Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RYAN
T hursday evening, I sat on my sofa with a glass of whisky after a long day of meetings and running my players around the rink. I wanted to be ready for Omaha. They were a beefy team, and we needed to outrun them if we were going to win. If we did, we were a shoo-in for the Frozen Four.
As I sank into the cushions, I sipped my drink and watched the sun setting behind the mountain. My phone buzzed. “Shit.” Leaning over, I picked it up. “Laurent.” I answered the call.
“Hey, Ryan. How’s it going, eh?” He chuckled.
“Good, you?” A smile played across my lips. We’d had our good and bad times, but it was always nice to hear his voice. It was a slice of home.
“Great.” He breathed into the phone. “Hey, listen. It just so happens I’m headed down there for work. There’s a client I need to see,” he said. “I fly in on Sunday.”
“Sunday? As in three days from now?” I shot up straight, almost spilling my whisky, my pulse quickening. How weird would it be to have him down here in my new apartment?
“Yeah, three days. I’m staying in some hotel called The Palms on Mill Avenue?” he asked more than stated. “Do you know it? ”
“Uh, yeah. It’s just down the street from me.” I sipped my drink. What a coincidence. “How long are you staying for?”
“A few days. I leave on Wednesday.” He huffed a laugh. “We can have some fun and hang out. Didn’t you say there was a gay bar by your place too?”
My eyes grew wide. “Yes, I did.” He’d want to cruise the place. I wasn’t surprised. Shit, Jonah. I had yet to update Laurent on that situation. “Hey, there’s something you should know.”
“Oh? What’s that?” he asked.
“Remember that winger I told you about?” I grimaced. I was going to hear about it from him.
In a low voice, he said, “Yeah?”
I pursed my lips. “I uh, well, we started?—”
“You didn’t keep it in your pants.” He scoffed a laugh. “Damn it, Ryan. You’re having an affair with one of your players? Are you nuts?”
Setting my drink on the coffee table, I said, “It’s more than an affair, Laurent. He’s…he’s something special.” I rubbed over my chest as it tightened. I couldn’t tell him we were in love, could I?
“Special, huh? So special you’d risk your career?” He huffed a breath. “How much longer do you have in the season, four weeks? Six weeks, tops?”
“Yeah, about that.” Plucking my drink off the table, I downed it and hopped up to pour another.
“So, wait until the season is over, then date the guy.” He inhaled. “Go out to the gay bar with me and let’s find a hookup, you know, like old times. Maybe a threesome?”
I held the bottle of whisky at my bar console and stopped, my heart pounding. What was going on here? Me and Laurent were done. “A threesome? Why would you suggest that?” I poured a new drink, then picked up the glass and strolled to my patio doors.
“Why not? We’re adults and our relationship ended a long time ago. We should be able to handle a fun night out with no strings attached, right?” he asked. “Besides, I don’t think I’ve found anyone who can?—”
“No, Laurent.” Heat filtered through my chest. I wouldn’t entertain any of this. I owed Jonah more than that.
“Why?”
“Because Jonah and I are exclusive. In fact, we’re in love.” There, I’d said it. I lifted my chin, gazing down at the lights on the street and the cars below me.
With a laugh, he said, “Are you fucking kidding me? How long have you known this guy? A few months?”
I tightened my hold on my drink. “It doesn’t matter.” I sipped my whisky.
“It does matter. When we met, how long did we date before we committed to each other? Almost a year, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I was in a bad headspace when I met you. I didn’t even love myself, let alone anyone else.” Shit, this conversation was getting out of hand. Why? I clenched my jaw. It didn’t sound like him. “What’s going on with you, Laurent?”
“Nothing. Don’t you think you’re jumping too quickly into a career-ending situation? I mean, Jesus, I get you’re lonely, but…”
“It’s not because I’m lonely.” Was it really career-ending? Laurent was making too much out of it. “Listen, when you come down, you can meet him.” I walked to my sofa and dropped into it. “I have a feeling you’ll like him.” A grin teased my lips.
“And do what? Happy couple things?” He scoffed a laugh. “I wanted to come down there and have some fun.” He breathed. “With you.”
“We still can. Jonah’s fun.” I drank more whisky. What was he getting at?
