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CHAPTER TWELVE

JETT

T he next morning, I made us a healthy breakfast of boiled eggs, oatmeal, and fruit. As I sat at the table, mixing milk into my oatmeal, I thought back to our first date together. Doing something as simple as watching a movie on the couch had been heaven. And waking up in his arms again…well, I could probably do that every day. I scooped oatmeal into my mouth and let my gaze float to him, sitting beside me, eating while scrolling on his phone. “Anything interesting?”

“Yeah, the guys say we should come over around two.” He flicked his gaze to mine. “That works, right?”

“Yes, it does.” We’d slept in, so that gave us a few hours before we had to head over there. “What do you want to do until then?” I didn’t even know what couples did together. I’d never been part of a couple.

He shrugged a shoulder, setting his phone down. “I don’t know, go to the mall? Have a nice lunch out?” He leaned in. “We could head over to Scottsdale Fashion Square and see how many puck bunnies come out of the woodwork.” A smirk quirked his lips.

Was he serious? What about…fuck, I had to stop worrying about what people would think of us. “Uh, maybe. Scottsdale people a re pretty used to seeing sports players around, aren’t they?”

“They are.” He sipped some coffee. “Actually, I doubt many people would pay us any mind.” He set his cup down. “Unless you’re afraid someone will see us together and think?—”

“I don’t care.” I pursed my lips. It was time I let people see the real me. “I’m not ashamed to be seen with you.”

He lifted his chin. “Yeah? Good, because I’m not ashamed to be seen with you, either.” He let out a soft cackle and dug into his oatmeal.

“You know what I mean.” With a shake of my head, I scoffed a laugh. I had a feeling there were things I still had to learn about being a part of my own community.

“So, are we holding hands and kissing in public and shit?” He arched a brow, clasping his spoon over his bowl.

My gut knotted. I wasn’t ready for that. “Uh, no. I don’t think it’s a good idea to take it that far.” I tensed my mouth. “I still have the NDAs in place with the teams and I think it might cause problems.” I hadn’t thought this out very well. All I knew was I wanted to be with him.

He shifted in his chair to face me. “Jett, tell me how you want to do this. I’m okay with however it needs to be for you.” He placed his hand over mine on the table and squeezed. “But we need a plan going in.”

Sitting back, I rubbed my chin. “Let’s go to the mall, have a nice meal, maybe do some shopping?—”

“Crate and Barrel?” He freed a soft snort.

I gave him a look. “Really? You like Crate and Barrel?” I lifted my brows. He didn’t look like a guy who shopped for home goods.

“Yeah, you got a problem with that? I love that store. Always have.” He drank more coffee and popped a boiled egg in his mouth.

Fighting off a smile, I said, “That’s very Suzy homemaker of you.” I chuckled and dipped my head. “That’s, um, one of my favori tes too.” Twisting my hand, I wrapped my fingers around his palm.

“Don’t judge.” He stirred his oatmeal. “But I’m not surprised it’s one of your favorites. Your furniture looks like it’s from there.”

“Some of it is.” Propping my elbow on the table, I set my cheek in my hand. How did we get sidetracked on that? “The plan.” I drew a deep inhale. “We’ll keep it low-key at lunch and the mall. You never know who might take videos or photos of us there.” Then I said, “I suppose I’ll need to come out to your friends when we get there.”

With a nod, he said, “Yeah. They’re already wondering what’s going on. I think they suspect.” He picked up his phone and held it to my face, the text messages open.

Ace

You and Jett fucking Jarvis are best buddies? How did that happen?

Tyler

Jett Jarvis is coming to our house? I better clean up.

Myles

Dude, what’s up with that? Is he queer? Why would he hang out with you?

“I haven’t messaged anything back. I wanted you to tell me what to say.” Mason pressed his lips together.

