Chapter 5 #2
“I bought some Gatorade for you, since you said you had to stay hydrated.” He smirked and pulled out a lime green bottle, and then a bottle of water. “Do you want that or the water?”
“Gatorade is perfect.” I stepped toward him, and as he passed the Gatorade to me, our fingers touched.
My heart fluttered. My expectations for him today involved only getting to know him better.
But if he tried something…hell, I wouldn’t turn it down.
Hopefully, I hadn’t destroyed my chances at the bar by insisting I was straight.
He set the bottled water back in the refrigerator. “I have a filtered water system, so I just use that.” He picked up a stainless-steel bottle from beside the refrigerator and filled it from a smaller faucet at the sink.
He was so fucking domestic right now. This was really weird. “Yeah, I have one too.” I twisted off the cap on my drink and sipped it. When would he show me his bedroom? Would he? Heat grew in my belly. I imagined it to have restraints on the headboard or something. Don’t be crass, Evan.
“Okay, so let’s walk down the hallway.” He flashed a quick grin at Bean and then strutted through the main room and into the hallway.
We passed a closed door and then an open one. I glanced inside it and spied a bench with some weights. There was the exercise room—my sole reason for being here. Well, besides my ulterior motive of wanting to spend time with him.
He strolled into a room with a huge platform bed and charcoal bedding, lots of throw pillows and a white fluffy blanket folded at the end. “My bedroom.” The corner of his lips rose. “Is it what you’d expect?”
I scanned the room—the reddish wood on the modern dresser and nightstand, the white, black, and red artwork above the headboard.
The rug and draperies here resembled what I’d seen in the main room.
“It’s, I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect.
It fits you, though.” How many people had he invited into this room, besides me?
I focused on the bed. How many guys had he fucked in that bed, or women for that matter?
Heat flared across my chest. It was none of my business.
A smile swept his lips. “Yeah, I don’t know what people expect. In fact, I didn’t know what I wanted myself. It took a lot of Pinterest boards for me to decide on my style.” He bit his lower lip. “I grew up with practically nothing, and in the lean years, all my possessions were Goodwill finds.”
I wanted to know more about that. “Yeah? What part of Seattle did you grow up in?” I stepped closer to him.
“Rainier Valley.” He pursed his lips. “Not a nice area.” He winced and grabbed my elbow. “Come on, let me show you the exercise room.”
“Okay.” He always changed the topic when we spoke about his childhood. Why? Following him into the hallway, I watched the sway of his round ass. He was probably born with a naturally nice ass.
He strolled into the exercise room, Bean trotting behind him. “Well?”
I took an inventory of the room. Besides the bench, he had a treadmill and a home gym cable machine. “Do you have any foam rollers or Bosu balls in the closet?” Did he stretch much? Maybe that was the reason for his back pain.
“What the hell is a Bosu ball?” His brows flicked up.
“You can purchase them as full or half balls, and they’re excellent for core work. They’d help you with your back pain.” I sipped my drink and ran my fingers along the bench. “Working out isn’t all about cardio or building muscle mass. You need to stretch, balance, and train your core.”
“Oh.” He scrunched his nose. “I know nothing about that.”
“You’ve never had a trainer?” I stepped closer to him—his lean frame was almost as tall as mine. There was so much I could teach him. But I lacked the time to be his trainer.
“Nope. Those guys are all muscle heads.” His eyes widened. “I mean, not like you. You’re an athlete, not just a gym rat.”
Snorting a laugh, I said, “Okay.” I wasn’t sure what the distinction was since I considered bodybuilders to be athletes too. “Let’s buy you a Bosu ball, and then I can show you how to use it.” I could start there. It wouldn’t take too much time, and then I’d have a reason to see him again.
“Is that all?” He sat on the bench and sipped his water. “Can you show me something now without it?”
“Uh…” I looked around me. He could use a rolled-up towel like a foam roller. “Let’s see how tight your hamstrings and quads are.” It was where a lot of back pain started.
He gave me a blank look. “My what?”
Chuckling, I said, “Stand up and come here.” I waved him to me. This could get interesting.
“Okay.” Resting his water on the bench, he padded toward me.
I grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. “Bend over.” Oh, fuck.
“Bend over?” Peeking at me, he snickered. “Hell yes, now we’re talking.” He bent at the hips, his ass jutting toward me, brushing my cock. “Like this?”
