Page 7

Gavin sat back from his enormous meal with a contented sigh, surveying the table of happy, laughing people.

Following the team’s loss in San Jose and win in Anaheim, the guys would spend the next few days practicing and playing a game in LA, before heading back home to Boston.

Tonight, they’d chosen to go to a Brazilian steakhouse, which had been a compromise between Connor’s love of steak and Jesse’s desire to do something new.

Gavin had been a little surprised the coaching and support staff had been invited as well, but he had no complaints. Leah, Danny, and Dakota had been seated around him at the long table set up on the restaurant’s patio and it had been a delicious meal with good conversation.

Heavy on the meat, exactly the way he liked it.

“Were you able to get enough to eat?” Gavin asked Dakota.

Before dinner, Jesse had assured Dakota there were numerous vegetarian choices at the restaurant, but it seemed like he’d probably missed out.

Dakota glanced at Gavin, fork poised over his plate of grilled pineapple. “Oh yeah, I’m stuffed. I just can’t stop eating this . It’s incredible.”

“Good. I wondered.”

Dakota shot him a small smile. “Yeah, I did fine. The grilled vegetables were amazing, and with all of the side salads, cheeses, and lentil rice, I got plenty of protein and I’m happy.”

“Good,” Gavin said firmly.

“You want to try the pineapple? Seriously, the cinnamon brown sugar mixed with the smokiness of the grill is next level.”

Gavin waved it off. “Too high carb for me.”

“Mmm.” Dakota shot him a look across the table. “Okay.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gavin asked with a laugh.

But before Dakota could respond, Jesse rose to his feet. “Okay, up next for anyone who is interested, we’re going to WeHo.”

“What the hell is that?” Crawford asked, wiping some beer foam from his moustache.

Jesse grinned. “West Hollywood! Santa Monica Boulevard is supposed to have the best clubs for dancing. The one we’re going to is a gay club, but everyone is welcome.”

“Yeahhh,” Crawford drawled. “Not my scene.”

“We know, we know,” Jesse retorted. “Go get on your hookup app or find a biker bar or whatever.”

Gavin shared an amused smirk with Dakota who smiled around another bite of pineapple.

“But,” Jesse continued, “I mean it. Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome.”

He pointed at the end of the table where Gavin sat. “And I do mean anyone. You too, Mr. GM. The club we’re hitting up has a bar and lounge area, along with the dance floor. So you’re welcome to find a spot to hang out and relax, if dancing isn’t your thing.”

Gavin considered it. He didn’t usually socialize with players quite that much outside of the practice facility or arena but well, it had been a long time since he’d gone to a gay club and enjoyed himself. And there was no reason he couldn’t discreetly find someone there to hook up with.

Besides, he was incredibly curious to see how the team would handle things now that there were a few more openly out players.

“So,” Jesse said. “Who’s in?”

Obviously, Connor was going with Jesse. Tanner was an enthusiastic yes. But, to his surprise, Graham also nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Bobby Tucker asked, looking confused.

Graham looked at him. “There’s a woman I’ve been seeing, yeah. But we’re not exclusive.”

Bobby gave him a slow blink, like he was trying to process the words and struggling. “But you’re not into dudes. Why would you go to a gay bar?”

“Because I like dancing,” Graham said slowly, like he was speaking to a child. “And I can dance there.”

“Yeah, but with dudes ?” Bobby shook his head. “No thanks.”

Crawford snorted.

Graham scoffed. “Wow, well, unlike you two, I’m not an insecure man-baby. If a guy hits on me, I can politely decline. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, fuck that,” Bobby scoffed.

Across the table, Gavin caught a glimpse of Dakota’s eye-roll. Seriously .

“Right,” Jesse said, eyeballing them. “So we’ve got Connor and me, Tanner, Graham. Anyone else joining us?”

Arkady Romaschenko—Kady, to the team now—looked at Graham. “You like girls and to dance and you go?”

“Yes,” Graham said with a shrug. “You wanna come?”

“Yeah, c’mon,” Jesse coaxed. “It’ll be fun.”

“Okay. I like to dance! We do dance-off like we talked about after goalie goal, Webby.”

Jesse grinned. “Awesome. Kady’s in too. Anyone else feeling secure enough in their masculinity to come?”

Danny Foley nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go. Dancing can be fun and I’m certainly not afraid of getting hit on.”

Leah shot him a surprised look he must have caught because he grinned at her. “You want to come too, Leah?”

