Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
JONAH
I fluttered my eyes open and stared at a large window, my body lodged against warm skin and my hard cock wedged into it. Gazing down, Ryan’s head of brown curls came into view. I was wrapped around him from behind. Holy shit, last night hadn’t been a dream. I rocked my hips and my cock slid between his ass cheeks. A shiver flickered up my spine. Was he a top or a bottom? We hadn’t gotten that far last night.
He freed a soft mumble, then arched his lower back, pushing his ass into me.
Was that a sign? I pressed soft kisses to the nape of his neck, then nibbled down his shoulder, rocking my dick into his crease. God, how I wanted to fuck him. I’d be a happy boy if we spent the whole day in bed doing dirty things to each other. The last month or so, I’d stored a million things in my head that I wanted to do to him.
Spreading my palm over his chest, I brushed his nipple, and it hardened. Yeah, we were doing this. I teased his nipple and sucked little bites on his neck, then licked over them.
With a groan, he rocked his ass harder into me, then fumbled with his nightstand drawer. In a rasp, he said, “Here, use this.” He twisted his head .
I gazed at his stunning profile, the pout of his plump lips and the slight hook of his nose. “You got a condom to go with this?” I popped the lube open and left him for a second to slather it on my fingers.
“I want you to rub off on me. On my ass.” Reaching around, he grabbed my hips and tugged. “Hurry.”
I blinked. “Okay.” Maybe he wasn’t ready for sex with me yet, but I did love a man who knew what he wanted. I slicked my cock and nestled it between his cheeks, then wrapped my arm around him and fisted his rock-solid dick. I wasn’t kidding last night. I’d do whatever he asked. I was totally his. Sliding my cock in his crease, I stroked his dick and planted biting kisses on his neck and shoulder.
“Oh fuck. Yeah.” He hissed and clutched the pillow under his head, rocking with my movements.
Pleasure coiled in my gut, and I pressed harder against him, my tip grazing his hole with each thrust. His dick pulsed in my hand, and I slipped my thumb over the tip, swiping precum over it. “You like this, huh?”
“Yeah, want you to fuck me, but not yet.” He groaned and squirmed, goosebumps rising on his back and ass.
Biting my lower lip, I lost myself in the growing sensation in my cock, my aching balls, and the feel of his hole as I glided over it. God, I wanted to breach it, to have all of him. But I’d give him what he wanted.
His body trembled in front of me, and his dick swelled in my pumping hand. “Fuck, close.” He bit into his pillow and pulled on his ass cheek, opening his crease. “Pretend like you’re fucking me.”
“Yeah, okay.” I thrust faster against him, rubbing my cock over his hole, and quickened the pace on his shaft, squeezing the head. Pleasure peaked inside me, and I fell over the edge, my brows tensing and my mouth dropping open. “Fuck, coming.” Harsh contractions spurted my cum inside his crack.
He erupted in moan after moan, his dick twitching in my hand as he spilled over my fingers and onto the sheets. As it slowed, he panted.
I hugged him into my chest with all my strength. I never wanted to let him go or leave his bed. One night with the guy and I was so far in that I could barely think straight. Did I love him? Shit, probably. He’d think I was crazy if I told him that already, but I’d been crushing on him for over a month and him ignoring me had only made my feelings stronger. And now I had him. I fucking had him!
“Shit, that felt good.” He puffed out a breath and twisted in my hold to lie on his back. “Guess I’ll need to wash my sheets today.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, guess so.” Propping onto an elbow, I gazed down at him, my thoughts going back to last night. “How’s the knee?”
“No idea.” He gave me a soft grin. “I’ll find out when I go to stand on it.” He bent it under the covers, then straightened his leg. “Seems fine so far.” He shifted his head on his pillow, his lips pressing together. “We need to talk before we, um, have sex.”
“Yeah? Okay.” Leaning down, I gave him a lingering kiss. “You can tell me anything.” And I wanted to know all of him, down to every last cell in his body. Fuck, my pre-med was coming out.
“I think we should clean up first, and I’ll make us some breakfast.” He swung the covers open and sat up, throwing his legs off the edge of the bed.
“So, this is breakfast conversation?” At least he wasn’t kicking me out. I climbed off the bed.
