Chapter Six #2
Gem glanced at him briefly before turning and walking away. No words. Nothing.
“Don’t mind him,” Tomas said stealing the coffee. “Coach read him the riot act this morning. He’s suspended for two games for not telling them about his ribs.”
“Shit,” Luka spat. “That’s harsh.”
“Not really. A broken rib could have resulted in Gem’s piercing a vital organ. It was stupid of him,” Tomas said. He drank from the coffee that was supposed to be Gem’s. Luka scowled at his friend.
“We’ve all hidden injuries,” Luka commented.
Tomas snorted. “Of course we have. But we’re going to need Gem in the playoffs. He should have said something.”
“We need Gem to get to the playoffs,” Luka returned.
“Fuck yeah we do. Hopefully this won’t fuck up our chances,” Tomas said.
“First shuttle is gone. Second one is filling up fast. You guys just going to chit-chat all day?” Coach Grimes yelled at them.
“Coming, coach!” Tomas bumped Luka’s shoulder and they both headed out the doors.
Luka didn’t see Gem anywhere. He must have jumped on the first shuttle.
That was okay. Gem couldn’t run from him on the plane.
And hopefully Gem hadn’t deleted the messaging app.
Luka had things to say. A lot of things to say.
And whether or not Gem wanted to hear them, Luka was going to fucking say them.
He climbed onto the shuttle, taking the seat next to Tomas. “Did Gem say anything else?”
Tomas shook his head as he still enjoyed the coffee that Luka had bought for Gem. Fucker! Luka was going to put slugs in Tomas’s skates or do something to his old friend to get him back for that. “I just caught the tail end of coach reaming him a new one.”
“Gem will take the suspension hard,” Luka said.
“Oh, hell yeah. He’s going to be a miserable bastard until he gets back on the ice. Maybe I’ll call his mom. She is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve heard stories of her and Aries’s and Nix’s teammates. I bet she can help him clear his head.”
Luka couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want to call his mom on him?”
Tomas snorted. “Better her deal with him than us. Goalies, man. They’re fucking temperamental.”
“Maybe don’t call his mom,” Luka suggested. “That’s just evil.”
Tomas shrugged. “No promises. As long as Gem doesn’t do any more crazy shit.”
“Yeah, I’ll try talking to him,” Luka said.
“Gem’s…not much of a talker,” Tomas said quietly.
Luka knew that wasn’t true. His Dom always had the time and energy to talk to him.
Their late-night conversations could last for hours.
They didn’t share the little things like what they did for a living but what they had exchanged was worth so much more.
Their hopes, their dreams, what they wanted out of life.
For example, Gem had shared something that had always stuck with Luka.
Gem had never used either of his brothers’ names.
He had talked about being the older sibling and having to constantly watch out for them.
Gem wanted a world where it didn’t matter whether a person was human, shifter, or paranormal and they were all treated equally.
Gem worried over his brothers and now Luka knew why.
There was something that he could do to help.
Luka had played in the NHL with most of the older guys on the teams. He had friends all across the league.
It was his fault that he’d allowed those relationships to slide away.
Luka had been miserable in Seattle. It wasn’t just the team wanting to go in another direction.
His family, especially his father, made constant demands of him and his time.
But it was the rut that he’d found himself in that had sent Luka to that event where he’d first met Gem.
It was because of Gem that he’d made it through the last six months. Maybe it was time for Luka to do some of the work on his own now.
He spent the time heading to the airport to start sending messages out to some old friends. Men in the league that Luka trusted and knew wouldn’t be a part of whatever fuckery was happening toward smaller shifters.
Once the shuttle arrived to the plane, Luka didn’t waste any time climbing on board, searching for the man that thought he could get away from him. Like after all they had shared, Luka was just going to give up.
Gem was slouched in the same seat he’d been in on the way to Dallas. Luka followed Tomas back as the other man sat across the aisle from Gem and Luka took the row in front of Tomas. If Luka turned to lean against the window, he was angled perfectly to see Gem.
Oh, Gem was trying to ignore Luka’s very presence. Head down with his headphones firmly in place and staring hard at the tablet in his hands.
That was okay.