She looked surprised but nodded. “Sure. It’s been a while since I went out dancing.”

Over the noise of Jesse taking a headcount, Gavin leaned forward. “What do you say, Crane? Shall we join them?”

Dakota blinked. “Oh, I didn’t expect you’d want to go.”

“Well, I am gay,” he reminded him.

Dakota rolled his eyes. “I know. I figured you had work to do.”

“Oh, I do,” Gavin said, wincing at the thought of what he should be spending his time doing. “But it sounds fun, and I can’t remember the last time I went out dancing.”

With Rory, undoubtedly. His ex-husband loved to dance, to show off, to be the person everyone desired.

“Huh,” Dakota said. “Sure, why not, then?”

“Ooh. Are you guys coming?” Jesse asked, his expression bright and excited.

Dakota nodded. “Yeah, all four of us are coming.” He gestured to Leah, Danny, Gavin, and then himself.

“Hell yeah. It’s so nice having a GM who isn’t totally uptight. This is turning into a party .”

“Annnd that’s my cue to leave,” Hoyt Kent said with a laugh. The team’s head coach rose to his feet. “I’m going back to the hotel to call my wife. And for plausible deniability after this ends up on JockGossip .”

Jesse snorted. “Not likely. I got up to way worse shit in LA last year and no one found out.”

A pained expression crossed Connor’s face and Jesse leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Sorry, Captain Growly. Wasn’t trying to wind you up.”

Connor shot him a skeptical expression. “Sure you weren’t.”

“I think that’s a good call, Hoyt.” Darryl Schultz, the team’s video coach, rose to his feet and joined the head coach. Aksel Rasmussen, the associate coach, stood as well, discussing sharing a ride back to the hotel with the other older guys.

Tyson Short, the team’s PR director, eyeballed Jesse as he walked over to them. “Be careful tonight,” he stressed.

Jesse snorted. “What am I going to do? I’m a happily settled down man with kids at home. I just want to dance with my partner.”

At that, Connor looked a whole lot more pleased.

Tyson appeared less convinced. “I’m not interested in finding out. Have fun tonight, but not too much fun, okay?”

“Fine,” Jesse huffed. “I’ll behave.”

“And remember,” Hoyt called out. “ Hydrate . We’ve got practice tomorrow. You know I’m going to work you hard. We might have won in Anaheim but LA’s going to be a lot tougher. And if you can’t keep up in practice because you had too much fun on a night out, there will be no more nights out until I’m satisfied with your performance. Keep that in mind when you make choices tonight.”

“I’ll make sure everyone’s on their best behavior,” Jesse promised, fluttering his lashes.

Hoyt scoffed. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“ I’ll make sure of it,” Connor said.

Hoyt grinned. “Now that’s a promise I can trust.”

“Hey!” Jesse protested, but he was laughing, so Gavin didn’t think he took the chirp about his reliability too seriously.

With a grin and a wave, the coaches and most of the other support staff left.

Gavin glanced around. The table had essentially split into three groups. Those going to the hotel, those going to the club in WeHo, and the rest of the guys who hadn’t made any plans yet.

“Last call for WeHo!” Jesse said, and everyone who wanted to go dancing rose to their feet.

Twenty minutes later, it was a merry group who squeezed into the two ride shares Jesse and Connor had arranged for, and Gavin found himself sharing it with Danny, Leah, Dakota, and—to his surprise—his brother.

“I didn’t expect you to come out tonight,” he said as Thad squeezed into the middle row of the SUV beside him. Dakota was on his other side, body warm and lean.

“I do like dancing,” Thad said mildly. “I was surprised you decided to come out though. I figured you’d be too boring to go.”

“Guess I was feeling a little bit reckless tonight,” he shot back.

“Careful, brother.” Thad met his gaze. “We know what happens when you’re feeling reckless .”

Gavin bit back the automatic retort that rose to his lips. “Yeah, same goes for you,” he reminded Thad instead.

But the SUV began to move, and Thad looked away. Gavin faced the front of the SUV and caught a glimpse of Dakota’s face, reflected in the rearview mirror, his quizzical expression smoothing out into something more neutral when he caught Gavin looking.

But Gavin couldn’t explain his relationship with his brother, not when he barely understood it himself. There were too many years of complicated history behind every interaction. Too many mistakes and missteps and bad decisions.

And for all that they were twins, they were astonishingly different.