“Yeah, guess so.” Leaning on his nightstand, he carefully stood, then gave me a smile. “It doesn’t hurt today. Your professional placement of the ice pack last night seems to have done the trick.”
“Well, if you’re a hockey player and don’t know how to properly ice an injury, you’re in big trouble.” I chortled, then scanned the room for my clothes. I knew I’d tossed them on the floor somewhere.
“Uh, want to wear a pair of my sweats for now?” He ambled to a modern dresser in dark wood, matching his slatted headboard, and opened the middle drawer. “Here, these should fit you.” He held out a pair of deep-blue sweatpants.
“Thanks.” I took them from him. I’d clean up before I actually put them on. I spied the opening to an en suite bathroom and padded toward it.
A few minutes later, we were both cleaned up and standing in his kitchen, him pulling bacon and eggs out of the refrigerator while I leaned my ass on the counter, drinking orange juice. His place was nice, with newer white cabinets and stainless-steel appliances. I glanced at his Keurig coffee maker on the light granite tile counter, groaning as it poured coffee into a mug. “So, no Canadian bacon?” I huffed a snort.
“No, believe it or not, we usually eat regular bacon up there.” He threw me a smirk. “You like croissants?” He pulled a box down from an upper cabinet and set it on the counter. “I got these at that bakery down the street, Queer Confections?”
“Oh yeah, love that place.” I stepped toward the box and opened it. The fluffy pastries were drizzled with chocolate. “These are so good. I don’t know what the owner puts in them, but I’ve never had anything like it.”
With a nod, he fished frying pans out of a deep drawer next to his stove and set them on the glass burners, then turned the knobs at the back. “Coffee is done. You can take that one and make me another?”
“Sure.” I stopped at his back and kissed his bare shoulder, then poured creamer into my coffee and started another cup. I glanced at him setting bacon strips in a pan and cracking eggs. This was nice, like we belonged together .
“You like your eggs sunny side up or what?” he asked as the bacon crackled in the pan, the scent of it floating through the house.
“Uh, over easy.” I sipped my coffee. “Can I help with anything?” This was going to be a treat. I’d been making protein drinks every morning for a few months now, and even though I tried to mix them up, I was getting pretty sick of them.
“You can set the table.” He flipped the eggs in the pan with a spatula.
“Okay.” I looked over his cabinets. Where would he put the dishes? I opened one next to the refrigerator, and there they were. “Got it on the first try.” With a chuckle, I grabbed plates, then silverware from a drawer. It was weird, like we thought alike. He had set up his kitchen the way I would have. As I set the table, I glanced back at him, now plating the food. I strolled back in for the box of croissants and the carton of orange juice, then brought it all to his black dinette.
He set a plate of eggs and another of bacon down in the center of the table. “Just going to get my coffee, but you go ahead and dig in.” He strode into the kitchen.
I looked over the eggs. He’d made six of them and probably the whole package of bacon. He knew how to feed a hockey player. My mouth tugged up in a soft grin. “How many eggs do you want?”
“Two or three.” He sank into a chair next to me. “I can do either. I’m not training the way you are.” He patted my hand, resting next to my plate.
“I’ll take three. I’ve got to keep my girlish figure.” With a chuckle, I grabbed three eggs with my fork and dropped them onto my plate. I didn’t want to look like an oaf and eat all his food.
“Got news for you. Your figure is anything but girlish.” He ran his gaze over my bare chest and arms and snuck his tongue out to wet his lower lip. “And it’s exactly what I like.”
“Good.” I wound my gaze across the tattoos running down one of his muscular shoulders and arms and up the other side of his lean torso. “You’ve stayed in great shape for not playing since eighteen.” I cut into my eggs, then arched a brow. “Exactly what I like too.”
He sipped his coffee, then said, “Yeah, I’m not as fit as I was, but I hit the gym pretty regularly.” He chomped a bite off a slice of bacon.
Pointing my elbow toward him, I said, “So, the tattoos. Are they arbitrary, or do they mean something?” I was one of the few guys who didn’t have any…yet. But the thought of having little needles with ink poking my skin gave me the heebie-jeebies.