“Tell them…” I covered my lips with my fingers. “Tell them they’ll find out when we get there.” I ate some of my fruit. I didn’t want this done over text.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll also tell them to keep quiet and quit being so nosy.” He snickered and tapped on his phone, then set it on the table. It buzzed a few times. “They can wait.”

Bringing the back of his hand to my lips, I kissed it. “Yes, they can.”

After perusing shelves of fancy kitchenware and strolling through the modern furnishings at Crate and Barrel, we made our way to a swanky French restaurant on the outskirts of the mall called Zinqué . “There are a few of these in the LA area.” The back of my hand brushed his and I made to take it, then stuffed my hand in my pocket. Shit, not yet. Maybe someday.

“Yeah? So, you’ve been to one?” He followed me into a patio covered with open slats of iron beams, and we passed rows of long tables in light woods laid out between small trees.

“Yes, I’ve been to the one in West Hollywood and downtown LA.” No one was eating outside. It was still a little too warm. We stopped at a glass door, and I opened it for him. “After you.”

“Thanks.” With a small grin, he stepped inside and was met by a hostess. “Can we sit at the bar?” He pointed to a long bar along the wall of the restaurant, set against a gray wall of shiplap and wainscotting.

“Sure.” She smiled and stepped aside.

I eyed the patrons of the restaurant, eating and drinking at more light wood tables with a variety of round-backed chairs, some upholstered. The place looked like it had mixed modern with old French farmhouse. It was cozy and stylish.

As I hitched up onto a plain metal barstool, I planted my elbows on the bar and scanned the huge assortment of wines lined up on the more industrial-looking shelves. “We should try some of the French wine.” I wagged my brow at Mason.

“Yeah? You are a real wine snob, you know that?” With a snicker, he picked up a menu the female bartender had dropped off.

“You’ve liked the wines I’ve served you so far, right?” I looked over my menu. I already knew what I wanted to eat since I’d been here before.

“I have.” As he bit at his thumbnail, he peered over his menu. “What is a tartine? ”

“It’s an open-faced sandwich and this place is known for them. The bread is amazing.” I let a smile creep over my lips. He’d gone right to my favorites. “You should stick with fish. They do a good job with the fish tartines here.” And then I could order a bottle of white wine.

“Okay. If you say so.” His gaze found mine and he gave me a warm smile.

If no one were around, I’d kiss him right now. It had felt so natural to be shopping and hanging out with him today. Plus, our tastes in home décor were similar. Why the hell did that matter? My heart thumped, and I stared at him for a beat. Was my subconscious brain already thinking about the next steps?

“What?” Mason did a double-take. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what? I’m just looking.” I set my menu down. “Let’s order.” Glancing around me, I noted a few women sitting at the bar to the left of us, murmuring and peeking our way. Did they recognize me or were they just interested?

The bartender stopped at us and flipped her long blonde ponytail behind her shoulder and planted her hands on the back bar. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the tuna tartar tartine and a bottle of the Pouilly-Fuisse for the two of us.” I lifted my chin and pushed my menu toward her.

“Sure. And for you?” Her attention drew to Mason.

“Shoot, that’s what I was looking at.” He flashed me a glance. “Instead, I’ll have the smoked salmon tartine and we can share.” He arched a brow at me and handed his menu to the bartender.

“Of course.” She grabbed our menus, turned and stopped. “Hey.” She faced us again. “Coyotes, right? I’m a huge hockey fan. Whatever happened in Dallas, they didn’t deserve you, Jett. I’m glad to have you here in Phoenix.” She gave me a wide smile. “I’ll get your order in right away.” She tapped the menus on the bar and left.

As I parted my lips, my gaze swung to meet with Mason’s. The bu llshit they pulled on me had even been apparent to the fans. That wasn’t cool.

“Damn, you’re a star, aren’t you.” He leaned in toward me, his breath caught, and he straightened. “Shit, wanted to kiss you.” He drummed his fingers on the bar top.

