ALEX
Final game between the Coyotes and Renegades. First half almost over. Cooper had possession of the ball and was running toward the goal line, like usual. Jason came up behind him and caught Cooper off guard. They tumbled down together, a ball of arms and legs moving way too fast with too much force toward the ground.
Alex watched, helpless, as Jason’s cleat collided with Cooper ’s jaw, causing his neck to snap back. A spray of blood filled the air. He landed on the ground with a loud thud. He wasn’t getting up. Why wasn’t he getting up?
“Cooper!” He ran to his side, shoving his teammates out of the way. Somewhere in the distance, a whistle sounded. “Cooper, can you hear me?”
A low groan sounded from Cooper’s throat. Blood dripped off his chin.
“Where are the damn medics?” Alex yelled, heart beating out of his chest. He grabbed Cooper’s hand, not caring that his teammates or Cooper’s were watching. “Open your eyes, Coop. Look at me.”
Their second and final match against the Coyotes, the season almost wrapped, and this had to happen. They’d made it almost the entire way through without serious injury.
Alex resisted the urge to shake him. He wasn’t sure what kind of damage he was dealing with. “Coop? Can you hear me?”
His sluggish gaze focused on Alex’s face. “Are you holding my hand?” Cooper muttered. His signature cheeky smirk graced his face.
“Yeah. What of it?” Stupid, beautiful idiot. Probably has a fucking brain bleed, and that’s the first thing he says? “Where are the fucking medics?” He searched the field, looking for their telltale neon jackets. Finally, he spotted two men running from the sidelines.
“Clear the area, please. We need to stabilize his neck and get him back to see the doc. Sir,”—the emergency worker turned to him—“I’m going to need you to let go of his hand and stand off to the side with your team.”
“If you think I’m leaving his fucking side, you’ve got another thing coming,” he snarled, leaving no room to wonder how serious he was.
The medic’s eyes bulged out of his head. “Sir, I need you to back up and?—”
“Not a fucking chance. Now let’s go,” Alex growled.
Cooper’s chuckle rang in his ears. “Be nice, Bouchard. They’re just doing their jobs. Finish out the half. There’s only a few minutes left.”
“I’m not leaving you. You’re hurt. You probably have whiplash.”
“It happens. Finish out the play.” Cooper squeezed Alex’s hand, then pried it loose. “I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be in to check on you as soon as the whistle blows. Not a second later.”
“I know you will be. Go and play.”
Shit. Fuck. Shitty fuck shit. He didn’t want to leave him. Nodding to Cooper, he watched the medics carry him off the field and back to his team doctor.
The entire force of the Coyotes and the Renegades were on the field behind him. He felt the weight of their stares. Turning to face them, he was ready for a fight. So what if he was dating a rival player? So what if they all had a problem with it? He’d kill anyone who?—
“Hey, he’s gonna be okay, man. I’ve seen him take worse hits, trust me. He always bounces back,” said the right winger on Cooper’s team.
“Ya, bud. He’s got this,” Michael added, walking to his side and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Other members from both teams nodded at him, or gave him a thumbs up, calling out words of encouragement.
“Hold up—you guys aren’t all pissed at me for being with Cooper?”
“Oh, we’re fuckin’ pissed, bud,” Stan called from between his fellow teammates.
Jason laughed. “Pissed like you wouldn’t believe.”
Cooper’s team captain waltzed up to him. “But you know we’re all actually thrilled for you, right?”
The sentiment made him pause. Why was everyone taking this so well? “You…are?”
“Oh hell ya,” Michael said. “Do whatever you want with each other off the field.”
“Just as long as you’re still willing to go against each other on the field, eh?” another one of Cooper’s teammates added.
“I thought we all…” He looked back and forth between all the players. Even the refs were standing off to the side, pretending not to listen but clearly wanting to know what was going on before resuming play. “I thought we hat ed each other? Decades-long rivals and all that?”
“Oh, that’s just a silly tradition we all pretend to keep up. I mean, maybe some of us hate the others, but it’s mostly for show.” Stan winked.
Other team members standing around him nodded or hummed their agreement.
“I’m sorry, man. You know how things go. It was an accident.” Jason looked down at the pitch, unwilling to meet his eyeline.
Any leftover anger fled his body at the sight of a downtrodden looking Jason. The man was a stony son of a bitch, so for him to apologize like that, he knew he meant it.
