CHAPTER NINETEEN #2
“Stop staring at me, you weirdo,” Tanner muttered, his eyes still closed.
Leif slammed his own eyes shut and buried his face against Tanner’s neck. He could feel the warmth of the chain he wore, smell his cologne. And that was almost worse.
Better maybe. He still wasn’t sure.
Because this was too much. Too intimate.
Leif felt emotion rise in his throat because he didn’t want this, this wasn’t happening, he wasn’t … fuck, he wasn’t … but then Tanner tightened around him, gasping and digging his hands into Leif’s biceps, and Leif could feel the rhythmic contractions of his body as he shot between their bellies.
Leif came too with a strangled noise, almost a sob, because it was so much, too much, too intense and then everything in his head was white and hazy and he no longer had to think at all.
“You okay?” Tanner asked, after Leif had come back from the bathroom to clean up.
“Yeah. Why?” Leif looked like himself now, his expression blank and bitchy as always.
Earlier, right after they’d both come, he’d looked … different somehow.
Tanner shrugged. “Dunno. You just seem …”
“I’m fine.” Leif said. “Are you hungry? We could order something.”
“I could eat,” Tanner said.
They argued about where to order from—Leif won but only because he pointed out that the fastest place would be the pizzeria downstairs—and they ordered food to be delivered to the apartment.
After, they wandered into the living room. Tanner didn’t bother to put on anything but briefs but Leif had changed into his fussy little old man pajamas.
It made Tanner laugh and want to hug the stuffing out of him.
Leif answered the door when the food came and they settled on the couch. They wrestled for the remote and Tanner won that, so he picked a dumb reality show that he knew Leif would be annoyed by.
After they ate, there wasn’t a crumb left of the Greek salad or the franken-pizza they’d created online with sausage, mediterranean veggies, and feta. Leif had even let him eat most of the slice of strawberry hot honey cheesecake Tanner had begged for.
Leif threw away their trash and when he was seated again, Tanner bullied his way into Leif’s space. He leaned into Leif’s right side, forcing him to wrap an arm around his back, then pressed his head to Leif’s shoulder. He slung an arm over Leif’s waist and let his legs trail out to the other side.
Leif grumbled and pretended to be annoyed but the tension in his body softened after a few minutes and he pulled Tanner closer. Yeah, he was definitely being weird but Tanner didn’t know why.
They fell asleep on the couch. One minute Tanner was laughing at the show, and the next Leif was shaking him. Tanner had no idea how long he’d been out.
“We should move to the bedroom,” Leif rasped. He reached out, dragging Tanner to his feet. “C’mon.”
Tanner stumbled down the hall, but when he tried to go for the bed, Leif wouldn’t let go of his hand. He clicked on the lamp by the bed. “You need to brush your teeth first.”
“Just gonna get ’em knocked out eventually anyway,” Tanner pointed out. “What’s the fucking point?”
“Maybe because I don’t want to kiss you with bad breath?”
Tanner had to admit that was a solid argument so he sighed and said, “Fine.”
Leif gestured toward the bed. “Sit there until I come back. Don’t lie back and fall asleep or I won’t let you fuck me later.”
Tanner sat, but he also closed his eyes. Would it count if he fell asleep sitting up? Hopefully not, because he really wanted to fuck Leif.
Tanner half dozed as he listened to Leif walk around the apartment. When he heard his footsteps coming close, he peeled his eyes half-open and squinted at him.
Leif shot him a look like he knew what Tanner had done but he also had Tanner’s overnight bag in his hand.
He opened it, made a noise, then started rooting around in it.
He disappeared into the bathroom with Tanner’s toiletry kit, then reappeared a few moments later, carrying his toothbrush. It already had toothpaste on it.
He handed it to Tanner along with a wad of tissue paper. “There. Brush for two minutes. You can spit in the trash can.”
Tanner scowled. “I swallow. Not spit.”
But Leif stood there with his arms crossed until Tanner stuck the brush in his mouth. While Tanner brushed, Leif organized his bag. He’d already hung up Tanner’s suit from earlier but now he took Tanner’s clothes for tomorrow out of the bag and neatly folded them on the dresser.
Tanner scrubbed at his teeth while he watched Leif move around the room. Oh my God, two whole minutes? What kind of nonsense was that? Who did that?
Okay, so maybe his dentist lectured him about plaque sometimes, but he’d only had a few cavities.
Not, like … an excessive amount. And he was a pro hockey player.
He already had a chip in one tooth and the chances of him making it through his entire career without losing a few more teeth was practically zero.
When Leif finally disappeared into the bathroom, Tanner glanced at the clock and realized he’d actually brushed for the whole time, so he spat into the tissue and tossed it in the trash can.
A moment later, Leif appeared with one of those disposable facewipes. “For your face,” he said.
Tanner groaned but he wiped thoroughly and tossed that away too.
“Can I go to sleep now?” he begged.
“Yes.”
With a grateful sigh, Tanner burrowed under the covers, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
He half woke a while later when Leif turned out the light and climbed into bed with him.
“There you are,” Tanner muttered. “Missed you.”
He scooted closer, flung his arm over Leif’s waist, mashed his face against his shoulder, and passed out again.