“Yeah, okay. I’m sorry. I bet I sound like a real ass.” He freed a long sigh.
“Yes, you sort of do.” I adjusted a throw pillow wedged in the corner of the couch. “What’s up with you, Laurent?” We hadn’t had a disagreement like this since we’d been together .
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m missing you,” he said in a soft voice. “You were my best friend…”
“Yeah?” Well, that was different. I took a long sip of my whisky. “I’m still your best friend.” Maybe he was the one who was feeling lonely.
“Good. I’m looking forward to seeing you in a few days.” He chuckled. “And to meeting this new guy of yours.”
I swallowed the rest of my drink. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you as well.”
“I’ll text you on Sunday when I get in, but it should be in the early afternoon,” he said. “So, have something fun planned.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” I set my glass down on the side table. Hopefully, if we ended up at the gay bar, Owen wouldn’t be there. “See you soon.”
“Yeah, see you. Have a good night, Ryan.”
“You too. Bye.” I hung up the call and peered at my phone. That had to have been the strangest conversation I’d ever had with Laurent. Oh well, Sunday would be here soon enough.
Friday night, I stood behind the bench at the rink. We were playing our first of two games against Omaha, and we were ahead, two to zero, at the start of the third period. I watched the players vying for the puck, rushing up and down the ice. Ace had done a fine job tonight, blocking so many shots I’d stopped counting.
My gaze caught Boehm snatching the puck from a D-man in the corner by Omaha’s net. As Boehm made to turn, the D-man was on him and they scuffled, then their forward skated in and whacked them both against the boards.
Bouncing off the boards, Boehm flew backward, his skate catching the skate of the Omaha winger’s, and he smacked the ice, his body whiplashing his helmet down with a crack.
“Oh fuck.” With heat swarming my chest, I straightened my shoulders and paced to Finley. “Did you see that? Where’s the ref?” I stabbed a finger out toward the ice.
Jonah rolled back and forth, holding his head.
My legs itched to move. Fuck, I wanted to go out there.
Teammates skated to him, and some knelt.
“Go check on him.” Finley patted the shoulder of our trainer, and she bounded through the gate onto the ice with her pack. “No penalty, Gibson. Boehm had the puck and just tripped.” With a scoff, he rubbed his mouth. “Better not have a concussion. We need him right now.”
“Concussion?” I snapped my gaze from Finley to Jonah, now sitting up on the ice while our trainer checked for said concussion.
“Don’t you have a change out to manage?” His hard gaze met mine. “I’ve got Boehm. You focus on your own guys. It’s probably time to get Carlson off the ice, don’t you think?” He cocked a brow, then glanced behind me.
I followed his glance, which led to Patterson, who was studying us. Finley was right. I needed to stay in my lane. Hanging my head, I placed my hands on my hips and stepped to my area behind the bench, then signaled for Carlson, who’d been at Jonah’s side, to leave the ice.
As Carlson hopped over the board and took a seat on the bench in front of me, I leaned down. “How is he?”
“He knows what day it is.” Carlson threw a peek at me. “But he’s pretty out of it.”
“Shit.” With my heart skipping a beat, I patted Carlson’s shoulder. With a scout watching Jonah, it wasn’t a great time for him to be out with an injury. I focused on Jonah, now standing with the help of his teammates and skating slowly for the bench.
The crowd cheered and he waved at them, then approached us.
Fucking concussion. I knew it by the slack look on his face. I clenched my jaw as a knot formed in my gut.
Glancing at Finley, who met my gaze for a beat and pursed his lips, I drew a deep breath. I had to pretend like Jonah wasn’t my boyfriend, like he was just another player. But fucking hell, that would be hard. Every speck of me wanted to go to him. I worried my lower lip. He was in good hands. We had a great team of medical people here to look after him, and I had to remember that.
Jonah skated through the gate and his teammates slapped him as he walked through. His gaze found mine and he winced, then touched the tip of his nose, giving me our sign.
He knew I’d be worried about him. “You okay?” I snuck a peek at Finley. I didn’t care what he thought right now. Jonah was right here in front of me. I could ask a player if they were okay, even if they weren’t on my line.
“Concussion. Mild, but I’m out.” He glanced at Patterson.
