Page 10

CHAPTER TEN

JETT

I raked my gaze over Mason, the dark hair framing his stunning blue eyes, the shadow of stubble on his cheeks and chin, and the way his body filled out his gray suit. The guy looked great in a suit, like he was made to wear one. Though I’d take him in his sweats or workout gear too. I hiked my duffel bag up my shoulder. “I, uh, wanted to change, so.” I ticked my head at my duffel. I didn’t want to be in my suit any longer than I had to.

“Oh.” He nodded and tensed his lips. “Well, come on.” He waved me over to a glass door, slid a keycard out of his wallet and unlocked the door. “This place was rented by Ryan Gibson before I got it.” He opened the door for me. “After you.”

“Ryan Gibson? The ASU coach that won the NCAA championship with ASU, then left?” He stepped inside. That seemed random. I followed him down a hallway and to an elevator.

“Yeah, Coach Gibson ended up in a relationship with one of my best friends, Jonah Boehm, and they moved to Toronto together.” He hit the call button on the elevator.

“So, he gave up his career here to be with your friend?” I eyed Mason. I hadn’t heard anything about this, but then, it wasn’t like I knew anyone in the Toronto leagues .

“Sort of.” The elevator opened and we stepped inside. He touched the button for the third floor. “Anyway, Gibson’s mother had cancer, and it came back. So that was the official reason for him moving back home and, of course, Jonah got invited to try out for the Leafs. It was a win-win.”

I nodded. “But the real reason Gibson left ASU was to pursue a relationship with one of his players?” I tilted my head, thinking. How much of that sort of thing actually went on in the leagues? “I’m guessing they hid their relationship from the team?”

“They did.” The elevator door opened, and we walked down another hallway. He used his keycard to open his apartment door. “Coaches are not supposed to date players.” As we stepped into the entry, he stopped and faced me. “It wasn’t about either of them being queer. It was only about a coach dating a player. See, my friends and I are all out. There are three of them still left on the ASU team.” He tapped my chest with his knuckle, then flicked on the lights and strolled past a galley kitchen in white and stainless steel, which opened to the main room.

I walked behind him and into the room with a deep-blue couch centering it, looking out over a patio with twinkling high-rise buildings and mountains. “Damn, nice view.” I dropped my duffel on the end of the couch. Would it matter if I changed right here? I unzipped my bag.

“You’re in a hurry to change, huh?” With a soft snort, he sauntered through a door to the left and called out, “Bedroom’s in here if you want to change with me.”

“Oh.” Shit, I didn’t want to start something before we talked. I had to keep my hands to myself, no matter if my dick had other ideas. I plucked my bag off the couch and walked into his bedroom, and then looked around. He’d carried the deep-blue theme in here with his bedspread and had paired it with white furniture and gold accents. “Damn, you really are gay.” I sniggered .

“See? There’s more to me than hockey.” With a smirk, he threw his suit jacket on the bed, shucked his slacks down and stepped out of them.

I snuck a peek at the nice bulge in his briefs. They outlined his dick and balls perfectly. My mouth watered and my cock plumped. Stop looking at his junk. I changed into my team athletic shorts and a T-shirt and folded my suit. My gaze snapped to his.

He stared at me with darkened eyes, his tongue flicking at his upper lip. “Dammit, Jett. I told myself we should talk first, but I fucking want you.”

Lifting the edge of my lips, I said, “Yeah? Same.” I swallowed thickly. I wanted that cock of his in my mouth again. I’d been thinking about it all day. “But you’re right. We need to talk first.” Because if we were going to do this thing, then we needed to figure some shit out. Like when, how, and could I even come out and how would my decisions affect him? Plus, and this might be big, I’d never had anal sex with a guy. I’d always wormed my way out of it with excuses.

“Yep, agreed.” He adjusted his now-hard dick in his shorts and walked to me. “Come on.” He kissed my cheek. “Want a beer?”

