Chapter 16 You’ve Been Weirder
Sixteen
You’ve Been Weirder
Beck
During the postgame rituals, I keep sneaking looks at my phone, in between celebrating, and showering, and my brief interview by a sports journalist who asks me about my game. “Looked like a shaky start, Mr. James. Any reason?”
“The start was rough,” I agree. “But goalies are like thermostats, not light switches. We don’t just turn on and off. Sometimes you need to adjust the settings until everything feels right. I got there eventually.”
It’s not like I’d admit that the presence of a hot, bearded bartender in row D had me feeling shaken. Hell, a hockey player never admits to nerves. No matter who causes them.
“That wasn’t my worst quote, right?” I ask Rigsy as we head to the parking lot.
“Nah, man. You’ve been weirder.”
“Thanks, I think.”
He shrugs. “Can I ride with you to the bar? I want to drink. A lot.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
As Rigsy and I are tossing our stuff into the back of my Jeep, the phone finally lights up with Forest’s name, and I stand there in the frigid parking lot to read it and reply.
Forest
Wow, man. You were on fire tonight.
Beck:
Are you calling me hot? Who started the whole strip tease, anyway? That was a perk.
Would you believe me if I said it was me.
Nope.
You’re right. It was Charlie and Scully.
Knew I liked those two.
Great to see you kicking ass, though. Charlie and I had a great time. Thanks for everything.
Now I’m grinning at my phone like a loser.
Feel free to thank me in person the next time you have a night alone.
Well…
I wait. Staring at the phone. Please don’t blow me off now. It’s been such a great night.
Full disclosure, here. I just dropped Charlie at his mother’s house. Now I’m heading home.
Holy shit.
Are you inviting me over? You have to be clear. I’m bad at context cues.
…
…
…
Jesus Christ, is it that hard to make up your mind about whether you want to fuck me?
Of course I want to. Get over here before I change my mind.
Yessir! I’ll chow down my ritual post-game fried chicken sandwich on the way. Want anything?
Just you.
Anticipation zings through me. I slam the back of the Jeep and tear around to the driver’s side. I slide into my seat and find Rigsy in the passenger’s seat, staring at me. “Dude. I could have walked there by now.”
“You still can,” I point out. “Look, I can drop you at the bar, but then I got somewhere else I need to go.”
He blinks. Then he smiles. “Bruh! You’re smashing twice in the same year?”
“Technically, it’s a new year,” I point out.
His grin widens. “Still. That’s low-key wild. Drop me at the bar. I’ll Uber home.”
I start the engine and practically peel out of the parking lot.
Rigsy chuckles. “For real, I need to meet this person who’s got you all twisted up.”
“Not gonna happen,” I murmur, gunning it through a yellow light. The bar is only another three blocks away.
“That’s interesting. How come?”
I shake my head.
“Fuck’s sake.”
After turning into the bar’s parking lot and pulling up by the door, I glance at Rigsy and say, “Sorry about the ride home.”
He shakes his head. “Have a good night, Beck. With whoever.”
“I will. Thanks.” Not sure why he’s acting weird. But whatever. I point the Jeep toward Erie before Forest can reconsider.
I get fried-chicken crumbs in my lap, and I probably break the speed limit on the way to Forest’s house. When I finally pull into his driveway and kill the engine, I don’t get out of the car right away. I need a minute to center myself.
It’s great that Forest wants to see me again, but I’m still the same inexperienced weirdo I was the last time I was here. The more he sees of me, the harder it gets to disguise it.
And this time we might really have sex. Dirty, naked, penetrative sex. Even though I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
This is going to be such a disaster.
A knock on the window startles me, and I jump like a cat who just saw a cucumber. Forest is standing there, arms crossed, his beard doing that thing where it looks both soft and masculine at the same time. He raises an eyebrow at me through the glass.
I open the door sheepishly. “Hi.”
“You coming inside?” he asks.
“I was hoping you’d be the one who does that.”
He smirks. “Me too. But I’m too old to do you in your Jeep. So if you haven’t changed your mind, you’d better come into the house before I’m eligible for an AARP membership.”
I get out of the Jeep. “You can join AARP at any age. They don’t check.”
“Beck?”
“Yeah?”
He steps into my space. “Shut up.”
“Oka—”
His mouth slams down onto mine.
Ooooooooh-kay.
Oh yeah. Yessir.
I grab him by the sweater and pull him closer to me. His response is to nip my lower lip and then suck on it.
And, Jesus. My dick is open for business and suddenly trying to jab its way out of my suit pants. I jam my tongue into his mouth, and now we’re just standing in the driveway going at it like horny goats on meth.
Until Forest pulls back to growl, “Inside,” and yanks me off the Jeep toward his door.
This time, we don’t even stop in the kitchen. Forest tows me through to his bedroom and shucks my suit jacket off of me. Then he tugs at my shirt.
“Easy on those buttons,” I babble. “I only have two good shirts, and I hate shopping.”
Forest doesn’t comment. He sucks on my neck instead. Aw, yeah. The feel of his beard against my skin is everything. Somehow, he’s also simultaneously divesting me of my shirt, my belt, and then my trousers.
After those items hit the floor, he cups my ass in his hands and pulls me against his big body. “What do you want tonight? I could just devour you.”
“If that’s the same thing as fucking me, then sure. There are condoms in my jacket pocket.”
He runs his thumb across my lips and laughs darkly. “Pretty confident, were you?”
“No, but I had to shoot my shot. So to speak. Even if that metaphor doesn’t work so well for a goalie.” I unbutton his shirt. “How did I convince you? Was it row D? The beer? The pretzel?”
He runs a hand down my bare chest, dipping to play with my happy trail, and my skin tingles everywhere he touches. “It wasn’t the fucking pretzels.” He kisses me again.
I shiver as he slides his hand into my boxer briefs to palm my erection. “Fuck, I’m so keyed up. If you jerk me, I’m going to come like a T-shirt cannon.”
His laugh is sudden and rich. “God, you’re a good time.” And he almost sounds like he means it.
After removing his hand from my shorts, he wrestles his own clothes off. Those glorious tattoo sleeves come into view, along with the mouth-watering dusting of hair across his strong pecs.
If I died right now, it would still have been a very full life.
“I want you on that bed,” he says, pointing at it.
My pulse rate jumps another notch. “Yessir.”
He gives me a hot look as he’s unzipping himself. I can’t follow his instructions, because I’m too busy watching as he strips off his jeans and his boxers in one go. Forest, naked, is a beautiful sight.
He peels the comforter off the carefully made bed, and even though I’m pretty busy admiring his ass, I pick up on one crucial detail. There are fold marks on the sheets.
“You changed your sheets tonight,” I say.
His gaze flickers quickly from the mattress to me. “That illegal?”
“No.” I shake my head, but I can’t hold back a grin. “You planned this. You went to the game knowing you were going to invite me over later.”
“It’s laundry day.” He skims his hand down my chest again.
My nipples harden, and my brain attempts to fuzz out. “That’s…not a denial,” I say as I step closer to his questing hand.
“Shut up, Beck,” he says quietly. “You have your issues. I have mine. Let’s not let ’em ruin the night.”
“Okay,” I whisper, reaching for his muscled arms. I love these arms. So strong and capable. I want to lick them.
He rubs his thumb over my lips again. “Fuck. Your mouth makes me crazy. I don’t usually do this.” He kisses me. Deeply.
“Do what?” I pant a minute later when we come up for air.
He looks me up and down. “Well, any of this.”
And before I can ask him to explain, he pushes me down on the bed.