Chapter Three #2
Or maybe it would be ex-boy.
Ty liked to push boundaries and Gem loved correcting him.
Ty never spoke negatively about anyone but himself.
That was why Gem forced his sub to begin stating the daily affirmations.
Ty’s low self-esteem was a big issue that they’d slowly been working through.
And everything had been going so well before Ty’s work life had begun to bleed into their relationship.
Not knowing how to help his boy, Gem had been at a loss, offering support when he could. It didn’t seem enough.
Might not be enough since there had been no word from Ty until he’d requested this video call.
Not that Gem didn’t have his own work concerns.
Being a rookie goalie that had taken the starting spot on his team had been a hard fight.
He liked his teammates, mostly, and most of the others in the league.
Except for the small group that was targeting Gem and his brothers.
Not just them though. Watching Aries’s last game, Gem had noticed the same group had gone after Zany the small goalie in Vegas as well.
That had pissed both Aries and Vin off but not as much as the defenseman that skated on Vin’s line, Robbs.
Robbs had been kicked out of the game for laying several of the opposing players out flat.
A good teammate and friend.
Crowly would probably be the next on the list as Vegas played them in a couple of days at the end of their road trip stint.
Not that Gem needed someone to beat up Crowly for him.
Hell, Gem hadn’t expected Luka to defend Gem during Luka’s very first game with the team.
Crowly was an asshole but the league was full of men like that.
Shit, Luka came from a team that was one of the worst offenders in talking trash and trying to sneak in hits on him.
Okay, no, Gem was not going to go back to thinking about his newest teammate.
Gem was hoping the intense attraction he had to the bigger defenseman would go away and he would never have to acknowledge it.
There was no way he would ever follow his brothers and date a teammate.
No. Gem had the sub that he wanted. Craved.
Needed. He would feel better about that if Gem knew exactly where he stood with his boy.
Ty was perfect in every way that Gem needed him to be.
He just needed Ty to still want to be his. His boy. His sub. Just his.
On his knee, Gem’s cell phone chimed with a notification and he quickly replaced the mask. It was time to hide his face and anything recognizable about him from the only man that Gem had shared every intimate ounce of his soul with.
If that didn’t point out how badly this phone call would go, Gem didn’t know what would. They shared their deepest and darkest secrets and fantasies but couldn’t even reveal their faces.
Maybe they had been doomed from the start.
He forced himself to take three slow breaths before he opened his app. Gem stared at the message before pushing the button to connect to a FaceTime call.
“Hello, sir.” Gem’s call was answered after the first ring.
* * * * *
Luka
Luka was sitting on the floor in the corner of his new bedroom in the dark with a very dim light coming from the hall.
His mask was in place and the usual hoodie with the hood up hiding the rest of him.
The man on the other side of the phone had seen, touched, hell, kissed every inch of Luka except his face.
Because Luka was a coward. Except now that Luka had the outrageous idea that Gem might be his mysterious Dom, he couldn’t let go of the thought.
He wanted to push to find out if he was right.
“Hi,” Beelz said quietly.
Beelz’s voice was low and even. Perfectly in control like the Dom he was. Luka craved that absolute control. Needed it. Had missed talking to his Dom as his life had fallen apart.
Unless Luka was right where he was supposed to be. Playing for the team that Luka never wanted to be on yet felt at home with. In the same city of the man that had the ability to make Luka want to be brave.
He strained to see anything in the tiny damn screen that might give him a clue, a connection, that Gem was Beelz. Was he right? Was Gem the man that Luka had been dreaming of? Fantasying about? Needing?
There wasn’t much to see in the near empty room. And it was dark on Beelz’s end of the call. In all the time that they’ve been talking and the few times they got to meet in person, Beelz had never given anything away about his true identity. They didn’t talk about things like that.
Was it weird that they’d shared every wish and dream and desire but not what they fucking did for a living?
Hell, Luka could have said he played sports.
He didn’t have to say hockey. For some reason Luka thought Gem worked in some high-powered field.
It was the way that Beelz carried himself.
A rookie goalie for the new jockey league.
That thought hadn’t even been in his orbit. Impossible. Unless it wasn’t.
“Boy,” Beelz growled.
