Page 23 of Back in the Game (Pride in the Game #1)

Harrison was drained, which was expected after nearly dying of hypothermia, but he was calm. Docile, even.

He didn’t want to leave his newly found sanctuary at the lake house with Harrison. He’d made friends before, but none had filled the space in his mind like the grumpy man who greeted him every morning with a sugary coffee and a scowl.

As the days passed, he didn’t know if he’d be willing to let it go. He daydreamed about taking Harrison to Toronto with him and paying him to stay—to be his friend—but that was ridiculous.

Or maybe he could propose marriage and pay him to be his stay-at-home husband?

Those daydreams were definitely getting out of control.

Frustrated by the ordeal, Jett threw himself into completing Harrison’s challenge. Now that exchanging numbers was on the line, he wasn’t going to relax until the damn thing was saved in his iPhone.

That goal consumed his thoughts as the week flew by. He ignored the passing time because he was so close to getting that third puck in the net. It would happen; he just had to wait for luck to come his way. No matter what Harrison said about skill, this move was 100% luck in Jett’s eyes.

And on Friday, after taking a morning swim in the lake and listening to Harrison joke about leeches, it finally happened.

It was his first three shots of the day. He had barely warmed up as he skated around the rink, but then that third puck fired right into the net, and Jett stopped and stared at it in disbelief.

He had done it.

He had fucking done it!

Jett looked to Harrison, grinning as he noticed how wide his eyes were before he quickly hid it behind a trademark scowl.

Excitement seized control of his body. Jett threw his stick down and ripped his helmet off, pushing into a run so he could make it to where Harrison was standing at the open gate.

“Did you see that?!” Jett hollered as he stopped hard enough to spray Harrison with ice. He ignored the glare and threw himself at Harrison, nearly toppling the man.

Harrison took a few steps back, bringing Jett off the ice to keep them steady. His arms wrapped around Jett, crushing them together.

“My leg is fucked, not my eyes,” said Harrison.

Jett had his arms around Harrison with his face tucked into his neck, ignoring the tickling of his beard. He had earned this hug, and nothing could take this moment away from him.

Harrison smelled like his Old Spice shampoo and cologne.

And even with his skates on, Jett felt small and safe in his arms. He was so warm—the complete opposite of the night of the storm.

Jett couldn’t stop himself from pulling back to check the colour of his skin and lips, his mind caught in memories he couldn’t shake.

But the ice from his abrupt stop had left frosty flakes on Harrison’s dark eyelashes, which now melted into water droplets clinging there. It was just as distracting as Harrison’s lips, hovering mere inches from his own.

Harrison tensed in his arms, and Jett drew his gaze away from his lips to those bright blue eyes now locked onto his mouth.

Shit. He hadn’t meant for it to turn out like this, but—

Jett moved in just as Harrison let go of him and stepped back, putting distance between them.

Jett tried, and failed, not to feel crushed.

“Good job,” said Harrison in a strained voice. “I’m honestly surprised that it took you this long.”

Jett laughed, but the sound felt hollow, distant—like it belonged to someone else. He felt disconnected from his body, watching himself from far away, unable to stay fully present in the moment.

“Whatever. A deal is a deal.”

Something was wrong. Harrison wouldn’t look at him. Instead, he used the excuse of checking his phone, tapping at the screen with forced focus. Doing anything to avoid meeting Jett’s eyes.

“There, I told Arlo to text it to you.”

Despite how he was feeling, Jett’s laugh was real this time. “You’re such a dick .”

Harrison’s gaze flicked toward him, and he finally smirked in that way that left Jett feeling flushed and breathless.

It only made the rejection sting worse.

When he realized the stinging in his eyes was tears and not shame, he threw himself onto the bench and started unlacing his skate.

“At least you’ll have more time to pack,” said Harrison. “You probably still have stuff at your dad’s house.”

Okay, he was hearing him loud and clear. Obviously, Harrison didn’t want him to stick around now. Had his attempted kiss pissed him off that much ?

When Jett refused to say anything, Harrison sighed loudly and walked away.

Good, now Jett could lick his wounds in private and get his shit together, even though his ribs felt so tight he was sure they would crack and lacerate his already wounded heart.

Jett gathered his gear and shoved it into his bag before dragging it to his car and dramatically throwing it into the backseat.

He didn’t bother looking at Harrison when he came inside and disappeared into his room.