“They are mostly odd choices made when I was messed up.” Shaking his head, he freed a soft chuckle. “After my injury, I’d tried to make sense of it all and one of the ways I did that was with the tattoos.” He held his arm out over the table, a date scrolled across his bicep with a broken hockey stick above it. “This is the date of my last game. The one where I blew out my knee the first time.”
I widened my eyes. “Oh shit.” My gaze lifted to meet his. “How do you feel about it when you look at it now?” It had to still sting. I ate some bacon.
He dropped his arm and cut into his eggs, rolling his lips. “It’s a reminder of how far I fell and how far I’ve come.” He set his fork on his plate, then tented his hands over it. “There’s something I need to tell you.” His gaze locked on mine.
“Okay.” I set my fork on my plate. “What is it?” This must be the discussion he’d alluded to in the bedroom. My pulse kicked up.
“I’m just going to say it.” He exhaled a long breath. “My ex was HIV positive.”
My stomach recoiled. “Wh-what?” I stared at him. Was he positive? Is that why he didn’t want to have sex yet? “Um…” My gaze darted across the table, and I drank some orange juice.
He wrapped his fingers around my forearm. “Last time I tested, I was negative, and that was two months ago.” His brows knitted. “I’m sorry to frighten you, but I thought you should know.”
“What does this mean?” I forced myself to look at him. I’d never worried much about this. I’d always been careful and used condoms. But for him to bring it up, there was more to it.
“Technically, the last time I was intimate with my ex was over six months ago, so I should be in the clear. I had started taking PrEP over the last year when I knew he was uh…well, didn’t want monogamy.” He dipped his gaze to his plate. “I didn’t want to lose him, so I went along with it, and we still had unprotected sex. He really hated condoms. Had an allergy to latex and, fuck, he just hated condoms.” With a huff, he sat back in his chair and rimmed the edge of his plate. “I figured it would be all right if I were on PrEP. I’d be protected.” His gaze found mine.
Nodding, I itched to pull out my phone and Google some shit. “Okay, so you’re on PrEP, and you’ve been testing negative.” I rocked once. “You should be fine, right?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah. The odds I have it are very, very small, but I guess they’re not zero.”
“But the odds of contracting HIV aren’t zero for anyone, are they?” I worried my lower lip. He was negative. He was taking precautions. I had nothing to worry about. But this was the closest I’d been to the disease. Well, that I’d known of. And it wasn’t a death sentence anymore. “So, I’m a little shocked, but it’s okay.” Leaning over, I pressed my palm to his cheek. “It’s okay. I’m glad you told me.” It had to have been hard for him.
He tilted his head into my touch, gazing deeply into my eyes. “Thank you.” Twisting his head, he kissed my palm. “I’ll understand if you want to use condoms.”
With my pulse settling, I leaned back in my chair. I’d always used them, but with him, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want anything between us. I picked up my fork and ate some egg. “I’ve always used them, but I’d rather not with you.”
Spreading a slow smile over his lips, he drank some coffee. “ Okay, so now that’s settled, we should talk about your roommates.” He grabbed a croissant from the box and bit into it.
“What about them?” I stuffed a slice of bacon into my mouth. “The only one I’ll tell is Archer.” Because I’d need someone to talk to. I eyed him. Was he okay with that?
He looked off toward the patio doors behind the cream-colored leather couch we’d given each other blowjobs on, then his attention drew to me. “I’m Archer’s direct coach.”
With a wince, I said, “Yeah, but he’s my best friend. I can trust him.” I could trust the others too, but Ryan was clearly afraid of our relationship getting out.
He freed a ragged exhale, pushing his last egg around on his plate. “Yeah, okay.” Planting his elbow on the table, he propped his cheek in his hand. “What are you going to say to everyone when you get home?” His gaze flicked to mine.
“I’m going to tell them what happened with that fucker Owen and that I passed out on your couch.” I pursed my lips. “They might not buy it, but it’s all I’ve got.” For sure, none of them were going to buy it.
“Okay.” Raising his brows, he ate more of his food. “We need to be careful at practice and games.” He gave me a pointed look.
