Seventeen
Blaine
We’re at the halfway point of our eight-day road trip, and the moment the plane touches down in Seattle, I’m ready to go home. But we still have another four days before we head back to Chicago.
Thankfully, we have practice later this afternoon, followed by a team dinner, which means we can get an early night.
And that also means I can spend some quality time on FaceTime with Alex.
Once the seat belt sign is off, we all get up and begin to redress.
There’s nothing worse than sitting in dress pants on a flight.
It’s a mandatory league rule to wear suits while traveling, but once those plane doors close, the suits come off and sweats are on.
It just means getting dressed again before we exit the plane.
“I’m ready to nap,” Elliot says as we board the bus to the hotel, where we’ll have some downtime before we head to the practice facility.
“Me too, but I wanna call Alex more than anything. I feel like a dick for always keeping him up late.”
I’ve been feeling guilty that by the time I’m able to call him, it’s usually past midnight in Chicago. He gets up at 4 a.m. for work, and when I spoke to him last night, the lack of sleep was evident on his gorgeous face.
“You gonna take him out when we get back?” We take a seat, and Elliot presses his forehead against the window to watch our equipment get loaded into the bus.
“Yeah, I just don’t know where to take him yet.”
Elliot turns to face me; his eyes go wide, and his eyebrows nearly touch his hairline. “You could take him to the zoo!”
I snort a laugh. “We’re not seven, El. I wanna impress him, not make him think I’m taking him on a school field trip.”
He flips me off. “I think the zoo is a fun date. You can bond over the cute animals, and the zoo in Lincoln Park is free, and they have otters!” He gives me a pointed look. “Also, if he doesn’t like otters, then, I’m sorry to say, he isn’t cool in my book.”
I pat my brother on the shoulder. “Okay, I’ll consider it, ‘kay? I’ll look it up later.”
Elliot grins, satisfied with my answer. “Cool. I’d love for someone to take me to the zoo on a date, but then there’s the risk that I would get arrested for kidnapping an otter, and I don’t think my bathtub is big enough to accommodate an otter…”
As he rambles on to Kendrick about how many otters could fit in a bathtub, I take my phone out of my pocket and pull up the texts with Alex. He sent me one this morning on his way to work, wishing me a good flight. As the bus departs for the hotel, I type out:
Blaine
Hey, I’ll be at my hotel soon. Will you be free to talk in about an hour?
His reply doesn’t come until we reach the hotel thirty minutes later.
Alex
Yeah, I’ll be around. I’ll still be working, but you can call.
I sigh. The hours he works is insane,
We get off the bus and collect our luggage, while the team's designated travel coordinator goes to check us in and collect our key cards. The lobby’s crowded while we wait, and my phone is burning a hole in my pocket.
“I’m gonna drop my bag and go for a walk,” Zach says.
I look up at my best friend, his hair a mess from where he fell asleep on the plane. We usually hang out before practice, but I have a feeling he’s just as eager to get to his phone as I am.
“That’s cool. I’m gonna FaceTime Alex for a bit, then take a shower before we have to go.”
Zach’s about to respond when Elliot comes rushing through the crowd. “Guess who is your next-door neighbor, broski!”
I groan. “Please don’t sing obnoxiously loud in the shower. You know hotel room walls are thin.”
Elliot gives me a devilish grin, tapping his chin with his finger like he’s deep in thought. “I wonder what the first song for shower-time karaoke should be?”
“Have fun with that one,” Zach laughs, slapping my shoulder.
Once we have our card keys in hand, we head up to our rooms for an hour.
Kicking off my shoes, I take off my dress pants and hang them in the closet before unbuttoning my shirt and hanging that too so it doesn’t crease. I climb onto the bed in just my black boxer briefs and socks, and press the camera button on Alex’s contact card.
My heart skips a beat when his face fills the screen. He’s in his state-of-the-art kitchen at the bakery, surrounded by stainless-steel equipment, and wearing his signature apron. In front of him is a row of at least two dozen cupcakes.
I'd like to see him in nothing but his apron.
I groan internally, pressing down my cock that also likes that thought.
“Hey!” He says. “How was your flight?”
“It was good, thanks. I’m so ready to go home, though.”
