Chapter Forty-Seven
Tommy
A few months after that
I stopped to scoop Blake up in my arms and listened to the excited laughter that escaped his throat. He wrapped his arms around my neck, his smile stretching out across his beautiful face as I gazed down at him. We were home. Our home. The one we had bought in North Carolina. Not even five minutes away from Jackson and Maverick, only a short ten-minute drive to Killian and Matty. It was a cute three-bedroom house with a big bay window in the living room and a two-car garage. The thing I loved about it the most was the porch and the swing that had called to me the moment I saw it. I couldn’t wait to have coffee in the morning or a beer at night with Blake by my side.
“You’re going to drop me!” Blake exclaimed as I shifted his weight to reach for the keys in my right pocket.
I huffed. “Are you saying that I’m not strong enough to hold you and open the door?” I slid the key into the lock. “You know how hard I’ve been hitting the gym lately.”
“You’re plenty strong, Gretzky. It’s more like I’m too heavy for you,” Blake assured me as I shoved open the door and carried him inside.
I only gripped him tighter. “We’re here, Blake. We’re home.”
“Yeah, Tommy, we are.” He beamed at me as I placed him back onto his feet, only to cage him in against the wall.
I touched his neck with the tips of my fingers, then his lips, his nose, his jaw. “I love you.”
Blake hummed happily as he leaned up to glide his mouth over mine. “Mm, do you?” He gripped the front of my shirt to pull me closer, my hips settling over his.
“Always have, always will.” I cupped his head in my hands as his tongue snaked between my lips, his body warm against mine. I groaned as our tongues slicked together, as I felt the smile that pulled at his mouth.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
Blake chuckled. “Isn’t that a coincidence?” He nipped playfully at my chin. “Because I love you, too.” His hands found their way to the button on my pants.
“We should probably start to unpack.” That was the furthest thing from my mind, but I was trying to be the adult here.
He shook his head. “Nah, it can wait. I have dirty, filthy things I want to do to you and your cock.”
Said cock twitched in my briefs. “What about finding the coffee maker? Or some plates for dinner? Or my suit for tomorrow? I can’t start my first day in a wrinkled suit.” It was my nerves talking. I had a perfectly good suit waiting for me at Jackson’s for this reason.
“I think your brother would make an exception,” Blake murmured as his hand slid down to grip my dick. He dragged his thumb over the tip to collect my arousal.
My head dropped back. “Fuuucccckkk.” I groaned as he made a fist around my length. “You’re a bad influence.”
“Don’t confuse me with Ezra.” Blake licked a stripe over my neck, his breath hot and sticky against my skin.
I snorted. “He is pretty bad. Fun, though.” I stared down into his glossy green orbs. “We’re actually here.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Blake touched my face lightly, tracing my scar from the top of my lip and up over my eye. He searched my face as he waited for my answer.
I shook my head. “No, baby. Not at all.”
I wasn’t either. Things had moved slowly at first. I’d moved in with Blake, we’d both continued therapy—well, I’d continued while Blake had started—and we’d began a comfortable life in Canfield together. I had still had moments where I was terrified of what people would think of me, that they would laugh and point, tell me I was hideous and shouldn’t be out around people, but they hadn’t. I began going out to familiar places in small doses. The Holiday Restaurant, Brookfield Mall, and eventually, the hockey rink.
That had been the worst part. The first time, I hadn’t even gotten out of the car. I’d sat in the seat trembling, my fingers laced together with Blake’s. He hadn’t pushed me. Instead, he’d turned the car around and driven us home. The second time I hadn’t even laced up my skates before I’d started shaking and babbling nonsense to myself. Blake had simply removed the skates, helped me back into my sneakers and walked me out the door. The third time, I’d started screaming the moment my skate had touched the ice, and once again, Blake had saved me. He’d whispered that he loved me, that he was proud of me, and that I was amazing. Then he’d climbed up into my lap while I’d sat in the car so he could kiss every inch of my face. The fourth, fifth, and sixth times hadn’t gone much better. But the seventh, yeah, the seventh time had been the charm.
