Chapter 25
TOBIAS HADN'T EVER EXPECTED meeting Chase’s brother to be so nerve-racking. But what the fuck did you say to a guy whose brother you had a wildly inappropriate crush on, especially when said brother was only recently back in the picture after a major fallout when your crush was sixteen?
‘You should really consider therapy.’
And you should really mind your business.
‘I’m your brain. This is literally my business.’
“Ahh, shut up already!” Tobias shouted in his empty car.
Yeah, therapy was probably a good idea. He’d never prioritized himself over being there for Madison and Natalie. Which was stupid, because if he lost his mind he wouldn’t be able to take care of anyone, including himself.
Mental health could be such a pain in the ass.
Tobias had long been plagued by overthinking. Considering he was on his way home from another session with Shane Kendrick and Coach Tucker after kicking ass, he should have been in a better mood.
It was the conversation afterward that was making him overthink yet again.
“Dude, you are on fire,” Shane gushed.
A small smile tugged at Tobias’ lips, but they fell as Shane continued.
“Whatever training you’ve been doing, it’s working. You gotta keep it up. And maybe let me in on it,” he chuckled as they skated off the ice.
If Tobias had been walking, he would have tripped. Instead, he coasted right into the boards, his mind wandering as he thought about his time with Chase.
Chase was the big difference in his training, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to be sharing him with Shane.
‘Say that five times fast.’
He sighed at his own thoughts.
Unfortunately, Shane didn’t miss Tobias’ collision with the wall and narrowed his eyes in Tobias’ direction.
“What’s going on?”
Tobias did a quick glance around the gym before focusing on Shane. Coach Tucker had already left the ice, and they now had the rink to themselves.
Shane drew closer to Tobias, both of them leaning against the board in front of the team’s home bench, a company logo plastered on the wall beneath them.
“I, uh, I’m seeing someone, I think,” Tobias explained.
Shane blinked at him questioningly, and Tobias understood his confusion when he responded.
“Seeing someone, like a ghost?” he said as he leaned forward to whisper, his eyes wide. “Can you see them right now?”
Fucking goalies.
Tobias sighed.
“You know how I told you I thought about coming out before, but I was terrified of exposing my niece to the media?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Shane said.
“Well, uh, I hired this new yoga instructor at my gym,” he started, but Shane interrupted.
“A yoga instructor? Hot.”
Tobias had forgotten it could take time to explain things to Shane. He was easily distracted.
“Yeah, um, he’s really hot, and I started seeing him outside of the gym. Like, in a ‘not safe for work’ way.”
“Ohhh, that kind of seeing someone,” Shane giggled. “Dude, that’s awesome! You need to keep him around. He’s totally your good luck charm.”
Tobias tensed before he answered. “Well, that’s the thing. I’m not really sure if he’s interested in sticking around. I mean, he’s great with Madison and he’s amazing at his job, but I have no idea how he feels about it all.”
“He’s met Madison already?” Shane asked, surprise in his face.
“Yeah, but not because of me. He teaches kids’ classes at this rock climbing gym in Cherrywood, Cherrywood Boulders, and he met Madison there.”
“Have they interacted outside of the rock climbing gym?”
Tobias’ face heated as he thought about their Valentine’s Day date with Madison, followed by one of the most amazing nights of his life.
“We took Madison to Otherworld in Philly for Valentine’s Day, and then we all cooked breakfast together the next day.”
Shane gaped at him.
“Dude. He’s already slept over? A guy would not do that if he wasn’t interested in something more than a hookup.”
Tobias couldn’t help smiling.
“Really? You think so?”
Shane stared at him and then put one of his gloved hands on Tobias’ shoulder.
“Anyone who can put that smile on Tobias Moyer’s face is worth fighting for, that’s for damn sure,” Shane said. “But there’s always one surefire way you can figure things out.”
“How?”
“You could do this brand new thing. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but it’s all the rage these days,” Shane said as Tobias leaned in, impatiently awaiting the secret about to be shared. “You could fucking talk to him about it.”
The smile fell from Tobias’ face.
Talk to Chase about his feelings. Possibly come out of the closet by dating Chase openly. Both of these tasks were terrifying, and he wasn’t sure he was capable.
“What if I go public with him and the media goes feral and it affects Madison?” Tobias blurted. Thank goodness he could hide his thoughts. He had no chill on the inside, but others rarely witnessed it.
“Are you for real?” Shane said, exasperation in his voice.
