CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The following week flew by. Tanner went on the road with the team, and so far they’d won every game they’d played and had a blast. As awesome as the North Atlantic tournament had been, there was nothing like being a team where everyone was super tight because they’d been playing together for a long time.
This was the third season Tanner had played with the Harriers, and he felt like they’d settled into a solid unit. Yeah, there were times when guys were out and the call-ups filled in, but it really seemed like they’d found their core and that he was part of it.
It made him excited about what they could maybe do in the postseason.
He started talking to Leif on video chats a lot too on nights when neither of them had games.
It was fun. It wasn’t usually about anything super important, just them talking about practices and game stuff. That usually turned into jerking off, which Tanner was not mad about.
Tonight was the Harriers last night on the road. They’d play a game tomorrow, then head home. Leif didn’t have a game tonight either so as Tanner got comfy on the bed, a surge of excitement went through him.
It had been a few days since they’d talked.
The Harriers had gone out to dinner a few nights ago and then a few of them had walked over to a nearby bar to listen to live music.
He’d had fun with the team and flirting with a smoking-hot couple he met there at the bar.
He’d gone back to their place after, had a great time, then headed back to the hotel.
Leif had been asleep by then and since both of them had played last night, it felt like it had been way too long since they’d gotten off together.
Tanner had bought one of those little travel phone stand things recently, so he set that up on a pillow now and settled against the headboard.
They’d agreed to talk at nine tonight and Leif was the one who was supposed to call because Tanner was really good at remembering the call about fifteen minutes before it was supposed to happen, being really proud of himself for that, and then somehow losing twenty minutes of time and ending up being late after all.
After the second time Tanner did it, Leif just gave him a blank look and said, “Or I could be the one to call you?” and that had pretty much fixed their problems. Except, tonight, Leif was the one running late.
Tanner checked the time again. Had he gotten it wrong? Nope, it was ten after nine. Had they messed up the time zones or something? Tanner was no good at time zone math. He was always adding hours when he was supposed to be subtracting and vice versa.
But a moment later the call notification lit up his phone.
“Hey,” Tanner said gleefully when it connected. “So it looks like I’m not the only late one around here.”
Leif rolled his eyes and tossed his hair off his forehead. “Dad called and wanted to talk. I couldn’t exactly tell him I needed to get off the phone because I was about to get off with you.”
“Yeah, fair,” Tanner agreed with a laugh. “How is Papa Coach Rasmussen?”
“You see him more than I do,” Leif said, shrugging. “And it’s weird you call him that.”
“Yes, but you talked to him last. And I think it’s an adorable nickname.”
“You would. You’re obsessed with nicknames.”
“It’s the best part of hockey!” Tanner said, even though that was totally a lie. “I dunno why you and Crawford are so against them.”
“Maybe we hate them because the ones you come up with are dumb.”
“They are not!” Tanner protested.
“Anyway,” Leif said with an annoyed sigh, “Dad’s fine. Why?”
“I dunno. Just wondering.” Tanner shrugged. “Great game last night, by the way.”
“Fuck off.” Leif huffed, clearly annoyed. “At least we lost in overtime and picked up a point. We were definitely the better team too. The refereeing was shit and if we hadn’t had that call against us in the third …”
Tanner grinned because it literally took nothing to get Leif worked up about shit like this. He could go on for hours though and that was annoying when Tanner had more fun things in mind.
“Hey, speaking of refereeing,” Tanner broke in. “Did you know August Manning is probably coming back?”
He belatedly realized he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone and winced. “Uhh, don’t pass that along or I’m in deep shit.”
“I won’t. But how do you know that?”
“Nico told me at the tourney.”
“Oh. Makes sense. Well, I’d be glad to have Manning back on the ice. At least he always tried to make the right calls.”
“Yeah, he seems like a good dude,” Tanner agreed. “The whole romance with Nico was super cute too. Hey, I saw your post-game interview last night, by the way. Love it when you go tarps off.”
A little flush appeared high on Leif’s cheeks. “Is this your way of flirting?”
“Why? Do you want me to flirt with you?”
“That is what we’re doing here, right? I mean, I’m not making these calls because I want to date you.” Leif’s tone was disgusted.
“I know that. But they’re still fun, right? I mean, I’m having fun. Even when we’re not getting off together.”
“I’m having fun.” Leif sounded like he didn’t want to admit that.
“I’m so glad I wore you down into being friends with me.” Tanner beamed.
“I think that says something about you that you have to wear people down to make them be friends with you.”
“Not everyone is that difficult,” Tanner pointed out. “Most people love me immediately.”