It hadn’t always been quite so stark though. Growing up, Thad had been Gavin’s shadow. He’d always wanted to do everything Gavin did, wanted to be exactly like him, wanted them to be this inseparable unit, the two of them against the world. But Gavin had wanted his own identity, separate from his brother, and Thad had taken it as a rejection.

Now, here they were, barely on speaking terms.

And everything Gavin did to apologize for the way their lives had gone, for the twists and turns they’d both experienced, seemed to make it worse.

The thought made Gavin melancholy, weighing down the cheerful mood he’d had at dinner. He shifted, trying to get more comfortable.

“Sorry,” he said when he bumped Dakota for the umpteenth time. “Not sure I should have been the one to sit in the middle. I’m a little too wide for that.”

“You two should switch seats,” Thad said, peering around Gavin. “Or I could make room for you on my lap, Dakota.”

Gavin briefly fantasized about leaning over his brother, opening the side door, and pushing him out. They were in stop and go city traffic anyway. It wasn’t like it would cause any permanent damage, right?

But before he could respond, Dakota spoke. “Yeah, I’m good where I am,” he said firmly.

Gavin knocked his knuckles against Dakota’s thigh in appreciation for him standing up for himself. It was the only thing Thad would respect.

Dakota huffed out a soft laugh, and in the rearview mirror, Gavin could see him lifting his eyebrows in question.

Gavin shrugged, twisting again, still trying to get more comfortable.

“Here,” Dakota said softly. He leaned forward so Gavin’s shoulder could slip behind his. Dakota carefully leaned back, his shoulder blade pressing firmly against Gavin’s chest.

“That okay?” Gavin murmured, low enough hopefully Thad couldn’t hear it over the music playing.

“Yeah, you’re fine,” Dakota said, still voice equally quiet, relaxing a little more against him.

Danny said something from the backseat to Thad, and Leah joined in, the three of them discussing some basketball game Gavin hadn’t watched. Gavin let the voices wash over him, mind drifting as he enjoyed the feeling of a warm body pressed to his.

God, he was hard up, wasn’t he? Enjoying the touch of a man he worked with?

A feeling of self-pity washed over Gavin, but he immediately pushed it away. What did he have to feel sorry for himself about? He was well-off, handsome, successful … he owned an incredible condo, got to travel all the time … had a dream life, really.

But tonight would be good. He’d have a drink, he’d dance a little, he’d go off where no one could see and find a guy for a quick hookup. It would clear his head and burn off this tension and stress. Get rid of that ridiculous feeling of self-pity …

Fuck ! He belatedly realized he hadn’t done his stretching yet today. Dakota would be disappointed. He turned to Dakota to confess his sins, when the SUV pulled over to the curb.

“Here you are,” the driver called out.

Gavin glanced over to see an industrial building with a line snaking around the side.

“Ugh,” he said as he peeled himself out of the SUV and joined the group of guys gathering on the sidewalk. He loved going clubbing but he’d forgotten about having to deal with the damn lines. Especially in a place like Los Angeles.

But rather than go to the back of the line, Jesse sauntered toward the bouncer checking IDs at the door. With a shrug, Connor followed, motioning for the rest of them to join him and Jesse.

There was some more back and forth as the bouncer eyed everyone in their group, but eventually he nodded, ushering them in ahead of the line.

“How’d you pull that off?” Gavin asked appreciatively as they all moved toward the bar on one side of the room.

Jesse grinned. “I have my ways.”

Gavin slanted a look at Connor. “Do you know how he did it?”

Connor shrugged. “He knows a guy who knows a guy?”

Jesse laughed. “Don’t make it sound so mysterious. I know a couple of guys who play for LA. One of them knows the owner and did me a favor getting us in tonight.”

“Ahh.” Somehow, that didn’t surprise Gavin.

“Handy,” Dakota murmured.

“C’mon,” Jesse said. “I’ll show you all around.”

“You’ve been here before then, I take it?” Gavin asked.

“Oh, yeah. A bunch of times. My parents live out here in LA now, so I checked out a ton of places around here last summer.”

Connor got that constipated look on his face again.

Jesse gave them a quick tour of the club. The bottom floor was a lounge, with a large bar and lots of seating in vibrant colors that somehow managed to look both modern and granny-chic.

