Chapter Four #3
Nix followed Evan to the doors of his building, bouncing like a puppy. He was so excited. This was going to be great! He’d wanted to see Evan’s sanctuary so bad! It had to be awesome with the way that Evan guarded the place.
It seemed to take forever until they reached the fifth floor and were standing in front of Evan’s door.
Laughing, Evan used a key to unlock the deadbolt. “You are so excited. I’m afraid that you’re going to be very disappointed.”
“Never!” Nix assured him.
With a shake of his head, Evan pushed the door open.
Nix ran past him to stop in the middle of the tiled entry.
Looking around, he approved of the warm colors and decor.
Homey was the first word that came to mind.
Crowded was the second. While Nix’s condo was simple and clean, Evan’s was…
full. Like every inch of the place. There were more bookcases and books than Nix had ever seen in his life.
More than libraries and… He whirled. “You!” He pointed a finger at Evan.
Evan stood inside the door, watching him. “Me?”
“You…you tricked me!”
“How?” Evan questioned.
“Your hoard isn’t gold, or money, or anything expensive. Your hoard is books! You totally hoard books!”
Evan sniffed. “Some of these books are worth hundreds, even thousands, and I have many one of a kind and first editions.”
Cackling, Nix clapped his hands. “This is the most amazing thing ever! My goalie is a book dragon. Like a real-life book dragon.”
“Your goalie?” Evan lifted a brow.
Oops! “Food? Feed me, book dragon!”
“Fine.” Evan pulled out his phone. “What do you want?”
Now they were back to this? Nix shrugged. “You decide.” He wandered from the entry toward the living room. The coffee table, side tables, even the floor had stacks on them, there were so many books.
Nix threaded his fingers together so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch. He did see Evan’s point. It would be hard not to touch a book since they were everywhere!
“I ordered us steak, baked potatoes, and mac and cheese.”
Nix spun. “That sounds so good!” His stomach rumbled. He definitely ate better when he shared a meal with Evan. Left on his own, Nix usually went for pizza and one of his baked treats. Baked goods were the best but he did need substance to keep his energy.
“I thought so,” Evan replied. “Now take a seat on the couch.”
Nix glanced down at the gray fabric. It looked comfortable except…
“I’ll move the books,” Evan told him.
“Okay.” Nix waited until there was a clear space before he plopped down in the corner of the couch.
Look at him being good and not touching.
Not touching Evan or his books. Even if he was dying to have his hands on both.
Not that Nix wished to read but some of the book covers were pretty and Nix wouldn’t mind a closer look.
Plus, what did Evan read? With so many choices, what was his favorite?
Maybe if Nix could figure that out, he’d learn even more about his book dragon.
He ran his gaze to every inch of the condo. At least what he could see, which wasn’t more than the living room and kitchen and lots of closed doors. Three, no four closed doors. Evan’s condo was bigger than his for sure. And it was nice.
Nix snuggled against the couch, which he seemed to just sink into.
And the fabric smelled like Evan too. A slight aroma of vanilla, smoke, and mint. Nix had no idea what the scent was but he’d grown quite enamored with it.
Evan’s place wasn’t dirty or messy. It was just full of his precious hoard. Still Evan rushed around, moving stacks until he seemed satisfied that nothing would be disturbed. It was cute.
Evan was cute and sexy and mouthwatering and Nix was in so much trouble.
Nix was falling for Evan. Hard and fast. It was getting harder for him to push down the feelings. He should call Gem. Gem was always able to give Nix the perspective that he needed. Nix pulled out his phone.
‘I need you to tell me that I shouldn’t drop to my knees and tell my goalie that I want to worship him.’ Nix sent the text and waited.
‘Are you fucking kidding me?’
Nix watched as more bubbles appeared. Gem wasn’t done. Not that Nix expected any different.
‘Have you learned nothing? You know how messy it is dating a teammate.’
‘That’s why I need you to remind me.’
‘Do not hit on your goalie!’ Gem sent.
‘I wasn’t thinking of hitting. More like sucking.’
‘I swear to God, Nix! Now is not the time for this bullshit! This is a new team. Do not make waves,’ Gem ordered.
‘He’s so cute!’ Nix needed Gem to understand that. Evan was adorable with his little quirks and all his books. Fucking precious.
‘Is it worth your entire hockey career? Because that’s what it might come down to. Mules is loved by everyone. One of the best goalies in the league,’ Gem told him.
‘Okay. This is good. This is what I need to hear.’ Nix rested his phone on his chest as he waited for Gem to reply.
Evan was searching through the menu on the television screen.
Nix was dying to see what movie he picked.
Nix really was a fan of bad horror movies.
The dumber the better. Watching one of those movies allowed Nix to just be.
He didn’t have to worry if someone was unhappy.
There was no drama, he could just sit back and relax.
It was nice. He didn’t often get to relax when his mind constantly worried about everyone around him and what Nix could do to make them happy.
Nix’s phone vibrated against his chest. He checked the message from Gem. ‘Worst-case scenario is you get transferred to a different team, but it would come at a cost to your reputation. You could be fired. We all signed pretty extensive contracts. That have morality clauses.’
‘Fine.’ Nix had wanted Gem to tell him no but now he was sad.
Why did Evan have to be everything that Nix had ever wanted in a partner?
At first Nix had truly wanted to be friends with his goalie.
Evan might be quiet but he was well respected on the team and Nix had been drawn to him.
Instead, now Nix wanted all Evan’s attention, all of the time.
Damn! He really was setting himself up for heartbreak.
Evan hummed before selecting something on the television.
‘Got to go, bro! Thanks!’ Nix sent.
‘Please don’t do anything stupid. Love you.’
‘Love you too!’ Nix set his phone down beside him on the couch.
“You couldn’t go five minutes without giving Aries a hard time?” Evan asked.
“Actually, that was Gem. I get two brothers to annoy,” Nix shared. He was very lucky that way. His mom always teased that having the three of them meant that she would never have any peace but Nix knew that she loved the chaos that surrounded them. Just like Nix did. He took after her so much.
“Oh sure.” Evan pointed at the screen. “You should watch this and learn something.”
Nix wiggled and settled deeper into the couch. “Why would I want to learn something from a movie? Movies are fun!”
“This is a documentary,” Evan corrected.
Groaning, Nix let his head fall back. “So not fair!”
Evan just chuckled. “I think you’ll like it. It’s about sharks.”
That perked him up. “Really? Is it about shark attacks? Did you know that they have a whole week of shark stuff on television. Not just movies but all kinds of shows. There are a lot of true-life shark attacks on that.”
“Let’s watch and find out,” Evan suggested.
From the smirk on Evan’s face, Nix was pretty sure there would be no awesome shark attacks.