“Go take care of yourself. You did well out there. Be proud of the game you played tonight.” Patterson patted his back.
“Thanks, Coach.” As he walked through the back with our team doc, he paused for a short chat with Finley, then threw me a quick glance and walked off into the tunnel.
Fuck, I had to focus on the game and my own guys. I’d see him afterward. I could take care of him then. I glanced at my new D-men on the ice, readying for the puck drop.
The game was over, and we’d managed to squeak by with a win in overtime. All the post-game meetings and fanfare were over, and I sat inside my car in the rink’s parking lot with my cell phone in my hand. I hadn’t had a chance to call Jonah yet to see how he was doing. He’d still be home alone, and I wanted to hear his voice. I dialed his number and set the phone on speaker.
“Hey, Ryan. I figured you’d be calling about now.” He chuckled.
“How are you feeling?” I set my wrist on my steering wheel, my throat tightening. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about Laurent yet. I’d wanted to do it in person tonight.
“I’m doing okay. It’s really pretty minor. I don’t even have much of a headache. I’m just hanging out in my room right now.” He sighed. “I want to see you.”
I looked off in the parking lot, watching the players and other team personnel leaving in their cars, their headlights piercing through the dark night, lighting up the desert plants and occasional Palo Verde trees growing in the medians. “Want me to come get you?” But what if all his roommates were already home? “Did your friends go out, or are they there?”
“They were stopping at a pizza place on the way home.”
“I’m coming over now.” No thinking about it. Starting my car, I drove out of the lot. He’d be better off with me watching over him anyway. “Text me your address.”
“Oh, am I staying the night? Do I need a weekend bag?” He chuckled softly.
“Yes.” My phone chimed, and I tapped on his address in my text messages. The map pulled up and my phone began directing me to his place. As I drove down Mill Avenue, I glanced toward my apartment building. Owen better not be hanging around. I wasn’t in any mood to be fucked with. Shit… “What are you going to tell your friends?” They surely wouldn’t expect him to be out all night with a concussion.
“Don’t worry about it. Archer, Mason, and Ace will cover for me.” He sighed. “Or I can tell them to let Myles and Tyler in on the big secret.”
Did I care anymore if his roommates knew? No, I cared more about being with him right now. “Go ahead. Might as well tell them. I’m going to want you with me for the rest of the weekend. You okay with that?” I drove onto his street. And it would be too weird for me to stay in his house with him, with Carlson and Hodge being there. Nope, he needed to come back to my place.
“Hell yes.” He breathed into the phone. “It’s not like I can study right now anyway. Spending a weekend snuggling with you on the couch sounds like heaven.”
I drove into the driveway at his house and looked out my windshield at the one-story bungalow and the yard filled with landscaping rock and desert plants. “I’m here. Do you need help getting your things?” I perused the place. One large tree stood tall over the roofline of the home. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake here, taking him back to my place. But what else could I do? I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave him by himself. And then there was Laurent to deal with on Sunday. Hopefully, Jonah would be better by then.
“Nope, be out in a second.” The call hung up.
I sank back in my seat, propped my elbow on the door and rested my forehead in my fingers. Had Finley sensed anything tonight when Jonah had gotten hurt? I didn’t think it was too out of line for me to be concerned about an injured player. I hadn’t had time to process the events of the night. Jonah had filled my thoughts.
The door opened on the house and Jonah stepped out with a duffel bag strapped over his shoulder, wearing his team sweats. He waved at me, then closed his door and ambled to my car.
I hopped out of my seat and jogged to him. “Here, let me take that.” He shouldn’t be exerting himself.
“Oh hey, white-glove treatment, huh?” He handed the duffel to me, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Maybe I should get hurt more often.”
“Don’t even say that.” Did he have no idea the shit he was putting into the universe? With a shake of my head, I stuffed his duffel into my back seat, then rounded my car and opened the passenger door for him.
“Thank you.” Beaming at me with his stunning blue eyes, he ducked into the car seat and shook his black bangs off his forehead before strapping his seatbelt.
I jogged to my side of the car and hopped in. “When’s the last time you had a painkiller?” I started the engine and backed out of the driveway, then stopped.
“About an hour ago.” He relaxed into his seat.