He took his time in the shower, even if he wasn’t overly sweaty, but he wanted to use the time to get his head back in the game.

It didn’t help.

He held back tears and threw his clothes carelessly into the suitcase, not caring how wrinkled they ended up. He had to be on a plane the following morning at 4 AM, and he felt so worn thin that he considered showing up to training camp late.

Cap would kill him, but he would also understand.

“Jett.”

“Oh hell no,” said Jett, glaring at Harrison, who was standing in his bedroom doorway. “Don’t talk to me using that tone. I’m not in the mood.”

Harrison’s eyebrow slowly raised, his eyes wandering over Jett’s appearance. “What’s wrong? You’re acting weird.”

“Weird?” Jett wanted to scream and pull his hair out. “Okay, we’re friends now, so let’s cut the crap. You know what I’m upset about.”

Harrison held his gaze with a stern frown, but it didn’t take long for it to falter. “You’re leaving tomorrow,” was all he said.

Yeah, Jett was fucking aware.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” said Jett. “But right now, in this very moment, I’m standing in front of you.”

Emotions flickered across Harrison’s expression, all unreadable. “You wanted to be friends, and you’re leaving tomorrow. What’s the point of starting anything when it has to end?”

Jett dropped his bag on the floor before he did something immature, like tossing it at Harrison’s stupid face.

“Fucking hell, Killinger. Maybe I was hoping we could relieve a little stress together and still be friends? It’s not like I was fucking proposing marriage to you. ”

Then Jett strode over to Harrison, who quickly backed away, but Jett chased him until his back hit the wall outside of the room, trapping him.

“You’re driving me crazy,” said Jett, shoving a finger into Harrison’s chest, earning a grunt from him. “Making sex eyes at me all the time, but refusing to do anything about it. Do you know how problematic it is to skate while you’re hard? It was very hard, thanks. Every part of it was hard!”

Harrison’s eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in shock.

“Of course I want to be friends, motherfucker, but can you blame me for taking a shot when you keep smiling at me? Or making comments? Or what about when you leave the room and make no effort to hide the fact that you’re jacking off? Do you think I’m a goddamn saint?”

He didn’t know why Harrison was smiling, but it made him want to knock his teeth out.

Jett raised his hand, but Harrison grabbed it and held tight, using his height and upper body strength to push Jett back into his room.

“Fuck—Killinger! What—”

Harrison didn’t stop until the back of Jett’s knees hit the bed, and he was thrown onto it. His brain couldn’t react fast enough. Harrison was on top of him, one hand pinning his clenched fist to the bed while the other covered his mouth.

“You and your goddamn mouth.” Harrison’s voice was low and gravely, making Jett’s skin break into goosebumps. “I knew you were trouble the second I laid eyes on you, Fraser.”

The hand pinning his fist let go, but Jett was too shocked to react, especially when that hand slid down his arm to his chest, his abs, until Harrison was cupping him through his sweats, making him let out a muffled whimper.

“I bet this will shut you up…for a few minutes anyway.”

And then Jett’s head was turned until his neck was exposed, and Harrison’s lips and teeth were on him.

His hands flew around Harrison’s neck, gripping his hair so hard that it was pulled from its tie, and the strands were loose between his fingers.

He gasped and groaned against Harrison’s palm as his neck was kissed and sucked on harshly enough to leave deep, purple marks.

Harrison let go, only to slide his hand beneath the waistband and wrap it around him again, dragging a slow, deliberate stroke that made Jett twitch. He was so turned on that he was already leaking. Harrison barely had to move to gather enough precum to make the glide slick and easy.

“Look how good you are,” Harrison said, his breath hot on Jett’s bruised neck. “You’re so wet I don’t even think we need lube.”

Jett slammed his eyes closed, fighting to keep his damn orgasm back before it was over too fast. He didn’t know if he was going to survive this encounter. He shouldn’t have pushed Harrison as far as he did.

“Do you know how difficult it’s been for me? I have to watch you parade around in that damn Sunburst jersey all the time, thinking about how I want to tear it off you and bend you over the couch.”

Jett whimpered when Harrison sucked another mark onto his neck, slowly stroking his cock and giving him no relief. But that didn’t matter; his words were getting him to the edge faster than anything else.

“And watching you skate,” Harrison growled into Jett’s ear, his hand moving faster as he got lost in the rhythm of his words. “Fuck, I love it. You’re so damn talented—and every time you’re out on the ice, you make me so fucking hot.”