He frowns. “Are you worried about the game tomorrow?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I like playing against Seattle, they play a good game, I just…” I drift off, rubbing the back of my neck. I’m conscious it’s still early into our “relationship”, but my mom taught me to be honest and open. “I just wanna get back to Chicago so we can go on another date.”
Nothing could prepare me for the wide smile on his face.
“I’m looking forward to it, too.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Yeah, I’ve had some ideas where I could take you.”
It's my turn to grin. “Oh yeah? Where are you gonna romance me up then?”
He tips his head back and laughs. “Depending on the weather, I thought we could go to the zoo.”
Elliot would be over the moon.
“I’ve never been to the zoo in Chicago…” I admit.
His eyebrows lift. “How long have you been here?”
“Six years.” I grimace.
“Blaine Olsen, I am disappointed.” He chuckles, shaking his head.
I’m about to open my mouth when the sound of Elliot singing—off-key—at the top of his lungs interrupts me. My eyes go wide at his awful rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
Alex rolls his lips, trying to stop himself from laughing, no doubt. “Who’s that?”
“Elliot.” I answer as Elliot sing-shouts the iconic chorus. “Fucking hell!” I drop my head into my palm and laugh.
Alex bursts into laughter, wiping his eyes with his hand. “Your brother's just Rick-rolled you.”
“He’s doing it on purpose.”
“Your hotel must have really thin walls.”
“True, but it doesn’t matter where we are—if Elliot’s singing, everyone will hear it. It's been like that since we were kids.”
“He sounds like a lot of fun.”
“He’d love the fact you’re thinking about the zoo.”
Alex’s eyes sparkle. “Yeah?”
I nod. “He was talking about it on our way to the hotel. He really likes otters.” I chuckle. “How’s your day been anyway? What are you making?”
Alex looks down at the cupcakes in front of him.
He’s holding a piping bag filled with pink frosting.
“We had someone cancel their order last minute, so they’ve lost their deposit, but we had these cupcakes baked ready for decorating, so I’m going to do it and take them to Nate’s gym for their receptionist’s birthday. ”
“That sucks. I hope they gave a valid reason.”
He nods. “Yeah, they did. These things happen, it can’t be helped, it just sucks that it’s money we lose, you know?”
There’s a tug at my heart at the defeated look on his face. If I were home, I would go in and buy everything. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if there’s any way I can help when he speaks.
“Nate’s lined up some freelance graphic design work for me, though, so there’s always that.”
“Tell me more about that. Do you want to start your own business?”
He nods and begins to decorate the top of the cupcakes with delicate frosting swirls as he speaks.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I got a degree in business because I wanted to help Jacob out, but I’ve always loved graphic art.
I used to create my own comics and stuff, so now I do the occasional job for Nate’s gym friends, like designing their website and ads. ”
I’m absolutely fascinated when he lifts the frosting bag, his fingers tightly wrapping around as he squeezes with such precision.
All I can think about is those fingers wrapped around my shaft, working it deliciously.
My cock starts to thicken in my briefs, tenting the material.
I don’t realize I’m staring until he clears his throat.
When I look back at his face, his lips are tilting up in amusement.
“See something you like?”
I swallow, trying to wet my suddenly dry mouth. “Your hands are sexy.”
He glances down at the frosting bag. “My hands?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “I may have… uh... just had some inappropriate thoughts when you were squeezing that thing.”
He smirks, picking up the piping bag and giving it a squeeze. “Really?” Frosting oozes out of the top of the piping bag onto his finger before his tongue licks it off. “And how do you feel about frosting?”
He has me captivated, unable to take my eyes off of him or the way his tongue curls around his finger. “You’re such a tease.”
Alex bats his eyelashes innocently. “Me? Never.” He grins.
“I know this is probably too soon, and I don’t want you to think that I’m a stage-five clinger, but I can’t wait to see you again.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you, too.”
The bell over the bakery door chimes, and Alex disappears from view, returning moments later. “I have to go; Jacob’s just got back from the wholesaler, so I’ve gotta get back to work.”
The selfish part of me doesn’t want him to go. I want to talk to him until the very last minute, but he has a job to do, and I have to shower and wash away the plane stink.
“Can I text you later?”
He nods, giving me a soft smile. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
And just like that, I went from loving away games to counting down the hours and minutes until they’re over.