Chapter 27
Quinn
August: Do you want to do something together while we’re in Toronto?
Quinn stared at his phone and the innocent message for so long that he forgot how to breathe. His body’s cry for oxygen eventually became too loud to ignore, and he ended up sucking in a deep breath too fast and coughing when he choked on it.
“You okay?” Eren asked, setting Quinn’s suitcase on his bed and leaning close to check on him. “Why are you so flushed?”
Quinn shoved his phone into his sweater pocket, ignoring the heat prickling his skin as he turned to Eren and scowled. “I’m not flushed, it’s just cold in Toronto, and the wind was hitting my face for too long.”
Eren stood and studied him, his blue eyes sweeping up and down like he was some visual goddamn lie detector.
Quinn should have been grumpy about it, but all he could think about was how Eren’s eyes were not the right shade of blue. He preferred them lighter, almost white like clear ice over a lake, or the sky right before a cozy snowfall.
Great, now he was comparing everything to August, and it was so obvious that the people around him were catching on.
“It was the wind, sure,” said Eren. “It has nothing to do with Gusty. I’m being delusional.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Quinn elbowed him, and for a guy who took punches and crashed into boards almost every night, he was a bit of a wimp when it came to Quinn pushing him around.
But as wimpy and annoying as Eren was, he was also observant and direct when he wanted to be.
“We brought the girls here to watch the All-Star game because they wanted me to take them. You don’t have to follow us around for the whole event, so anytime you want to leave and do your own thing, give me a heads up and have fun.”
Quinn’s hand tightened around his phone. He didn’t hate the thought of doing date things with August, and he had told him that was allowed when they came up with their rules. But saying it and then being confronted with doing it were two very different things.
And yeah, after cuddling in bed with the guy post-shibari session for two hours, Quinn had accepted a hard truth regarding his feelings toward August. He still needed more time to come to a final decision, so maybe agreeing to a date was a good opportunity to test his theories.
“Quinn.” Eren placed his hands on Quinn’s shoulders, gripping them in a comforting way. “Jesus Christ, stop overthinking things. Watching you worry to the point of tripping over yourself is painful.”
Quinn sighed because that’s how he felt about it, too; in pain.
“I’m going on a date with August,” said Quinn, his pulse skipping the moment he spoke the words. “Will you be okay to watch the girls on your own while I’m gone?”
Eren grinned and gave his shoulders one more squeeze before pulling away. “You bet. Have fun on your date and let me know how it goes.”
Quinn had to give Eren props for being such a good sport when it came to his and August’s situationship. He knew Eren was apprehensive because of what it could mean for the team chemistry if things went sideways, but Quinn appreciated his understanding.
“I’m sure hearing about me eating food at an expensive restaurant won’t be that thrilling,” said Quinn. “But if he comes up with anything better than that, I’ll share it with you.”
Eren’s expression turned wary, and he awkwardly forced a laugh. “Yeah, Gusty seems like the kind of guy who will totally default to something basic, but at least it’s an effort?”
Quinn could agree with that.
“Hold down the fort,” said Quinn, saluting Eren before he left the bedroom.
They had booked a family suite at the hotel they were staying at, which meant Quinn and Eren got their own rooms, and the girls got to bunk together in the last one.
The main section had a kitchen and living room with a big TV, and there was even a hot tub on the balcony, but Quinn couldn’t imagine they would spend a lot of time there.
The girls had become obsessed with hockey now that they were in lessons, and that meant they would use most of their time in Toronto to go to the rink or public skating areas.
Quinn was nervous about leaving Eren on his own to watch Alara and Emira, not because he was an incompetent father, but because the girls had selective hearing, and they were fast. They had grown into a new habit of bolting whenever they saw something that caught their eye, and lately, that was everything.
But Eren said he could handle it, so Quinn took out his phone and sent August a text, asking for his room number.
Two minutes later, he stepped out of the elevator and walked up to a door with the number 808. Quinn knocked to be polite, jumping when it swung open before he could pull his hand away, revealing August’s smirking face.
“Hey,” he said, dragging his icy gaze over Quinn’s body in a way that had heat curling in his stomach. “I’m not fucking up the routine you and Callahan have going for his kids, am I?”