“Most people have bad taste,” Leif shot back.
“I think maybe you’ve been hit in the head too many times.”
“Seriously, you are bad at flirting.”
“I am not!” Tanner squawked. “Dude, I pulled the hottest couple at the bar the other night.”
“If you think telling me about other people you’ve slept with is the best way to flirt with me, you really are terrible at it.”
“You could tell me about that guy you mentioned before. Sergie or whatever his name was.” Tanner shrugged.
“Sérgio. But no, I’m good.” Leif said flatly. He looked away.
“Okay, so back to tarps off. How about you go tarps off now?”
Leif huffed but he pulled his shirt off and settled back against the padded gray headboard.
Tanner could really only see a slice of the white wall above it and a couple of fluffy white pillows, and he wondered what the rest of Leif’s bedroom looked like.
Tanner would bet Leif had a sweet place.
He should make him give him a video tour sometime.
“Better?” Leif asked.
“Much.” Tanner let his gaze wander down Leif’s chest. “Goddamn, how do you have abs like that?”
“Genetics?” Leif said. He glanced down at his stomach. “I naturally have a very low body fat percentage, good core strength, and a dialed-in nutrition plan. I’m also probably a little dehydrated right now too.”
Tanner rolled his eyes. Leif was so fucking literal sometimes.
“I wanna lick them,” Tanner said. “Hey, have you ever done the chocolate sauce or honey thing?”
Leif wrinkled his nose. “It sounds messy and like it would get horribly sticky.”
“It’s a really good thing you’re so fucking pretty,” Tanner said with a sigh. “Because I don’t think I’m the one who is bad at flirting here.”
“I’m not bad at flirting!”
“Okay, so tell me this,” Tanner said. “If we were in a gay bar, you saw me dancing, thought I was hot, and wanted to take me home, how would you do it?”
“It’s a good thing that you mentioned seeing you dancing first because if you think I’d still want to take you home after you opened your mouth, you’re nuts.”
“Rude!” Tanner said. “But c’mon. Play along with me here. It’ll be fun.”
“Will it?” Leif gave him a skeptical look. “I don’t usually pick people up that way.”
“Play. Along. Princess.”
“Fine. Okay, so I’d watch you for a while and when it looked like you needed it, I’d go to the bar and get you a bottle of water. I’d walk up to you on the dance floor and offer it to you.”
“That’s … surprisingly thoughtful,” Tanner said.
“I figure you get lots of guys—people—buying you drinks. I thought I’d go a different route. Besides, you might be dehydrated.”
What was Leif’s obsession with hydration? Tanner wondered, but all he said was, “I like it. What would you say to me?”
“I’d tell you I liked watching you move.” The color was back in Leif’s cheeks. “And that I thought you were gorgeous. That I’d like to get to know you better.”
“Nowww we’re talking, baby.” Tanner grinned. “I’d drink the water and show you how good I can swallow.”
There was a little roll of Leif’s eyes, but he kept going. “After that I’d ask if you wanted to dance.”
“I’d definitely fucking say yes,” Tanner said.
“I’d pull you close and we’d dance and …” Leif licked his lips. “When we were both too worked up to wait any longer, I’d ask you if you wanted to go home with me.”
“Would you kiss me there? In the club?”
“If you wanted.”
“Fuck yeah I would.”
“Then I’d kiss you.”
“What about in the car on the way back to your place?” Tanner teased.
“Am I driving?”
“No. Rideshare.” Duh.
“Then no. We’re trying to keep it a secret, remember?”
So. Fucking. Literal. “If we weren’t us, dude. If we didn’t play hockey and we were just random guys who met in a club.”
“Then probably.” Leif fidgeted. “Unless it made the driver uncomfortable.”
Tanner hid a smile. So polite, his Norwegian. Well, not his. But … “What would you do when we got back to your place?”
“Pin you against the door. Kiss you until you were panting for it. Drop to my knees to suck you off.”
“Yeah?” Tanner asked, a little surprised by the sudden acceleration.
“Yeah.” Leif touched his throat. “I’d want you to fuck my mouth.”
“Oh, fuck, baby,” Tanner said, scrambling to push his shorts down as his head spun with the images. He sighed when he got a hand on his cock. “God yes. Would you want me to come in your mouth?”
“No. No, I’d get you hard and suck your cock until you were begging to come down my throat.” Leif’s voice was rough now.
“Let me see you,” Tanner pleaded. “Are you touching yourself?”
“Yeah.” Leif panned the camera lower, showing off the way his cock strained at the fabric of his pajama pants. He was hard enough that there was a little wet spot on the fabric already.