The top floor was where the dancing took place, and there was a bar, high-top tables and more of the seating Gavin had seen downstairs. The dance floor was pretty much like every other club Gavin had ever been to, with flashing lights, pounding music, and a sea of sweaty, writhing bodies.

Jesse, Connor, Kady, Tanner, Graham, Danny, and Leah immediately went to dance—well, Connor was more or less dragged off by Jesse, but that counted—which left Gavin standing there awkwardly with Dakota and his brother.

“Well, I’m going to go grab a drink,” Thad said, “Dakota, if you want to actually have some fun tonight, come find me,” and disappeared into the crowd with a wink before either of them could respond.

“So that was weird, right?” Dakota said when he was gone.

Gavin released a strangled laugh. “Thad is … Thad.”

“Mmm,” Dakota said. “Sure.”

“C’mon,” Gavin said with a sigh. “I’ll buy you a drink and try to explain a little about my relationship with my twin brother.”

“I don’t drink much alcohol,” Dakota called after Gavin’s retreating back as he followed him toward the bar on the first floor.

Gavin threw a grin over his shoulder. “Who said anything about alcohol?”

Fifteen minutes later, Dakota found himself seated on a small orange velvet loveseat with a fruity, booze-free cocktail in his hand. It had watermelon, strawberry, and fresh mint in it, Dakota knew that much, but the rest was a mystery.

A delicious mystery, however, so he’d take it.

Gavin was, unsurprisingly, drinking something whiskey based. “What?” he said, shrugging when he caught Dakota giving him an unimpressed look. “I stuck to water at dinner.”

“How’s your head?” Dakota shot back.

Gavin laughed, waggling his hand back and forth. He was, unfortunately, extremely attractive when his eyes crinkled like that. “So-so.”

“How are the stretches going?” Dakota asked.

“They’re … going. I haven’t done them three times a day every day, but I’ve done more than I was before. So that’s progress, right?”

“Yes,” Dakota conceded. “It is.”

Gavin appeared to live off an extremely low carb diet, worked insane hours, and was dedicated to weightlifting. It was going to take a little more than a few stretches and Dakota periodically giving him shit about the lack of balance in his life.

Besides, Gavin had to want to do it.

“Honestly, I’m impressed you’re listening to me at all,” Dakota admitted.

Gavin bent his head. “What was that?”

“Hard of hearing?” Dakota teased, leaning a little closer.

Gavin shot him a rueful smile. “No. But this place is loud, even down here. Which I suppose doesn’t make me sound any less old and decrepit.”

“Old maybe. Clearly not decrepit.” Because the body underneath the snug black trousers and black button-down with the sleeves rolled up was very, very firm.

“Thank you,” Gavin said drily.

Built for vanity or not, Dakota had noticed Gavin’s musculature during their yoga session back in Boston and again in the SUV on the ride here. Gavin truly wasn’t built for middle seats in vehicles but it hadn’t escaped Dakota’s notice that Gavin had encroached into his space, rather than his twin brother’s.

They obviously had a rocky relationship, but either Gavin was a lot more interested in Dakota than he’d realized, or he was desperately trying to avoid any interaction with Thad. Dakota’s money was on the latter.

“So, you were going to explain your relationship with your brother,” he said aloud.

Gavin sighed, staring down at the drink in his hands. “I’ll try. There’s a lot I can’t say, for various reasons, but we … we’ve had a rocky relationship since our late teens. We both got caught up with some people who weren’t—weren’t the most savory types, we’ll put it that way.”

“And he ended up in prison for burglary, right?”

“Yes.” Gavin ruffled a hand through his short hair. “We had a falling-out around then. And things have never been quite the same between us since.”

“But you got him hired with the franchise anyway.”

“Yeah. A bit of an apology on my part, plus the hope I could keep an eye on him and expose him to some better people.”

“How’s that going?”

Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know. It hasn’t completely blown up in my face.”

There was an unspoken ‘yet’ that hung in the air, but Dakota wasn’t sure how to respond, so he merely nodded. “That’s good.”

“It is.”

“But it’s adding to your stress levels?”

“You have no idea.” Gavin sat back with a groan, slinging an arm up over the back of the loveseat.

Dakota sat back too, less because he wanted to be close than because it was too loud to carry on a conversation otherwise. Though, if he was being honest, he hadn’t minded having Gavin’s arm around him in the SUV earlier. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Gavin shot him a surprised glance. “With Thad? No, not that I can think of. But thank you.”

“Sure.” Dakota shrugged.

