Page 155 of Forbidden Hockey

A smile breaks across my lips as a shiver shoots up my neck right where his lips press themselves to my collarbone.

“Holy fucking shit,” Dash says. “Never seen you smile like that, Dirk. Still can’t believe it’s my dad who puts it there, but I’m glad it’s there.”

He leans against Stacey, and they stare at us as if we’re some kinda show. The novelty of us doesn’t wear off after one night of ribs and beer, but it’s a good first introduction.

We don’t bother hiding ourselves at work anymore, either. Not that we’ve been all that good at it anyway. Penny wins the staff bet about us, and other than that, it’s a non-event with our co-workers. The hostees comment that they’ve been shipping us for a while, and when Trav kisses me hello in the kitchen, we get adoring stares until Trav clears his throat and tells them to get back to work.

It’s only in public, outside our circle, that we’ve been given a few disapproving looks, but I don’t give a fuck about what strangers think of us, and neither does Trav.

Only Hunt, who I still haven’t told. But I’ve got to suck it up. Everyone else knows.

This bubble’s just been so nice. I got to say the words “my boyfriend” in casual conversation. Hell, I got tobethe “my boyfriend” when one of the bartenders told Trav we were running low on our house red wine.

“Tell my boyfriend,” he’d said. “He’s doing the next bar order.” It gave me all kinds of warm and fuzzy feels.

Trav decides he’s driving me to and from work when I insist on going home, because, yeah, I do actually go home with the increase in summer events, and packing. Despite having a lot ofshit to do in a short amount of time, everyone’s gotten nostalgic, needing “just one more” party night at the house before there are no more. Even I’ve got an uncharacteristic pit in my stomach, feeling the need to be there.

“I can take an Uber, Trav,” I tell him. He can’t stay long this time. A manager called in sick, so he’s doing the dinner rush.

“Absolutely fucking not. Do we need to have another chat about it?”

It’s part of Trav’s whole thing, and he’s said he woulda been doing it sooner if we weren’t a secret. He claims there aren’t many ways he can take care of me, so he’s gonna find them and they’re non-negotiable. He won’t even be teased about it. I commented that it must be an old person’s brand of chivalry or something. I got tossed over his knee, and his hand told my ass that kind of commentary wouldn’t be tolerated, not for this.

“No chat needed, babe.”

He drops a kiss on my lips. “Good. I’ll get our jackets.”

Good.Yeah, right. He loves spanking my ass.

The restaurant’s quiet before the rush. Only one table of regulars at the back and a few staff members milking the clock. I know it when I see it—guilty of it myself in my younger years.

Travis returns with our jackets, immediately helping me into mine, and because he can’t seem to keep his hands or lips off me, ever, he plants a sweet kiss on my forehead.

That’s the moment Hunter walks through the door.

We all freeze. Did he, uh, did he see that? What are the chances he didn’t? Judging by the look on his face, zero chance.

I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. I’ve been so wrapped up in Trav and everything else, I haven’t gotten back to him in a few days. He worries. Sometimes when he worries, he drops by. This is what I get for being a fucking coward. Karma. The universe intervening on my ass. Oh, how I would have loved toput this off forever. I have a block with Hunter, and I can’t seem to access it no matter what I do.

“Look, Hunt, I?—”

Hunter shakes his head. “I fucking knew it.Knewit.”

“Hunt. Sit down, we’ll talk about?—”

“No. Get your ass in my truck. You’re coming home. We’ll talk about it there, and that’s where you can spend what’s left of the summer.” The room bends toward him. My brother’s an imposing fucker. It’s moments like this, when you can see his hard life written into the depths of his dark eyes. He didn’t even have to raise his voice to render me incapable of forming an audible response.

My tongue trips over words like, “yeah, I mean, no, I mean … Hunt.”

“Now, Dirk.”

He takes a step toward me. I know Hunter won’t hurt me, which is why I don’t flinch. The most he’d do is grab me by the neck and frog march me to the truck.

I’m sure Trav knows it too, but he’s a lion. Sudden movements that could be perceived as threats to what’s his set off his instincts. He steps between me and Hunter, planting a hand on his chest.

“You need to step back.”

“You need to date someone your own age.”