Page 27

CHAPTER TWELVE

COOPER

A fter the post-game rituals, I showered and dressed for the gay bar where I was meeting Myles, with Eli and Casey tagging along.

It was walking distance from the stadium, so I left my car in the parking lot there.

As I stepped into my sneakers, my heart warmed.

Myles didn’t know how much of a good luck charm he was.

Seeing him in the stadium cheering me on with his friends had given me the boost I’d needed to pull off the last-second touchdown.

Eli, standing in front of his stall, all new and sleek and painted a mat black, threw me a smirk. “Can’t wait to see you dance in a gay bar.”

“Why? What’s so weird about that?” I planted a hand on my hip, a grin stretching across my mouth. But it was true, I’d never been to a gay bar, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

With a shrug, Eli said, “You don’t strike me as being much of a dancer.”

Casey rounded the corner, dressed in a form-fitting shirt and designer jeans. “Who, Coop?” He looked me up and down. “He can dance. Did you see him dance around the linemen before he got that touchdown? It was pure poetry.” He slapped at my shoulder .

“Thanks, man.” With a nod, I slung the strap of my duffel over my shoulder and then tucked the front hem of my deep blue shirt into my jeans. “You guys about ready to go?”

“Yep.” Eli snatched his duffel and ticked his head at me. “Let’s go see how weird these hockey players are.”

“They’re not weird.” I clicked my tongue and smiled. We were in for a fun night, and I was going to spend it with Myles. And we were sleeping together tonight. I’d get to hang onto him all night. My chest warmed.

After dropping off our gear in our vehicles, we strolled down Mill Avenue under a clear night sky, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to The Club on Mill. I peeked up. A line of mostly men, dressed for a night out, lingered halfway down. “Looks busy. You two ever been here before?”

“Sure.” With a swift grin, Casey grabbed my elbow. “Come on, isn’t your man in there?”

“Yeah, shit, I need to text him.” I followed Casey up the stairs and Eli trailed behind me. After we got in line, I fished my phone out of my pocket, my pulse picking up speed.

Cooper

I’m in line. Are you inside?

Myles

Yes, I’m here with Leo and Archer and some friends of Leo’s. Ace went home to Zoma. He was always a maybe.

I smirked. It figured. Ace and Zoma had such a cool relationship.

“So?” Eli leaned over my phone, peering into it.

“They’re here. Myles has Archer Carlson with him and his boyfriend. Archer is a Coyotes D-man.” My chest swelled. It was so cool being able to hang with guys who were already living the life I’d always wanted for myself .

“Nice.” Eli pushed on my back. “Get going. You’re holding up the line.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I took a few steps, and the line started moving faster.

After showing our IDs to a bouncer, we strolled into the flashing lights and techno music of the bar.

So far, the place didn’t look too different from any other bar I’d been to, except for all the neon shot names scribbled on a chalkboard behind the bar.

My gaze landed on two men brazenly making out by the dance floor, all lips and hands everywhere.

“Damn.” There were a few drag queens in a corner, chatting and pointing at people.

Eli patted my back. “You’re not in Kansas anymore.” He freed a low, rumbling chuckle.

“No shit.” My brows lifted. I’d only seen drag queens on television shows. I studied them harder. They were better looking than most women I’d dated. How the hell did they do that? I bit my lip. Damn, they were hot.

“Oops, your boy is over there.” Casey pointed to a round high-top table against the wall.

Myles sat in a chair, chatting with…some fucking guy in short shorts and a pink crop top. Who the fuck was that?

As my torso heated, I wrinkled my nose. “Let’s go.” Puffing out my chest, I stomped across the floor, weaving between people, with Eli and Casey in my wake.

“Myles.” I stepped beside him, hooked an arm around his shoulders and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. He was mine and Mr. Crop Top could fuck off.

As the kiss broke, Myles’s eyes widened. “Oh, my.” He touched his lips and smiled. “Cooper, nice to see you.”

“Yeah?” I faced Crop Top and threw him a quick glare. “And who’s this?” I glanced at Casey and Eli, watching me and smirking.

“Hi, Cooper, I’m Cash.” He extended his hand.

I gave his hand a firm shake. “Hello, Cash.”

Another man with shoulder-length, dirty blond hair sidled up to Cash and handed him a pink drink. “Hey, babe.” He looked me over. “What have we got here? Is this your football player, Myles?” He sipped a beer.

