CHAPTER FIFTEEN #4
“Ugh, I can barely convince myself to brush my teeth or wash my face some nights. Sometimes I don’t.”
Leif shuddered. “Gross.”
“You’re gross.”
They kept verbally jabbing at each other as Tanner carried his phone across the hotel room.
He yawned, looking sleepy as he flipped on the light in the bathroom.
Leif normally had no problem with peace and quiet, but there was something oddly enjoyable about going about his routine with Tanner yammering away at him.
Not that he’d ever admit that aloud.
After Leif was done washing his hair, he glanced at the screen to see Tanner in the shower. He was wiggling around to some invisible music, his head tipped back as he dunked it under the water.
“You didn’t have to get your hair wet,” Leif pointed out. “You could have just avoided the spray—or, if you were smart—used a shower cap.”
“Oh shit, I didn’t even think of that,” Tanner said. “That’s what Angela used to do.”
“Who’s Angela?” Leif asked, confused.
“Oh, this Black woman I hooked up with for a hot minute a few years ago. She was studying law at Harvard though and our schedules never lined up.”
“Yeah?” Leif said warily because he was really over Tanner trying to talk to him about his hookups but couldn’t figure out what studying law had to do with hair.
“Yeah, Ang introduced me to the wonderful world of shower caps and hair bonnets. I learned a lot from her about taking care of my curls even though we had totally different patterns. I’m, like, a 3A on a good day and she was a 4B or C.”
Leif had a vague idea that people had different curl textures but only knew that because he’d heard a hair stylist at a modeling show talk about it.
“So if she taught you all that, why don’t you use them?”
“Oh, I usually forget to pack them.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Leif said drily, remembering the chaotic mess that was Tanner’s packing process. “Did you ever replace your charging cable, by the way?”
“No. I’m still using yours.”
“Of course you are,” Leif scoffed as Tanner shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.
He swallowed hard at the sight of Tanner’s naked body, glistening with water. Unlike Leif, whose skin was pink-toned and burned the second he got in the sun, Tanner’s always had this warm, golden look. He’d been tan last summer, and it had faded a bit, but he still looked gold all over.
The drops of water trickling down his body made Leif want to drag his tongue along Tanner’s skin. But he didn’t say that aloud.
Tanner wrapped himself in a towel, dried his hair, grimaced, then shook his head. “Fuck it, I’ll wear a hat and worry about the tangles tomorrow after practice.”
“Hey, we’ll be coming to Boston in a few weeks,” Leif said. “You, uh, want to get together then?”
“Duh,” Tanner said.
“You have roommates, right?” Leif gently patted a toner onto his face.
Tanner grinned. “Yeah, Mickey and Rafe. They’re the best. I rented a three-bedroom place right near the arena, but it was maybe more expensive than I should have gone for because I kept running out of money by the end of the month.”
Of course you did, Leif thought with an exasperated sigh. “You have a money guy, right?”
“Technically, a money lady,” Tanner said. “But yes.”
“I don’t care about their gender as long as they make sure you’re not going to end up in the poorhouse when you retire.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet to me,” Tanner said. “All worried about my financial future.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Leif said, ignoring the screen in favor of smoothing on a hydrating serum. “What does you being bad with money have to do with your roommates?”
“Oh! I asked Mickey to move in with me, then Rafe got traded to Boston. He was always hanging out at our place and was sick of the hotel, so I offered him the third bedroom. Of course, now they share a room, and the third one is kinda just our gaming space now but they both pay rent.”
Leif opened his mouth to reply but Tanner kept going.
“It was funny because Rafe was all ‘I’m heartbroken because my ex was a dick and I’m never dating again’ but he and Mickey were, like, eye-fucking each other constantly. Did you know I came home once to see Rafe with Mickey’s cock in his mouth?”
“Why were you spying on them having sex?” Leif asked, grabbing a tube of lotion.
“I wasn’t spying,” Tanner said scornfully. “I walked into the living room, and Mickey had his shorts down. They swear it wasn’t a blowjob though. Just cockwarming.”
“What the hell is cockwarming?” Leif asked.
“Holding someone’s cock in your mouth but not sucking, I guess,” Tanner said. He sounded dubious of the whole thing.
Leif thought it might have some merits. “Now I know what I can do to keep you quiet when you get annoying.”
“Rude!” Tanner said but he didn’t sound mad about it. “You are so mean to me, Princess.”
“You know you like it,” Leif countered. He glanced at the screen. Tanner was grinning at him.
“Yeah, you’re alright.” He winked.
“So we can’t hook up at your place when I’m in Boston,” Leif said, trying to coax Tanner back to staying on subject. “Do you have any ideas about where to stay instead?”