Page 26 of Defensive Zone (Chicago Thunder #3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zach

“Are you sure you don’t mind hosting?” I ask Peyton as I carry a trash bag full of helium-filled balloons into the living room.

His living room currently looks like a party store has thrown up all over it. It’s filled wall to ceiling with colorful balloons and streamers, and I know this isn’t the last of it. He’s taken the role of party planner very seriously, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s gone slightly overboard.

“Of course I don’t mind, dude. I have this huge house for just me and the dog. It’ll be nice to have some liveliness going on between these walls that doesn’t include me having a nap in my armchair while watching Family Feud with a packet of Oreos.” He grins.

I laugh. “You’re really leaning into that lonely old man vibe, huh?”

Peyton separated from his wife before the holidays and has since been adjusting to the single life. I think he’s lonely in this big house by himself, and that’s why he’s always offering to host whatever get-together we plan.

“You know it! But a little less of the old , Reid, I’m only thirty-one,” he teases, and playfully slaps my shoulder before motioning to the front door with his head. “I think there’s two more sacks of balloons left to bring in, then we’ve got to put the banners up. Oh, and I think Ethan and Jacob are due any minute with the cakes.”

I nod and get to work with the rest of the decorations.

When I mentioned to the boys the other day that I wanted to do something for Carter’s thirtieth birthday, Peyton immediately offered his house for the party. It just so happens that Alex’s birthday is the day after Carter’s, so we decided to do a joint birthday celebration. And with the postseason now well underway, we’re having a very civilized party starting at 3 p.m. so us Thunder boys can be in bed by nine.

It might not be an all-out wild party for the history books, but it will still be a good time because we have eight different pasta dishes available.

Amazing, I know.

Peyton rips open the last bag of balloons, and they float up toward the ceiling, joining the other two dozen.

“So, do you have a plan to get them down?” I point up to the high ceilings. Even if I stand on a table, I can’t reach them, and I’m the tallest one out of us all.

He gives a careless shrug. “I dunno. I guess I’ll just wait for them to deflate and start to sag down to the floor.”

I arch a brow, pressing my lips together to avoid making an inappropriate joke.

Ethan and Jacob arrive with the cakes as we’re pinning the last banner up. Knowing Jacob promised to bring some donuts, I follow them into the kitchen.

Ethan carefully places several boxes down on the kitchen counter before turning to us. “Is there anything you need me to do?”

My stomach grumbles at the sight of the familiar boxes, and it gets worse as the sweet smell of baked goods fills my nose. I’m pretty sure they are the to-go boxes that Jacob uses to transport cupcakes at the bakery or when someone orders a dozen donuts—something I know firsthand because I’ve ordered them on a few occasions.

Rounding the corner, I carefully lift the lid of the top box, wanting to take a sneak peek to see what delights we have today, but Ethan slaps my hand away before I can get a look.

“Hey, get your paws out of there. You can’t eat them yet, not until the birthday boys get here at least.”

“Ugh, fine.” I sigh defeatedly, dropping my hands onto the counter. “And no, I think we’re good. The caterer came earlier, so it’s a case of warming up the food when everyone’s here. Decorations are done, and the fridge is stocked with drinks. Last thing is putting the snacks out.” I wave my hand in the direction of the pile of chips, pretzels, crackers, and other quick snacks.

“It looks amazing. You’ve done a great job.” Jacob beams. “They’re going to love it.”

My chest warms at his compliment. “I hope so.”

It took a lot of convincing to get Carter to stay home while I helped Peyton get his house ready, but once I made him see stars with a blow job, he caved. He even promised he would stay there until three before driving up to Peyton’s house in Lakeview with Elliot.

The house slowly fills as the others turn up. Jackson, Ryan and Isabela are the first to arrive, soon followed by Kendrick and his wife Maria, who’s about to give birth any day now.

We’ve joked that he could have timed it better, considering we’re in the middle of playoffs, and he may even miss the birth of their first child, but he just shrugged and said he couldn’t control his swimmers. Luckily, Maria has both his and her parents to help her out.

Two of Alex and Jacob’s co-workers, Daniel and Aria, are next to turn up, along with Alex’s best friend Nate, before a few more of the Thunder guys make an appearance.

The living room is bustling with activity by the time Blaine and Alex arrive, and the second Alex steps through the door, we release confetti poppers, showering him in colorful paper.

“Oh my god!” Alex squawks, raising his hands in surprise as it rains down over him.

“Happy birthday!” we all shout in unison.

Alex laughs, shaking the confetti out of his hair before Blaine hauls him into a tight embrace and slams his mouth over his.