Jesus fucking Christ. My dick woke and swelled as my balls tingled.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, uh, like this.” It was obvious he couldn’t touch the floor.
In fact, his hands only came to his knees.
Fuck me. Don’t think about him on his knees.
“Bend your knees as much as you need to lower your stomach onto your thighs.”
He did as instructed. “Are you enjoying this as much as I am?” he chuckled.
What should I say to that? Was he teasing me? “Uh, I guess.” Placing my hand on his lower back, I gently pushed. “Do you feel the stretch in your lower back and the backs of your legs? Is it hitting the area where you have pain?”
“Yes, it is.” He petted Bean as the dog walked under him and looked up. “Don’t worry, buddy, Daddy’s okay.”
Daddy? Oh my God, how sweet and sort of sexy was that? “Now, you can sway a little, straightening one leg at a time. Not all the way if you can’t.”
“Okay.” He swayed and his ass skimmed my now swollen and stuck cock, pointing toward my thigh. Shit, could he feel it?
“This feels good. Damn.” He swayed a little faster, bumping his ass on my dick.
My cock pulsed with sensation. How was this happening? Fluid. I was fucking fluid. Or maybe just gay for him? Was that even a thing? I swallowed hard and took a step back.
He straightened and turned around, flicking his long hair from his face. “Evan.”
“Yeah?” I clasped my hands in front of my groin. If he looked down, my boner would be obvious. Why had I opted for such tight jeans?
“That was amazing. Could you provide more stretches I can do?” He skimmed his tongue around his lips. “These are so simple, I can do them on the road.”
“Sure, but we need to get on the floor first and grab a towel.” As my gaze lowered, it caught on the obvious bulge in his jeans. He’d gotten hard, too. Heat flashed across my skin. This was crazy. How did I end up here?
He raced out of the room and returned with a black towel. “Here.” He handed it to me.
I rolled the towel. “Get on the floor.”
“Hands and knees?” He emitted a quiet laugh, then lowered himself, resting on his hands and knees.
Jesus fuck, I didn’t need to see that. Fighting to steady my breath, I said, “No, on your ass.” With a half-smile, I slapped his ass. I couldn’t help myself.
“Oh, damn. Evan, are you into spanking?” He plopped onto his ass and Bean jumped into his lap. “Dude, this is not cuddle time. I’m getting some nookie here.”
Shaking my head with a snigger, I sat beside him. He had to be teasing me. “You’re bad.”
“I know.” He set Bean aside and leaned in close to me, his legs bent, and his gaze fixed on mine. “You don’t mind a little teasing, do you?” He raked his teeth across his lower lip.
“No, of course not.” I set the rolled towel behind his ass. I had to keep this on a more professional level before I lost my very thin margin of self-control. “You can use this like we’d use a foam roller. It’s mushier than one, but it’ll work.”
“Okay.” He leaned in more, his face coming closer, and then he brushed a lock of bang from my forehead. “You have pretty eyes, you know that?” He tilted his head. “I’ve always loved the mix of blue eyes with dark hair.”
With my heart pattering into my throat, I rasped, “You have?” He’d faintly lined his eyes in black, and it was as if he could see into my soul. “You have stunning eyes, too.”
His gaze fell to my mouth, and he skimmed a finger across my lips, leaving a tickle. “Nice lips, too.” He inhaled a ragged breath and then blinked a few times. “Um, I’m sorry. We should uh…” Tucking the roller closer to his ass, he said, “What do I do with this?”
Moment gone. Would I have kissed him if it had continued? Hell yes. “You roll it under your lower back.”
“Like this?” He fell onto his elbows with his legs bent and moved his body back and forth over the towel.
“Yes, like that.” I took deep, calming breaths. This was nuts. I wanted him and he wanted me. There was no doubt of that now. As Bean nuzzled my arm, I scratched his neck.
“He really likes you. The only person I’ve seen him demand attention from, besides me, is Drew.” With a warm grin, he stopped moving and slipped the towel out from under him. “What’s next?” He rested his forearms on his knees.
“We should get you some real foam rollers and a ball, I guess. Then you can work your core and stretch properly.” I scratched along Bean’s back, and he pressed into my fingers and licked his chops. “For the record, I like Bean too. I wish I had time for a dog.”
“You can’t take a dog on the road with you like I can, I guess.” He hopped up. “I have some great bourbon here. Did you want to try it, or will you be sticking with Gatorade?”