Gavin hesitated. “You might want to avoid spending a lot of time with him though.”

“Oh?”

Frankly, Dakota hadn’t felt any particular interest in him anyway, but he was curious to hear Gavin’s reasoning.

“I think he knows I find you attractive. Which means he’ll try to go after you.”

“He couldn’t have any interest in me on my own merit?” Dakota asked cooly.

Gavin winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Didn’t you?”

“No! You’re gorgeous, funny, flexible , what’s not to like?”

Dakota chuckled softly. “Thanks, I think.”

“And damn good at your job.” Gavin pressed a little closer. “There are plenty of reasons why my brother would be attracted to you. But he also has a habit of going after people I’m interested in.”

Staring at Gavin, Dakota pushed a strand of hair off his cheek, feeling oddly flustered. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you?” Gavin smiled at him, angling his body so he looked Dakota in the eye.

“Not really.” Dakota glanced away, staring at a couple at a table nearby. He would swear he’d seen that guy on a TV show he watched. Preston something or other.

“Surely I’m not imagining this , am I?” Gavin asked softly, tightening his arm around Dakota’s shoulders.

“That depends. What are you imagining?”

“That there’s some mutual attraction here.” Gavin shifted closer, his breath warm against Dakota’s cheek.

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed the chemistry,” Dakota said slowly. “Though I hadn’t really considered acting on it. It’s not exactly appropriate. You’re my boss .”

He finally looked Gavin in the eye, his expression serious.

Gavin sighed, putting a bit more space between their bodies. “I know. And if you don’t want to get involved, if it makes you feel weird at all, I respect that.”

“And I appreciate that.”

“Look, making sure any potential partner in the bedroom is enthusiastically consenting is not a high bar.”

Dakota’s laugh was soft. “It’s not. But you’d be amazed by how shitty guys can be.”

“Oh, I have my share of bad experiences,” Gavin admitted with a wry little frown. “Just not around that.”

Dakota was silent.

“So, if you want, you can take your time to think about it,” Gavin continued. “No pressure.”

“I am thinking about it. Weighing the pros and cons.” Dakota hummed thoughtfully.

“Pros are really great orgasms.”

“You’re assuming they’ll be great,” Dakota shot back.

Gavin scoffed. “Do you have any reason to think they won’t ? Come on, who do you take me for? Some inexperienced rube? I know how to get a guy off.”

“Despite my size, build, and profession, I’m not generally a bottom,” Dakota said, his tone calm, but his gaze challenging.

“Ahh. And I’m strictly a top.”

“You must admit, it does create some complications.” Dakota shrugged.

“Some. None we can’t work around, however.” Gavin slid a little closer again, until there were only a few inches between their bodies.

Dakota tilted his head back, studying him intently. Yeah, he’d be lying if he claimed he didn’t find the man’s looks and confidence attractive. “Pretty sure of yourself, huh?”

“I know what I’m doing in bed, yeah. And there are plenty of ways to have sex.”

“There are, but how many of them involve me giving in to you wanting to top me?” Dakota asked.

“Wow, cynical much? Do you really think I care that little about what you actually want to pressure you?”

“It’s been known to happen.”

“Fair enough. But not with me .”

Dakota crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you willing to do a little give and take?”

“As in bottom for you?”

“Yeah.”

Gavin huffed. “I … it’s been a long time since I’ve done it. It’s not my preference.”

“Hey, I’m not here to talk you into anything you don’t want either,” Dakota said. “If it’s a no, that’s fine. I …” He glanced away. “I’ve spent too many years with men who push me into things I don’t want, in and outside of the bedroom. Men who assume they know best for me. And I’m done with that part of my life. Everywhere and in every aspect of my life.”

“Hey,” Gavin said softly, pressing his knee against Dakota’s. “I get that. If our jobs or our preferences are a deal-breaker for you, we either walk away or we figure out a compromise we can both live with. And at least on my end, that doesn’t mean you do all the bending while I get what I want all the time, okay? It’s not how I make deals or how I conduct my personal life.”

He winced, and Dakota wondered what that was all about.

“Or, at least I’m working on that in my personal life,” Gavin admitted. “Maybe I have done it in the past. More than I feel comfortable with. But I’m trying to change.”

“I appreciate the honesty.”

Gavin gave Dakota another long, searching look. “So, what do you think? Should we give this a shot?”

“I think,” Dakota said slowly, “that I want to dance.”