Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TYLER
T hursday at the morning skate, I was playing with Burns, our second-string D-man, and it wasn’t going well. We were preparing for our game against Denver this weekend and Coach had us running the standard blue-line drills. I grabbed a puck and glanced at Burns, crouched and fixated on me. He ticked his head.
I skated off, throwing the puck around the ones laid out for us, and shot to Burns.
Throwing his stick out, he barely caught the first pass and whisked it back at me. With a few short hops on my skates, I landed the puck on my blade and attempted to toss it around the next set. We were slow and not nailing the passes. I chucked the puck right to him.
He hit an edge on his skates and went down, sprawling over the ice. “Fuck.”
I glanced at Coach Hammett, chatting with another D-man at the boards. He hadn’t seen our mess, thank God.
Ace skated toward Burns, shaking off his netted glove, and held his hand out to him. “What’s up? Is Hodge too fast for ya?” He lifted Burns off the ice .
“No.” Burns straightened his shoulders and glanced at me. “It’s me. I’m off today.”
Hell no, the guy had been off all week. Or is it me? I chewed on my mouthpiece and skated toward them. Had I lost my groove since Rowan was injured? “Hey, man. We’ll get this.” I patted Burns’s arm.
“You two better figure out your shit before the game tomorrow night. I need a shutout, and with you two stinking up the ice, I might not get it.” He tapped my chest with the end of his stick. “And you, Hodge, still need to look pretty for the Blackhawks scout.”
I peeked at Burns and focused on Ace. “Who died and made you my coach?” I lifted the edge of my lips. He might be right, but I’d still give him shit about it.
“Your mama.” With a cackle, Ace shook his head and slid his glove back on.
My heart sank, and I took a hard swallow, grabbing a new puck with my stick. Ace didn’t know about Mom’s MS diagnosis, or he never would have said that.
Ace stopped and studied me. “What, no comeback, Hodge?”
I fixated on the puck, swiping it back and forth with my blade. Now was not the time to tell him. I didn’t need the whole team examining every spec of my game this weekend, thinking I was off because of Mom. Especially when it would really be because Mackenzie wasn’t playing with me.
“Hodge?” Ace skated to me, pulling off his glove again and his helmet. “What’s going on?” He narrowed his brown eyes.
With my eyes stinging, I sniffled, and my chest ached. Why the fuck was I getting emotional about it now? She was okay and in some sort of remission, and I’d stuffed the whole thing to the back of my thoughts.
“Jesus Christ, Hodge.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me in close. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it literally. You know that, right?”
I snuck a peek at Burns, skating in a circle with the puck, throwing glances at us .
Burns couldn’t hear us. In a soft voice, I said, “My mom was diagnosed with MS about a month ago.” I gritted my teeth as my vision blurred. Fucking hell, I couldn’t lose it here.
“Are you shitting me?” He wrapped his thick arm around my neck and pulled my head to his padded chest. “I’m sorry. Who else knows?”
“Cummings and Mackenzie.” I breathed through the bubbling emotions, forcing them deep inside me. “I should have told you. I’m sorry.” Keeping secrets from my friends was stupid, but I hadn’t known how to handle it.
He freed me and looked into my eyes through my face mask. “I guess that explains?—”
“No, it explains nothing. She’s fine now. It’s not why I’m…” Fuckin’ A, I was about to blab more shit. What was wrong with me today? Was I missing Rowan that much? Yes, I fucking was. I needed him out here with me. I scowled. I couldn’t out Rowan to Ace. “There’s more shit going on, but I’m not at liberty to talk about it just yet.”
He sucked in a breath. “Okay, buddy. You know I’m here when you’re ready.” He patted my shoulder. “Just, uh, find a way to sync with Burns, so I don’t have to do all the work winning the games this weekend.” He arched a brow and smirked at me.
“Sure.” With a soft snort, I nodded. I had to pull my head out of my ass. Burns wasn’t the problem. It was me.
As Ace skated away, I up-nodded Burns. “Come on, let’s go again.” This time, I’d skate with him instead of forcing him to follow my lead.
After classes, I sat on the couch in the squad house, reading a few chapters for my class on biomedical image processing. This shit was amazing, and I couldn’t get enough. I bit into an apple, devouring the words on the page. Could I work as a biomedical engineer after my hockey career was over?
My phone buzzed on the cushion beside me. I picked it up and scanned the quiet house. Everyone was still out at classes. I answered the call, setting it on speaker. “Hello?”
“Tyler, I have good news,” Dean said.