“Yeah, it’s hard shutting it off after all the time we spent together last night and today.” And being so damn affectionate. It was something I’d never experienced before, and I didn’t want to hide it. I had to get things moving and talk to the team management. But fuck…Dad.

As he sucked his lower lip under his teeth, he ticked his head toward the girls at the bar. “I think they heard the bartender.”

“Shit, yeah?” I snuck a quick peek at them, both fixating on us and giggling with their wines. One was a blonde and the other a brunette, both wearing yoga pants and cropped T-shirts, like they’d decided together what to wear to the mall. They couldn’t have been much over twenty-one.

“If our relationship was out in the open, I’d be sucking your face right now and showing them you’re mine.” He straightened his shoulders. “They need to keep their eyes to themselves.”

“Mason, seriously.” With a snicker, I hung my head. He had a possessive streak in him, same as me. That could be problematic at some point.

The bartender brought our wine and poured a little into my glass, then waited, holding the bottle up.

I swirled the wine in the glass and took a deep inhale of it through my nose, smelling the crisp apple and citrus flavors, and sipped it. It tasted the same as it smelled. “Perfect. Thank you.”

She poured more into both our glasses. “Your food should be right up.” She left.

I sipped more wine, turning my back to the girls down the bar. “What video games do your friends play?”

“Oh, with you there, I’m sure they’re going to want to play NHL 24.” With a shake of his head, he said, “It’s the only time Ace ge ts to score. He refuses to play goalie in that game.” With a grin, he fingered the stem of his wine glass.

“I see.” With a nod, a grin stretched across my lips. I couldn’t wait to meet these guys. They all sounded so important to Mason.

“Hey, so you guys are on the Coyotes?” a female voice said beside me.

Shit. I twisted on my barstool and forced my best smile. “We are.” My gaze landed on the thick fake lashes surrounding her blue eyes.

“So, what’s your name?” She pushed her wine glass closer to mine and slid onto the barstool beside me.

“Jett Jarvis.” I leaned back and pointed my thumb at Mason. “And this is Mason Hopkins, our rookie center. He used to play for ASU.” Would they have heard of either of us? I doubted it.

“Oh, cool. We both go to ASU.” She held her hand out. “I’m Mackenzie, and this is my friend, Amy.”

I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you both.”

Amy stepped around Mackenzie and waved. “Hi. I’ve been to a few hockey games at ASU. They were fun.” She gave Mason a flirtatious smile and moved closer to him.

Oh, fuck no. My chest heated as I glanced at Mason, smirking back at me. As I focused on Amy, I said, “Hey, just so you know, he has a girlfriend.”

“What?” Mason tagged my shoulder. “Dude.”

“Oh.” She furrowed her brows and eyed me. “But wait, Mason Hopkins was one of the squad. Weren’t you? One of the queer hockey players?”

Shit, she knew more about ASU hockey than I’d given her credit for. “Uh, yeah, so I guess he has a…” I tipped my head back, glaring at the ceiling. I’d dug myself into a very deep hole.

“He was just covering for me, you know, now that we’re in the NHL.” With a shake of his head and a soft snort, he focused on me. “Right, Jarvis? It was just a knee-jerk reaction.”

“Oh, yeah.” With a stuttered giggle, she faced me. “But you’ re not gay, right?” She drank her wine and narrowed her eyes at me.

“I’m, uh, no.” As my heart stung, I gripped my wine glass tightly. I didn’t like lying to people about it with Mason sitting right there. It had always felt wrong on some level, but now? It hurt. I felt like the asshole he thought I was when he’d met me.

Mason squeezed my shoulder. “Yeah, but he’s actually got a girlfriend. He’s seeing my sister.” He gave me a wide grin. “See, that’s why we’re out together. I gotta make sure he’s good enough for her.”

“Really?” Her eyes grew wide.

I stared at him. Wait, he didn’t have a—Oh…

“Is she going to ASU too?” Mackenzie eyed us both.