I stood. What the hell. It would help calm me. “I can have one. It shouldn’t hurt my game.”
“Great. Let’s have a bourbon on the patio.” He stepped toward the door and tapped on the jamb with a twinkle in his eye. “You can tell me all about yourself.”
“Sure.” Maybe he’d offer more about his childhood. I strolled behind him through the hallway, spying the closed door. “What’s in here?” Stopping, I rapped my knuckles on it.
“Oh, that’s just my studio. It’s a bit of a mess right now, so…” He grabbed my hand. “Come on.”
He towed me to the bar in the main room and poured two bourbons into crystal lowball glasses and then handed me one. “It’s a beautiful day today. Not too hot yet.” He sipped his drink.
“It is. I love spring out here. The blooms always smell so good.” I followed him to a set of two patio doors, spanning the wall of the main room. “If you’re from Seattle, why did you settle out here?” I’d start there with my questioning of him and maybe work backwards.
Sliding the patio door open, he said, “I think it’s pretty here.
There are many landscapes in this state.
” He waited while Bean trotted outside and then stepped onto the patio, made of flagstone.
“You’ve got the deserts, the red rocks of Sedona, and then the rugged mountains and pine trees in Flagstaff. ”
“And the Grand Canyon.” I strolled onto the patio and slid the door shut behind me. I hoped it would be a long ass time before the team traded me. I didn’t want to live back East again with all the cold weather and snow.
“Yes, the Grand Canyon.” With a quick grin at me, he dropped onto the end of a wicker patio couch with thick cushions.
I took in the view—the jagged mountain behind the house and the sun starting its descent. Birds chirped, and the water gurgled as it fell at the negative edge of the pool. “It’s nice back here.” I sipped my drink, letting the sun warm my face. “Do you swim much?”
“Only when it’s hot out or I’ve heated the pool.” He stretched his arm across the back of the sofa. “Come here and sit.” He nodded his head toward the space beside him.
As a smirk tugged at my lips, I dropped in next to him. Normally, I’ d have occupied the other end of the couch and put space between us, but not now. I enjoyed being close to him.
“That’s better.” He inched closer to me, his hip and thigh touching mine. “I’ve got our dinner prepped, so it shouldn’t take long to cook.”
Bean sniffed around a bottle-brush bush and then lifted his leg to pee.
“Yeah?” Turning my head, my gaze crept to his. He was so close. My insides hummed with tension. What would I do if he kissed me? I’d kiss him back. How far would it go?
“Tell me your story. All of it.” He focused on my mouth and then sipped his drink.
“I…okay.” Where to start? “My dad introduced me to the rink when I was three and taught me to skate. He absolutely loves the game.” I held my drink in my lap. “My little brother plays, too. He’s about to get a contract.” Ronan had successfully changed the topic to me.
“Yeah? How old is he?” He brushed his fingers across my shoulder.
As his touch tingled up my neck and down my side, goosebumps rose on my skin. Was he testing me again? I wasn’t moving away. “He’s eighteen. It’s the minimum age for the draft.” I nodded slowly. Might as well admit it. “I was twenty when I got my contract with the Coyotes.”
“Twenty. So how old are you now?” He leaned closer to me and loosely crossed his legs.
“I’m twenty-five.” I chuckled. “An old man by hockey standards for getting my call-up for the NHL.” I wasn’t proud of it, but it was the truth.
“You’re only a year older than me. You’re not old.” With a chuckle, he sipped his drink. “I have every confidence that this is your year to shine, Evan.”
Huffing a laugh, I said, “You’ve never even seen me play.” I drank my bourbon. I was heading into a downward spiral and needed to stop. It wasn’t attractive. “I’m in top form and have a skillful partner with Laine.” I cut my gaze to his.
With his brows furrowing, he said, “I’m sure you are. I’ll watch you play tomorrow. I’ll invite Drew over to watch.” He tapped my shoulder and came closer. “So, you better play well for me.”
For him? Hell, when he put it like that, I’d be damn sure to make him proud. “I will.” My gaze darted from his dark eyes to his lips and back again. So fucking close. “Tell me more about you.”
He flinched and moved away. “What do you want to know?” He swirled his bourbon in his glass.
“Everything. What about your mom and dad? Are they still in Seattle?”
He shrank into himself.
Why did any mention of his parents cause him to shy away from me? Should I not have asked?
He drew a deep inhale and stared at his drink.