Oh shit, I hadn’t even looked to see who it was . My pulse sped up. “Yeah? I’m assuming this is about Chicago?” Would it be weird to see if he could help me bring Rowan there?
“It is. But I have more news than that. First, the Blackhawks would like to have a meet and greet over the Christmas break. I told them you’d be home anyway, so…”
“Sure. Not a problem. Just let me know when.” I closed my book and set it on the coffee table. “Any news on Rowan’s prospects?” I’d been spending short amounts of down time with Rowan all week, so I knew about Rowan signing with him.
“I can’t tell you that, and you know it.” He chuckled.
Brushing my fingers in a circle over the couch cushion, I said, “But I can put in a good word for him when I’m visiting the Blackhawks facilities, right?” Would it be weird?
“I can’t stop you from telling them whatever you want.” He sighed. “But you should know the Bruins are showing interest in you too.”
“What?” Popping my eyes wide, I dropped my mouth open. “Are you serious? I might get scouted by two of the best teams in hockey?”
“You might.” He huffed a laugh. “So far, they’re just making inquiries, so don’t get your hopes up too much.”
“Yeah, okay.” I fisted my hand. Though, if I had a choice, I wanted to start my career in Chicago and be close to Mom. “Let me know what the specifics are when you work them all out. Right now…” I thought for a minute. Would I be spending the whole break in Chicago? What about Rowan? Would he want to visit me, or would he invite me to visit him? Shit. “Right now, I’ll be in Chicago for the first part of the break. I’m not sure about the rest.”
“Okay, I’ll let them know,” he said. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Sure. Talk to you soon, and thanks.” I hung up the call and set my phone against my chest. I wasn’t sure what the future would hold, but I was sure I wanted Rowan in it.
Friday afternoon, I followed Rowan onto the plane. He was walking without a brace now, just a compression bandage. He was healing fast and would be starting some physical therapy with our trainer next week.
I walked to a row of seats toward the back and tapped Rowan on the arm. “How about here?”
Turning his profile to me, he said, “Looks as good as any seat.” He swayed his head, looking behind me. “Should I let Myles in first?” He smirked.
“Yes, please.” Myles squeezed by us and slid into the window seat. Beaming at us, he said, “Thanks.”
I piled in next to Myles and Rowan took the aisle seat. It was a short flight to Denver, so I wouldn’t need to piss. I hoped. I buckled my seatbelt.
Ace slid into the row in front of us, turning to us. “Hey, Tyler, you doin’ okay?” He eyed me.
“I’m fine.” I glanced at Myles and then Rowan. I hadn’t let either of them know what had happened yesterday in practice.
“Okay, well, it looks like Rowan has permanently taken my seat between you two.” He hooked a brow.
“Oh, sorry, Ace. Did you want to sit here?” Rowan unbuckled his seatbelt.
With a hand wave and smirk, Ace said, “Naw, I’m good up here. I’m hoping nobody sits by me, and I can have some peace and quiet.” His gaze snapped to mine. “Hodge, we’ve got this tonight, right? ”
“We do. Don’t worry, Ace.” I flicked my gaze at Rowan. He’d be watching from the bench tonight. I’d be playing for him.
Rowan gave me a coy grin and patted my hand. “Don’t worry, Ace. I’ll keep him in line from the bench.”
Warmth buzzed through my chest. I couldn’t wait to win this game and get back to our hotel room. After a week of only having a few hours of him at a time, I was spending the whole weekend with him.
“All righty then.” Ace twisted and sat next to the window.
Burns walked down the aisle. “Hey, Ace. This seat taken?” He up-nodded Ace.
“Shit, no, go ahead.” Ace chuckled.
Flashing a look at me, Burns said, “Hey, Hodge. We got this, right?” He held out his fist.
I bumped his fist. “Damn right, we do.”
Burns dropped into the aisle seat by Ace.
As the plane’s engines rumbled to life, Myles stuck his AirPods into his ears and settled in with a movie.
Rowan leaned into me. “What was that all about with Ace?” His gaze fell to my lips, and he wet his own.
Hell, he was already thinking about the hotel room later. In a low voice, I said, “I, uh, had a moment yesterday in practice. I was fucking up, and Ace started chirping on me about it.” I took a deep breath. “Problem was, he said something about my mom, and it hit me wrong.” I glanced around us. Myles already knew we were together, and no one else was paying us any attention. I grabbed his hand on the armrest. “I got a little emotional and told Ace about my mom having MS.”
