Chapter 25
Austin
My head is in the clouds instead of in the Dallas locker room, and the team notices.
Every night, more of Gray’s belongings find their way into my room, and I couldn’t be happier.
I encouraged him by clearing out space in my closet and dresser for his things.
Our toiletries are mixed together in my bathroom. It’s phenomenal.
But I have to keep my mind off my boyfriend.
I have a game to play, and the crowd boos us during pre-skate.
The Dallas arena is large, and the crowd is heavily involved with chants and songs.
I can’t fault the fans. Our points are high enough that even if we lose most of our games, we’ll still make the playoffs, but we need every advantage we can get.
Our dance party ritual is winding down, and King has made it his mission to keep me on beat with the music. Gray pretended to get mad, but he had the smile that stretches his lips and scar, a clear sign of his happiness.
We start the game off with a miscommunication, and Dallas scores in the first minute. Their goal song annoys the hell out of me.
“Let’s not hear that again.” I slap players’ pads and encourage everyone on the bench.
King and Griff connect to put us on the board, and that ramps the crowd up even more, rooting for their team.
I vault over the wall with Drake and Lucky, ready for battle. The crowd boos and hisses every time we have possession of the puck. This game is being played in the middle of the ice more than against the boards.
They are chirping and itching to fight. Drake keeps his cool, and our shift ends without a brawl but also no goal.
Our defense breaks down again, and I hope we can fix our problems before the playoffs.
Kenney stands out as fast and skilled, but he’s young, and we need a seasoned player to lead by example.
We probably have two of the best goalies in the league, but we can’t expect them to save shot after shot.
The first period flies by, and we’ve kept out of the sin bin, so I’m calling that a win. On my next shift, I’m tripped and eat the ice, slow to get up. It knocked the wind out of me, but the game doesn’t stop, I decide not to ask for a sub.
By the time my line exits the ice, Grayson’s fury radiates off him as he assesses me.
“Got the wind knocked out of me. All good.” I catch his eye, but he frowns. “It’s true.”
Gray nods and moves down the bench to check in with Lucky and Drake.
During the next intermission, he drags me into the treatment room to inspect my ribs, pressing his fingers in and listening to my breathing.
“See. I’m fine.” I pull everything back into place.
“I knew when you went down, it was a bad hit.” He bites the scar on his lip.
“Thank you for looking out for me, but don’t go soft on me,” I joke and punch him in the arm.
Liska looms in the doorway, needing a quick treatment, so I join the team in the locker room.
I’m torn between loving Gray’s attention and being nervous that he’s overreacting.
It’s not his usual thing, and I didn’t see myself fall.
Sometimes falls look worse than they are, and sometimes a small trip results in a tear needing surgery.
I put his concerns behind me and focus on winning the game.
They’re ahead by one with only three minutes left, and Lucky fires me a pass in front of the goal while the tender is turned toward Drake. It’s an easy shot to slip in, but it hits the pipe and bounces back. A Dallas player gets his stick on it, and I race down the ice to catch him.
It isn’t our night. Dallas penetrates our defenses with precision and always finds our weakest link. We couldn’t keep up the retaliation scores and lose by one.
We’re still ahead in points, and it’s not a huge detriment to our goal of winning The Cup, but we’re better than how we played tonight.
Gray slings his arm around me in a buddy hug after the game.
His combination of clean cotton and medicinal smell eases my tension.
His presence has always calmed me. The worst games were the losses before he lived with me.
I had a hard time decompressing. In hindsight, I should’ve realized he’s more than a friend.
I foolishly wasted so much time we could’ve been together.
If I could get away with it, I’d skip the team dinner. It’s one of those nights I’d prefer solitude with Gray. My body’s sore, and I played a shit game. And as if he reads my mind, he tells the team I need recovery time to play in LA and can’t attend the team dinner.
I’m so grateful, I zone out and let Gray call us a ride share back to the hotel. Having my best friend here is a luxury I don’t take for granted.
When Gray holds out his hand palm up, I’m not sure what he wants until I notice we’re standing outside of my room. I fish out the keycard and slide it into his hand. He grins, knowing I could easily open the door, but I’m letting him take charge.
The door closes behind us. “You’re only one man on the team.
There were lots of missed shots. In fact, the team missed thirty-two shots, which is an all-time high for this season.
” He cups my face so I have to look him in the eyes.
“The loss was not your fault, and even if you had made that shot, it was not a guaranteed win.” He walks me backward to the bed and nudges me to sit.
“Get out of my head.” I wrestle him onto the bed next to me.
“You like me here.” He knocks on my head. “What do you need?” Gray searches my eyes.
“I need my Sunshine,” I say, and although it’s the truth, I’m unsure how to get back in a positive headspace.