“Oh, hell yes.” We’d have an easier day tomorrow at practice, but we’d still have a morning skate. I followed him out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

He grabbed two canned beers from the refrigerator and handed one to me. “Let’s talk.” He grasped my hand and guided me to his couch and we both sat down.

After snicking his beer can open, he took a long pull.

I tapped the top of my can with my fingers. How the hell should I start this conversation? I opened my beer and sipped it. “So…”

“So?” With his brows wrinkling, he took a deep inhale. “We’re going to start dating, right?”

My gaze snapped to his. “If, if you want to.” Pressing my lips together, I held my breath. “What if I can’t come out? How would you feel about it then?” Way to start off with the biggest question of them all.

“What do you mean, like, ever?” He knitted his brows. “You can’t do that to yourself, Jett. It’s no way to live.”

“So, that’s a no ?” My gut knotted. Fuck, I liked him. A lot.

“It’s not a no . I’m just saying, you’ve got to rethink things.” He shifted closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You don’t even know how your dad will take it. You already know you’ll have the team’s support if you come out.” He inhaled. “What if your sister talks to your dad to see how he might react?”

I ran my fingers up the condensation on my beer can. “Yeah, we’ve sort of tried that. She wasn’t able to get a clear answer from him.” The guy could be all sorts of evasive when he wanted to be.

He huffed. “Okay, so maybe she tries again.”

“And if she finds out he’s not okay with it, then what?” I drank some beer. I should have known he was going to press me on this. But how could he not? Maybe I wasn’t cut out for a relationship right now.

“Then we wait, or you decide to tell him anyway.” He locked his gaze on mine. “Jett, you’d have me and all my friends. We’ll help you through it. And even if your dad’s not cool with it at first, a lot of times, they come around. You know, Archer’s dad wasn’t great when he came out, but they’re good now.”

“Really?” Looking at Archer, I never would have guessed he didn’t have completely supportive parents. I worried my lower lip.

“Archer lost his mom, too, about three years ago now. So, his situation isn’t too different from yours, except his dad never remarried. Maybe you can talk to him.” He inched closer to my side. “He said he’d be there for you.”

My heart jolted. “What? You told Archer?” I dropped my jaw open. Pretty soon, the whole fucking team would know. Just like last time .

“I…yeah, he’s one of my best friends and a good guy. He wants to help.” His gaze darted over my face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…” With a low growl, I dipped my head. “I didn’t want anyone to know, and you told someone. It sort of makes me feel like I can’t trust you.” My gaze found his. Jesus, was it really that bad? He was trying to help me. How fucked up was I from the bullying I’d had?

“What?” Setting his beer on his white coffee table, he took my hand in his and kissed the back of it. “Believe me, Archer won’t say a word to anyone. He’s on your side. So am I.”

With a hard swallow, I gazed deeply into his eyes. Something had to give, and it was probably me and my fears. “Yeah, okay. I think I’m a little traumatized by what happened.”

“Maybe you should talk to the team therapist?” He squeezed my hand. “I want to be with you, Jett. I think we could have something special, and I’m willing to do what it takes to make it happen.”

I darted my gaze between his eyes. He was so fucking serious and sure of himself. Maybe he was the one I needed to get me through this? “S-so, you’re willing to be with me in secret until I can figure this shit out?”

“Yes.” He shook our hands between us. “Hell, Archer did it for Leo, and Jonah and Ryan had to be together in secret. Why should you and I be any different?” He snickered. “But really, it worked out for them, so I know it can work out for us.”

My vision blurred as I gazed at him, and I blinked a few times. Holy fuck, I was only realizing now how utterly alone I’d felt all these years. He was here and ready to fight for me. “Okay then. I’ll date you. We’ll, uh, we’ll date.” A smile crept over my lips. This was a first for me. “But you need to know I’ve only had dates with beards.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had dates but no boyfriends. So, we’ll both be flying blind on this one.” He pressed a soft kiss on my lips and broke it. “We’ll be forging our own story here, Jarvis.”

