Page 6

“Be careful with that. It’s important.” Matty, one of the forwards on the team who tore up the ice but was unable to walk on his own two feet, tripped carrying a cardboard box into Ellie’s new bedroom. It dropped on the floor directly next to him.

“Sorry, Ellie. I hope there’s nothing breakable in there.”

“Hey, don’t call him that. His name is Ellis or Cooper. Pick one,” I said when I followed him into the room with another box. Even I knew I sounded like an idiot, but no shits were given.

“I just heard you call him that, so wouldn’t that make it his name?” Matty’s point was valid, and I didn’t have a reasonable counterargument, so I just glared at him.

“Cooper, I hope nothing breakable is in there,” Matty repeated. With a derisive snort, he turned to me and asked, “Better?”

Ellie watched us silently, his eyes darting between Matty and me. I saw the confusion on his face, and I hoped I wasn’t already making him regret moving in. More than that, I hoped he wouldn’t ask me to explain my ridiculous possessiveness over a nickname.

“There’s not.” Ellie offered him a tentative smile, which Matty returned. I didn’t like that shit either, but I wasn’t stupid enough to say anything. My glares finally caught Matty’s attention, and rather than scare him off, he gave me a wicked grin.

“Cooper, do you ever get to watch the games, or are you always stuck in the back?” Matty leaned back on the desk under the window.

He pulled his shirt up to scratch his stomach, which just so happened to show off his toned abs.

Ellie gulped a few times at the sight, and my eyes narrowed again.

Instead of answering, he tried to move the box a little and grunted at the heaviness.

“Oh shit, Coop. I didn’t realize it was so heavy. Where do you want me to put it instead?” With the question, he squatted next to Ellie so his crotch was practically eye level. Matty’s thick thighs strained the seams of his jeans. This fucking guy.

Ellie cleared his throat and croaked out, “Just leave it. I can move it later. And, uh, sometimes I watch, but I don’t really know much about it. I guess it doesn’t matter if I’m only wrapping practice sticks and organizing.”

“You sure about the box?” Ellie nodded, and Matty continued, “That’s cool. But if you’re interested in learning more, I’d be happy to help.”

“Oh, uh, t-t-thank you,” Ellie stammered. His cheeks flushed red and his eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at me.

“I know you’re probably too tired today with the moving and all, but tomorrow some of us are going downtown to the waterfront. Why don’t you join us? We can start your hockey education. If you know more about the games, you’ll enjoy them more.”

“Umm…” The clear dread in that one sound raised my hackles.

When Matty extended the invitation, Ellie had drawn away from him, but the oversized and, in my opinion, overbearing player hadn’t taken the hint.

As it was, Ellie was bending over backward to give himself a wider personal space bubble.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but thank you. ”

“Come on, Coop, it’ll be fun. Have you been to the Clam Jam? Their seafood is the shit and their fries are the best I’ve ever had. And…” Matty paused dramatically before he tried to seal the deal, “Salty Bitches are on special all night. Guaranteed to fuck you up.”

“Salty Bitches? Is that like a drink?”

“Yep, grapefruit, a shit ton of unknown liquor, and some mint. You can’t even taste the alcohol. C’mon, join us.” Matty gave what he assumed was a cajoling smile. It was a leer.

“He said he wasn’t interested,” I interjected.

“He said bad idea, not uninterested,” Matty retorted.

I needed to end this before our pissing contest went too far and Ellie, the object of our horn locking, said fuck it and headed back to the dorms. “Thanks for carrying the boxes up,” I said by way of a peace offering.

Matty gave me a knowing look and a wink.

The fucker was doing this shit on purpose.

“Tate has my number if you change your mind.” With that, Matty swaggered out of the room to grab another box. I was gratified to see that Ellie turned back to his task rather than watch the forward leave. Ellie obviously had taste.

Between the guys and me, all of Ellie’s belongings were brought over in one trip.

In under thirty minutes, all the vehicles were unloaded, and the boxes were brought inside the apartment.

Even so, Ellie showed signs of exhaustion.

Given the last week and constant interruption of sleep, his droopy eyes and slower movements shouldn’t have been a surprise.

I ushered the team out with the promise of a pizza delivery on its way to the athletic dorms so Ellie could unpack without his belongings being on display.

“I think I’ll start with putting away my books,” Ellie said once the front door slammed shut after them. A stifled yawn promptly followed his announcement. His hand hid nothing.

There was no reason for me to share with Ellie, but in high school, I’d discovered Daddy kink from my dad of all people.

His being a college psych professor whose primary area of research was sexuality meant that nothing was off-limits in our house.

Anyway, Ellie’s exhaustion, not only his cuteness, pinged my Daddy instincts. He needed rest, not more work.

“Before you get started on that, do you want some lunch?” I crossed the room and crouched next to him. Ellie looked like an overwhelmed boy sitting on the rug surrounded by the boxes of his life.

“Yeah, I packed my dorm food in one of the plastic bags. I can make myself a PB&J.”

“Or we can share the leftover pasta my mom sent home with me so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“You don’t mind sharing?” Ellie bit his lip in indecision, followed by a stifled yawn. I pushed the needle by standing and then pulling him behind me. I resisted the urge to pull him closer to me, but it was a near thing. He was exhausted.

“Nah, she always sends too much home with me. You’d be doing me a favor, and I’ll have less guilt when I throw it away because I’m tired of eating it.

” With his hand in mine, I led him into the small kitchen.

He hadn’t noticed we were still holding hands, and I wasn’t going to remind him.

I deposited him at the two-seater table by the window and started pulling food from the fridge.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Nope, I’ve got it. Why don’t you relax for a little bit? You’ve had a few exciting days.” Ellie gave a longing look toward the living room. “Did you forget something?” I asked as I followed his gaze.

“Ha! When I need to relax, I usually color. It’s dumb.” Ellie’s defensiveness sent his shoulders up to his ears. “I don’t know why I even told you.”

“Because you’re too tired to remember to keep quiet. There’s nothing wrong with liking what you like. We all like dumb things…do the dumb thing.” When Ellie looked unconvinced, I added, “My mom likes coloring mandalas. She gets a few new books every year in her stocking.”

“I’ve tried those, but I like simpler ones.”

“Are they somewhere easy to get to? You can color while I do this.”

“No, they’re packed away.”

“Hold on a sec… Don’t go anywhere.” I raced out of the kitchen and grabbed some colored pencils I’d tossed in the desk drawer after an art class and some blank printer paper.

When I returned, I dropped them triumphantly on the table in front of Ellie.

“Draw me a picture. We’ll put it on the fridge. ”

Ellie snorted at my suggestion, but he also did what he was told. By the time lunch was ready, there was a pretty forest scene ready to hang with a magnet.