“Cooper Farnsworth is currently playing and is one of the league leaders in goal scoring, and the media barely acknowledges him in public. He really only gets recognized when he’s in hockey-related places.
We don’t play for a major hockey city. Philly loves us, sure, but they’re more worried about football and baseball around here.
Most likely thing is you get a little bit of attention for a couple weeks, and once people remember how boring you are, they’ll go back to leaving you alone. ”
Tobias huffed a breath of laughter and shoved Shane playfully.
He knew Shane was right. Tobias felt like he was grasping at straws for reasons not to come out.
Maybe he wasn’t as ready as he thought. Maybe if he waited until after the alumni game, when people were paying no attention to him again, it would be safe to be open with Chase.
But there was one thing he definitely had to do. He had to talk to Chase.
No big deal whatsoever.
He wasn’t panicking one bit.
Bullshit.
————————
Instead of going home, Tobias headed over to Chase’s apartment. They rarely hung out there, since Tobias usually had to be home with Madison. He should have called first, but part of him wanted to catch Chase off guard.
It only took a minute for Chase to answer after Tobias knocked.
Tobias was so glad he came over instead of calling.
He nearly swallowed his tongue when Chase opened the door.
Chase wore nothing but compression shorts, his upper body shiny with sweat.
He didn’t know he could get a hard-on so quickly.
“Ahem,” Chase said, clearing his throat loudly, and Tobias’ gaze flew up from where he stared everywhere but in Chase’s eyes. He wanted nothing but to drop to his knees right then and there to show Chase how much he cared for him.
‘What’s stopping you?’
Oh, shit, you’re totally right.
Tobias stepped forward, forcing Chase to step back into his apartment, and closed the door behind them. He pushed Chase up against the wall by his front door and dropped to his knees, pulling Chase’s tight shorts with him.
“Unnngh,” Tobias groaned as he came face to face with Chase’s hard cock. The guy wasn’t wearing underwear, and for a moment he thought about asking Chase to continue his yoga session so he could watch. But Tobias had no intention of waiting to get the glorious sight in front of him in his mouth.
Leaning forward, he licked the head, causing Chase to fall back against the wall, his moan echoing in his apartment. In the next breath, Tobias swallowed Chase whole, his moans turning into shouts as Tobias wasted no time in getting his lover to the edge.
Tobias hadn’t even taken off his coat, but he managed to get a hand in his own pants to pull out his dick, stroking in time with the bobbing of his head. With his free hand, he reached around to Chase’s tight ass, gripping it tight and easing him in and out.
“You want me to fuck your throat?” Chase croaked between gasps.
All Tobias could do was give his ass another squeeze and moan. Chase shoved his fingers through Tobias’ hair and started to guide his cock in and out of Tobias’ mouth. Watching Chase from his knees was like looking up at an angel, an incredibly horny angel.
“That’s right, baby, take it,” Chase said, moaning. “You feel so fucking good.”
Tobias may not have been whatever the gay version of a ladies’ man was, but he could suck cock like his job depended on it. Thankfully, deep throating was like riding a bike, the skill returning to him the same way muscle memory clicked for his hockey skills.
Chase continued his thrusts, picking up the pace as he groaned.
“I’m so close, so close,” he shouted.
Tobias took one of his fingers and gathered some of the saliva slipping out of his mouth, and reached for Chase’s balls, giving them a soft pull before dragging the wet finger along Chase’s taint and settling it over the puckered skin of his hole.
He didn’t enter, but he tapped it and pushed against the rim, and Chase shouted through his release.
Tobias increased the pace of his strokes and finished a few seconds later, while Chase rode out his own high.
Chase only pushed him away when he got too sensitive, and he slid down the wall and sat on the ground, serene bliss on his face.
His eyelids fluttered, and he grabbed his shorts off the floor to wipe away the mess likely covering Tobias’ face. Deep throating was a messy skill.
“That might have been the best surprise ever,” Chase said, panting heavily. Despite his exhaustion, he managed to grab his discarded shirt to wipe away the mess left behind on Tobias’ face and in his hand. Chase was always taking care of him. “What’s the occasion?”
Tobias took a deep breath before he answered, partly to steel himself and partly because his breathing hadn’t returned to normal yet.
He blurted, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
Tobias had been dead wrong. The most beautiful sight wasn’t the angle from his knees at Chase’s feet; it was the wide grin on Chase’s face, his happiness evident.
“What exactly does the role of boyfriend look like to you?” Chase asked innocently.