An SUV pulled up next to us on Jonah’s side, then the tinted window rolled down and Archer looked us over from the driver’s seat with Mason sitting beside him, a shit-eating grin on his face. “I had a feeling you’d be spending the night with Coach Gibson.”
“What?” Tyler, sitting in the back, pushed his face between the front seats. “Holy shit. I knew it!” He snorted and pointed at Jonah. “You fucker. You’re banging Coach Hot Stuff.”
“Oh, Jesus.” My cheeks heated as I dipped my head. This was awkward.
“Boyfriends, Ty.” With a twist of his head and a smirk, Archer glanced at Tyler.
The back window came down. “Good for you, Jonah.” Myles gave Jonah a thumbs-up. “I know he’ll take good care of you.”
“But no sex with a head injury.” Ace popped up next to Myles and cackled.
“Shut it, Ace.” Jonah scoffed a giggle, then faced me. “Let’s go before they get even more obnoxious. I’m sure Archer will fill them all in.”
“I’m with you.” I waved at the young men. “You’re right. I’m going to take very good care of him.” With a grin, I drove off. I’d let Archer deal with the rest.
After driving around the ground level of the parkade, I pulled into my spot. I hadn’t seen Owen anywhere, thank God. I shut off the engine and turned to Jonah, sitting with the seat laid back and his eyes closed. Had he fallen asleep on the way over? “Hey, we’re here.”
“Oh shit.” He fluttered his eyes open and looked around. “Must have dozed off. ”
“It happens with a concussion.” I stepped out of my car, then grabbed his duffel bag from the back seat as he climbed out of the car.
“Fuck.” Jonah stood upright and slammed my car door shut, facing the entrance to the garage.
“What?” Throwing the car door closed, my gaze stopped on a man who looked a lot like Owen, watching us. “Goddamn it,” I gritted out. “Let’s go.” He couldn’t get to us if we were inside. Snatching Jonah’s elbow, I guided him to the entrance doors, throwing glances back at Owen, or the guy I thought was him. I couldn’t be sure, given the darkness and the distance.
“That fucker needs another beating,” Jonah growled as I ushered him to the wall next to the door.
I slipped my keycard out and pressed it against the lock pad. “I agree, but not tonight.” The lock clicked and I popped the door open, pushed Jonah inside, then peeked behind me as I stepped inside the building.
Owen stood with his phone held up to his face, like he was taking a picture.
What the hell was he doing? This whole thing was out of control. I hurried Jonah to the elevator and pressed the call button.
“Did you see that? The fucker was taking pictures of us.” As the elevator dinged, Jonah stepped inside, his jaw muscle bulging. “He better keep his nose out of our business.” He raked his fingers through his long, dark bangs.
I mulled over his words, staring at the floor lights as they lit up. “Yeah, I know.” I should probably go to Patterson and tell him about me and Jonah. But fuck, what if Laurent was right and it was a career-ending move? No, I’d probably only be reprimanded. Fuck, I didn’t know. I wished the damned policy was clearer.
At my floor, I walked Jonah down the hallway to my place and let him inside my apartment. My stiff shoulders relaxed. Finally, we were safe, and I could take care of him properly. “Go into my bedroom and climb into bed.”
He strolled down the short hallway to my bedroom. “Clothes or no clothes?” He wagged his brows at me.
“I prefer you with no clothes, but if you think it’ll be too tempting to fool around, maybe we should keep our clothes on?” Ace had been right. Sex probably wouldn’t be good for him. But we hadn’t been together since Wednesday. I set his bag down at the entrance to the kitchen and faced him, lifting a finger to my lips. “On second thought, pajamas for sure.”
The corner of his mouth edged up. “You can’t keep your hands off me, can you.” He arched a brow.
“No, I can’t. Even with pajamas, it’s going to be hard.” I gave him a coy smile. “I’ll get us some water, then be right in.”
He made to grab the handle on his duffel bag.
“Uh-huh. Go, I’ll be right in.” I pointed to the hallway, then snatched bottled waters from my refrigerator, plucked his bag from the floor and met him in the bedroom.
He’d turned on the nightstand lights and shucked off his shirt, exposing his rippled abdomen and thick arms, then skimmed his sweatpants off his legs, his dick standing at half-mast inside his boxer briefs.