“Yeah, I know. Last thing I want is for you to get in trouble.” I ate the last of my eggs and picked up my pastry, turning it in front of my face. “But neither of us is seeing anyone else, right?” My gaze swept to him and I took a bite, a flood of egg and butter mixed with bitter chocolate floating on my tongue. “Fuck, that’s good.”
Arching a brow, he curled the edge of his mouth. “Jonah. Are you sure? About being exclusive?”
I swallowed the pastry down with some coffee. “Yeah. I mean, if we’re going to take this risk and be together, we should be together, right?” Fuck, what if he wants to see who else was out there? I shifted in my chair.
“Yeah, okay. I see your point.” Dropping his gaze to his plate, he swiped his fork across some dried egg yolk. “Why are you so sure about me?”
“Why?” I blinked at him. “Why not?” I leaned toward him. “First time I saw you, it hit me like a puck to the face.” Love at first sight? Maybe. I’d never believed in shit like that before, but then it’d never happened to me either. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind ever since.”
He freed a rumbling chuckle. “Shit, I was thinking about Fate last night.” Shaking his head once, he said, “It’s uncanny how natural it feels to have you in my place.” His gaze crept to mine. “Last night was the best night of sleep I’ve had since the injury.”
“Because I’m a big teddy bear?” A wide smile tugged my lips. I loved where he was going with this. It meant maybe he was feeling as strongly as I was. I brushed my finger over his forearm resting next to his plate. “I’ll be your teddy bear anytime. Just sayin’.”
He choked out a laugh. “Yeah, okay. Except I’m not sure when we’ll be able to sleep in the same bed again, eh.”
“Next road game?” I waggled my brows at him. “I can sneak into your room.” My mind flooded with all sorts of scenarios.
“No, that’s not a good idea.” He pursed his lips. “We have to be careful, and doing something like that is not careful.”
“Then I’ll have to make something up so my roomies think I’m staying with someone else when I’m here.” Fuck, this was going to get complicated fast. Especially if I could only tell Archer. Tightness wound through my gut. How were we going to see each other?
“Anyway, let’s clean this up and get you home.” He picked up my now-empty plate and set it on his.
“Yeah, but let me do the dishes. You cooked.” I cleared the rest of the table, setting everything on the kitchen island next to the dinette.
An hour or so later, I’d changed back into my clothes from last night and Ryan drove me to my house in his red Nissan Ultima. I gazed at the front door. I was going to have to lie to my friends. But he was worth it. I twisted to face him. Could I kiss him goodbye? “So…”
One of his hands rested on the steering wheel while the other sat on the center console. “So.” He glanced toward the house.
Fuck it. I dove in, squeezed his hand, and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
With a start, he said, “Jonah, not here.” He scoffed. “Call me later when you’re alone. I want to know how things go after you talk to your friends.”
“I will.” I didn’t want to leave him. “They’re probably all studying right now. They might not even see me come in.” I patted his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow at practice.” I raked my teeth over my lower lip. “Maybe we can get together after?” I should be studying.
“I don’t know. We’ll see how things go, okay?” He wrinkled his brows. “I’ll catch you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” I’ll miss you… With a deep inhale, I climbed out of his car and shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans, my heart pumping fast. Would I be able to sound convincing? Lying wasn’t something I’d ever done.
Ryan drove off, his engine revving.
I glanced behind me. Fuck, I’d spent the night with him. He had feelings for me, and he wanted to keep seeing me. My heart lightened and I bounced with my steps to the front door.
The door swung open, and Ace stood there, leaning his elbow up high on the door jamb. “So, I see someone had a good night.” He stepped aside.
“I suppose.” I had to play this down. I ambled into the house and swiped my gaze across the room. Archer sat at the dinette with his laptop open while Mason and Tyler played a video game on the television from our couch .
Archer stood, the chair groaning across the tile floor behind him. “Well?”
Fuck, they all knew. “Well, it was uh…an interesting night.” I’d start there.
Ace shut the door behind me and followed me in while Mason and Tyler paused their game and turned around.
“You got laid. By Coach Hot Stuff!” Mason cackled, throwing his head back.
