7. Xander
SEVEN
Xander
The next morning, reality hit me with a sledgehammer.
“What the actual, ever-loving fuck, Xander?” I asked my pitiful reflection in the steamy mirror of my luxury accommodations.
Baggy-eyed, hungover Xander just stood there looking baggy-eyed and hungover.
The loser. “Hey, ass wipe, I’m talking to you.
What the hell possessed you? Kissing Mason.
Honestly? Clinging to him, begging him to love you?
” I poked my mirror image in one of his bloodshot eyes because he fucking deserved it. “Asshole.”
I ran my fingers through my wet hair. Fuck a comb. Did I even pack a comb? Yes, of course. It was somewhere. In my small personal bag which was… who fucking knew?
Padding out into the suite, naked, I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out some swim trunks.
Plain blue trunks. No racing stripes or flames.
Just plain blue trunks. The kind that did not attract attention because Xander Holden was all about staying under the radar.
Or had been. No, still was. Had to be. Needed to be cool. Collected. A model queer man.
“The world is watching,” I muttered to myself as I stepped into my trunks. And that I knew to be true. Hell, even after all the time had passed for Brady’s brother, the press still kept a sharp eye on Ten and Jared. Every little thing they did was newsworthy.
First bi player in NHL marries! First bi player in NHL adopts a baby! First bi player in NHL takes out the trash!
It was really insane, but it was the reality of being out. A reality I’d hoped to avoid until after I’d retired but que será, será.
No, dumbass, that’s a Doris Day song. You mean c’est la vie.
“Same thing now be quiet,” I told my head so it would shut the fuck up.
It was talking too loudly. I dug into my personal bag, used my deodorant and slid my feet into a pair of ratty sandals.
I’d packed for comfort not style. This was supposed to be fourteen days of rest and relaxation not two weeks of stress and sexual frustration.
Putting on some shades and pulling on a short-sleeved shirt, I shuffled out the door with the intent of finding food and spending what remained of the day napping beside the ocean.
I shuffled around the lobby until I found signs telling me where to go.
Seemed they had a buffet on the Pelican Bay Overlook.
Cool. I followed a newlywed couple who appeared to be incredibly hungry given they were feasting on each other like vampires, but they ended up going to the elevators which I had just exited.
Mind muzzy, I finally found a bellhop and he led me to the Pelican Bay Overlook which was just what it claimed to be.
An overlook. Actually, it was a breezy, open-air porch that led to the whispering sands and sapphire sea.
I took a minute to appreciate the beauty of the swaying palms and gentle ocean breezes then I got in line for grub.
I filled up on fruit and soft rolls then with my plate in hand, I glanced around for the other guys.
I found Dunny right off, the mountain man was hard to miss.
It was hard to overlook Sasquatch snoring away on a lounger with a copy of Great Expectations resting on his hairy chest. How the man could enjoy those dry old classics as he did I would never understand.
Next to the man snoozing under Dickens was Marquis looking like he’d stepped out of a GQ beachside shoot.
Plum trunks with a matching gauzy cover up, dark shades, and a slim gold watch—Rolex I was sure—and trendy white sandals.
“Gentlemen,” I grunted as I took the lounge chair between them. Dunny snorted and sat up, his book sliding to his lap. Marquis gave me a scathing look over the top of his designer sunglasses.
“Not to be rude but you look like something the cat threw up,” Marquis kindly pointed out.
“I think he looks okay,” Dunny tossed out as he futzed around trying to find his page.
Marquis gave Dunny a long look. Then he glanced at me. Fine, I did look like shit. I knew it.
“I drank too much on the plane,” I said as I placed my platter of food on my thigh. “As soon as I get some nutrition into me, I’ll be fine.”
“It’s going to take more than some fruit chunks to fix your look,” Marquis dryly commented.
I ignored him. “Where’s Eli and Renco?” I asked between bites just to divert the conversation from my ill-kempt appearance.
“Napping. We’re supposed to meet up in the lobby later for an ATV guided tour of the western beach,” Dunny interjected, his book now open once again.
“Great,” I mumbled. Just what my head needed. Several hours on a four-wheeler bouncing and bounding over sand dunes. Why couldn’t we just have an early dinner and some TV in our rooms?
Xander, holy hell you sound like your father when you took the folks to Hawaii! Dude, you’re not even thirty yet. Live a little.