With my gaze snapping to his satisfying cock, my mouth watered, and my own dick tingled with heat. “Shit.” I threw his duffel on the bed. This would be almost impossible for both of us. “Maybe I should sleep on the couch.”
Rummaging through his bag, he said, “Hell no. I’m finally spending the weekend with you, and I am not sleeping alone.” He palmed his still swelling cock, then slipped into a pair of black pajama bottoms.
Jesus fuck. Did he have to touch himself like that? I set a bottle of water on his nightstand, then the other on mine. Ruffling the back of my hair, I twisted around. What else should I get him ?
“Ryan.” He padded to me and grabbed both my hands, then held them up between us. “Let’s get into bed and watch a movie?”
“Are you supposed to be watching movies?” My gaze met his. In my experience, not for the first forty-eight hours, but it made for a pretty boring time.
“I’ll rest with my eyes closed while you watch.” He stepped closer to me, his hard cock brushing against mine through our clothes.
A shock of sensation pulsed my dick inside my suit pants, and I freed a soft whimper. Did he have to be so close? Him being off-limits was making it even worse. “Yeah, sure.” I ticked my head toward the bed. “Go lie down, for the love of God.” I planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “You and your boner are driving me crazy.”
“Good.” He cocked his head, giving me a wily smirk.
“Go.” I turned him around and pushed his back. As I undressed out of my suit and hung the jacket and slacks in my closet, I asked, “You don’t need a Tylenol yet, right?” I then opened a dresser drawer and slipped my gray pajamas up my legs, my own cock stiff and poking into the waistband of my briefs. I willed my dick to stand down. If Jonah started something, I wasn’t sure I had the willpower to stop him.
When I turned around, Jonah was in my bed, the covers pulled up to his chin. “No, not for a few hours. Come on, get in.” He threw the corner of the covers down on my side.
As a grin swept over my lips, I padded to the bed and climbed in beside him on my back. We weren’t out partying or even drinking at home this Friday night, but I didn’t care. Just being with him was enough. I held out my arm.
He shifted into my side, laying his head on my chest, wrapping his leg around both of mine, pressing his hot, hard cock into my hip. “Shit, I’m so horny.” He brushed his cheek over my chest, then kissed my nipple .
“You need to rest.” My balls ached. This was going to be torture. I plucked the remote off my nightstand, then turned the television on and opened my Netflix app. I had to find something to get my mind off sex and fast. The trailer for a thriller played. Fuck, Owen had been in the parkade. “What do you think Owen wants?”
He tilted his head up. “Huh?”
“Owen, that was him in the garage, wasn’t it?” Maybe I’d been seeing things? I glanced down at him.
“It sure looked like him. But if it was, wouldn’t he have said something or come at us?” He brushed his finger pads over my nipple, teasing it into a hard nub.
Tingling shivered from my chest to my balls. Did he have to do that? “Maybe he was too chicken to confront both of us at once.” I fought to focus on the movie titles while his fingers played with my other nipple.
Rocking his hips and pressing his swollen cock against me, he released a soft moan. “Maybe we could just beat each other off?” He open-mouth kissed my nipple, sucking it between his lips.
“Jonah.” I jerked my shoulder, lifting his mouth off me. “No, now stop it.” I had to be strong, but fucking hell, he was making it hard.
“Damn it, okay.” He huffed and shifted his hips away from mine. “Who knew concussions could make you horny?” He freed a soft snort. “Or maybe it’s just being in bed with my Coach Hot Stuff.”
With a snicker, I tipped my head back. “Okay, I think you’re delirious now. Close your eyes and rest.” I picked a random drama. This way, the movie wouldn’t have any loud action scenes. Or at least I hoped it wouldn’t. I snuck a peek at him.
The lashes on his closed eyes kissed his cheeks and his lips parted, slow breaths whispering out of him against my skin.
My heart swelled with emotion. God, how I loved him. Even if I were reprimanded for being with him, it wouldn’t matter. Being with him was worth it. I brushed my cheek over the top of his head and settled in to watch the movie, turning the captions on so I could lower the sound even farther. This was heaven, and tomorrow night, we’d do it all over again.