“I’m here. You up for a little play? I have an idea.”
I’m suddenly invigorated. Without a word, Gray undresses me and examines my torso and extremities to double-check I’m fine for whatever he has planned. I watch him undress and rifle through my duffel. I’m shocked when he comes to bed with the flogger.
“I snuck it in your bag,” he answers my unasked question. “You are in no condition to receive blows, but it’s the perfect way to get you out of your head and make me come my brains out. You in?”
I swallow my nerves and take his mouth. He tastes of peppermint and home. “So in.”
“If you haven’t noticed, it turns me on when you’re unrestrained, unleashed, and out of your head. How do you want me?” He leans back to search my eyes and then gives me an encouraging kiss on my forehead.
“Hands and knees. But I’m starting slow.
” My words are more for me than him. Gray somehow takes away my fear before I know it’s there.
The man in pure perfection. He presents his glorious ass to me, and I drag the flogger over his curves.
He shudders and pushes his ass back. My hand follows the flogger.
“Do you remember how much you loved the sting? Will you let me experience it too?” He gasps as he speaks.
His questions change my mindset. I’m not doing this for my pleasure; I’m doing it for him. The bonus is I’ll love it too. The sound of the first crack scares me until Gray moans so loud, I’m glad the team is out and can’t hear us.
After a few more strikes, I ask his color.
“Fucking green, green, green.”
He sets me free to unleash brutal slaps to his ass and back. We fall into a rhythm, and my cock leaks all over him. Gray shoves his face into a pillow to muffle his sounds, but I’m tempted to tear it away to hear them.
His sounds create an image of me that’s ten feet tall and invincible. Gray has given himself to me, and the power is going to my head. I could do anything to him, and he’d thank me. I’m in complete control.
I don’t know how Gray held on for so long when he did this to me. It takes extreme concentration not to blow my load all over him and rub it into his skin as if I’m claiming him.
The swishes and corresponding thuds on him become a symphony I could listen to all day, every day.
I drag the tails over his balls, giving them a soft strike.
“Red,” he moans, and I fling the flogger across the room and turn him over.
“What do you need? Are you hurt? Did I hit you too hard?” I ask frantically, searching his eyes.
“You are exactly what I need.” He cups my face and hauls me down on top of him to kiss me wildly.
“But—”
He cuts me off. “I was on the verge of coming, and I am not ready for this to end, and I need to prove to you that you’ll always stop if I need it.”
“You scared me,” I growl.
“Sorry. Take a breath.” He inhales and expects me to do the same, then exhales. “Tell me two things: were you ready to stop, and did any part of you hesitate when I said the safe word?”
The questions take me off guard, but I answer honestly.
“No and no.” I’d been totally preoccupied with getting him off, but when he spoke, I stopped and ditched the flogger.
“You think you’re so smart.” I snake my arm between us so I can gather both our dicks in my hand.
“Just because you’re always right. Now I’m in charge of when you come.
” My voice exudes confidence, but I’m shaken by the sudden switch.
I’ve never held the power. Even though he’s made himself vulnerable to me, he’s held all the power in our session.
That takes my breath away and immediately puts me on the brink of an orgasm.
“Tinny,” he moans in my mouth as his cock swells, and he comes all over my dick and hand. Seeing the ecstasy on his face tips me over the edge, and there’s a bucket of cum between us.
Gray grabs my hand and licks my palm with our combined releases. It ignites me, and because he can read my mind, he saves some and brings my hand to my mouth to taste.
“Fuck, what are you doing to me? I thought I was a vanilla guy, and you keep offering me tastes of the rainbow. It blows my mind.” I cannot get enough of Gray, and I love it, but it scares me too.
“Let me tell you all the reasons we belong together.” He presses our foreheads together.
“Yeah?” I twirl his hair around my finger.
“Yeah. You know me so well and kicked my doubts to the curb like trash. You are the heart and soul of the team. I don’t understand why you decided I’m the one, but I’ll do my best to deserve you and put you first.” Gray’s words wrap around me, anchoring me to him.
“You make my life better, and it’s my turn to take care of you,” I say. I fetch him water and apply the same gel he used on me.
Exhaustion pulls at me when I snuggle up next to him. No one else would put up with my darkness and help me through it. Tonight, there wasn’t any sign of the darkness, and he’s building my confidence that I won’t hurt him.
“Go to sleep, Tinny. I’ll be here in the morning.”
“But…I’ll miss you.” My voice gets softer with each word.
“Don’t worry. I’ll miss you too. You can dream about me.”
“Okay.” I fling my arm out, and he tucks himself into my side with his hand on my stomach. In my dreams, I’m brave enough to claim him as mine, and we take an extended vacation to Greece.