I fixated on his mouth and a shiver played over my spine. I’d be hav ing more than hookups with him. I’d have time to explore with him and be with him. I’d never had that before. “Can we go back into your room now?”

“Yeah?” He gave me a wicked grin. “Absolutely.” He rose from the couch with his beer in one hand and pulled me up with the other. “Right this way.” Leading me into his bedroom, he gulped the rest of his beer.

As we approached the bed, my dick lengthened. At some point, I was going to have to admit my lack of experience with anal sex. But I had a feeling he’d take it in stride. I drank the last of my beer and set the empty can on his nightstand as he did the same.

Backing up to his bed, he pulled me down on top of him, our solid cocks slotting together. “Shit, I’m so hot for you right now. I don’t know what I want to do first.”

“Kiss me.” I wrapped my forearms around his head and came in for a deep, penetrating kiss, my tongue sliding into his mouth. The taste of him, all heat and tang, mixed with the beer in my mouth.

With a low moan, he slipped his hands down my back to cup my cheeks and squeezed while thrusting his dick against mine through the thin fabric of our shorts. “God, you feel fucking good on top of me.” He nibbled a path down my chin and placed soft bites on my neck.

Sensation swelled in my gut. This wasn’t going to be my normal quick fuck. Breathing him in, I nuzzled into his hair and enjoyed the pressure and slight friction of our rocking hips on my shaft. As I teased his nipple into a hard nub through his T-shirt, he groaned.

“Oh fuck.” He left my ass and pushed me to the side. “That’s it. Lose the clothes. Now.” He hooked a brow at me, then shucked off his shirt and slid his shorts and briefs down his legs.

I undressed, tossed my clothes on the floor, and climbed over him, his cock hot against my own, my legs spread around his. “Yeah, this is way better. ”

I writhed over him, rubbing our dicks together, his precum mixing with mine as I devoured his mouth in hungry kisses. I’d never wanted to kiss someone so much, never knew how fucking fantastic it could be. And I knew there would be more.

He snuck his hand between us and kneaded my nipple while digging his fingers into my ass cheeks, sliding into my crack. “Want to fuck you.” Kissing and licking a trail down to my collarbone, he gasped.

My breath caught as a shudder rocked my body. When should I tell him? Now didn’t seem like a great time. I lifted my head, giving him more space to suck and lick at my skin.

“Do you care if I mark you?” He bit at my neck.

“Mark me how?” I dipped my head to gaze into his stunning face, his blown pupils and swollen, red lips.

“Like, a hickey?” He stopped and bit his lower lip. “I really want to put a mark on you, and when the guys accuse you of a night of hot sex with a puck bunny, I’ll know better.” A rumbling chuckle freed from him.

I cupped his cheek, bit his lower lip and scraped my teeth along it. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, that’s fucking hot.” A smirk curled his mouth. “You can mark me too.” He dove into my neck, sucked hard and bit down on the sensitive skin.

I gasped as a thread of pleasure-pain shot from my neck to my dick, jerking it against his.

“You like that.” He thrust against me and moaned, his cock gliding along my stomach in slick precum. “Oh damn, so are you a top or a bottom? ’Cause I think it’s time to have that conversation.”

“I’m, uh, I’m neither. Yet.” I winced. How was he going to take that?

“You what?” He stopped all motion and stared up at me, his brows furrowed. “So, vers?” A soft grin swept over his mouth. “I’m vers, so that’s cool.”

“No, I mean, I haven’t, um…” I pressed my lips together. “Look, I ’ve only had hookups. I’ve never had a guy I wanted to have anal sex with.” I took a quick breath. Fuck, I sounded like a middle schooler. But what was the big deal? “Not all gay men?—”

“I know. But I thought…” He brushed his hand down the back of my head. “Hey, it’s cool if you’re not into it.” He pressed a long kiss on my mouth. “Really. There are so many other fun things to do.” He rocked his hips, rubbing his cock against mine.