Luka snapped his eyes to the man on the screen. Oops.
“Do I have your attention?”
Luka immediately stopped trying to see things that weren’t there and nodded. “Sorry.” He couldn’t let his sir know that he was thinking about another man. Maybe another man. Or him…but not him. Damn, Luka was confused and he didn’t know how to explain or ask Gem for the truth.
What if Beelz and Gem weren’t the same person?
Luka could be totally wrong and embarrass himself.
Humiliate himself. All for nothing. No. He needed more intel.
Luka needed to be sure before he confronted Gem.
Or his Dom. He still hadn’t even figured out if he would confess being in the same city as his sir.
That would change everything and Luka didn’t know if he was ready for that.
Whether or not Gem was Beelz or Beelz was Gem. Whatever.
“It’s okay. You are okay,” Beelz assured him. “Stay with me. Breathe.”
Just that one command. Breathe. That was all he needed to hear. Or do. His sir knew what was best after all. Luka truly believed it. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, then slowly released it from his mouth.
“I’m sorry.” Luka said quietly and meant it.
He didn’t want to always be the needy partner in this relationship or whatever was happening between them.
And he felt awful for his few days of wallowing in worry and not answering the other man’s messages.
Plus, there was guilt from checking Gem out earlier if his Dom wasn’t Gem.
The chances were so low of that being a reality.
There had just been a way that Gem carried himself in the locker room that screamed in Luka’s brain that he knew him.
So many questions. So much to be sorry for. Luka felt like a complete failure, as usual. Not that he would tell his sir that. Luka didn’t want to have to sit through a lecture that he probably needed.
“Are you safe?” Beelz demanded.
Luka smiled. His sir was always so worried about him. Wanted to make sure that Luka was safe. And happy. It was what kept Luka desperate to keep his connection, even if it had been from thousands of miles away. “I am. Thank you for asking.”
“Of course,” his sir replied. He brought the phone closer. “You look…better.”
Did he? Three days ago, Luka had been a mess. Two days ago, Luka hadn’t even managed to crawl out of bed. Yesterday had been the absolute worst. But now…yeah, he did feel better. The trade to Boston hadn’t been as horrible as Luka had feared.
“I have news,” Luka replied. He could at least share a little as he figured out if Gem was Beelz…Beelz was Gem…if Luka was totally off or whatever. Then he would have to say the words that Luka was holding inside. They were in the same city. For real and longer than one night.
Would Beelz like having Luka so close? Or was all Beelz looking for something long distance? That…that would be bad. Luka needed more. He just wasn’t certain if he was ready to drop the masks quite yet. He wanted to be ready.
“Good news?” Beelz asked. The small smile at the corner of his mouth was barely visible with how the mask sat on his face.
Luka shook his head, then shrugged, then shook his head again. He literally had no idea of the answer to that question. “I was transferred. I had to leave Seattle.”
“I’m so sorry, boy,” Beelz said, sounding sincere.
Luka had shared how much he loved his city, house, and everything about Seattle with his Dom.
He’d shared so much except who he really was.
Would Beelz be able to figure it out with this news?
Did Beelz watch hockey? Or if he was Gem, would this reveal everything?
His head was starting to hurt with all the damn thoughts circling around.
“I…” Luka swallowed hard. “I was devastated at first. I didn’t want to leave Seattle.” That was an understatement. He stared into the screen, trying to find any little glimpse that would give away Beelz’s true identity.
He’d never cared in the past who his Dom truly was, but now it was all Luka could think about.
“I know how much you loved it there. And your home. I was really hoping that everything would work out on your favor.”
Would his Dom still think that way if he knew Luka was now in the same city? “Yeah.”
“You stayed with the company?” Beelz asked. “Took the transfer?”
“I did.” It was hard to explain when Luka couldn’t share how the PAHL worked. It would be much easier to just confess who he was. Beelz might not even follow hockey. Or if Beelz was Gem, then Luka would have his answer to the most burning question in his mind.
“I started tonight. It…it was good.” Luka had a good game. Felt like he could easily reconnect with some of the teammates he’d played with before. And he was proud that he’d stood up for his goalie. No matter whether or not Gem was Beelz. Luka would always protect those on the ice with him.