“No, I didn’t.” I scoffed a sigh. “I passed out on his couch, and he was nice enough to make me breakfast this morning and drive me home. That’s all.” I made a point of looking at each of them, except for Archer.
Archer strolled to me. “No fucking way.” He cocked his head, eyeing me up and down. “What really happened?”
My pulse hammered in my chest. He wasn’t buying it. I had to lay it on thick. I locked my gaze on Archer’s. “Yes, way.” I glanced at Ace for a beat as he planted his hands on his hips. I paced across the room, focusing on my sneakered feet. “Last night, there was a guy at the bar that Ryan, uh, Coach Gibson had gone out with and ended up blocking. The guy was a douche nozzle.” I rubbed my sweaty palms together. “Anyway, this guy, Owen, grabbed Coach and I saw it. When I got to them, he had him pinned against the wall. So, I threw the guy off him and ended up punching him.”
“You got in a fight last night? At the gay bar?” Mason dropped his jaw open and smiled. “Dude, way to go.” He held up his fist.
Striding by him, I fist-bumped him. “Yeah, that fucker Owen made Coach twist his bad knee and so I helped him home,” I said. “He only lives a few blocks from the bar.” I glanced around the room at them all watching me intently. “I’d had a lot to drink, so he let me stay on the couch.” There, I’d done it.
“Is his knee okay now?” Tyler tensed his brows.
“Yeah, it seemed better this morning. We iced it last night.” I flinched. Shit, was that the right thing to say ?
Tyler nodded. “Good thing you saw what happened.” He clenched his jaw. “There’s a guy named Owen in one of my classes. Wonder if it’s the same guy?” He set his controller on the cushion next to him, then hit his fist into his palm. “Maybe I’ll let him know to stay away from Coach or he’ll have the whole team after him.”
“Yeah.” Mason jiggled his leg.
“I-I don’t know if your Owen is the same guy.” I held out my palms to Tyler. Jesus, these guys were getting all worked up. “I think I made it pretty clear he’d better stay away.” I wasn’t even sure if Ryan wanted them to know about all that. My gaze cut to Archer.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Archer hooked a brow and studied me. “Well, I’m glad you were there to help him.” He turned, then his breath caught, and he faced me, holding up his index finger. “But nothing happened between you two, right?”
“No, nothing happened.” I shook my head as my chest pinched. Fuck, lying to Archer actually hurt . “I’m going to go and change.” I ambled to the hallway, then into my bedroom. I was going to have to come clean with Archer. He was going to chew me out, but there was no way he was going to talk me out of seeing Ryan. I shucked off my clothes, then pulled a pair of team joggers up my legs.
A knock rapped on my door.
“Shit,” I muttered. After stepping to the door, I flung it open.
Archer stood there. “Can I come in?” He stepped inside my room, shut the door behind him, then leaned against it.
“Looks like you’re coming in no matter what.” I walked to the edge of my bed and dropped down. He was here to talk about Ryan. I could feel it.
“What’s going on, for real?” He bumped off the door and ambled into the room to sit beside me. “You can talk to me, Jonah.”
“You’re not going to like what I have to say.” With a scoff, I hung my head, my pulse thumping in my chest. I’d told Ryan I was going to confide in Archer.
“Try me.” He draped an arm over my shoulders.
I clenched my jaw for a beat. “I lied. Ryan and I, we?—”
“Hooked up?” He wrinkled his brows.
“Well, it wasn’t really a hookup. We spent the night together, and we’re going to keep seeing each other.” I freed a rough exhale. “I more than like him, Archer. You know that.”
“He agreed to this?” He dipped his head to look into my face.
Nodding, I said, “Yeah, he did. We need to keep it a secret, though. We’re not sure how much trouble he’d be in if Coach Patterson found out.” I had to make Archer see it wasn’t that big of a deal. “It’s only for a few months, then I’ll be moving on. Either to medical school or…” My heart jolted. What if, in some bizarre turn of events, I started getting scouted?
“Or? Or maybe you’ll sign with a team somewhere and move?” He hugged me to his side. “Jonah, you’re not thinking of messing up your chances for the NHL to stay here with Coach Gibson, are you?”
“Shit, I don’t know.” Would it be so bad to end up as a doctor? “It’s too soon for me to make a decision like that.” I turned my head to meet his gaze. “But being a physician isn’t exactly a bad thing.”
