Chapter 19 Jack
NINETEEN
Jack
Waking up with Tian in my arms reminded me of that old Belinda Carlisle song about Heaven on Earth.
It had taken us some time to get things settled between us.
Not the us relationship. That was stronger than ever.
The us trying to figure out what we were doing.
That had taken some juggling, mostly on his part, which I felt awful about.
It seemed as if he had given up a lot for us and I’d not sacrificed a thing.
His whole training regime had been upended while I’d done nothing other than buy more towels.
“I can hear you overthinking things,” he mumbled sleepily into his pillow. Oh yeah. I had bought a pillow for him too. Wow, big forfeiture there Jackie Boy.
“Sorry, I was just lying here admiring the way your back rises and falls when you sleep.” I ran a hand over said back, his skin warm and smooth under my palm. He made a sleepy, yummy sound so I continued to rub his back. “I think I haven’t done enough giving in our relationship.”
“Jack, no.” He flopped to his side to stare at me, the dim morning light tinting the frosty window pink.
February into March had been damn cold. Snowy, icy, all the things I usually bitched about, including long nights.
Now I enjoyed the long nights. Tian was here now, living out of a hotel for the time being, but here in Harrisburg.
“See this is where your ex messed with your head. Sometimes one person gives a lot and the other doesn’t.
But, no, don’t say anything.” He placed a toasty finger over my lips.
“And then next week or month the other person gives and the other person doesn’t.
It’s not always down to one person to give and the other take.
Sometimes you have to carry more of the load, then it’s your partner’s turn. ”
I puckered to kiss his fingertip resting on my lips. “Okay, I know that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes, I do. I understand. I’m sorry to make it so… mpfhmpfhhfup.” He pressed my lips down flat.
“No, no more sorry. I’m happy to make a few changes to make us work. Who knows, maybe when I’m done we’ll be looking at moving to Colorado?”
I nodded. Yes, I would gladly do that when I retired.
I had one more year with the Railers and that was going to be it for me.
My body couldn’t take much more. My shoulder was sore from a game against Boston, my knees ached, my back was stiff.
My time on the ice was coming to a close, but I still had time to get my team to the Cup finals.
I wanted that so badly I could taste it.
“Yeah,” I murmured then nipped at his finger. He jerked it back before tossing a muscular leg over my thigh, his flaccid cock nestling into my leg.
“Cool. So now I just need to find a place to live.” He sighed as he began to rub the sole of his foot up and down my hairy shin, his hand falling from my lips to lay on my chest. “I mean hotel life is nice, but you know… it’s a hotel.”
“Why don’t you move in with me?” I said, aware of what an enormous bomb I had just dropped on us. His head rose from my pec with such speed he could have whiplashed himself. Dark eyes were round as silver dollars.
“What?”
“Move. In. With. Me.” I watched a whirlwind of emotions cross his face. “I mean it’s small sure, but we can do two here. And if it’s just for another year and a half we can make it work. You already have a towel and a toothbrush…”
“Well, yeah, but a towel and a toothbrush don’t mean…” He propped his head up with his hand to stare at me. “You’re serious?”
“As a tax collector.”
“Wow I just…” His eyes grew dewy. “I would love that but it’s a huge step, Jack. Are you sure you want me and my shit underfoot?”
“I would love to have you and your shit under my feet.”
He smiled, a rich, pure smile that made my stomach tighten with love. Then he kissed me, hard and with incredible passion, given we’d fucked each other into the mattress twice last night. My dick was starting to stir when my phone began to chirp.
“Ignore it,” Tian whispered over my lips.
I tried, I really did, but the buzzing went on and on. “I’d better check it. Maybe Fiona has had some sort of incident or something.”
He sighed but let me move to my side to paw at the nightstand. The bottle of lube we’d used last night fell to the floor with a thud. My fingers skimmed over the vibrating cell. I brought it closer. It was not Fi but Noah Gunnersson.
“It’s Gunny,” I said over my shoulder. Calling at ten after six?
