faith grabs my attention when she hurriedly snatches her phone and practically shoves her face into the screen. “Jackson texted. They’re on their way.”
“What’s up, guys?” Another new face for Connor to flirt with instead of Gabe arrives. “Cousin, you decided to join the land of the living.”
Is it officially ‘All Tall, Dark, and Sexy Men, Report to The Garden’ night?
Faith scoots away from the guy, who I assume is Dakota. “Hi, Faith,” Dakota greets her shyly. She eats men like him alive, poor guy.
Faith gives him one of her signature ‘I can’t be bothered talking to you’ glares, and Dakota looks like a puppy that had his favorite toy taken away.
“Hey guys, I’m Dakota. Nice to meet you.” His grip on my hand is firm, and fitting, I suppose, reminding me he’s a police officer.
I’m about to tell Connor not to hit on Dakota when I notice Gabe coming back with a beer for Luke.
I don’t usually have a staring problem—if anything, I avoid eye contact with people—but with Gabe, it’s harder than it should be.
When he glances my way for the first time, I cringe at getting caught gawking at him.
I take a deep breath when he makes his way over toward me and sits beside me on the couch, leg-to-leg, leaving me wondering if he’s oblivious to personal space or if this is intentional.
“Hi,” he says simply. From the way he greeted Luke, I’d expected him to be more outgoing than that.
“Hey. Uh, Gabe, right?”
“That’s me. Are you a friend of Kaden’s?
” His deep yet softly spoken voice is a wave of silky cream, wrapping my body in warmth like my favorite blanket on a rainy day.
He aims his striking blue gaze at me, and I could stay silently locked in it forever.
It takes me a few seconds to remind myself he asked me a question, and to respond without sounding like an idiot.
“Yeah, I’m Ender. We’ve been friends since middle school. Connor, too.”
A slow nod is all I get from him before he takes a sip of his beer, glancing around at the rest of our group, and joining in the chatter.
My first impression of Gabe is really not what I expected compared to when I saw him approach Luke—he went from outgoing and cheerful, to now seemingly…
reserved or standoffish. Did Kaden tell Luke something about me or my past, and he told Gabe?
Why would he do that and not warn me, so I know how to field any questions they ask me about my family?
Lanie’s high-pitched, surprised squeal when she sees us snaps me out of my head before I spiral any more than I have already.
Jackson greets his brother and cousin, then Lanie makes her rounds, hugging each of us.
Both Gabe and I stand at the same time, his forearm pressing against mine at our sides in the process—his long hairs brushing against my skin, sending little sparks of desire throughout my entire body.
Neither of us reacts visibly, standing there waiting for our turn to greet her and wish her a happy birthday, though the connection is affecting me in ways it shouldn’t be.
He’s essentially a stranger, and yet, any type of skin-to-skin contact helps fill this emptiness that’s left over from years of neglect by the people who should have loved me the most. It’s the strangest thing to be so dependent on something you hardly ever get to experience.
I shake those thoughts away when Lanie flings her arms around me in her viselike grip of a hug. “Hey End, glad you’re here. Save me a game of pool for later when we sneak upstairs.” Lanie is hardly subtle in letting me know her plans to kick my ass later—she’s exceptionally good at pool.
“You got it, short stuff.” I get an elbow to the stomach for that when she turns to introduce herself to Gabe.
At five-foot-three, she looks tiny next to him.
He is an inch or so taller than my six-foot, and on the leaner side when it comes to body type.
His broad-shouldered, solid body must be a work of art under those clothes.
“Happy Birthday, Lanie. It’s nice to finally meet the woman who has Jackson wrapped around her little finger.
” When he laughs with her at his jest, the sound sends a shiver through me.
The deep huskiness of it is even manlier than I thought it would be, and I like it more than I think I should.
The last thing I need is an attraction to another person who won’t be reciprocating those feelings and then having to be around them on a regular basis.
“I didn’t expect her to be so tiny after meeting Kaden,” Gabe whispers, leaning into me as we sit back down.
“Lanie is short like their mother, Claire, but don’t let their size fool you—they both pack sassiness like no other.
Kaden gets his height from their father.
They’re two of the funniest and greatest parents I’ve ever met.
Kaden and Lanie are very lucky.” I state the latter, meaning it with my whole heart.
I’m so fortunate to have had them, and the Ackermans, there for me when I left my parents for good.
I wouldn’t have been able to leave if it weren’t for all of them stepping in to support me.
Though I felt I didn’t deserve the help, I’m grateful for them.
When I realize there’s silence between us, I turn toward Gabe and find him staring at me inquisitively. Shit. I laugh nervously at myself, taking a swig of my beer before I can say anything else to make him want to ask questions I don’t want to answer.
Luckily, Connor has great timing for once, tapping his watch with his normal sassiness.
“Time’s up! How dare your family have genes to pass on like this?
Is everyone in your family beyond fuckable?
Geez.” Connor gasps dramatically, staring at the trio, then turns his attention to Gabe.
“Are you sure you’re not in the family? Because those genes spread to you, too. ”
“For Christ’s sake, Connor will you control your hormones tonight, please?” I take advantage of the distraction and focus on reining in my best friend’s flirting back to a safe level before he takes it too far, as usual.
“Hush yourself. Let me ogle them in peace.”
“You’ve done enough ogling for the night, Connor.
” As I argue back-and-forth with him about his sometimes-crude behavior with strangers, I hear Gabe’s laughter beside me.
My mind instinctively wants to pay more attention to him, and I have to fight to keep my eyes on Connor, so I don’t make an absolute fool of myself.
Connor finally gives up arguing with me, which leaves me with no excuse to avoid joining the conversation that Gabe, Kaden, and Luke are involved in next to me.
I’m excited that it’s a topic I’m interested in, until I hear Gabe mention the Canadiens are his team.
As a Bruins fan, I can’t help but knock a few points off the ‘fuckable’ status Connor gave him—that I fully agree with.
I choose to listen silently a little longer before chiming in, giving my opinion about his poor choice of a hockey team, and probably destroy any chance of spending more time in his presence.