Page 40 of Back in the Game (Pride in the Game #1)

Harrison grunted, but then he chuckled. “Yeah, I could take you to the doctor and get you checked, but I think they would send you to a plumber for a second opinion.”

He hobbled to the bathroom, his face burning when he felt liquid run down his leg. Asking Harrison to fill him up had been a great idea at the time, but it was already making for a messy cleanup.

Harrison was where he left him, still lying on his back, separated from their mess, but he wasn’t moving .

He got Harrison settled on the cozy king-sized bed and tucked him in, leaving briefly to search through Harrison’s bags for his heating pad that he knew was in there.

“Do you need Advil or anything?” Jett asked him when he returned, dutifully plugging the heating pad in and wrapping it around his leg.

“I’m good,” said Harrison. “Stop taking care of me. I’m not old, and I’m not a toddler.”

“Nope, you’re both those things combined,” said Jett, sniggering when Harrison narrowed his eyes. “Calm down, Killinger. I’ll take care of the room, and then I’ll be back to snuggle you. Watch TV and relax for once in your life.”

To ensure Harrison listened to him, he picked the remote up, dropping it onto his lap as he left the room.

His apartment came with house-cleaning services, but there was no way in hell Jett was going to call them to clean all the jizz in his room. So he stripped the bed, tossing as much as he could fit into the washer without breaking it, and then mopped the puddles off his floors .

The fan he left on so that it would dry his mattress faster, because even though the guest bed was perfect, it was usually the bed that Ryan’s brother, Max, slept in.

He finished cleaning and returned to the guest room with two bottles of water and the Advil. Harrison didn’t have to take any, but Jett was sore enough that he was about to pound back three of them himself and pass out.

Harrison hadn’t bothered with the TV. He was lying on his side, facing the empty spot on the bed, his eyes closed in sleep.

Jett was careful to be quiet as he took his pills and got under the blankets, but he jumped when Harrison’s big arms wrapped around him, pulling him flush against his chest.

“Love you,” Harrison mumbled sleepily.

Jett felt his insides melt.

“Love you too.”

6:00 AM came too goddamn soon. Jett considered going on the balcony so he could launch his phone into Lake Ontario to stop the alarm, but he would still be awake, so whatever.

Harrison hadn’t moved all night. He used Jett as a body pillow, snoozing happily through the alarm and Jett’s angry cursing.

Jett’s ass hurt, his arm was numb where it was trapped under him, and he was running on four hours of sleep now. That combined made him cranky enough, but when he heard the security alert on his front door beep, he knew today wouldn’t be his day.

With great effort, he unstuck himself from Harrison’s chest and left the bed.

Max was the only one with a spare keycard, so he was the only person who could get into his penthouse.

Jett was okay with that, but he was still naked and all of his clothes were in his room, and that meant that things were about to get awkward.

Jett grabbed the blanket off the bed to cover himself, just as a voice that didn’t belong to Max Bracken started calling out.

“Are you guys dressed? I’m hitching a ride with you to the rink. ”

Harrison rose from the bed like a vampire waking from its coffin.

“What the fuck is Bracken doing here? Does he want to die?”

His voice was loud enough to reach Ryan from the living room, so Jett had five seconds to dive back onto the bed and cover Harrison’s naked body with the blanket before their guest joined them with a grin.

“Why are you two in the guest room? Did you desecrate your bedroom already?” Ryan was completely unbothered by Harrison’s death glare.

“I had a feeling that Jett would try to sleep in, so I’m here to be a good role model and get you guys to practice on time.

We wouldn’t want Killinger to be late for his first day at work. ”

“Work?” Jett asked.

“Why is he talking?” said Harrison, ignoring Ryan’s sad frown.

“You got a job?” Jett asked, refusing to let Harrison avoid the topic.

He saw Ryan back out of the room and turned on him. “Go give Max back his key card and wait by my car. Holy shit, it is too early for this.”

Ryan left, hopefully to do what Jett asked, leaving him alone with his boyfriend.

“What job?” Jett asked Harrison. “You never said anything last night.”

Jett felt Harrison’s gaze drag over his bare chest slowly, making him shiver.

“I said a lot of things last night,” said Harrison, smirking. “But they were mostly about you.”

“Harrison—”

Harrison sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. “Your coach offered me a position on the team. I’ll be a consultant behind the bench for now, but he said there’s room for promotions in the future.”