“But you love hockey. You’re the reason I’m still here after my mom died. If it weren’t for you…shit, I’d have quit.” He chewed his lower lip. “I’ve been hearing rumors of scouts coming around. Your stats are great this year.” He chuckled. “Well, until Coach Gibson showed up and distracted you for a few games.”
“Yeah, but now I think I’m playing better. I’ve been playing for him, to be noticed by him.” I relaxed my shoulders, my pulse slowing. Archer wasn’t going to chew me out. He was going to stand by me. I should have known.
“Well, I’ll keep your secret.” He pursed his lips. “I don’t know how long you’re going to be able to keep it from the other guys, though. You know how nosy they can be.”
“Yeah, especially Ace. He figures everything out,” I said with a chuckle. Ace was too smart for his own good.
“It’s why he’s such a great goalie. He’s always working out what’s going to happen next based on what he sees now.” With a sigh, he lifted his head. “I wonder if I can get my dad, you know, Coach Dupont, not my dad in Minnesota, to talk to some of the scouts on the Coyotes and see if they’ll give you a look for camp.”
“Archer…” I pressed my lips together. “I don’t want to get on a team because of a favor. I want to get on a team because I earned it.” Though, it would be cool to be in the Coyotes development camp with Archer and Mason.
“I’m still going to talk to him about it. He knows you’re my best friend.” He tugged on me, bumping my shoulder into his chest. “We’ve been playing together all these years. It would be weird not having you with me at camp.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want any favors.” I focused on him. He needed to take me seriously on this. But what if I got picked up by a team across the country and my relationship with Ryan worked out? An ache rolled across my heart. We’d figure it out when the time came. “Anyway, I’ve got studying to do.”
“Okay.” He stood and pulled his sweatshirt over his joggers. “I have to do the same.” Walking toward my door, he said, “Let me know if you need anything from me.” His breath hitched and he turned to face me, his hand on my doorknob. “Don’t do something stupid and get caught. Okay?”
“Yeah.” I combed my fingers through my hair. “Thanks, Archer.” Having him on my side was going to make it a whole lot easier.
“Yep.” He left my room.
I should call Ryan and let him know how things went. We’d exchanged numbers after breakfast this morning. Just to be safe, I’d entered his name into my phone as Rhonda. No one would think much of it if they saw him calling me.
I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed.
It rang once and picked up. “Jonah? How’d things go?” He panted.
“Good.” I leaned over and propped an elbow on my thigh. “What are you doing?”
“I’m at the gym getting a workout in. I thought it would be a good idea to do some of my PT for my knee.” Clanking filtered through the phone.
Someone must be lifting weights around him. “Yeah, okay.” I thought back to the conversations with the guys. “So, I told the guys about Owen and that you twisted your knee. That was my excuse for going home with you. Then I told them I was too drunk to go home, so I slept on your couch.” I smirked, my heart warming as I remembered our breakfast. “And I told them you were nice enough to make me breakfast.”
“Yeah? Okay.” He sniggered. “I’m not really happy about the Owen thing, but I suppose it was a necessary part of the story.”
“It was. All the guys got worked up about it and wanted to teach him a lesson. In fact, Tyler thinks he might have him in one of his classes.” I tapped my fingers on my knee. If only Ryan knew the loyalty he had behind him. “I’m sure they’ll all be asking about your knee on Monday, so be ready for it.”
“Oh yeah?” A smile carried through his voice. “Okay, well, how about Archer?”
“Archer knows.” I rubbed my index finger up and down my thigh. “There was no getting around it.” I sucked in a breath. “He’s cool with it and has my back. So don’t worry about him.”
“Okay,” he said. “I, uh, need to get going. I’ll see you at practice tomorrow, eh?”
“Yeah, see you at practice.” And hopefully more after. “Have a good workout. Bye.”
“Bye.” The call ended .
I peered at my phone. How the hell was this going to work? Could we even date, or would it always be just hooking up at his place? I threw myself back on my bed and gazed up at my ceiling. Whatever. I didn’t care. I had him now, and I’d take him any way I could get him.