Chapter 3
JUDE VINCENT
I end up spending more time in New Haven with my family than I intended. That’s in large part due to Conner Langley. He’s proving to be a good time.
Being with my family is always a breath of fresh air.
Being surrounded by people who love you and don’t make a big deal about your career is my favorite place to be.
There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for my career and the opportunities it brings me, but always being on for everyone? It’s exhausting.
At least with my family, I don’t have that issue. Almost everyone asks about hockey, but it’s not in awe. Unless someone brings someone new along who happens to be a hockey fan.
Like Conner.
Generally speaking, I tend to make polite small talk with fans who come around and then meander away. I’m not sure what was different in my interactions with Conner. It was clear right away that he was a fan. He recognized me. He knew my career probably better than I do.
And yet, three days later, I’m still enjoying his company. He’s relaxed a lot. I like his personality. I love his laughter.
I appreciate the way he can talk hockey with me, head-to-head, with passion. Just like my father. But he just as easily lets it drop. He’s not obsessive about it.
This morning, I watched him with my new niece, Morgan, and realized how stupidly attracted I am to him. It takes me by surprise. I don’t generally find myself attracted to someone unless I’ve been around them for quite some time.
I don’t call myself demi because I’m not entirely sure my attraction has anything to do with emotional attachment. There are times when I’m instantly attracted, and there are times when I’ve known a guy for eight years, and then at some random run-in, he’s suddenly the hottest goddamn person alive.
Conner falls somewhere in between. The thing is, I’m not sure what I want to do about it. I’m not even sure he’s interested in guys. Would he be open to a fling? A summer romance? A one-night stand?
Nolan elbows me on his way by, smirking at me over his shoulder. I grab his arm and yank him backwards. “Question.”
“Yes, go for it.”
My eyebrows knit together. “What?”
He laughs. “Conner, right?”
“How did you know that? I only just realized I might want to… go there.”
Nolan rolls his eyes. “You have a shit poker face, Jude. Not only have you been in his presence from the moment you roll out of bed in the morning until you pass out at night, but you’re looking at him this morning as if he’s a lollipop.”
I glare at him, but the effect is lost. “I… so he’s into guys? That’s what I wanted to know.”
He glances at Conner. “Uh.” He pauses. Tilts his head. “Yeah.”
“That’s very clear. Thanks.”
Nolan shakes his head. “Sometimes that question is a little more complicated than a yes or no, right? But go for it.”
“I’m not sure if that’s encouraging.”
“Take it as encouragement.” He grins and heads for the table where his boyfriend is sitting.
It’s crazy weird seeing him with Tavis Davenport.
Maybe it’s a little bit because of his age.
Strange, since I’ve been surrounded by age gaps my entire life.
But Nolan is the first person my age carrying out that romance.
I turn my attention back to Conner and find he’s looking at me. When I meet his eyes, he smiles. Yep. I’m totally into him. Quite suddenly.
Okay, then.
When there’s something big like a celebration going on, we tend to gather in the yards.
Especially as the summer gets closer. Most of the backyards are connected with garden beds, pools, and whatever, spanning different properties.
In the center of the cul-de-sac is a playground that gets revamped every six or so years.
This section is relatively new. It sits between the new neighborhood additions and the original cul-de-sac, and it’s an entire outdoor living area.
We’re talking kitchen with pizza oven and all the shit, as well as an enormous dining area, surrounded by a pool.
The living area is accessed via a couple of bridges; there’s a sunken area where people can swim up.
There’s also a lazy river that Dad said they’re talking about connecting all around the neighborhood to make one very long ride.
This is what happens when a community actually comes together. Everyone gets to enjoy the fruits of their labor with people who love each other.
I cross the bridge and join Conner, taking the empty chair beside him.
“Hey,” I greet. “What’s good this morning?”
He reaches for the plate of French toast. “Whoever made this needs an award. I’ve never had any better.”
I don’t need any more convincing to load my plate up with three. He slides me the tray of syrups and taps the pure maple, which I choose.
Conner isn’t wrong. It’s fucking good. “I’m going to need a gym after this,” I say before I stuff my mouth again.
“Is there a gym here?”
“Oh, probably.” I glance up and search the faces until I find who I’m looking for. “Uncle Damon and Uncle Sage are athletic trainers. I’m sure they have a gym around here somewhere. Uncle Damon’s twin, Declan, is a trainer too, but he works for the university’s athletic department.”
“I bet there’s someone here from every vocation,” he muses.
I hum in agreement. “Probably. Every career field. Every walk of life.”
“It’s nice to see that you have grandparents here,” he says.
He’s staring off in the distance, watching Uncle Zvi’s parents. I study his face, noting how wistful his tone had been.
“You’re not close to your grandparents?”
“No,” he answers.
“Your parents?”
Conner shakes his head.
This is the most distant he’s ever been in a conversation, so I drop it. I’ve touched on something unpleasant. “I’m thinking we should swim after this,” I say. “Swimming is the perfect full-body workout.”
His gaze moves to mine, and he grins. “Sure.”
“Yeah. You swim?”
He snorts. “Yes.”
“Have some skimpy Speedos that you’re going to rock?”
Conner shakes his head, grinning. “No. Just trunks.”
