CHAPTER NINE
The following day was more or less the same.
Leif had meetings and practice and video review and then dinner with the team. He got some praise from his coaches and an approving nod from Anders when he did his best to be social.
Overall, things were going well as he let himself into his room after dinner with other Nordic guys. It was early. A handful of guys had plans to go out for drinks, but Leif had declined. They had their first game tomorrow and he wanted to be well-rested and sharp.
Unlike the previous day, his room was empty when he got there.
The lights were off and he didn’t have a half-naked, masturbating Tanner Clayton in his bed when he stepped into the room.
Leif ruthlessly tamped down the sliver of disappointment he felt at the realization. Why should he care?
Except … the sex was really fucking good.
Last night, after Leif had fucked Tanner, they’d ended up fooling around in the shower. Leif had pinned Tanner to the wall and blown him. He’d been noisy as hell of course, but at least the running water had drowned him out.
After, Leif had kicked Tanner out.
He’d pouted and whined but that was one thing Leif refused to budge on. He wasn’t letting Tanner interrupt his sleep. He’d even double-checked to be sure he still had two working key cards, so Tanner couldn’t accidentally sneak in.
Of course, now Leif was starting to regret that.
As if on cue, his phone vibrated and when he checked it, there was a message from Tanner. Wanna cum over here or should I cum there?
Leif rolled his eyes at the horrible grammar and spelling. They’d finally exchanged phone numbers. After, Tanner had grabbed his phone out of his hand to see what he’d labeled him as.
“Pest?” he’d sputtered. “Rude!”
Of course, when Leif had snatched Tanner’s phone away, he was in there as Ice Princess.
Leif had scowled, then reminded him that it was hardly subtle. Everyone knew Tanner called him that. They didn’t want their teammates finding out about them, after all.
Tanner had laughed. “Dude, I’m the one who snoops on other people’s phones. Everyone else is weird and private about shit.”
Leif should’ve known. Also, that was just kinda what they did now. They annoyed each other and then fucked it out. And as much as Leif hated to admit it, it was fun.
Leif’s phone vibrated in his hand this time and he nearly dropped it.
I know u r there Princess.
Why? Are you stalking me? Leif replied.
Heard ur door open and shut dumbass. So??
You can come here, I guess, Leif sent back. Give me ten minutes, please?
Fuck yeah! Gonna eat your ass soooooo good
Leif gulped. Uhh, better make it twenty then. I want to shower first.
15 and we shower tgthr?
Fine.
Yesssssssssssssssssss
Leif stripped back the sheets, set out lube and condoms, then paced the room while he waited for Tanner to arrive.
Why had he asked Tanner to wait? What else did he really have to do?
Except, you know, have a mild panic attack about the fact that he had agreed to this weird hookup situation with a guy he didn’t like.
The knot in Leif’s stomach grew until he felt like he’d explode, and he jumped when there was a quiet rap on his door.
He hurried over to answer it, yanking Tanner inside before peeking his head out of the door to check around. Thankfully, the hallway was empty.
After he closed and locked the door behind him, he turned to face Tanner.
He was wearing those same ripped pajama pants as he had the other night along with a stupid Harriers hoodie and a dumb smile.
“You do know that if anyone was actually out there, you would have looked way more fucking suspicious doing that, right?” Tanner said with a laugh.
“Oh, shut up,” Leif muttered because Tanner was probably right but never in a million years would he admit that aloud.
Tanner just smirked like he knew what Leif was thinking.
Leif grabbed the front of his hoodie and yanked him close.
“Oh, hi there, Princess,” Tanner said happily as he put his arms around Leif’s waist, and then they were kissing.
After a minute, he drew back. “Oh, hey, before we get in the shower and I forget, can I plug in my phone? I still don’t have a working cable and my wonky one only charges half the time. ”
“Sure,” Leif said with a sigh. “Why not?”
After the shower, Leif’s knees were weak as he staggered out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He felt flushed and dizzy when he sat on the end of the bed.
Tanner sauntered by naked and snickered. “Told you I was good at eating ass.”
“Shut up,” Leif muttered again because how was he supposed to think of a clever comeback when Tanner’d had his tongue in his hole ten minutes ago.
First it had been gentle soapy fingers dragging along his crack and then Tanner had dropped to his knees and gone to town.
Leif had wound up with his hot cheek pressed against the wall, hand on his cock, twitching and shaking through his release.
He’d pulled it together enough after to haul Tanner to his feet and stroke his cock until he came across Leif’s thighs. But he still worried Tanner was always outdoing him in the sex department.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing Tanner around the waist. “I bet I can make you come again tonight.”