Ugh. Inner me was right. I did sound like my father. It was starting already and—
“Dayum,” Marquis said. I glanced his way to see what had grabbed his attention, a skewer rising to my mouth when I spied Mason making his entrance.
My kebob clattered back to my plate as my dick sprang to life instantly.
I blinked stupidly at the man as he made his way to us in pink swim trunks that left little to the imagination.
I mean his sizeable package was right there and covered with tiny bubblegum-colored flamingoes.
“I always loved this line. ‘Love her! Love her! Love her! If she favors you, love her. If she wounds you’—holy hell.” Dunny snapped his book shut and reached up to tidy his flowing brown beard.
No one grew a playoff beard like Dunny. My scruffy thing was pale in comparison.
“Is that a sock in his swimsuit or is he just glad to see us?”
I had to swallow several times to empty my mouth of drool.
Fuck but Mason was stunning. He had the lithe build of a swimmer or gymnast, although I knew he was neither.
My gaze roamed over all that sweet flesh as he flip-flopped his way to us.
I could not look away. My balls ached, and my cock was tipping up my plate.
“Hey there you are. Just heading to the water for a bit. Make sure you’re all in the lobby by four for the ATV ride.
It’ll be awesome! Okay, bye!” Mason smiled down at us.
I was blinded by his grin. Then he turned and made his way to the stairs leading to the warm sands.
My God his ass was a thing of divine beauty.
Tight and high, cradled in soft pink nylon and Lycra, his tiny buttocks bounced just a bit as he walked.
Fuck. That ass. I wanted it now. Right now.
On my plate next to the chunks of melon and pineapple.
“Well, that was quite the suit,” Marquis finally said. I nodded dully hoping my erection wouldn’t dump my food. “Pink looks good on him.”
“I love summer,” Dunny chuckled. “Get to see all the fine young bods.” He eyeballed two girls who sashayed past. For a man who looked like a wild-eyed hermit freshly arrived from the mountain top, he certainly got enough action.
Dunny winked at the girls. They giggled and waggled fingers back.
“And that’s my cue to put Pip and Estella aside for a bit. See you boys in the lobby!”
Dunny pushed to his enormous feet and pattered off after the women, his book under his beefy arm. I cleared my throat while trying to look nonplussed.
“Think those two are into Dickens?” I asked then glanced at Marquis. He was assessing me like a microbe on a slide over the top of those damn shades of his. “What?”
“Nothing. Just making sure you’re okay. You stopped breathing when Mason was here.”
I flipped off my teammate. He snickered softly. I’d leave in a huff of righteous indignation, but my dick was too hard. So, I had to sit there, hard as a post, chewing cold chicken, while Marquis made snide comments. This birthday trip was going to be the fucking death of me.
I was wrong.
It wasn’t the trip that was going to put me in the cold, cold ground. It was Mason. And miserable ass four-wheelers.
Whoever had come up with this idea needed to be shot in the kneecap.
Yes, the beaches were beautiful. And yes, the other guys seemed to be having a blast roaring along like juveniles hooting and hollering as they bounded over dunes.
I was not enjoying the outing. Riding an ATV with a perpetual hard-on was shitty.
My dick was just not willing to go down with Mason right there, everywhere, in my face with his face. His beautiful, sun-kissed face.
Fuck.
I shifted on my seat, never so glad to see a damn restaurant as I was the one we were riding up to.
The meal at JOX DOT was not part of the package plan with the ATV company, but it was a common ending spot for tourists.
The guides shook our hands, pocketed the tips we all slipped them, and began loading the four-wheelers onto long metal trailers.
My ass and balls were still vibrating from the steady hum of the engine between my thighs.
Hopefully, now that I was off the damn machine my cock would deflate.
Mason was, it seemed, my personal Viagra.
I needed to get some space between us before my balls burst, or I did something as stupid as kissing on him.
Again. That required an apology, I was sure.
I had little knowledge of dating a man since I’d always been the one seeking out a dirty BJ in an even dirtier bathroom stall, but I was sure kissing and groping and sniveling without consent was a no-no.
“Dude, this is your birthday trip. You’ve got to lighten up!
” Eli said as he dropped an arm around my shoulders and led me into JOX DOT for dinner.
The eatery was packed but we had a couple of reservations that could be expanded if we squeezed together, thanks to Mason who, I’d learned, had set up our itineraries for the next two weeks. “Maybe you can find a guy at the bar?”