Chapter 7
Vox
Ienter the training room where the virtual reality headset is set up, along with a snowboard attached to a swivel and track that will allow us to practice certain skills during the summer months—and days like today when the fog on the mountain makes boarding a hazard.
This particular piece of equipment is new for Patterson, and I haven’t been on it yet, so despite my pissy mood from the steam room incident earlier, I’m still excited to take this thing for a spin.
Standing across the room, Connor is in jeans and his Patterson Performance pullover again. It’s no less appealing than it was the first fifty times I saw him in this uniform, and it adds to my disgruntled nature.
“Where’s Renner?” I ask, assuming my training partner would be joining us.
If I’m not mistaken, a slight tinge of pink colors Connor’s cheeks as he says, “I asked Mr. Gentry to come in an hour later. I figured each of you could benefit from a little one-on-one coaching since there’s only one machine.”
It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to voice the dirty comments I want to make about all the things Connor and I could do with one-on-one time. Yeah, I’m annoyed with how things are between us, and no, I still don’t respect him…but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be down for a hate fuck.
Hell, maybe I’d even like the guy after that.
Never mind the fact that I’m pretty sure Connor’s straight…and the whole he’s-my-coach thing.
Instead, I nod and simply ask, “Where do you want me?”
He points to the board, which is currently locked on a stabilizing platform, so I can easily get into it.
After I clip in, Connor hands me an iPad.
“Scroll through these and pick your mountain.”
As I’m scrolling, he’s tugging on my boots and board. Fuck, he smells good. When I look down, he’s on one knee, messing with my bindings. His proximity to my dick makes it jump.
Thank God I have sweatpants on over my shorts, or it might have just patted him on the head.
“This is the first time I’ve used this thing, so if something doesn’t feel right, let me know right away, okay?” he asks, looking up at me from the floor. And God, do I like how he looks down there.
His statement makes me laugh against my will. “Connor, I’ve never been on this thing either. I won’t know it’s not right until I face-plant on the floor with a torn ACL.”
His face blanches.
“Maybe I shouldn’t put you on here just yet.”
“Relax. My day job carries way more risk,” I say, jovially clapping him on the shoulder in an effort to pretend like yesterday’s little steam room run-in never happened and like my current state of arousal has nothing to do with him.
The muscles in his upper arm are so thick that instead of just slapping it, my greedy hand grabs onto his flesh.
I’m about to cross a very well-defined line if I don’t stop touching him right the fuck now.
Removing my hand, I thrust the iPad at him, not even knowing which course I selected from the list. “I’ll ride this one. ”
His eyes go wide.
“I know this is just virtual reality, but you’re really sure you want your first ride on this thing to be a boarding path off the summit of Mount Everest?”
Oh…uh, no. That’s obviously not what I would’ve chosen had I been paying attention, but fuck it. Let’s do this.
“Why not?” I shrug, giving him a cocky grin.
“As your coach, I’m going to veto that choice and set you up on something a little friendlier.”
Thank God.
“Suit yourself,” I say instead of my actual thought.
As it turns out, the simulator is extremely realistic, and I fall on the crash pad in front of me a couple of times before I get the hang of it.
Thankfully, the board unclips and comes with me, so I don’t actually fuck up my knees and ankles when I go down.
There’s a hydraulic lift under the board that simulates the angle of the slope selected, so I fall forward instead of back, as if I were hurtling down an actual mountain, and it’s pretty fucking cool.
It’s a little time-consuming to set each run up, but I think it’s going to get a lot of use. Connor and I have our heads bowed over the iPad, scrolling through more challenging runs when Renner raps his knuckles on the door, causing Connor and me to turn and look toward the sound at the same time.
For a brief moment, we’re breathing the same air. My breath hitches loudly enough for him to hear, and I don’t miss the way his eyes drift down to my lips before widening as he steps back.
Renner laughs as he throws his bag on the floor.
“I know my text said one-on-one, but I didn’t know it was gonna be like that.” He makes his way over and fist bumps me before looking at Connor and winking. “I would’ve worn nicer boxers if that had been the case.”
I let out a genuine laugh for the first time in a few days. I think I’d be a little pissed, maybe even a little jealous, had that come from anyone else. But Renner? He’s so chill and easy to be around; I’m not upset at all.
Besides, it’s not like I have dibs on our coach.
No one does…because no one can.
“You want a ride?” I ask, pointing to the board.
“Yeah, but you guys finish up. I want to see this thing in action before I clip in.”
My competitive nature takes over as I turn back to Connor.
“Set up Everest,” I demand.
Each ride is scored based on the complexity of the course, perceived speed, and tricks, which are only accounted for by board rotations since it stays mounted to the hydraulics.
By doing Everest, I’ll automatically have a score so high that no one else will come close to me on the leaderboard.
And much to my delight, the leaderboard stays in the top right-hand corner, displaying the highest five scores.
I want at least three of those five.
Conner gives me a look that clearly says don’t show off; you’re on the same team.
But I just shrug. “What? Ren says he wants to see how this thing works.”
“Don’t think for a single second that I don’t know what you’re doing, Hotshot,” Connor whispers, leaning into my personal space. The nickname is new. I don’t hate it. I’d think he was angry about my desire to show off, but he taps on the Everest trail.
I can taste my victory already.
Clipping back into the board, I secure the headset. It gives me a countdown, and even though I know it’s not real, it still makes my heart race. I fucking love this feeling. My screen is attached to a giant TV so Connor and Renner can see what I see; it just doesn’t look nearly as real to them.