Quinn shook his head. “He’s got it covered. They’ll probably watch a hockey game, eat sweets all night, and pass out in a sugar coma while I’m gone.”
August chuckled and ducked back into the room to grab his coat. Quinn was very aware of the fact that Niko wasn’t rooming with him.
August caught on to his unsubtle peeking and laughed. “Neeks is staying at Fraser and Killinger’s place while we’re here. I’m technically supposed to be too, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to pay for my room to have some…privacy.”
Quinn’s eyebrow slowly drifted upward while listening to August’s explanation. “You boys are having a sleepover? How cute.”
August’s cheeks immediately went red, and Quinn couldn’t help but think how pretty the colour looked on him.
He needed to get a hold on his filthy thoughts before he said fuck the date and shoved August back in the room. But Quinn hadn’t brought his equipment, and he was curious to see what August had planned, so he decided to behave himself.
August must have read something in his expression because he was suddenly fumbling to put his coat on, and his ears were beginning to turn red.
Quinn stood grinning as he watched it unfold, feeling a sense of pride while August became more and more flustered as he shoved his arms into the sleeves. It was comical to think that a man as large as August could be so timid, but that was the part of him that appealed to Quinn the most.
All that muscle and strength honed in a brutal contact sport—and still, one word from Quinn could put August on his knees.
That kind of power was exhilarating, and even better than the control was the hazy look August had shown him while giving his control away.
“Stop looking at me like that,” August said gruffly, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Quinn curled his lips into a half-smirk. “Looking at you like what?”
August shuffled, shoulders hunching defensively. “Like you want to eat me.”
They were standing in the hallway of a busy hotel room, and someone could interrupt them at any moment, but Quinn still found himself prowling toward August until the giant man scurried backward and bumped into the wall.
“If I wanted to eat you, would you let me?” Quinn purred, fingers reaching out to fiddle with the opening of August’s coat.
August straightened his shoulders, as if he could somehow take control of the situation by sheer determination. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
If Quinn didn’t only come up to August’s shoulders and he could reach his mouth without having to go on his tippy toes, he would have kissed him, but he didn’t want to give August the satisfaction of watching him struggle.
Quinn kissed his throat instead, pressing his lips to the outline of August’s Adam’s apple, chuckling when there was a sharp intake of breath from above him.
“Quinn, you’re killing me.”
Another kiss, and then Quinn swept his tongue over the bump before biting down.
“Are you trying to distract me with sex? I feel like you’re doing this on purpose so that I’ll drag you back into my room and skip the date.”
August was less spacy than Quinn had given him credit for. Sighing, he stepped away and peered up, taking note of his blushing face and the indent of teeth on his throat.
“Fine,” he said, fighting not to frown. “Let’s explore the frigid city of Toronto together so we can be more appreciative of our mild Vancouver temperatures when we go home.”
August raked his hands through his white hair, his posture relaxing now that the attack had been called off. “Right—that’s a great positive outlook.”
It was obvious that they were both fighting the urge to go into August’s room, but they held strong and walked toward the elevator instead, and Quinn prepared himself for the task of making small talk.
“How often do you need to dye your hair?” Quinn asked once they were on the elevators with the door shut. “It seems like it would be a pain in the ass to maintain the look.”
August shrugged. “You know how pale my natural hair colour is. I just do it myself whenever my roots start to show, and I’ve done it so many times that it doesn’t take me long.”
Quinn was continually impressed by August’s ability to care for himself. The majority of his past boyfriends didn’t put much into their appearance other than showering and shaving, which was fine, but one look at August showed that he went the extra mile.
“Skin care routines, hair treatments, and you even manscape,” Quinn said teasingly. “Seems like a lot of work for a guy who’s as busy as you are.”
August rolled his eyes, letting a flicker of his past arrogance shine through. “You know I barely grow any hair after seeing me naked. And who doesn’t want to look their best when you have to walk around tarps off all the time?”
Quinn crinkled his nose. “Tarp—what?”
“Uh…” August rubbed the back of his neck. “It just means that I walk around with my jersey and gear off a lot during games. I forgot that you don’t know hockey lingo.”
And Quinn never would because there was too much of it for him to remember.