“Uh—” I fought to think straight as sensation sparked up my spine. What was it about him that had me so lit up? Besides the fact that he was hot as hell and exactly my type. “I’ve played with it, just never done it, you know?” I brushed my knuckles over his cheekbone. “I’d be open to it.” I swallowed hard. “With you.”

His brows snapped up. “Yeah? You’d let me pop your cherry?” He sniggered and nuzzled into my neck. “God, I love how you smell.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that.” A grin broke out over my face. He was definitely the right guy for me. I had a feeling he was going to show me how to live for the first time. “But yes, I think I’d let you be my first.”

“Good.” He reached for his nightstand, flung the drawer open and snatched a bottle of lube. “In the meantime, we’re going to have fun with this.” He poured it into his hand and snuck it between us. “Last time we tried this, it was a little dry.” He chuckled and wrapped his hand around both our dicks as I rolled slightly to the side.

“Fuck…” As the heat of his hand wrapped around my shaft, pleasure shivered over my skin. I rocked my hips as he stroked us, the crown of my cock gliding against his. I dropped my mouth over his and claimed him, tangling my tongue against his and releasing throaty groans. We’d get to the other stuff later. Right now, this was perfect.

As Mason quickened his pace over my cock, he snuck his finger into my crack and rubbed circles around my hole, teasing me .

Holy shit, he had some talented fingers. I broke our kisses and panted against his neck, then nibbled on his earlobe and flicked my tongue into his ear.

“Fuck, yeah.” Pumping our dicks, he pressed against my hole, his cock pulsing against mine. “When I fuck you, or you fuck me, it’s going to be awesome.” The rhythm of his hand faltered. “Fuck, coming.” He arched his head back and his brows tensed.

As he lost all control, I rutted against him, and a surge of sensation jolted through my body. “Fuck.” I buried my face in his neck and rode it out, our cocks spurting hot cum between us and pulsing against each other.

He stroked us a few more times, milking us both, and relaxed. “Oh my God. If it’s this good rubbing off on each other, how good will it be when we have sex?” His gaze flicked to mine. “And like I said, I don’t care who tops or bottoms. I like it all.” He gave me a lazy smirk and shut his eyes.

I planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Where the hell did you come from?” My heart danced like I’d never had a care in the world. How did he do this to me?

“Uh, I think I was actually born in Philly.” He peered at me with one eye.

I kissed the tip of his nose. “Yeah, okay.” Not what I meant, but fuck it. I made to get up. “We should clean?—”

“Nope.” Hooking his arms around my shoulders, he yanked me into his chest. “You’re staying right here until I come down from this high.” A wide smile graced his lips, and his gaze found mine. “We should enjoy these little moments, don’t you think?” He kissed my forehead.

“Yeah, guess so.” I relaxed against him, resting my cheek on his shoulder. I never did this, except we’d cuddled all night in bed last night. Shit, now I did do this. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and snuggled into him. “So are you surprised I’ve never had anal sex?”

Shrugging a shoulder, he said, “Truthfully? Yes. But it only makes me want you more. I get to have a part of you no one else has had.” His smile widened. “Jett, I’m like the happiest man on the planet right now. You have no idea how scared I was today that you’d tell me you didn’t want to date.”

I lowered my brows and lifted my head and gazed into his face. “You need to give yourself more credit, Hopkins. I have a feeling not many men would turn down a chance at dating you.” But fuck, was I humbled. He could have anyone, and he’d chosen me, even with all my hangups and problems.

“Yeah, well, it happens.” He sighed and brushed a circle across my back with his fingers. “Where should we go for our first real date?” He kissed my cheek.

“Uh…” If I wasn’t out, then where could we go? I usually got noticed. “How about we order in and watch a movie?” Yeah, privacy was what we needed.

“Your place or mine? I’m good with either.” He sighed. “You know there’s a gay bar just down the street here and?—”

“I can’t go to a place like that. Not yet.” As my gut knotted, I crept my gaze to his. “I’m sorry, but that would out me for sure.” I studied him.