I wasn’t so sure Mackenzie was buying any of this. I watched Mason. How would he answer that?

“Nope, she’s in college on the East Coast. I’m from Connecticut.” He swirled the wine in his glass and drank some down.

“Here’s your food.” The bartender set our tartines down and faced the girls. “Can I get you something?”

“Uh, no.” With a shake of her head and a small grin, Amy said. “We already ate.”

Mason cut into his salmon tartine. “It’s time for us to eat now, ladies, and we have a serious discussion to get to, so…” He ticked his brows at them.

I smirked into my wine glass as I took a sip. He was trying to get rid of them and not be a dick about it. Would they take the hint?

“Oh, sure.” Mackenzie tapped Amy on the shoulder. “We should go back to our seats. It was nice to meet you both.”

“Yep, nice to meet you.” Mason gave them a swift grin and waved.

They slunk back to their seats a few stools down from us, whispering to each other and glancing back at us.

“Do you think they bought your story?” I sliced off a bite of my tartine and stuffed it into my mouth, the spices in the tuna mixed with pesto and thin bits of fresh parmesan. “Fuck, this is so good.” I pointed at my plate.

“Yeah? I want a bite.” He opened his mouth. “Feed me.”

“What?” I sniggered, cut off a mouthful and slid it into his mouth.

Giggling started up behind me.

I swiveled on my stool. Shit, the girls saw that and were laughing. Did I really care?

“No, I don’t think they bought it. All they’ll have to do is look me up on social media and they’ll see I have a brother and not a sister.” He ate more of his food. “It’s sort of fun to keep them guessing, though, isn’t it?”

“I guess.” Shit, I should talk to Will. He needed to know my plans with Mason. “Anyway, I suppose their opinion of us is pretty harmless.” It would take a lot more than a couple of college girls telling stories on social media to start a scandal.

“Let’s eat up and get over to this year’s squad house.” He drank some wine and ate another bite of his tartine.

A little while later, we drove my black Escalade into an older Tempe neighborhood not too far from campus.

“It’s right there.” Mason pointed at a white-painted brick bungalow sitting behind a front yard of landscaping rocks, cacti, and desert plants. A couple of palm trees centered the yard. I pulled up to the front of the house and shut off my engine. My pulse picked up. I was meeting his best friends and coming out to them. “Is Archer here yet?”

“Yeah, he’s here. That’s his Honda SUV.” He ticked his head at the vehicle in the driveway and climbed out.

“Uh-huh.” I stepped out of my SUV, locked the doors, and met him around the other side. “And Archer’s boyfriend is Leo?”

“Yes, and Leo didn’t feel like he could come out to his family, either .” Mason grabbed my hand, led me to the door, and then knocked and released me.

“Why? Were his parents not okay with it?” I rubbed my sweaty palms down my shorts. We should have maybe talked about this at lunch, but then the girls might have overheard.

The door swung open, and a mountain of a man beamed at us, his curly dark hair framing his brown eyes. “The real Jett Jarvis right here in my humble abode. Please, come in.” He stepped aside and waved his arm out.

“Jett, meet Ace, ASUs top goalie.” Mason tagged Ace in the gut as he passed by him.

“Nice to meet you, Ace.” I held out my hand and he shook it.

“It’s an honor.” Ace bowed slightly.

“Uh, okay.” As warmth rushed my cheeks, I skimmed my hand down the back of my head. Was he fucking with me like Mason would have, or was he serious? I strolled into the room to find Archer sitting at a kitchen island with another dark-haired man.

Archer slung his arm around the other man. “Hey, Jett. This is my boyfriend, Leo.”

“Hi, Leo.” I walked to him and shook his hand. I wished I’d gotten more information about all these guys.

“It’s a pleasure, Jett. I’ve watched you play”—he glanced at Archer—“against the Coyotes. I think you scored two goals on us.” He smirked at me.