“Okay, okay. Enough of that, there’s children present, Olsen.” Kendrick walks over to the couple and pushes them apart. “It isn’t that kind of party.”

When they step apart, Alex’s cheeks turn a deep shade of red, and we all burst into laughter. It’s not long until the door opens again, and I turn, hoping it’s my man. And despite the ribbing I’m bound to get from the guys, I’m not ashamed of the wide grin that spreads across my face at the sight of Carter. His dark eyes bounce around the hallway before lighting up when they land on me, and his equally bright smile hits me square in the chest.

Fuck, he’s so fucking handsome it hurts. It doesn’t matter that I’ve known him almost my entire life, every time I see him takes my breath away.

I close the distance and wrap my arms around his waist, greeting him with a kiss. It’s not as ravenous as Blaine’s claim on Alex, though. It’s a gentle peck to his lips, just as another wave of confetti is let loose, covering both of us.

“Wow, look at this place,” Carter praises, looking around the decorated room in amazement. “Whoa, Peyton, did you get a special deal on the balloons or something? Hell, did you leave any in the store for other people to buy?”

Peyton flips him the bird, then his eyes widen slightly as Isabela runs up beside him and tries to copy him.

“No, don’t do that! Oh fuck. I mean shit. Ahh, someone help me!” He grimaces.

Jackson chuckles, swooping his daughter up into his arms and gently pushing her middle finger back into her tiny fist. “Stop corrupting my kids, Peyton.”

Laughing, I turn to face Carter, sliding my hand to rest on the base of his spine.

“Surprise,” I say, my voice just above a whisper.

“Mhm, this is an awesome surprise.” A soft smile is on his lips as he wraps his arms around my waist.

“Wait, didn’t you come with Elliot?” I ask, but before he can reply, the sound of plastic wheels rolling against the hardwood echoes down the hall.

Carter snickers guiltily, like he knows he’s been caught.

“What did you do?” I give him a pointed look.

But he doesn’t get the chance to answer because Elliot appears. He’s managed to fit his tall, lean frame onto a ride-on unicorn—all six foot one of him sitting on a children’s horse.

There’s a ripple of surprised laughter as Peyton scolds our goalie, “You better not be scratching my floor with that thing, Olsen!”

“Hey, it can’t be a party without a pony,” Elliot calls out and rides the damn thing into the kitchen with Isabela hot on his heels, squealing in excitement.

“What… How… Do I want to know how you ended up with a unicorn?” I ask.

“We had some time on our hands, and somehow we ended up in the toy store, and I dared him to ride it there.” He shrugs. “I didn’t think he would buy it.”

I roll my eyes and sigh. “Carter, please don’t dare Elliot to do anything because he will do it and then take it a step further.”

“So I’ve learned.” He chuckles and leans in to nip my bottom lip. “Thank you for organizing this for me. I really appreciate it.”

“Always. You only turn thirty once, and I know the next few weeks are going to be hectic with the playoffs, so I wanted to do something nice for you.”

His eyes shine with fondness as he tries to hide his bashful smile by tugging his bottom lip between his teeth. “I love you.”

No matter how many times he says those three little words, it always makes my heart skip a beat. We’ve exchanged them so many times since we became friends over twenty years ago, but now it’s different. It’s… more.

It’s that big love that not everyone gets to experience in their life—an all-consuming love. It’s knowing someone so thoroughly, you’re almost one. Where you can read each other’s thoughts and feelings without speaking a single word. It’s trusting that person— your person—with your life, knowing they will hold your heart in their hands like it’s the most precious thing in the world. It’s getting lost in someone, knowing that you’re already home. Because they are your home.

It’s everything, and every day that I get to share those three little words with Carter, I thank my lucky stars that I’ve been given the chance to love him the way I’ve always wanted to love him.

“I love you too.”

He captures my lips in a sweet kiss, then entwines his fingers in mine as we make our way into the kitchen. Jacob, Ethan, and Jackson have heated up all the food, laying the trays of various pasta dishes on the island, along with so many snacks, you can’t see an inch of the countertop.

“It’s not that I’m not grateful for all of this, because this is honestly one of the greatest birthdays I’ve ever had, but if I have to eat another bowl of pasta, I think I might cry.” Alex chuckles.

“Welcome to the hockey life, Alex!” Maria sings, raising her glass of soda.

We all load up our plates and hang out in the living room, exchanging stories from the road and embarrassing tales, and once we’ve filled ourselves up with the amazing food, Ethan helps Jacob carry out the two cakes he made, one for each of the birthday boys. There are a couple of candles stuck in the top, and we gather round to sing happy birthday. Carter wraps an arm around my shoulder, swaying slightly to the song.