He lifted the corner of his mouth. “Not if you were there with your teammates, who were queer, and you were being supportive.” He tilted his head, his grin widening. “We could invite Volkov, too, if you want.”

“Volkov?” I huffed a laugh. “What makes you think he’d go to a place like that?” I eyed him. He had something up his sleeve.

“You two seem to be getting really close, and being our captain, he should be supportive of his players.” Hooking a brow, he said, “He’d have a great time. We could go on drag night.”

Through a chuckle, I said, “Drag night?” I had a feeling that for a gay man, I didn’t know shit about gay culture.

“Yeah, it’s a blast. They compete and we get to watch. I’m sure V olkov would love it.” He cupped my cheek. “You could try coming out to him first.”

“I…” I bit the inside of my cheek. If I were to come out to someone on the team besides Mason and Archer, Volkov would be the one. He seemed like a good guy. “Yeah, let me think about it.”

“Okay.” He pushed at me. “Let’s clean up now.”

I peeled myself off him, our skin sticking, but fuck if I cared. “Okay.” I glanced at my duffel bag on the floor. “Just so you know, I was going to head home.” Would he be cool with that?

As he climbed off the bed, he stopped a moment and said, “Yeah, okay.” He padded into an en suite bathroom.

I followed him in and watched him wet a washcloth and wipe himself down. “I guess I was hoping you’d want to stay the night. You can, you know.”

“Yeah, but we’ve been traveling and have the morning skate…” My excuses sounded lame. What was I running from?

He ran the washcloth through the water again, then swiped it across my chest and stomach and down to my groin. “You have such a hot body, Jett.” Lifting my dick to wipe my balls, he bent down and kissed the tip.

With a soft chuckle, I said, “Jesus, you are so weird sometimes.” But I adored it. He wasn’t afraid of anything. Did I really have to go home tonight? I sighed. Yes, I had stuff to take care of.

“There.” He washed out the cloth and folded it over the edge of the sink. His gaze caught on mine in the mirror. “Listen, I don’t want to go too fast for you. I’ll stay the night at your place on what, Thursday night? We can do our dinner in and a movie then. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah.” It was convenient we had the same schedule, and we had a rare rest day on Friday. “Maybe we can go do something fun on Friday.” I planted my hand on the sink counter. Fuck, what was I saying? I was already screwing things up.

“Let’s go hang out with my ASU buddies. They’ll be around in the afternoon.” He slapped my arm. “They don’t have their first game for another week.”

“Okay.” I eyed him. What the hell were we going to do with a bunch of college guys?

“It’ll be good for you to hang out with the squad. We can play some video games and shit.” He gave me a broad grin. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

With my heart lifting, I said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” I turned and walked out, then dressed and gathered my things from his room.

Slapping my ass, he said, “Can’t wait for Thursday night. What are you going to make me?” He slipped his shorts up his legs.

“Make you? How about we DoorDash?” After all, it was his turn to cook for me. “Then next time, you cook.” I smirked at him, hefting my duffel over my shoulder.

“Yeah, okay. You got me there.” Grabbing my hand, he walked me through the main room and to his door, then faced me. “I’ll bring some toys with me on Thursday.” He tapped my nose. “And you can count on me staying the night.” He quirked his lips. “And cuddling.”

I scoffed a laugh. “Toys? What do you mean?” I peered at him. He was still messing with me.

“You know, like anal plugs and shit. You said you’ve played. We’ll play.” He raised his brows, tapping his knuckles against my chest. “I’m going to show you a really good time, Jett.”

My dick stirred and I pressed a hard kiss on his mouth. “Yeah? I bet you will.” I had no doubt. It sort of felt like my life as a gay man was starting over from scratch. Like he would erase years of bad hookups and stolen kisses. “Anyway, see you in the morning.”

“Yep, see you.” Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, he yanked me to his chest. “I’m so glad you said yes.” He freed me.

Damn, that was unexpected. “Me too, Mason.” I swung his door open and left.