Chapter 18 Andrei
EIGHTEEN
Andrei
Frozen grass cracked under our shoes as we crossed the lawn of the large bed-and-breakfast off the Westmont University campus.
The game was tomorrow night, but we’d arrived this afternoon for one practice session and to give the film crew time to set everything up.
The Westmont University administration welcomed the show happily, then assured our people that the Steel Saints would be more than happy to send us packing in front of the cameras.
It was the jovial banter we’d all come here for, and we were more eager than ever to kick everyone’s ass.
After practice, the team went their separate ways.
Phoenix asked us to join him for drinks after sparring with his nemesis, Easton, who captained the Steel Saints.
Griffin and I almost gave in to Phoenix’s plea for company when Mason swept in and dragged Phoenix off to a drag show neither of them had ever expressed any interest in.
Griffin had selected a chocolate museum nearby for a visit, and we’d tasted everything from the chocolate fountain to the dark chocolates of Belgian chocolate makers to the locally sourced bonbons from some guy in Christmas Falls who happened to be present and who gave a little talk about running a small business in a competitive market while sourcing his supplies ethically.
I’d never imagined chocolate shops to be a cutthroat industry until now.
Then again, the history and the present-day struggles of cocoa sourcing should have been a tell that chocolate was far from a bite of happiness.
“That was depressing,” Griffin said as we neared the entrance door. “Sorry.”
I poked his rib cage through the thick jacket he wore. “I loved it.”
“I liked Milo,” he admitted.
“Because he’s cute?” I accused, mock jealous.
“Is he?” Griffin asked innocently. The fire was burning in the large fireplace in the guesthouse, and Griffin lingered near it for warmth. We had all night and a room just for the two of us. Most rooms had two single beds, so the arrangement was the same as at the team house back home.
He’d asked that question so innocently that it made me stop. “Seriously?”
He shrugged.
“The guy’s adorable,” I said. “And so is his husband.”
“Husband?” Griffin scratched his head. “When did you meet his husband?”
“The guy six feet to his left, who mouthed the entire speech like they’d been practicing together, had the same ring on his finger.”
Griffin laughed out loud. “I was more interested in cocoa.”
“Liar,” I said. “You just wanted to get to the shop.”
He unzipped his jacket and revealed the handmade packaging of Milo’s signature chocolate. “I’m glad you noticed the chocolate maker is cute,” he said, pretending to be jealous now.
“It’s funny that you didn’t,” I said. We moved up the stairs in unison. “Do you ever notice other guys?”
“I don’t notice much at all,” he said. “Other than you.”
I didn’t think he knew just how much those words lifted my heart. “Can’t you tell when someone’s attractive?” I asked, curious to know what it was like.
“I can tell you are,” he said, teasing, his voice lower, smokier, like a sexy purr that made my dick stir and my groin tense.
“And girls?” I asked, trying so hard to stay on the subject because I’d never felt anything similar to that. I’d found people attractive in a way, especially when Griffin was not an option.
“Haven’t really noticed any,” Griffin said. “Why does it matter? I’m not…messing around. I mean, you know that.”
I laughed aloud as he opened our door and let us in. “Where would you find the time?”
“Right,” he agreed firmly. All his spare minutes were accounted for, and I didn’t have a shred of doubt.
“I’m curious,” I said. “You’re the team Casanova on the show. And this is all new.”
“The truth is boring,” Griffin said, closing the door and locking it.
It was warm inside the room, and the table lamp gave a soft amber glow, bathing the room in soft shadows and softer highlights.
“I don’t know how to get to the bottom of it, but I don’t think I was ever that much into girls, either. ”
“You’re kidding,” I said, but I believed him.
He shrugged. “Especially lately, I’ve lost interest altogether. I just never realized that I might, you know, want something nobody else could give me.”
“Like what?” I asked. He stepped closer to me, rising to his toes to tower over me like he was about to show me. He pinched my chin, a move that had no right to make my legs so weak, yet it did. It drained air out of my lungs as he leaned in and kissed me.
“Like this,” he whispered and held his face close to mine. “Let me feed you chocolate, Andrei.”
I choked. The voice that came from me was far too high-pitched to allow me to preserve any dignity. “Yes, please.”
