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CHAPTER TEN

COOPER

H e did it to me, again. I had no control with Myles. And a big part of me didn’t care. “We, uh, we should clean up.” I gently squeezed our cocks, now slack in my hand. I’d never just sat and held a guy’s dick before after sex. Truth was, I could probably rally in a minute.

He freed a soft gasp, his lips parting. “Yeah, we should?—”

The groan of the garage door opening filtered through the kitchen door.

“Shit.” I hopped off him, grabbed his hand and pulled him from the couch, both of us scrambling into the bathroom. Had we left any cum on my fucking sofa? I huffed a laugh.

He shut the door behind us and flicked on the light. “What’s so funny?” His gaze searched my face.

“I don’t know if we’ve stained my couch yet again.” Shaking my head, I grabbed a washcloth from the towel rack and wet it in the sink. I glanced at him. “Both of us still have our dicks out and we’re completely covered in cum.”

He dropped his gaze to his groin and cupped his junk, giggling. “It’s your fault, and hurry with the washcloth.”

I cleaned myself, rinsed the washcloth, and handed it to him, then flipped my dick into my shorts. With a kiss on his cheek, I said, “I’m going to check on the couch.”

“Yeah, okay.” He wiped his stomach. “What did you mean by staining your couch yet again ?” Throwing the washcloth into the sink, he tucked himself into his shorts. “I’m going with you.”

“Okay. Just so you know, my asshole ex roommate got some food, or, at least I hope it was food, on my couch and never cleaned it. So, there’s a stain.” I flung the door open and stepped into the hallway.

Myles followed me as we padded into the main room.

Ace stood in front of the refrigerator, holding a package of chicken in his hand.

His gaze flicked to us and narrowed. “I’m going to ask what is probably an obvious question.

” He raised the edge of his mouth. “But what the hell were you two doing in the bathroom together? You have bedrooms, right next to each other for that shit.” He set the chicken on the counter.

With a stuttered snicker, I glanced at Myles. I should probably let him handle this. I walked to the couch, inspecting it for any signs of what we’d done.

Myles planted a hand on his hip. “If you must know, some things can’t wait for the bedroom.” He threw Ace a wicked smile. “You can’t stop spur of the moment?—”

“Okay, shut up.” He held up his palm to Myles. “I’m guessing if I hadn’t gotten sidetracked by our trainer after the gym today, I would have walked in on you two.”

Myles lifted his chin and glanced at me. “Maybe.”

The couch was clean. Thank fucking God. My attention drew to Ace. “Hey, sorry, man. Like he said, spur of the moment.” With a chuckle, I skimmed my palm down the back of my hair. “Your guy, Myles, here is just too irresistible.”

“Yuck. Never say that to me again.” He scoffed a laugh. “Jesus, you two. Zoma and I keep it in the bedroom.”

“Every time?” Myles lifted his brows.

Zoma, entering from the garage, peered at Ace, me, and then Myles. “No, not every time.” He kissed Ace on the cheek and dropped his backpack on the kitchen island next to mine. “Ace gets nasty just about anywhere. It’s one thing I love about him.” He patted Ace on the ass.

“Babe, TMI.” Ace made the motion of zipping his lips.

With a tut, Zoma said, “Really, babe. Everyone knows the first time we met, we hooked up in the men’s room at the gay bar.” He strutted past Ace, then us, and into the hallway.

I stared at Zoma, my mouth hanging open. Maybe there was something to this gay bar they kept talking about. “When are you bringing me there?”

“First home game win, we’ll all go.” Ace pulled a pan out of a lower cupboard.

“Hockey or football?” I flashed a smirk at Ace. Because the real hockey games didn’t start until October. It could be a long wait.

“Either.” Myles edged into my side, draping an arm over my shoulders. “If the Coyotes aren’t traveling, we’ll get all the guys to go.”

Ace huffed a laugh. “Good luck with the logistics, but we’ll see if we can make it work.” He set the pan on the stove. “Chicken for dinner. In case you couldn’t tell.” He flashed his eyes at Myles.

“We can always go with your football friends. I know JJ isn’t a fan, but maybe we can talk him into it.” Myles kissed my cheek.

Except that JJ didn’t want to see us together for a while. “Yeah, sure.” I chewed my lower lip. “We have another home game this week against Mississippi, and then we’re on the road the next two weekends.” My gaze cut to Myles. Our schedules were about to get complicated.

“Yeah?” He lowered his brows. “Maybe this weekend then.” A smirk swept over his mouth. “If you guys win.”

“We’ll win.” I scoffed.

The next morning, I was at the gym with the guys before classes started. I’d wanted to bulk up a little more this season. So I was hitting the weights with Eli, our behemoth of a linebacker. I glanced behind me at JJ, doing squats. We’d hardly spoken since I’d told him how I felt about Myles.