My mind had remembered exactly what to do. My feet had moved me along the ice as I’d glided around, and before I realized it, I had made it all the way around the rink. I’d found Blake watching me with tears in his eyes, a smile so bright it was blinding.
Sure, I’d woken him that same night with a nightmare I hadn’t had in months. The same one I’d had for years after my accident, where Blake was the one getting hit in the face instead of me. But that didn’t stop me from getting back to the ice that next morning. Or the one after that. Or, well, you get it. Eventually, I was able to go on my own and the nightmare never came back.
“Are you nervous?”
Blake tangled our fingers together and tugged to pull me toward the living room. We had a brand-new couch, still covered in plastic, waiting for us, and he laughed as I pushed him down on the cushions to blanket him with my body. The soft crinkle of plastic radiated around the room.
I nodded. “A little.” I had stopped hiding things from him. I told him everything, no matter how scared I was. And in return, he did the same.
“You’re going to be amazing, Gretzky. I’m so proud of you,” Blake assured me as he combed his fingers through my hair.
I tucked my head in against his neck and inhaled his familiar scent. Clean like the laundry detergent we used, sweet like his body wash, and spicy like his deodorant. Home. That’s what Blake smelled like.
“What about you, Bug? Another number one album.”
Mulligan Downtown had recorded a new album at Killian’s house. Blake, Killian, Maverick, and Dean had all written the lyrics and the music. Together. And had enjoyed every single minute of it. The album was a huge success, and they were scheduled to do their first ever online concert this Saturday night. The band had stuck to their guns about touring, instead they did everything virtually. The fans didn’t seem to mind. They enjoyed the intimacy, the chance to see their favorite band up close and personal. To see them laughing and smiling, teasing one another like they were the best of friends. Answering questions and being themselves. I enjoyed it, too. Seeing my fiancé happy and blossoming.
“We’re not talking about me right now.” Blake blushed.
I sucked a hickey against his skin before I spoke again. “We should be.”
“It’s okay if you’re scared. I’m going to be there, sitting with the guys, and cheering you on. Watching you get your shutout in your first game back.” He hummed happily.
Right. That. I was going to be starting goalie for the Carolina Panthers, thanks to my big brother. It was totally unexpected, and I had turned Jackson down more than once. He kept asking, bringing it up, and even though I came up with every excuse in the book, he’d never given up on me.
Wasn’t there someone else more qualified than I was? Didn’t he want to see if someone else wanted the job?
In the end, Blake had sat me down so he could talk to me about it. The pros and cons of getting my career back on track. I missed the sport terribly, and as hard as I pushed, Blake shoved harder. Reminded me how good I was. How this had always been my dream. That didn’t mean I wasn’t terrified. What if I had a panic attack on the ice? What if the second someone came near me, I froze up and forgot to stop the puck? Everyone would hate me.
“You’re going to wear my jersey, right?” I pushed the blond hair from his forehead.
Blake shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought maybe I would wear one of Wyatt’s.” He barked out a laugh when I ticked his sides. “Yeah, Tommy, I’ll wear your jersey.”
It was a special moment for me, too. To have the number forty-one. It had been my number in high school. I wasn’t able to wear it when I was first drafted to Arizona, but now it was mine, and I wanted to make sure teenage Tommy Olson had the dream he always wanted. A successful hockey career, and the boy he loved by his side.
The sound of the doorbell had me dropping my face into Blake’s neck. “Can we ignore it? Maybe they’ll go away.”
“You know we can’t,” Blake reminded me.
I sighed and sat up. “What if we were fucking right now? Then what? We’d just answer it and let them in? Let them see your pretty hole while I stretch and fill you? Fuck you until you come screaming my name.”
“Tommy.” Blake gripped the back of my head and climbed up into my lap. “You can’t say things like that right now.”
I slanted our lips together. “I can. You’re mine, remember?”
The doorbell rang again, followed by insistent knocking. “Come on, assholes, we know you’re in there!” Killian shouted. “Don’t make me break in. I don’t want to see your naked asses.” He cackled with laughter.
Blake’s body shook with laughter. “Yours, always yours,” he murmured as our mouths collided again.
Always mine.