We all woke early as the morning skate started at nine sharp, but a kid his age calling me at the ass crack of dawn meant something serious.
“I think I should take it. Sorry. Love you. We’ll pick this up after I see what the kid wants. ”
“Go for it,” Tian yawned as he curled into my back like a cat.
“Gunny, what’s up?” I asked as I let my head fall back to my pillow. Tian slung his arm over my hip, his fingers awfully close to my dick.
“It’s all over the web,” Noah said, his voice strained.
The worry in his voice made me tense. What was all over the web?
If Trick had done something, stupid I was going to—“Preston Mills is reporting again that a deal with Jari Lankinen is about to hit.” Oh man, not this again.
That rumor had been cooking on a low heat for months.
Yes, we were now one day from the first of March, and the trade deadline was about to roar to life.
Things in the league went a little insane around this time of year.
Teams looking to bolster their rosters for the upcoming playoffs would be making moves.
But bringing a Lankinen to Harrisburg? Surely not.
“And Lincoln Reese who writes the Penn Skate blog is also telling people to look for this deal to be done and signed by noon today.”
“Okay, Gunny, we’ve been over this,” I said, wishing I’d turned my phone off last night.
Not that I didn’t love the kid. I did. But he did tend to get a little overly stimulated when it came to his family, rightfully so.
And while Tennant Rowe wasn’t technically a relative, Noah had grown up with Ten, Jared, and their kids so he was like a beloved uncle to Gunny.
“Until we hear it from the team we can’t let the trade rumors fuck with our heads. ”
“But—”
“No, no buts. Look, this is probably just some wild speculation. I know for a fact that Mills has said some off-the-wall shit to get clicks and calls into his show.”
Lincoln Reese on the other hand…
He was one of the most respected sports reporters in this area.
And while he mostly focused on the local college teams, he also did a lot of stories on the Railers.
So perhaps there was a stink in the air Reese was sniffing at as well.
Didn’t mean a thing though. Trade rumors were hot commodities for the media.
Speculation ran wild online with fans joining in to fan the flames.
Ninety-five percent of the whispers were bullshit and never panned out.
“But if he is traded to the Railers…”
“If he is, and that’s a big if, we’ll treat him like any other new player. So, for now, go back to bed with your man and get some sleep. Coach is going to work us hard to make sure we’re ready for the Carolina game tomorrow afternoon.”
There was a long hesitation on the other end. “Okay, sure, fine. Yeah, you’re right. I’m overreacting. No way would the owner allow a trade like that.”
“Exactly. Go back to bed. See you at the practice facility and don’t be late.”
“I won’t be. Thanks, Cap.”
I chucked my phone to the table, sighed wearily, and felt a stiff dick poking me in the ass.
“Did you turn that off?” Tian asked then started nibbling on my shoulder.
“I did,” I purred as he gave me another poke.
“Excellent, pick up the lube. You’re going to need it.”
Turned out that it wasn’t just clickbait and Ice Beat in the ’Burg as well as Lincoln Reese had scored a genuine coup. As we were coming off the ice after morning skate Coach called me into his office and closed the door.
“Coach,” I asked, feeling a certain cold vibe in the room that had nothing to do with ice. “Problem?”
“We’ve just given up two future first-round draft picks for Jari Lankinen out in Detroit.” His lips were so flat it was a wonder he could force words through them.
“Oh shit,” I whispered, dropping into a chair in front of his desk, sweat running down my spine to give me a chill. “That’s not going to play well in the locker room. Gunny was already edgy just from the rumors. Why the hell would they bring in someone with such a terrible history with the team?”
“The owner insists that the son should not suffer for the sins of the father,” he said as he sat down with a huff.
That was true but still… “He’s got talent, but he’s having trouble settling on any team he’s played on, and to be honest, we need his speed on the second line.
We’ll be moving guys around to accommodate him.
He’ll be here tonight and will play tomorrow against Carolina.
Tell the team. Inform them that we do not want any bullshit over this.
What happened to Rowe in the past is just that.