Peering toward JJ and then at me, Eli stacked a few forty-five-pound plates on a bar at the bench we worked on. “I heard you took JJ’s guy.”

“Took?” I shot my brows up. What the hell had JJ been telling the guys? “I didn’t take him. I asked nicely for him.” Planting a hand on my hip, I said, “And he gave me his blessing.”

“Still, I think JJ’s a little sour.” He patted the bench. “Come on, let’s see how many reps you can do at this weight.” He lifted the edge of his mouth.

I eyed the weights stacked at either end. The weight was heavier than I was used to, but I was warmed up and feeling strong today. Was Myles the reason? “No problem.” I sat at the end of the bench, laid on my back, tucking my head under the bar, and grabbed the bar with both hands.

Eli stepped to my head, bending over to spot me. “How are you doing with the hockey players?”

“Good. They’re a great group of guys.” With a grimace, I lifted the bar. Fuck, this was heavy. As my arms protested, I lowered it to my chest and back up again.

“One.” Eli gave me a sly grin.

Puffing out a breath, I pushed out a few more reps with him counting them out. As we got to eight, my arms shook, and I arched my back.

“Keep going, Coop. You’ve got this.” Eli held his hands under the bar, but didn’t touch it.

I strained and pushed. “Fuck.” As I slowly lifted the bar all the way up, JJ stepped into my vision.

JJ clapped. “Way to go, man. Don’t think I could have done that.”

Setting the bar on the holder, I sat up and shook my arms. “ Yeah? You don’t have to. You’re supposed to be quick and agile.” I was the one called to block for him on long passes. I clasped my hands behind my back, stretching my pecs.

“Okay, my turn.” Eli waved at me.

I approached JJ. I hadn’t had time to ask Eli any more about what was going on with him.

Eli laid on the bench on his back, lifted the bar and pumped out twelve reps like it was nothing.

“Jesus, dude. Way to make me look like a weakling.” I snickered, rubbing my eyes. Okay, this was awkward, having JJ stand here and just watch us. “How’s it going?” I bumped my elbow on JJ’s.

“Good. I heard you two say the word hockey?” JJ arched a brow. “How is Myles doing?”

With a slow nod, I said, “Good, he’s good. His friends are cool, and his goalie buddy Ace cooks some superb meals for us all.” Maybe it was best to keep the conversation light.

“I guess that’s why you haven’t stayed for the after-practice meals then?” JJ eyed me.

Shit. Truth was, I’d been wanting to go home as soon as possible to spend time with Myles. “Yeah, guess so.” I breathed in deeply.

“Okay, so not that you were avoiding me.” He glanced at Eli, who was adding a few more plates to the bar.

“I’ll do another round while you two hash this out.” Pursing his lips, Eli flashed his eyes at me.

I glanced around us. Some guys were looking our way. Patting JJ’s arm, I cocked my head toward the windows. “Let’s talk over here.” The entire team didn’t need to think our first-string wide receiver and tight end weren’t getting along.

JJ followed me to an empty corner of the room next to the free weights. “Well, tell me straight. Are you and Myles boyfriends yet?”

“Boyfriends?” I rolled my lips. What were we? Roommates who were dating. “Not officially, no.” I studied the grin teasing his mouth. Was he happy about that? “Since we live together, we’re trying to take it slow.”

“I see.” His chest expanded with a deep inhale. “But you like him still. Things are working out for you?”

“Yeah, they’re working out.” How much should I tell him?

I didn’t want to hurt the guy with details.

Would Eli and Casey hit the gay bar with me after the game on Saturday?

We would win it. I tagged JJ’s stomach. “Hey, I guess Myles and his friends hit the gay bar on Mill after a win and I was thinking after Saturday’s game?—”

“No.” He shook his head. “You have a good time.” He pressed his lips together. “I’m not ready to see you two together and besides, those places aren’t my thing.”

I glanced behind me at Eli, still pounding out more reps on the bench. The guy had the strength of an ox. “Do you care if I invite some of the other guys?”

“Like who?” He swayed his head, looking beyond me.

“I was thinking about Eli and Casey.” I huffed a sigh. This problem between us better not make it to the field.

“Yeah, sure.” He focused on me. “It’s a free world and I can’t stop you all from going.”

What the hell did that mean? “So you have a problem with it.” I worried my lower lip. Was he going to outcast me from the queer guys on the team?

He blew out a sharp breath. “Look, I don’t have a problem with it. I’m sorry. I’m still a little sore over things.” He slapped at my arm. “But who am I to stop true love?” The edge of his lips tugged up.

True love? Now he was being dramatic. “Okay, so I can ask them, and you won’t be upset about it?” I locked my gaze on him. Did I have to okay everything I did with him now? This sucked.