Chapter 19 #2
One side of his mouth notches upward, his concern from the plane erased by something far more boyish and charming.
“I hope you don't snore, Rook.”
We don't have long to settle into the room before the team dinner.
When Ethan throws his duffel on the bed by the window, I toss mine on the other.
Ever since he volunteered to room with me, I've been wondering what exactly he thinks that will mean.
Will it be like every other platonic roommate I've had, or does he have something else in mind?
Luckily, Coach's plans for a team dinner are staving off that conversation for another few hours. We got Coach Ramsey from the Calgary system, and he's decided to use his knowledge of the city for a team bonding event.
“You gonna shower before we head out?” Ethan asks, pulling a nicer pair of clothes from his bag.
“Probably. I can be quick, though.”
“Dude. We're two gay hockey players – I have a feeling we both have experience getting in and out of the showers as quickly as possible.”
I snort at this and grab my toiletry bag.
I turn the water almost as hot as it will go, feeling my shoulders relax.
As I begin to wash the plane off of me, I can't help but wonder if Ethan will be getting up close and personal with my body later tonight.
Who can blame me for washing a little extra thoroughly?
A few minutes later, I turn off the water and wrap a towel around my waist, heading out to the main room.
Ethan looks up as the steam leaves the bathroom behind me.
I suppose it would have been more polite to get dressed in the bathroom, but who are we kidding here? It's nothing he hasn't seen before.
Still, his eyes linger, following a drop of water as it leaves my hair and drips down over my pecs and abs, disappearing into the towel at my waist. His eyes leave a path of warmth as they trace down, down, down.
I clear my throat.
“My eyes are up here, Cap.”
His cheeks turn bright red, but he doesn't bother to deny it. He turns to the bed and grabs a pile of clothes there, then heads into the bathroom. It’s a good thing he plans on getting dressed away from prying eyes — otherwise, I’m not sure we’d make it to dinner.
When he emerges ten minutes later, it still looks unlikely. He’s wearing one of the sweaters we bought in Chicago with a pair of dark jeans that cup his ass just right.
“Aw, Cap. That’s not fair.” I say, giving him an appreciative once-over.
“Sure. After the one-man Magic Mike routine earlier, I’d argue turnabout is fair play.” He says with a wink.
I chuckle, grabbing my wallet and the room key off the dresser.
True to his word, Coach has picked out an amazing Thai spot for dinner. We all pile onto a bus, filing into the same seats we usually pick. The place isn’t far from the hotel, but it’s Calgary in mid-December; losing a player to hypothermia would be a bad look.
Dinner is delicious, with rich broths, noodles, and a balance of meats and veggies – the sort of food you forget is healthy. The atmosphere is light, with Coach really diving into conversations with us for the first time since he joined the team this fall.
I sometimes forget that for all I was struggling to acclimate during camp, he must have been, too – I can't imagine having to deal with the situation between Ethan and I on, like, day two of his new job.
With a game the next night, most of us lay off the booze, and before long it's time to head back to the hotel.
As the guys start standing and putting on their coats, butterflies start to flutter in my stomach.
Ethan seemed flirty at the hotel earlier, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what he thinks will happen tonight.
Did he volunteer to share so we could hook up?
Or was it out of the kindness of his heart?
We file back onto the bus and the nerves crank up a level. Why am I worried about this? We've hooked up before, but it's not like we have a thing. It's just...happened.
As we start moving, Alexei stands and approaches the front of the bus.
“Everyone! As many of you know, I throw a party every year for those who will stay here for Christmas. I need to get a head count for the caterer. When I call your name, please respond with your Christmas plans. If you are in Minneapolis, you will come.”
With that, Alexei pulled a list of names and a pen from his pocket, looking a lot like Santa himself. You know, if Santa were six and a half feet tall and Russian.
“Lindy!”
“Astrid and I are sticking around – we will be there!”
“Mac!”
“Going back to South Carolina with Hailey!”
From the back of the bus, Gagnon pipes up “You finally gonna propose?”
The boys hoot and holler at this, and Mac turns bright red. Who knows, maybe there's some truth to it.
“Gags?”
“I'll be spending 65 hours in Montreal.”
“No need to ask Ethan. Matty?”
“I'll be there.”
“Carter? You heading back to California?”
“Nope, I'll be there too.”
As he proceeds through the list of players, it seems like about half of us will be around over the three day break. I turn to Ethan, lowering my voice.
“Why doesn't he need to ask you? Are you not invited?”
He snorts at this.
“You kidding? I've been to every one of these things. What else am I going to do?”
That catches me off guard, to think that he doesn't have another option.
“More surprised you're not gonna go home.”
“Yeah, I thought about it. But I figure the All Star break is just around the corner and that'll give me more time to go home.”
His eyebrows crinkle in confusion.
“You're planning to be available during the All Star Game? Don't you think you'll be otherwise occupied?”
His faith in me warms me in spite of the Calgary winter.
“I have a feeling the NHL would like to keep me as far away from the All Star Game as they can. They won't want the distraction – or the press. Besides, I will desperately need to warm up after the winter I've lived through.”
He presses his lips together, staring out the window with a far-off look on his face.