Tanner raised an eyebrow. He looked kind of strange at the moment. His hair was wet and combed back off his forehead. Without his curls, he looked really different. More serious.
Leif didn’t like it.
“You think so, huh?” Tanner asked.
“Yeah,” Leif said with a cocky grin he didn’t really feel. “What do you say?”
“Babe,” Tanner said with a laugh. “You know I am always up for more.”
And that was part of the damn problem, Leif realized, his smile falling. How was he supposed to keep up with a guy like Tanner? Or compete with the experience he had?
How was he supposed to be better than all the rest of the people Tanner had hooked up with? How could he?
Leif forced some confidence into his voice. “I’ll suck you off so good you pass out.”
“Fuck yes,” Tanner said. He flung his wet towel away and tugged at Leif. “C’mon. Let me see what you’ve got.”
Leif allowed himself to be toppled onto the sheets and ignored the itchy, nagging voice in his head that said it was gross that Tanner left the towel on the floor.
Whatever, he’d get fresh ones tomorrow anyway.
He manhandled Tanner onto his back and shouldered his way between his thighs.
He’d just dragged his tongue along the length of Tanner’s shaft when he heard a knock on the door.
He froze, heart jack-rabbiting under his ribs. Fuck! Who was it? One of his teammates? A coach? Jesus this was bad. This was really fucking bad.
“Go answer it,” Tanner hissed.
“Should I?” Leif whispered. “I don’t know. Maybe they’ll go away?”
After a few agonizing seconds, the knock came again. It was fairly quiet and very polite so Leif reconsidered the idea of who might be on the other side. Maybe not one of his teammates then. More likely a coach. Anders, maybe?
Though Leif couldn’t imagine why he’d knock on his door at this hour. Maybe hotel staff? Yeah, that was probably it.
Tanner kneed him in the ribs. “Go!” he mouthed.
“Fuck!” Leif raked his damp hair off his forehead. “Don’t you dare move or make a noise!”
“I’ll be so good,” Tanner promised, holding up his hands, palms out.
Leif snorted quietly. He’d believe that when he saw it. Tanner had never been good a single day in his life.
Leif scrambled off the bed and called out, “Coming!”
He grabbed for the first piece of clothing he could find, grimaced when he realized they were Tanner’s ratty pajama pants, then threw them on anyway.
He and Tanner were close enough in size and whether it was someone from the hotel or one of his teammates or coaches, they wouldn’t know who they belonged to.
How could they?
He hurried over to the door, unlatched it, then opened it a crack.
“Uh, hi, Dad,” Leif said, a wave of dizziness washing through him. Oh fuck, he’d never even considered his dad. Why? Why of all people did it have to be him?
Aksel smiled. “Hi. Sorry. Did I disturb you?”
“No. No! Why would you have? I’m not doing anything,” Leif said. “I mean, what would I even be doing when I’m here alone in my room?”
“Right.” Aksel lifted an eyebrow. “I meant did I disturb your shower? Your hair is wet …”
“No! No, I’d already gotten off, I mean, um, gotten out. Of the shower.” Leif silently prayed for the end of the world. A giant meteor like the one that hit the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. A 9.5 earthquake. Cataclysmic nuclear Armageddon. Was that really too much to ask for right now?
His dad eyeballed him.
Oh shit, what if he’d seen the pajama pants before?
What if he’d seen them on Tanner? Not that his father was probably ever in his players’ rooms, because that would be inappropriate, but Tanner was the kind of guy who’d run all over the hotel in them and maybe they’d met in the hallway or the lobby at some point or something.
Oh fuck, this was bad. This was so fucking bad.
Aksel cleared his throat. “Right. So, uh, sorry to intrude, but I just wanted to make sure you remembered your mother’s birthday is coming up.
It’s kind of a big milestone. I know in the past she was really uncomfortable with the idea of turning fifty.
Hopefully she’s feeling better about it now but I just wanted to make sure you remembered it was coming up. ”
“When have I ever forgotten mom’s birthday?” Leif protested.
“You haven’t. You’re very conscientious. I just wanted to be sure since you’re so busy with the tournament and this year is a bigger deal than usual. That’s all.”
“Oh, well, uh, thanks,” Leif said. “I appreciate the reminder. It’s Friday, right?”
“No, Thursday.”
“Fuck! Right. Got it. I’ll get some flowers ordered and uh, call. And then figure out something else that’s special for her.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
A giant crash echoed through the room and Leif jumped.
“Oh shit!” he said, frantically scrambling for a way to explain it. “I must have piled stuff up on the um, desk and it was so precarious it, uh, fell over.”