Page 113 of Breaking the Ice

But Gavin’s face melted into a smile. “That sounds . . .actually, that sounds really nice.”

“Yeah? We’ll head over to Sullivan’s, then,” Zach said. “I’m sure they’ve got a quiet corner for the Evergreens’ famous hockey coach.”

Gavin flushed, and Zach loved it, tapping him on the leg. “Come on, let’s go.”

Gavin didn’t like trading on his name, but when it came to Zach, he’d do worse, with zero compunction.

It turned out that Sullivan’s was only too happy to find them a quiet, dark corner for their late dinner.

Zach ordered them a bottle of wine, claiming that even someone without a decent palate would enjoy it. Gavin made a face but found himself lighter than he’d been even an hour ago,sitting on his couch and wondering if this was when the other shoe finally dropped.

Zach was right, it had just been an off game, and they’dstillwon.

He could relax. That was not only allowed; it wasencouragedon dates.

“Hey, thanks for suggesting this,” he said as Zach examined the menu, even though they both knew what he was going to get. A steak, practically still mooing. Baked potato. Sour cream, but no butter. Roasted Brussels sprouts. And if they had something decadent and chocolate on the dessert menu, he wouldn’t even try to resist.

They’d shared so many dinners, nearly just like this one, not just since Zach had come back to Portland U, but even when he’d been his player, it was kind of amazing that Zach hadn’t smacked him upside of the head and told him that they were already dating before this.

“You’re welcome,” Zach said. Under the table, his foot nudged Gavin’s. “You deserve to be wined and dined before you get dicked down.”

Gavin flushed. They hadn’t done anything like that yet—unless they counted Zach pressing on his taint when he’d blown him last night. He had a feeling Zach wouldn’t count that.

It was hard to be disappointed, because even the handjobs and blowjobs they’d shared were so damn good. Hot and overwhelming and intense every time, like the moment they got their hands on each other, it was too hard to not get carried away.

Zach gave him a steady, incendiary look. “Or maybe before you dickmedown.”

Gavin shifted uncomfortably, all too aware of how hard he was in his slacks. All because Zach had saiddicktwice and then looked at him like that.

“That . . .” Gavin’s voice was rough, and he cleared his throat. Tried to clear his mind. He’d worried he wouldn’t be able to clear it after the game, but it turned out that hadn’t been very hard for him—or for Zach. “Uh, yeah. That um . . .both ways.”

Zach chuckled. “Good. Me too. Now what are you getting?”

His doctor had whined about his cholesterol last time he’d had a physical, so he decided on the sea bass.

After they ordered, Gavin searched for something they could discuss that wasn’t hockey or how badly he wanted Zach’s foot to travel all the way up his leg, to where his cock was still pulsing against his zipper.

His brain grabbed the first topic it could find. “That was weird, tonight, when Morgan came by the locker room,” he said.

Zach shot him a semi-agonized look. “Do we have to talk about him on our date?”

“You really don’t like him.” Gavin was still surprised by this. Not that he’d really believed ZachlikedMorgan, but that his dislike was so pronounced, yes.

“Is it about . . .” Gavin dropped his voice. “Hayes?”

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Zach said. But he sounded like he wanted to.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know they knew each other that well,” Gavin said.

Zach shot him a look. “Are you kidding me? You were there, front and center for it.”

It took a moment, but Gavin realized what he was talking about. “Are you talking about the Four Nations tournament? That wasfive yearsago.”

“Oh, I know,” Zach said, rolling his eyes.

“Did they—” Gavin stopped suddenly. The memories were five years old, but he could remember some things—and one thing in particular.

One early morning, when he’d come out of his room to go for a run, and Morgan had been there, in the hallway, even though Gavin knew his room was two floors up. Morgan had brushed it off, claiming that he’d had to check in with a teammate about their upcoming game that afternoon, but Gavin realized that Morgan had never saidwhichteammate it had been.