He leaned closer to me, pressing the side of his head to mine. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I wish I could have been there.” Turning his hand over, he threaded his fingers in mine. “Do you need to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m okay now. I was just caught off guard. I don’t even understand why I was so upset.”
Whispering in my ear, he said, “You ever need to talk, you know I’m here.” He tightened the hold on my hand. “I can’t wait to get you alone tonight in our hotel room.” The edge of his mouth lifted, and his gaze met mine, his pupils wide.
My dick woke and jerked in my slacks. “Yeah, me too.”
Myles looked up from his phone and did a double-take of us. “Maybe I oughta go sit with Ace and Burns, so you two can join the mile-high club?” His brows rose.
“Shut up.” I released Rowan’s hand. “You didn’t hear any of that.” Or did he?
“Didn’t have to with the way you two are eye-fucking each other.” He huffed a laugh. “Better keep that shit in check when we get off the plane.”
“We will.” I peered around us at our teammates, coaches, and support personnel. “The only one paying attention to us is you.” I smirked at him.
“Uh-huh.” He went back to his movie.
After taking a bus to our hotel, a tall, nondescript structure in concrete, we all filed out, grabbed our duffels, and strolled under an arched metal awning into the lobby. We had enough time to eat and chill for a few hours before we headed to the arena. I glanced at Rowan. “How’s the knee after the flight?”
“Good.” He gave me a charming smile, and then it fell. “Actually, it’s a little stiff. You going to ice me up when we get to the hotel room?” He wagged his brows at me.
“Of course.” As my teeth scraped over my lower lip, I watched his tongue peek out of his mouth. Would we have time for a quickie before the game?
The team manager walked to us and gave us the keys to our room. “The pre-game meal will be served in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks.” Just enough time. I tagged Rowan’s arm and strolled to our room on the first floor with Rowan limping along and rolling a suitcase behind him. After opening the door, I stepped inside.
As Rowan closed the door, I threw my duffel on one bed, grabbed his suitcase from him, and rolled it into the corner. “Get your clothes off.” I scrambled to free myself from my suit jacket and shucked my slacks down my legs, my cock thickening.
“I like the way you think, Hodge.” He undressed, folded his clothing, and hung his suit over the dark wood desk chair. His cock stood tall inside his boxer briefs, attempting to poke out of the band.
My mouth watered. “Fuck. Look at you.” As he turned, I dropped to my knees in front of him and freed his thick cock.
His breath hitched. “Oh, hell yes.” Winding his fingers into my hair, he clutched it.
I fisted the base of his dick and flicked my tongue over the tip, the heady taste of him flooding my tongue. “You taste good.” I cupped his balls with my free hand and swallowed him whole. We didn’t have any time to waste.
He groaned and tipped his head back. “Yeah, hell yeah.” Rocking his hips, he fucked my mouth, and his cock pulsed against my tongue, dribbling precum.
Twisting my hand around the root, I fondled his balls and pulled as they tightened, my own solid dick aching and leaking into my underwear. As I quickened my pace, I looked up at him. I wanted to see him come undone.
His face tensed and he bit his lower lip, his thighs trembling. “You’re so fucking good at this. Not going to last.”
I hummed over his dick as saliva dribbled from my mouth down his balls, shoving his cock to the back of my throat. He was going to see stars, and I’d be sure of it.
He yanked on my hair. “Coming, oh fuck, coming hard.” He whimpered and moaned.
As his dick swelled farther still, I stayed on him. Hot cum spurted to the back of my throat, and I swallowed it all down, my own cock pulsing and aching in my briefs. As it slowed, I rose and pushed him toward the bed, slipping my hand inside my underwear and stroking my sensitive cock. I was getting off now too. I couldn’t wait.
He plopped on the bed, still in a daze, and his gaze found mine.
“Can I come on you?” My chest heaved, and my hand worked furiously over my dick. Pleasure crested and ebbed inside me as I straddled his knees.
“Yes, fuck yeah. Do it.” Leaning back on straight arms, he pushed his chest out.
“Oh shit.” As my orgasm roared to the surface, I clenched my jaw. Sensation rushed from my cock to my curling toes and sparked behind my eyes. “Coming….” I rasped as ropes of cum sprayed over his chest and washboard abs.
“Yeah, baby, that’s it.” He ducked his head and threw his tongue out, taking some into his mouth.
As it calmed, I gave my waning cock a few slow tugs and softly chuckled. “Holy hell, that was building for a while, huh?” I stepped to the desk behind me and pulled a few tissues out of it, then handed him some.