“Are you serious?” Jett tackled Harrison to the bed with a hug, peppering his collarbones with kisses. “Do you know how awesome that is? You’ll be right next to me for every game.”

Harrison’s hand fell onto the back of his neck, scruffing him gently the way he liked.

“Awesome, yes, but you have to remember not to get distracted during games, or I won’t be able to work with you.

I refuse to let myself get in your way, especially since this year is the year you’re bringing the cup home. ”

“No distraction, I promise,” said Jett. “Honestly, when I’m in game-mode, there’s not much that can take me out of it. I think we’ll be fine.”

“Good boy,” said Harrison, his fingers tugging playfully on the small curls on the back of his neck. “And I don’t want to curse myself by admitting that Bracken is right, but we should get going before we’re late to practice.”

Jett was less cranky about life now that he knew Harrison was coming with him and would be participating in his career. He hadn’t felt comfortable plopping Harrison next to the WAGS to watch with the rest of the fans. Blood would be spilled for sure.

He and Harrison returned to his bedroom to shower and get dressed. He was sad when Harrison traded in his jersey for a fitted, long-sleeved shirt, but he understood why. Jett thought about wearing the jersey himself, but it was a size too big for the change not to be noticeable.

Jett grabbed his to-go bag on the way out the door, and they rode the elevator down to the parking garage, both still too tired to attempt any form of communication.

Ryan was standing next to his car, a sleek four-door BMW, texting someone with a serious expression. He looked up when he heard them coming, showing a bright smile.

“You guys appear more put-together than you were thirty minutes ago.”

“Fuck off,” said Harrison. He moved Ryan out of the way to get to the passenger side door and let himself in.

Jett opened his trunk to throw his bag in, but also so he could hide his laugh at Ryan’s shocked expression.

Ryan was nice about getting in the back without fussing like he normally did. Jett would have felt bad for his captain any other time, but the guy could be overbearing, and he would have to learn how to calm down if he wanted to be invited over anytime soon.

“Did you give Max back his keycard?” Jett asked once he backed out of his parking spot and headed for the garage door. “You know he comes over to hang out with me after games, right?”

“I gave it back. I wouldn’t want to deny my baby brother anything, even if it means he’ll be in the same room as Killinger.”

Harrison glanced at Jett, but Jett shook his head. They didn’t have enough time to have this conversation, that was for damn sure .

“Jason remembered to bring me a change of clothes, thank fuck,” said Ryan, letting out a sigh. “I love that guy. He’s such a good work husband.”

Harrison glanced at Jett again, and Jett again shook his head. They didn’t have time to open that can of worms either.

The city traffic was steady but bearable.

It was Saturday morning, so most people were sleeping or working off their hangovers.

Sunburst banners were all over the billboards, becoming more numerous the closer they got to the arena.

Tonight was their opening game, so Jett knew it wouldn’t be long before the streets were filled with screaming fans and entertainment leading up to the puck drop.

Their practice rink was in another part of the city, a ten-minute drive from the arena where their game would be held later.

Jett parked his car in the team parking lot next to Jason’s ridiculous red sports car, nearly hitting their goalie when he ran over to greet them before the vehicle stopped moving.

“Coach wants us to hurry and eat breakfast,” said Jason, swinging an arm over Ryan’s shoulders for a hug. “And someone picked up your drinks, Jett. The blue ones that taste like watery cool-aid.”

“They do not,” said Jett. “But I guess everything would taste watered down for you with all the Dr. Pepper you drink.”

“One bottle a day is not unhealthy,” said Jason. “It has the word doctor in the title. There’s no way it’s bad for you.”

Harrison stepped out of the car and looked down at Jason, head tilting slightly as he studied him with quiet curiosity.

Jason, who was not tall, backed away with his arm still around Ryan’s shoulders. “Dude, you are so fucking intimidating. How do you get your face like that?”

When Harrison turned his blank expression toward Jett, he laughed.

“Fucking goalies,” Harrison muttered. “Don’t you have food to eat that requires you to be anywhere except near me?”

Jason’s eyes widened, and Ryan barely had time to grab his bag off the asphalt before being dragged away at top speed.

Jett shook his head, inwardly groaning at Harrison’s attitude.

Today was definitely not his day.