Luka would have his attention soon enough. He finished responding or sending messages to old friends as the rest of the team slowly made their way onto the plane. Once the plane was in the sky and everyone had settled, Luka opened the secure messaging app.
‘You still don’t believe me,’ Luka sent. ‘That’s okay. I probably wouldn’t believe me either. I mean what are the fucking chances?’
Luka peeked out of the corner of his eye. Gem’s eyes dropped to his phone before he snapped his head in Luka’s direction. Luka gave him a small finger wave.
With his lips flattened, Gem very deliberately put his phone into the front pocket of his hoodie where it was out of sight.
Luka grinned. Okay then.
‘It must be fate,’ Luka sent next. ‘Just like it was the night that you walked into that masquerade event and straight to me. You didn’t even hesitate, did you? You wanted me.’
Luka knew he was right. Gem had seen him kneeling in the line with the other subs looking for a Dom for the night.
‘And I pleased you, didn’t I? I know I did. After you used your hand and paddle on my bare ass you were so hard. Remember? Remember shoving your cock so hard down my throat that I choked? I do. I still think about it. Jerk off to the memory.’
Luka glanced back at Gem.
Gem was shifting in his seat. He had to feel the vibration of the messages coming in. Good. Luka wasn’t close to being done.
‘Then after you fucked my throat before bending me over that spanking bench and fucked my ass.’
Luka had to pause as he sent that message. His cock getting hard from the memories that he was sharing.
‘I came so hard that I saw spots. It was the best orgasm that I ever had. That is until we met again in Boston. That night you made me come three times. I couldn’t even walk by the time you were done with me.’
Luka wasn’t lying. Those orgasms had been intense. He’d been able to live off that night for another two months. The conversations in between also helped.
‘It wasn’t all about the orgasms, you know. I told you things that I had never admitted out loud to anyone else. Like how I’m certain that my father hates me for being better at hockey than him.’
Those were words that he’d only said or typed to Gem.
‘Hockey was always his dream,’ Luka typed. ‘I used to love it when I was a kid but after I got kicked out of the NHL for being a shifter, it was bad. I’d been financing my parents’ and all my siblings’ lifestyles for so long that none of them could survive without me still playing.’
His father had blamed Luka. Said that if Luka had hidden that he was a shifter better, then he would still be playing in the NHL. It had been four long years from when the paranormal council had outed them all until the first game of the PAHL had been planned.
The first year of the league had been rough. The arenas had been subpar from what they’d been used to. The teams’ equipment, salaries, and everything had been paid for by owners who footed the bill. Most of them that had signed up for that first year hadn’t even known if there would be a second.
Would the fans come?
How would having an entire league formed of paranormal work?
After six years it seemed to be working pretty fucking well.
‘My family went through my savings and all the money that I’d made in the NHL within the first year. I had to join the PAHL. It was my only chance of getting my life back. I’m glad you never had to go through that. That you have a good family that would do anything for you.’
Gem was lucky. He was young enough that having his shifter status known wouldn’t have been as big of a deal.
Most lower leagues didn’t care if their players were human or not.
It wasn’t until it came to the professional league that it counted.
Not that the logic there made sense to Luka.
Oh well, who was he to ask questions? No one had even asked him or the other paranormals if they wanted to come out to humans.
‘I always listened to how you spoke about your brothers, and was jealous. Not one of my siblings would care enough to protect me. It is always me giving them everything I have.’
He was getting off track.
‘Not that I expect anything to change. My father is pissed off that I was traded to Boston, since they’re lifelong haters. First the NHL team, then ours. It’s kind of funny. I’m a Boston Bean and my father refuses to support the team or even cheer for us. He’ll still take the money though.’
Luka was real fucking sure that his father would take the damn money. Every fucking time.
‘You listened to me bitch about my family and never once told me to cut them off. Not like all of my other friends had. You just let me complain and then would soothe me after. I appreciate that more than you know.’
Pausing once again, Luka looked over toward Gem.
Gem’s back was to Luka as he faced the window. Was he reading the messages? Or would he wait until they were home?
It didn’t matter. Luka was going to say everything that he could now that there was no more hiding. Everything was coming out in the open. What would it hurt, anyway? Gem already didn’t believe him.