“That was fucking hot.” He wiped my cum from his chest and abs. “The things you can do with guys…it still amazes me.”
“I don’t even know what you do with girls.” I cleaned up my hand and dick and threw the tissues into the trash bin under the desk, then sat next to him. Yeah, I was a gold star gay. I slipped my underwear over my spent cock.
He peered at me. “You’ve never been with a girl? Like ever?” He narrowed his eyes further. “Like, never even kissed one?” He tucked his dick into his underwear.
“Nope. Well, I’ve never kissed one in more than a friendly way.” I looked him over, the muscles on his chest, his powerful thighs. He was looking as fit as ever for not hitting the gym or the ice for a week.
“Wow. I can’t imagine.” He stretched his leg out and rubbed his knee through the bandage. “I’ve had a girlfriend or two. Not for very long, mind you. It’s not like relationships were ever my focus. Hockey always came first.”
“Yeah, same.” I crawled onto the floor. “Let me take a look at your knee.” I unwound the bandage and pressed on the inside of the joint. “The swelling is almost gone.” Every time we’d been together this week, I’d made sure he was icing. It looked like it had paid off.
“Yeah, it feels pretty good.” He cupped my cheek. “You took good care of me this week.” Bending over, he pressed a lingering kiss on my lips. “It’s going to kill me not to be out there with you tonight. But I know you’ll do me proud.”
I grinned up at him. “I’ll do my best.” I was determined to get the W for him.
At the game, we were well into the second period and neither team had scored. I sat on the bench, chewing my mouthpiece, between Mackenzie and Burns. Being injured, Mackenzie had his jersey and helmet on but none of his other gear.
Denver’s forwards raced down the ice toward Ace, passing the puck between them.
Cummings rammed their center, snatched the puck from him, and took off toward center ice and the Denver goal.
Leaning forward, I held my stick up. “Go, Cummings. Get those fuckers!”
Neuman, our center, positioned himself by Denver’s crease.
Shooting the puck to Neuman, Cummings took a hard hit and flew to his back.
The puck ricocheted off the blade of Neuman’s stick and tumbled high and to the left.
Stretching his netted glove out, the goalie threw himself toward the puck.
“Holy fuck.” I patted Mackenzie’s thigh. Did we get it?
The red lamp went off, and the horn blew .
“Goal!” Mackenzie jumped up, along with the whole bench, hooked his arms around me, and squeezed. “That was wicked. Did you see that?” He erupted in laughter.
“Hell yes.” I hugged him to me. He shouldn’t be jumping like this. “Settle down. You’ll hurt your knee.”
“Fuck the knee.” He patted my helmet, his eyes twinkling. “You get out there, Hodge, and show ’em how it’s done.”
With a glance and a nod at Burns, we hopped over the boards and hit the ice. I stopped a moment, pointing a gloved finger at Mackenzie. “Don’t you jump up like that again, or I’ll…” Fuck, I’d what?
“You’ll spank me?” Mackenzie twisted his hips to me and slapped his ass.
“You wish.” With a wide grin, I fixed my mouthpiece, my dick plumping. Fuck, not a good time for a boner.
Coach Hammett patted Mackenzie on the shoulder. “Sit down and stop distracting him.” He rolled his eyes. “God, the two of you sometimes.”
“Oops.” Mackenzie touched his finger to his lips and dropped onto the bench.
Shaking my head, I skated to my spot to prepare for the faceoff.
Burns glided up next to me, eyeing me through his facemask. “You two are really close.”
“Yeah, well, we need to be.” I studied him. What was he getting at? Was he sensing what was really going on between me and Mackenzie?
“Yeah, guess so.” He skated off, glanced at me, and crouched, stick to the ice and gaze on the centers.
“Dudes, what do you say we make sure to keep the puck on the other end of the ice the rest of the game.” Ace skated from edge to edge in his crease.
“Then you’d get no action.” I chuckled, sneaking a peek at Ace and then focusing on center ice .
“I get plenty of action with my boyfriend.” He cackled and tapped his stick on the ice.
With a soft snort, Burns said, “So does Hodge.” He slid his gaze to mine for a beat.
“Hodge doesn’t have a—” Ace dropped his mouth open. “Fuckin’ A.”
“It’s go-time, boys.” As the puck dropped, I skated toward it with Burns at my side, the center scrambling to take control of it. Ace knew, and maybe Burns too. Was Mackenzie ready for this?
