Chapter Three
Evan
“I love winning!” Nix bounced in his seat. He was nearly coming out of his skin and that was after playing an entire game of hockey.
Evan wanted to tie Nix down just so he could think without the constant barrage of questions. Always, so many questions.
Somehow Evan had been roped into taking the rookie home again.
He’d practically become Nix’s personal chauffeur.
Once Laney had learned, from Nix, that they were neighbors, the captain had tasked Evan with making sure that Nix was settling in well.
Even away games had fallen on Evan to make sure that Nix got to and from the bus and hotel.
He’d thought that Nix needed a keeper and that was now Evan.
“And the next game is against Vegas! We have to beat Aries and the Vikings. He would never let me live it down if he won.” Nix turned and beamed at him. “It’s a good thing that we have the best goalie ever.”
“Uh,” Evan hesitated.
“What? What's wrong?” Nix demanded.
“I’m not actually in goal against the Vikings. It’s Sergie’s turn. He gets the next three games,” Evan informed him.
Nix gasped dramatically before throwing himself against the door. “No! Please say it isn’t happening.”
“Sergie is a very talented goalie. It’s why we trade off,” Evan pointed out.
“But he’s not you!” Nix exclaimed.
It shouldn’t make Evan feel so good that Nix believed in him like that. “Sergie will do fine.”
Huffing, Nix threw himself back against the seat. “I can’t believe this. I feel so betrayed.”
This little shifter was ridiculous. So why did Evan find himself smiling? “I’m sure it will be fine.”
Nix pulled out his phone. “I’ll just make sure that I get in Aries’s head with all my smack talking. By the time we face him, Aries will be so mad at me. I love my new plan.”
As Nix typed, quite quickly, Evan turned onto the street that ran between their condo buildings.
“Do you want me to drop you off at the front?” Normally, Nix went with him to park while trying to get an invitation into Evan’s apartment.
It hadn’t happened yet. Evan was concerned that once he had Nix in his personal space, he’d never let the boy leave again.
A tied-up boy was a sight that Evan missed more now that Nix often found his way into Evan’s thoughts.
“What…” Nix squirmed. “What are you doing tonight?”
“You’re not coming in,” Evan told him.
“I know.” Nix pocketed his phone. “I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to my place. I could order food, and we can watch a movie. You never did tell me what your favorite movie is.”
Evan turned on his blinker waiting for oncoming traffic to clear as he thought about Nix’s offer.
He couldn’t get the rookie out of his head.
The more time he spent with Nix, the more Evan was drawn to him.
To what could be. And Evan didn’t have any plans for the night.
Evan had also been curious to see Nix’s condo and find out how the younger man lived.
One night couldn’t hurt, could it? Just a little peek into Nix’s life wouldn’t kill Evan. Hopefully. “I could eat.”
“Really?” Nix sounded so happy.
Evan shrugged before pulling into the parking lot for his place. “I’m hungry.” And he might not be ready to have Nix in his space but Evan liked spending time with the boy.
“Wait! You never told me your favorite food either! I swear you don’t ever answer any of my questions.”
He didn’t have the heart to tell Nix it was because Nix would never stay on one topic for long. Most of the time before Evan could answer Nix was moving onto something else. Evan parked in his assigned spot and killed the engine. “How about some Chinese food from the place down the street?”
“I haven’t tried it yet,” Nix replied. “But I love Chinese food.”
Evan pulled out his cell. “I’ll get it ordered. What would you like?”
“How about sweet and sour chicken? Or orange chicken. And fried rice. No, noodles. Yes, I want noodles. And maybe—”
“I got it.” Evan ordered a little of everything. Did the boy even know how to make decisions? Or was his stomach as chaotic as his mind? “Apartment number?”
“Thanks. 9E.” Nix pushed open the door before leaning in and grabbing his bag from the backseat.
Evan completed the order and exited and decided to leave his own bag for when he went to his apartment. He followed Nix across the parking lot then the street until they reached the front of Nix’s building.
Nix punched in his code releasing the security door.
He made sure that he grabbed the bar to pull the door open first and motioned for Nix to go ahead.
Nix beamed at him. “Thank you!”
“You're welcome.”
“And thanks again for the ride.”
Evan shook his head. He might have bitched to Laney about being assigned a rookie to watch over, but he was relieved. No one would do as good of job keeping an eye on Nix as he would.
Following Nix to the elevator, Evan ran his gaze down Nix’s back to his round and tight ass.