He let out a soft chuckle, then pulled my jacket back over my shoulder. It dropped on the floor, and he pulled at my sweater, folding the fabric up my torso, baring my skin.
“Why do I have to be naked for that?” I asked.
“Eating chocolate’s a messy business,” he said in all seriousness, taking off my sweater and hooking his fingers inside my sweatpants, then tugging them lower.
I kicked off my shoes and bent down to take the sweatpants off, already getting hard, but salivating at the idea of chocolate in bed.
Griffin began to undress, then followed me into the bed while his sweatpants were still on.
The mound in his crotch was a clear invitation, and I suddenly wanted to skip the chocolate.
Griffin unpacked it, pulling the golden paper-wrapped chocolate bar from the cream package, Milo’s shop’s name elegantly penned over the top side.
He unwrapped it carefully, his movements slow and pondering.
It was like he was so fully in tune with all the sensations that he enjoyed the very act of breaking off a piece of chocolate, the satisfying snap, the crack when my teeth bit into it, while my lips grazed his fingertips, and the scent of the other piece when he brought it to his nose and inhaled.
I had never seen someone enjoy anything quite like that. His gaze never moved from my lips, so I instinctively licked them and chewed the piece of heaven that he had put into my mouth.
A minute ago, I would have expected this to be weird and awkward, but as I controlled my breathing and swallowed the bite, I relaxed into the trance that had completely taken over Griffin.
We lay on our sides, facing one another, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from moving all over his incredible physique.
He was all muscles and taut skin and perfect bulking for a hockey devil who could crush you on the ice if you found yourself in his way.
He could also toss you around the bed without batting an eyelash, carry you across the room, and lift you without effort.
And for a guy of my size and build, that was something I’d never thought would happen.
He made me feel tender and fragile, so he wrapped himself around me in protection.
We lay so close to one another because the bed was never meant for two people to be comfortable. But we fooled the bed. We were more comfortable when we were pressed together.
Griffin broke off another piece of chocolate and pushed it into his mouth.
It had melted a little on his fingertips, and he pressed them against my lips, dragging them down my lower lip and baring my teeth, fascinated.
His fingers moved over my cheek and traced the line of my jaw until they found my chin again.
“I’ve known you for so many years, Andrei, and I never noticed how beautiful you were. ”
I could barely breathe. His fingers moved down from my chin and along my neck, until they reached my collarbone and traced it to my shoulder.
“And I’ve watched you get more beautiful every day,” I admitted. “But I never dared tell you.” I shrugged. “Griff, you’re the first person I was attracted to.”
“Really?” he asked. “The first?”
The only, I thought, then realized just how much that could make someone freak out if they heard it.
“The first. It terrified me when I first realized it, but it was…God, it was beautiful. You were splayed on the ice like Toby, but on your back, and it wasn’t an accident—you were just being an ass and dragging out the drills because we were doing simple switching, and it bored you.
You were always in a higher league than the rest of us.
Old Coach Frank had that annoying habit of calling us men, even though we were thirteen, and he kept yelling at us all, ‘Pull yourselves together, men. We don’t have all day.
’ But you just laughed, and I had to come over and drag you by the leg.
But your dimples were so big, and dragging you only made you laugh louder.
And I just…” I shrugged again. “Something cracked inside me, and I knew. I knew everything that had seemed so confusing for so long. All the other boys were starting to lie and brag about the things they saw or did, but it just seemed rude to me. Everyone seemed so desperate to practice kissing, but I thought it was distasteful. Until then. Then, when it hit me, all I could think about was kissing you. All I could think about was holding your hand, telling you I liked you, seeing movies with you and secretly making out in the back of the theater.” I’d never uttered these words aloud.
“I had no idea,” Griffin said, almost like it was an apology.
“I made sure you never knew,” I said, dispelling any notion of guilt. “That was the most important thing. That you never found out.”
“God, Andrei, I wish I felt this way sooner,” he said.
I put a hand on his chest and pressed him hard. “I don’t. It would have broken. We both learned lessons in this time, Griff. You needed to date a lot of people, and I needed to be patient.”
“And if I hadn’t figured it out?” he asked.
“I would have waited,” I said. “And hooked up from time to time.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’d basically cheat on me.”