After the game and our post-game meal, we made our way through the lobby to the hallway leading to our room. I hadn’t sat with Rowan on purpose tonight. In fact, I’d done my best to ignore him. If Burns was noticing shit, the others might be too, and I’d had to do something to dispel any rumors that might be circulating.
I stopped at my door, fished out my keycard, and unlocked it.
“Hey, what’s up with you tonight?” Rowan wrapped his hand around my elbow.
As my gaze slid to his, I caught Ace and Myles striding toward us. “Fuck.” I faced him. “Ace knows, and maybe Burns.” Yeah, we were going to have this out now.
“Burns?” Furrowing his brows, he blinked at me. “How?”
“Hey, a word?” Ace planted his hands on his hips.
“I didn’t tell him.” With his forehead wrinkling, Myles waved his hands.
Rowan straightened his shoulders. “Come on in.” He pushed the door open and limped inside our room, with all of us following.
After shutting the door behind us, Ace glanced at me, his brows knitting. “Hey, Rowan, I don’t want to force anything here.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s about time someone told you about Tyler and me.” He twisted around. “I’m ready.” He held his hand out to me.
Taking his hand, I walked to his side, my chest filling with warmth. He was proving to me, once again, that he was nothing like Cody.
“Tyler is my boyfriend, and I’m bisexual. I only figured this out about myself since Coach put us together.” He scratched his neck. “Hell, I can’t explain any of it, but I know we have something special here.” He flashed his gaze at me. “I’ll take good care of him. It’s not an experiment.” He lifted his chin as his attention drew to Ace.
Ace’s gaze darted between me and Rowan and back again. “Ho-ly fuck.” A smile swept over his face, and he lifted his arms. “I’m happy for you.” Stepping to us, he hugged us both into his chest and kissed our cheeks, one at a time. “Goddamn. I did not see this coming.”
“You’ve been too busy with Zoma.” Myles snickered.
Releasing us, Ace asked, “Is that why you didn’t tell me?”
“No, I wasn’t ready to tell people.” Lifting my hand, Rowan kissed the back of it. “But I am now. Myles sort of figured it out when we were at the gay bar the second time.”
“Oh…” Ace’s cheeks pinked, and he rubbed his neck. “I was detained by Zoma in the restroom that night, I think.” He sniggered.
“The night I found out about my mom’s MS was the first time I shared a hotel room with Rowan.” I studied Ace. He’d want to know the rest of the story.
Ace furrowed his brows. “Okay. I’m not sure I follow.”
With a hard swallow, Rowan said, “My mom has MS too. So, I knew what Tyler was going through that night.” He glanced at me. “I think it’s what brought us closer together and…”
“And the lines between teammates and lovers blurred. I get it.” Ace chuckled and then focused on me. “I’m sorry your mothers have MS. That’s got to be tough.”
“It is. But if I have a shitty night, don’t think that’s why. She’s fine now. It’s not affecting my game.” I huffed and slumped my shoulders. But Rowan’s mom’s MS had caused problems for him. Would I end up the same way?
“Well, I’m glad this is out in the open now.” Ace snuck a peek at Myles and pointed his thumb at him. “Turns out this guy is pretty good at keeping secrets.”
“See?” A smile crept over Myles’s mouth.
Patting Myles’s shoulder, I said, “Thanks, man.” My attention shifted to Rowan. “Anyway, we should probably get some ice on?—”
“Oh my God, I’m sick of having ice on my knee.” With a scowl, Rowan ambled to the bed and dropped onto the edge of it.
I glared at him and planted my hands on my hips. “It’s for your own good.” Did he have no idea how much I wanted him back on the ice with me?
“I see how it is.” Ace tagged Myles in the arm. “Let’s go. They need some time alone.” He twisted and walked toward the door with Myles. “Have fun tonight, boys, but, Hodge, you better not be walking funny in the morning.”
As both Ace and Myles howled a laugh, they left the room.
“What was that supposed to mean?” Rowan arched a brow.
“I think it was a sex joke.” Shaking my head with a quick laugh, I found my bag and rummaged in it for an ice pack. Fucking Ace. At least he knew everything now. Even though he wasn’t around as much anymore, it had been weird not telling him.
“Tyler? Can we?” Rowan shimmied himself up the bed, putting his back on the tufted cream headboard. “I want more than a quick blowjob tonight.”
My cock pulsed in my slacks as I stood. Looking him over, I raked my teeth over my bottom lip. “Yes. We certainly can.” A post-game fucking was definitely in order. I’d deal with Burns tomorrow.