In reality, this run took the man who achieved it four hours and forty minutes without removing his skis. I’ll board for thirty minutes and then give it over to Renner.
Except six minutes in, I fall into a crevasse and die.
“What the fuck was that?” Renner laughs from the chair to my left as I rip the headset off.
“That was totally covered in snow. I had no idea it was even there,” I argue. “Let me go again.” Connor says nothing, but has a smug look on his face. The way he’s chewing on his bottom lip tells me he’s dying to say something. “Oh, just spit it out, for fuck’s sake.”
His grin is devastating on multiple levels.
“This is why you need control. You need to anticipate the pitfalls before you’re sucked into one.”
“What if sucking is the pitfall?” I ask before totally thinking that one through. I meant being bad and slow on that mountain is what will end my career—the only thing I give a damn about…but now that the words are hanging between us, they feel sexual.
And suddenly, there’s no doubt that I want them to be.
Renner breaks the tense silence when he opens his mouth…except the words that come out aren’t helpful. In fact, they aren’t cool at all.
“If you’re the one doing the sucking, I think control is out the window, and the pitfalls are the least of your worries. Am I right?” Renner laughs.
I turn to look at him. “The fuck does that mean?”
Renner leans back so his chair is on two legs as he chuckles.
“I’m just sayin’ if you’re sucking dick, you got bigger problems than falling in a hole.” He pauses and laughs harder. “Then again, maybe the hole is endgame anyway if dick’s your thing.”
I’m already unclipped and off the mount before Connor realizes my intention.
“Vox, don’t—”
Too late.
I use the bottom of my booted foot to tip Renner’s chair over, and he goes spilling onto the floor.
“What the hell, dude?” he yells as he climbs to his feet.
I’m still advancing on him.
“Look around, dude. Being queer is no longer the joke the world once thought it was. Have some fucking respect.”
Renner holds his hands up as he starts walking his comment back.
“Look, man, I swear I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just talking shit, you know? I love gay guys! And the rest of the alphabet, too!”
Suddenly, a body slides between mine and Renner’s.
A very hard, very thick body.
And my cock notices.
To my absolute horror, I groan when my dick drags along Connor’s thigh. Gripping my shoulders, he pushes me back a few inches, but the damage has been done.
“Mr. Gentry, give Vox and me a minute, please,” he says to my training partner.
Renner heads for the door, muttering as he goes.
When Connor turns back around, he closes his eyes and inhales deeply through his nose.
“How long have you known?” he asks in a serious tone.
I’m not sure what this has to do with training, but whatever. I’ll bite.
“I’ve known I’m bisexual since I was fourteen.” Ironically, it was my attraction to you that made me accept it. When Connor’s brows shoot to his hairline, I can’t help but laugh. Guess he thought I was going to deny it or something. “You don’t follow me on social media, do you?”
That gorgeous shade of pink is back in his cheeks.
“Can’t say that I do,” he admits.
“I’m disappointed,” I tease. “Figured you would have done all your homework before signing on for this.”
“Yeah, well, Grey told me what I needed to know, so it really doesn’t matter what’s on your social media page.”
“Said no one after actually seeing my page. Our PR team does some cool ass shit with my videos,” I tell him.
Connor cocks his head to the side.
“And how exactly was I supposed to glean your relationship preferences from snowboarding videos?” he asks.
“Well, first of all, they aren’t relationship preferences, they’re sexual preferences…
because I don’t do relationships, but I love to fuck.
And second, I get tagged in shit all the time from the people I hook up with.
It would have been pretty clear that I’m into guys if you’d have seen Luca’s post from a while back. ”
Connor mutters something that sounds like, “Good to know,” before raising his voice. “Now that you’ve settled that, can I call Renner back in here and trust that you’ll act civilized?”
“Me? His comments were the ones that weren’t civilized,” I argue. “Hell, maybe he should try sucking dick. It might improve his performance.”
Connor slaps a hand to his forehead. “Jesus Christ, Vox.”
Just to mess with Connor a little more, I add, “Which reminds me, I need to hit the apps soon for a pregame hookup. The ritual hasn’t failed me yet.”
“I know I’m going to regret asking, but what ritual would that be?”
My smile is so big it almost makes my cheeks cramp. “Getting laid before a race. You know, so I can literally come out on top. I mean, I’m vers, so I do both, but the night before a race, it’s top-only for me. I manifest that victory in the most literal way possible.”
I laugh as Connor pinches the bridge of his nose and walks toward the door.
“Renner! Get in here. Play nicely with Vox. I need a second.” Looking over his shoulder at me, he says, “Get him set up, will you?”
Connor walks out the door, and Renner looks sheepish as he comes back in.
“Hey man, I’m really sorry. I swear I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s cool. Sorry I lost my shit. Not used to people shaming me to my face, I guess.”
“Wait, you’re gay?” he asks in a tone of surprise. And honestly? I don’t know why it’s surprising. Chicks are hot and can be a lot of fun, but so can dudes. And guys tend to be cooler with the whole no-strings-attached thing I’m after.
“I’m bi,” I clarify.
“Oh, okay. Cool…so like, I’ve got questions.”
People usually do, I think to myself.
“Shoot,” I tell him as I help him onto the board. The whole time I’m answering his very normal questions, I can’t help but wonder what the hell Connor’s doing.