“Make a wish!” someone calls out when it comes to an end.

Alex and Carter blow out the candles, and the room erupts into hoots and applause. Carter takes the cake from Jacob and drags his finger through the frosting of his cake, bringing the digit to my mouth. His dark eyes shimmer with heat as I suck the sweet chocolate frosting off his finger before he leans in and kisses me.

“Mmm,” I hum against his lips. “So, what did you wish for?”

“You.” He kisses me again, and when he pulls away, his lips tilt up in a devilish smirk. “And that we can flip fuck later.”

When we get home a few hours later, Carter’s birthday wish comes true.

“Oh, fuck yes, this was a good wish,” he moans, his hands gripping my hips tight as I bounce on his cock. “You feel so fucking good, Zach. Happy birthday to me.”

“It’s not your birthday until tomorrow,” I grunt out.

“Don’t care.” He thrusts his hips up, his cock pegs my prostate at the perfect angle, and my head falls back on a throaty moan. “Are we really getting literal right now while my cock is in your ass?”

I answer by rolling my hips, taking his cock as deep as I can take him, and my name is a delicious cry on his lips. Placing my hands on his wide, solid chest to steady myself, I work us both thoroughly. My hard cock rubs against his stomach as I move on top of him, leaving a wet trail of precome. He wraps his arms around my back and tugs me forward. He plants both feet on the bed and bucks his hips up into me in hard and fast strokes, his balls slapping my ass with each thrust. I land on my forearms, unable to hold myself up with the pleasure coursing through me as our moans become garbled noises.

The rhythm of his thrusts becomes jerky, then his body stiffens beneath me and his cock throbs as he lets go of his release. I ride through his orgasm, smoothing my hands over his chest in a gentle caress, grazing my thumbs over his nipples as his body twitches with the post-orgasmic high. The moment his breathing stabilizes slightly, I sit upright.

“Time to switch it up. I’m close and I wanna come inside you,” I demand, rising to my knees and letting his spent cock slip from my ass.

“How do you want me?” he asks.

“On your side,” I instruct, and I lie down behind him, pulling his back to my chest.

Placing my hand under his knee, I bend it toward his chest to open him up. As we prepped each other when we got home from the party, he’s ready for me, allowing me to slide my cock into his slicked hole.

“Fuck me.” His head falls back onto my shoulder.

“That’s the plan, baby.” I nip his lobe as I ease into him in slow, languid strokes, trying to prolong my inevitable release.

He twists his head so I can see his face, and I press my lips to his in a heated kiss. He lifts his hand, reaching back to hold the back of my head while our tongues meet in a desperate tangle, exchanging gasping breaths and low moans.

Letting go of his leg, I move my hand down, propping his heavy thigh up with my forearm as I take his half-hard cock in my hand. I alternate between deep and fast thrusts and long and slow strokes, and by the time my balls are drawn tight to my body, he’s mumbling incoherently.

I’m not gonna last long. I never do when I’m inside Carter.

“Not that I’m not loving this, because I am, but you’ve got six minutes until you need to go to sleep, so I really need you to come now, baby,” he says between heavy breaths. “Let me turn thirty with the ache from your big cock inside me.”

I snort. It’s no secret that I have a set time to go to sleep during the playoffs, so the fact that he’s trying to help me stick to my routines, even while we’re having sex, is why I’m so fucking in love with this guy.

He laughs, causing his muscles to squeeze around my cock.

“Fuuckk,” I growl, my eyes rolling to the back of my head, and my hips falter.

Heat rushes down my spine, tingles spread up my legs from my toes, and I release inside him with a groan. Ribbons of come shoot from his cock, coating my hand and his stomach.

I hug him closer to me, pressing my sweat-coated chest up against his back, and kiss the back of his neck. All I can hear is our heavy breathing and the blood rushing in my ears from my rapid heartbeat. Minutes tick by while we just lie there, my cock softening inside Carter’s ass and my limbs feeling like wet noodles.

“We need to move,” he murmurs, his breath fanning across my arm.

“Yeah, and we need to change the sheets.” I kiss his skin again, but neither of us takes the first step.

I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You’re going to miss your bedtime.”

Groaning, I slowly ease out of him and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

We make quick work of cleaning up and changing the sheets, and when we slip under the covers, I curl into him, resting my head on his chest as our legs intertwine. His hand goes into my hair, his fingers lazily massaging my scalp.

“You better get some sleep, baby. You’ve got a cup to win,” he murmurs sleepily and kisses my forehead.

Winning the cup might be at the forefront of our minds, but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve already won.

Because I have him, and he’s the greatest prize of all.