Evan’s cock twitched. It had been a long time since Evan had hooked up with anyone, not even engaging in one-night stands.
His right hand worked just fine for him.
Or had until he’d recently began to become frustrated with himself.
It would be so easy to bend Nix over and slide his cock deep.
Nix wasn’t a virgin. It was well known in the league that Nix had been in a relationship with a teammate back in college.
Nix babbled the entire time they were in the elevator about all the different restaurants that he’d tried and ones he was still looking forward to.
Nix was passionate, Evan had to give him that.
No matter what the topic was, Nix could find something to say.
While Evan was thinking about stuffing his cock in Nix’s mouth to make the boy quiet, Nix seemed obsessed with food.
The elevator was a quick ride thankfully. The gentle scent of Nix’s body wash enticed Evan to want to get closer to the little shifter.
Once the door opened, Evan followed Nix to the left. Nix stopped in front of the third door on the right. 9E. Nix fumbled with the lock before pushing the door open. He flicked on the light then waved Evan inside.
There was a short hall before Evan stepped into an open concept living room/ kitchen setup. The kitchen was immediately to the right with an island separating the space from the living area.
What surprised Evan the most was how clean the place was. The apartment even smelled clean. He’d expected the condo to be as chaotic as Nix instead of such a tidy little space.
By the door Nix slipped off his shoes before sticking them in one of the little cubbies mounted against the entry wall.
“Sorry.” Evan flushed as he toed off his own shoes.
“It’s no big deal,” Nix walked over in his socks to pick up Evan’s shoes before placing them in their own cube. “Just habit now. I hate wearing shoes and if I don’t put them where they belong, it takes me way too much time to find them when I need them.”
The boy was smarter than what he showed others. Evan nodded with approval.
“This is my place.” Nix waved a hand around as he joined Evan. “There is pumpkin bread, muffins, and cookies in a Tupperware on the counter if you want to snack before the food gets here. Water, beer, and juice in the fridge.”
Evan stared at the offerings wrapped up on the island counter. “You made these?”
“Of course! Baking calms me. Just like taking care of my babies.”
Babies? Did Nix have pets? Evan glanced around but he couldn’t see any signs of animals.
“And this is my safe space.” Nix walked to the middle of the living room and made a circle.
The black leather couch was massive. There was also a giant television hung on the wall above a shelving unit.
Little knickknacks were placed on the shelves.
Pumpkins. All pumpkins. An orange and brown blanket covered the back of the couch.
The coffee table in front of the couch held a remote and game controller.
Evan didn’t spot any dust on the furniture or dirt on the floor.
“It’s very nice,” Evan said sincerely. “And clean.”
Nix laughed. “Are you surprised?”
“Honestly yes.” Evan crossed the room and stopped by the shelving unit under the TV. He was shocked by the amount of pumpkin décor. Some pumpkins were cute, others looked like fall decor, and even a few were silly. “You have to tell me about the pumpkin thing.”
“What pumpkin thing?”
Evan turned to see Nix grinning. “I think you know.”
Nix laughed. “We all have our thing. My family. A fruit that is our very favorite thing in the whole world.”
“And yours is pumpkin,” Evan guessed.
“Yep. Aries’s is apples, Gem’s is grapes, and my mom loves cherries. It’s a fruit bat shifter trait. Or that’s what my mom always told us.” Nix lifted a brow. “So…do dragons have a thing? A specific trait?”
Evan knew that Nix was dying to know more about him being a dragon. Nix had asked several times, tons of questions, but Evan hadn’t given him much more than admitting he was a dragon.
“Come on! Tell me something!” Nix danced around.
“I’ll take a beer,” Evan told him.
“Alright! Coming right up.” Nix brushed past him to reach the fridge.
The blinds were closed on the sliding glass door for the balcony which was where Evan had first spotted the little shifter. The balcony faced what Evan had set up as his hoard room. There was a tidbit that Evan could give Nix. Evan sat at the corner of the sectional couch facing the balcony.
“Here you go!” Nix passed him a bottle of locally brewed beer that Evan recognized. He flopped onto the couch next to Evan.
“Dragons do have a.…thing, as you asked.”
“What kind of thing?” Nix leaned closer. “Food? Drinks? What? What?”
“There is one myth about dragons that is actually true,” Evan told him.
“You can breathe fire? Would you make me s’mores? I love s’mores! That would be the coolest trick.”
“Trick? You think breathing fire is a trick?” Evan questioned. Not that he was admitting to anything.