“That sounds about right.” As rustling sounded behind me, I turned around.

Two more guys came walking out of a hallway, one with wavy blond hair and the other a dirty blond.

Mason strutted to them. “Jett, meet Myles.” He pointed to the one with the lighter hair. “And Tyler.” He patted each one on the shoulder.

“It’s a pleasure.” Myles walked to me.

I greeted them both, and as we all faced each other next to the green sectional in the main room, I said, “What positions do you all play?”

Jabbing this thumb at his chest, Myles said, “Right winger.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m detecting a slight Canadian accent?” I was so used to hearing it I could pick it up anywhere.

“Yeah, Vancouver, but my family moved to Chicago when I was younger, eh?” He gave a soft snicker.

I laughed with him. “What about you, Myles?” This was starting to feel a little bit like a meet and greet with the fans.

“Right D-man.” He lifted his chin.

“His last name is Hodge.” Mason squeezed his shoulder. “Brother plays for the Rangers. I’m sure he’s getting picked up this season.”

“Oh, shit, your brother is Nathan Hodge?” Hodge was a tough player and one of the best D-men in the NHL. Myles came from a hockey family like Mason. I looked him up and down. He looked a lot like this brother. “I had beers with your brother after a game once. He’s pretty funny.”

“Yeah, I know it. He’s the funny brother, while I’m the serious one.” He quirked the edge of his mouth.

“You’re not so serious when you’re out on the dance floor at The Club on Mill showing off your hot hockey bod.” Mason squeezed his bicep and backhanded his abs.

“Fucker.” Tyler slapped at Mason’s shoulder.

“Boys, we’re not in the rink.” Archer strolled to us. “Can I get you both a beer? We’ve got NHL 24 started up on the gaming console.”

Mason threw me a glance. “Told you.” He patted Archer on the back. “Yes, please.” He glanced back at me as he walked toward the kitchen with Archer. “But we just had a bottle of wine with lunch and Jett is driving, so maybe he should have some water first.”

Planting my hands on my hips, I flicked my gaze between Myles and Tyler. “So, uh?— ”

“Were you two out on a nice lunch date?” Ace bellowed from the kitchen.

I spun around, my mouth dropping open. Shit, should I just come out with it now? But I’d just met them.

After grabbing a canned beer from the refrigerator, Mason’s gaze met mine.

As my chest squeezed, I opened my mouth and shut it. Fuck, I had to do this. They were all queer, for fuck’s sake. I owed it to Mason.

Leo stood up. “It’s okay, Jett. These are good guys. They’ve got your back.” He walked to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You got this.” He gave me a warm smile, leaned in and whispered in my ear. “They were the first ones I came out to.”

I stared at him for a second, willing my heart to slow and my lungs to work. “Yeah?” With a long swallow, I looked at each of them in turn. “I, uh, I’m gay.” I swallowed again. “And yes, Mason and I are dating.”

“Fuck yeah!” Ace fisted his hand and swung it to his chest. “I knew it.”

“Welcome to the squad, Jett.” Myles stepped to me and wrapped me in a bear hug.

“Ditto.” Tyler hugged me from the other side.

“Okay, get your mitts off my man.” Mason stomped to me and pulled them off me, then threw his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. “See? Told you they’d be on your side.”

My eyes stung and I buried my face in his shoulder, warmth swelling in my heart. Don’t lose it. But fuck, it was freeing and scary all at once, even if they understood what it was like.

“I got you, baby.” Mason brushed his hands up and down my back.

This was the second time he’d called me baby, and I couldn’t deny I liked it. “Thanks.” With a sniffle, I released him and stepped back. “Okay, so if Ace won’t be the goalie, can I?” I gave each of them a wide grin .

“That’s my man.” Ace cackled and strolled to the couch with a beer in his hand, then dropped down. “Let’s get this game started.” He picked up a controller from their black coffee table.