“Hey. Not your fault. These things happen, and we all know the risks.” He held out his hand to his teammate, who graciously accepted it. “Now let’s finish up this fucking half so I can go see Coop.”
COOPER
His ass-print was a permanent fixture in Alex Bouchard’s sheets. When Alex insisted Cooper stay with him, he didn’t pass on the chance. What did a sweet, doting Viking look like? He wanted to find out, and find out he did. Still, it had been three days of living with Alex while Cooper recovered from his whiplash, and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was everything Alex was hoping it’d be.
“You’re sure you want me here taking up all this room in your bed? Leaving kernels of popcorn in your sheets you have to pick out of your ass at three in the morning?” Cooper didn’t bother trying to stifle his shit-eating grin.
Alex rolled his eyes. “Baby, you know this is the only place I want you to be. How could I stand you being in Calgary, recuperating all by yourself?”
“I have a roommate. And a mom, by the way. She’s always more than happy to take care of my injuries.”
“Yeah, you seem like you’d be a momma’s boy. Not gonna lie,” he chuckled.
“Why don’t you take your fine ass and get this momma’s boy some popcorn? You better believe I’m hiding extra kernels in the sheets tonight for that comment.”
“Whatever makes you happy, Coop,” Alex said, leaving the bedroom to make two heaping bowls of salty, buttery popcorn.
Turns out, his rough-and-tumble man was quite the nurse. It helped that Alex had seen his fair share of injuries, too. Rugby wasn’t exactly a gentle sport. But he didn’t expect him to be quite so…tender. That wasn’t a complaint, either. He liked it. Loved it, in fact. Alex waited on him hand and foot even though Cooper was capable of doing everything on his own. Well, almost. His neck was fucking stiff, and he could do without the headaches, but he was getting better. He was around forty percent of normal range of motion, which was better than last week. The doc had given him plenty of gentle stretching to do. But you’d think he’d lost a limb or something the way Alex was caring for him.
Alex returned with the goods only minutes later, as well as a large bag of M&M’s and two bottles of water. Placing half the treats on his nightstand and the other half on Cooper’s, he snuggled in beside him under the covers.
“What do you want to listen to tonight?” Cooper asked. They’d been flying through podcasts since TV only worsened his headaches.
Alex ran his palm up the inside of Cooper’s thigh. “I wouldn’t mind the sound of you screaming my name, baby boy.”
His face fell. “You know we can’t. Not yet, anyway. Once I can turn my neck from side to side, I’ll scream for you all you want.”
“I know, Coop. I just miss you.” Alex leaned over and kissed his shoulder.
The big softy. His heart fluttered. “I miss you, too.”
Alex grabbed his bowl of popcorn and set it between them so they could share. Dumping the packet of M&M’s on top, he said, “Throw on whatever podcast you want. I’m shitty at finding good ones.” He popped the cap off a bottle of Advil and handed him two pills, along with a muscle relaxant from the doctor.
Cooper grabbed his bottle of water and took a large gulp, choking down the medicine. He’d never been great at swallowing pills. Other things…yes. Pills? No. “I wouldn’t say shitty . The first few episodes of My Dad Wrote a Porno were pretty fuckin’ hilarious.”
Alex’s eyes lit up at his comment. He’d never tire of that—being able to make a man like him light up. It didn’t come easy, but somehow, he had the magic touch.
“True. But you can only listen to descriptions of big, heaving bosoms for so long…” Alex held his hands out in front of his chest and gave his pretend tits a squeeze.
Cooper laughed and kissed him on the cheek. “How about Borrasca ? The first two episodes were interesting, eh?”
Alex grunted his approval around a mouthful of chocolatey popcorn. “That Sprouse guy’s voice is pretty hot, too. Put it on.”
He brought a hand to his heart the same way a shocked Southern Belle would. “Should I be jealous?” Cooper said with a southern twang.
“You know my cock only wakes up for you, baby. I’d be happy to just lay and listen to the sound of your breathing if that’s what you want.”
Cooper grabbed a fistful of popcorn with one hand and scrolled through his podcast app with the other. “Have you always been this much of a sweetheart?” He hit play and settled in, resting his head on Alex’s shoulder.
He wrapped his arm around Cooper and kissed the top of his head. “Only for you, baby. Only for you.”