In the past. This is now and we need his talent.
The first time I hear any shit from anyone, and that includes Noah, I will bench their asses.
We are not going to allow this to derail us. ”
Super. This should be a fun talk. “Okay, Coach, I’ll pass that along.
” I rose, nodded, and exited his office with the weight of a boulder on my shoulders.
Pulling up short outside the locker room, I took a hefty breath, walked in, and felt twenty-four sets of eyes on me.
“Guys, settle down. I’ve got some news to pass along. ”
It was not a fun talk. The mood of the room shifted from upbeat to barely suppressed anger in the space of two minutes after I made the announcement.
Ten Rowe and his husband were beloved and admired alumni of this team, so I got the mutters of disapproval from the men.
Not only did they have to look at the offspring of someone who had nearly ended a brilliant career, they had to accept line changes because of him.
Gunny, amazingly enough, was quiet even when the others were bitching.
I’d pull him aside later. For now, I let the initial bad feelings flow before I held up my hands.
“Okay, hey, okay, I get it. That name leaves a bad taste on a lot of tongues in this town. I know Tennant and Jared. I like them both. I like their kids and their charities. I get it. Aarni was a cheap shot artist. Lots of old-time players were. Shit, some today are still that way, but as Coach said that was then and this is now. Jari is not his father. He’s got talent and he’s our new teammate.
If you don’t like it then talk to the owner, your union rep, or the GM.
Coach and me are just the messengers so while we get it and will gladly listen to your complaints, we can’t do jack shit about it.
So, hit the showers, go home, and bring your game faces to the ice tomorrow morning for skate. ”
I turned and made for my locker, eager to shower, go home, and work out exactly what the hell I was going to say to Lankinen when he showed his face at the barn tomorrow morning. It was going to be interesting to say the least.
Fiddling around in the shower was a great way to avoid the team and the press.
The media had leaped onto the Lankinen story like hungry hyenas finding a wounded gazelle.
Also, I needed time to think about what to say to Gunny to ease his upset.
I knew that his dads, especially Stan, were incredibly close to the Rowe-Madsens.
Stan and Ten were like brothers. I also knew that to this day Tennant still suffered headaches from the brain injury brought about by Aarni.
This whole situation sucked. What the GM was thinking escaped me.
I lathered my beard as I tried to think of what could have possessed our general manager to make such a trade.
Surely the guy had to know this was going to upset the apple cart.
It pissed me off a little because our locker room had been a place of camaraderie and high spirits.
Now we’d have to tiptoe around Jari Lankinen and Gunny as they worked that shit out, as well as spend valuable time soothing hurt feelings about line changes.
And I got it. I really did. Switching players on lines that were gelling like our four was wrong.
Especially mid-season when we were rolling along like the steam locomotives on our sweaters.
I sucked in a breath and then stuck my face under the hot water.
I disliked talking bad about management, but whoever had thought this move up needed their fucking heads examined.
Looking down at my wrinkled hands I knew I had to exit the showers with a towel round my waist and my little shower bag of soap, shampoo, and beard wash.
Slippery wet feet squeaks from my Crocs filled the locker room which was now empty.
Or mostly so. Gunny was waiting for me, his curls still damp from his shower, his eyes sharp as a hawk. Great.
“You said it was clickbait,” he opened with before I even made it to my locker.
“I thought it might be. Hoped it might be,” I admitted, opening my locker to expose my street clothes hanging inside.
I looked over my shoulder at him sitting in front of his locker, dressed and ready to roll yet still here.
With a sigh I turned to face him, water dripping from my beard to trickle down the thick hair on my chest. “Gunny, I am sorry. I assumed no one in their right minds would bring that kid here. He’s going to have one hell of a hard time and that sucks for him.
You guys being upset sucks for you. This is out of my hands.
I wish I could ease the stink of this decision but I’m just a grunt who hits people for a living. ”
Whatever the future held for us, and my team, it would work out because I had Tian in my life. A man could face any storm with the person he loved beside him.