“Shame. Hockey players have nice, thick legs. I feel like they should be showing them off any chance they get.”
“Noted. That means you have a skimpy Speedo?”
“I do, but that’s for literally any other place than here.” I glance at Morgan. “Young eyes.”
Conner laughs. “And yet, you’d have let me wear one!”
“Oh, I’m not saying you can’t wear them. Lots of my family do.” I nod in the original Whitaker twins’ direction. “I’m just saying I don’t. To each their own; I don’t judge. But I’m keeping my junk far more concealed around the kids.”
I quickly finish my food and then grab Conner’s arm to drag him back to the house to change. His shorts aren’t skintight, but I like how they shape his butt. I know I’m caught when he turns around, giving me his back and looking at me over his shoulder with a smirk.
“Not skimpy, but they’re not bad, right?”
“They fit you well,” I admit. It’s on the tip of my tongue to be uber corny and use an ancient pickup line like, they’d look better on my floor, but I refrain. “Want to float a while or do laps first?”
“Either is fine.”
“Since I just ate, let’s float. Wait before swimming and all that.”
Conner inclines his head and follows me out back. This part of the yard is quiet. The pool in Uncle Orson’s backyard is smack in the middle and huge, with massive stone waterfalls and hidden grottos tucked within the wall.
We stop at the control box so I can turn the waterfalls up so they’re not just trickling. Usually, they get turned down to a trickle just to keep the water moving and keep the pumps from being idle, but they’re in a ‘simmer mode’ as Princess Uncle V calls it.
In the shed within the stone wall, we shop for floats and head to the side. I toss my float and then jump on, landing with a smack. Conner laughs. He doesn’t jump in. He walks down a few stairs and then falls back onto it before wiggling his way on properly.
“The sky is always so clear here,” he says.
I glance over my shoulder at the sky before turning my attention back to him. “It’s really an ideal climate right here. Gets cool without getting cold. There’s the occasional snowfall, so we see snippets of all four seasons without being buried under ninety feet of snow.”
A smile lingers. He looks at peace.
“Where are you from?”
“Alabama,” he answers. Nothing more than that.
“So hot.”
“Grossly.”
He’s certainly not interested in talking about that either. Family and home are off limits. Okay. “So… what do you have planned for the rest of the summer? Once we’re finished celebrating Nolan’s degree?”
Conner sighs. “I don’t know,” he says, voice quiet. “I have no plans.”
“What do you want to do?”
He turns his head to look at me. I reach for his float to keep him close. His eyes are troubled, and it takes him a minute to answer.
“I hoped to get drafted,” he says. “I wasn’t drafted, so… I don’t have any plans. I guess I should be spending my time looking for a job.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
Conner shrugs one shoulder. “What are you doing this summer?”
I think about the boat club and wonder how spoiled I’m going to sound when I tell him that’s where I plan to spend the summer. “With friends,” I say.
He nods, smiling, though it’s certainly not a genuine smile.
“Hey, move over,” I say, pushing myself onto my knees.
Conner watches me as I awkwardly and certainly not gracefully move from my float onto his. He laughs as I nearly careen into the water, but he takes mercy on me and grabs my arm to keep me out of the water.
Now, with both our weights on the float, it sinks, and we’re plunged into the water. It’s chilly since the sun isn’t at full force overhead yet. Finally, I settle with my body pressed into his side. Are his cheeks pink?
“I should have asked if this will make you uncomfortable,” I say.
“I should tell you yes so I can see you climb yourself back onto the other float,” he muses.
I smirk. “Kind of you.”
“It is, because I’m not telling you yes, and I did keep you from falling ass-first into the water a minute ago.”
“True. Thank you.”
He grins.
“So… how do you feel about me kissing you, Conner Langley?”
I not only see his inhale but can hear it. His lips part as he stares at me. “Uh… why?”
“Why?” I repeat and then chuckle. “Because I want to kiss you, but I can’t determine how you’d feel about it, so I’m asking. I’d rather have your permission than your fist in my face.”
Conner laughs, but it’s quiet and breathless. “Okay,” he answers.
“Sound a little less enthusiastic, huh?” I lean in before he can answer and press my lips to his.
He stills entirely, and I think perhaps I got this wrong.
But then I feel his fingers against my stomach and decide that’s encouraging, so I grip the back of his head, asking him to open that sweet mouth for me to taste.
Conner shifts toward me a little, and I smile before sweeping his mouth with my tongue. He tastes of syrup. Sweet and delicious.
His hand flattens against me, and I slow our kiss, just in case he’s looking to push me away. My stomach flutters when his response is to kiss me more purposefully. I could devour this man. I think I just might.
Apparently, the universe—my family—has other ideas, and I hear “CANNON BALL” seconds before we’re surrounded on all sides by explosions of water that fall on us like someone upturned buckets over our heads. We gasp, and then the warring waves in the pool threaten to overturn us.
I twist away to glare at one of the nieces who’s looking at me smugly.
“That’s it,” I warn and sit up, making Conner flail and struggle to keep us afloat. “Run, Nissa.”
I drop into the water, allowing myself to submerge entirely as I head for her under the surface. I hear her squealing as she paddles furiously to get away from me.