“It is.” Myles hopped off his chair. “Cooper, meet Silas. You remember that band I told you about? Silas is a guitar player in it and Leo’s brother is another guitar player in the band.”

“Oh.” I relaxed my stance. Damn, I was an idiot. Myles wasn’t getting hit on or letting himself get hit on. I glanced at him. But he looked so fucking good tonight. Who wouldn’t want to hit on him?

“Hi, Silas, I’m Casey, quarterback for ASU’s football team.” Casey extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” Silas and Cash both greeted him and then Eli.

Wrapping an arm around Cash’s waist, Silas’s attention drew to me. “Congratulations on the win tonight, man. It was a close game.”

“It was Cooper’s touchdown that won it in the last seconds.” Myles edged to my side, beaming at me.

Warmth flooded my chest. Leaning over, I whispered in his ear. “With help from you.” He had to have seen the gesture I’d made before the play.

Myles stared at me for a moment. “Yeah?”

With a nod, I fisted my hand over my heart.

“Absolutely. Seeing you cheering for me in the stands was like nothing else.” As I gazed deeply into his eyes, emotion burst inside me.

Holy fuck, was this love? Did I love him?

With a thick swallow, I said, “Just know that I’ll do the same for you when I can be at your games.

” If only I could go to all of them. Yeah, I was going to learn a lot about hockey this year.

His gaze softened, and he cupped my cheek, pressing a hard kiss on my mouth. “Can’t wait, Cooper.”

“Hey, hey.” Silas scoffed and poked at my arm. “There are other people in your direct vicinity here.”

“Oh hon, leave them alone. Can’t you see they’re falling in love? Remember when we were like that?” Leaning into Silas’s side, Cash released a soft giggle.

My breath hitched. Had Cash read my mind, or were my feelings that obvious?

“What do you mean? We’re still like that.” Silas rolled his eyes. “When it’s appropriate.”

I flicked my gaze to Silas. Who was this guy? He was sort of funny, in a sarcastic way.

A man with blond hair and dark eyes wound through the crowd toward us with a dark-haired man in tow. “Hey.” His gaze landed on me. “You must be Cooper?”

“I am.” I hugged Myles into my side. Another friend, maybe? But this one had muscles.

“Archer Carlson and this is my boyfriend, Leo.”

Leo stepped beside him and waved.

Everyone exchanged handshakes and greetings and then Leo said, “Casey, you played well tonight. Some of those passes were amazing.”

“Hey, thanks.” Casey’s face lit up. “We won, but the game shouldn’t have been so close.” He glanced at Eli.

“Mississippi figured out a weakness in our defense, that’s all. We’ll switch it up at the next game.” Eli lifted his chin.

“Hey, we need shots.” Myles flagged down a shirtless waiter in a Speedo as he walked by and ordered drinks for everyone. “We always have a Fuck U of A shot when we win, eh.” Myles grabbed his beer from the table and drank it.

“But you didn’t play U of A.” Silas eyed Myles.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a thing we do.” Archer tapped his beer on Myles’s glass. “Right?”

“Yep.” Myles tossed me a quick grin.

“Uh-huh. Hockey players…” Casey shook his head, lifting the edge of his mouth and sneaking a glance at Eli.

“Hockey players, what?” Archer peered at Casey.

With a shrug, Casey said, “You know, you guys have all these superstitions, fight all the time and lose your teeth and shit. ”

“Really? Let me see.” Silas stepped in front of Archer and focused on his mouth. “Open up.”

Huffing a laugh, Cash snatched Silas’s arm and yanked him away. “Really, Silas. I can’t take you anywhere.” He flicked a messy lock of hair from his forehead. “He’s like an alley cat.”

“And you love me, anyway.” Silas kissed Cash’s cheek.

“Oh, brother.” Leo rolled his eyes.

The waiter stopped at our table and dropped off a round of drinks and shots, then left.

As everyone grabbed a shot, Myles held his glass up. “Fuck U of A.”

I tapped my shot glass on Myles’s and went around to all the guys, tapping and repeating Myles’s words. As I downed my shot, I kept my gaze fixed on his. There was a wonderful group of guys here and it felt fantastic to be with family . Moving here was the right choice.

A few hours and a few drinks later, Myles had coaxed me onto the dance floor.

I had to admit, I wasn’t much of a dancer and next to him, I looked awkward.

He was smooth and flowy in the flickering lights I…

was not. I dipped my knees and swung my arms around his neck. Maybe it would help if we were closer.

He hooked an arm around my hips and pressed them together while grabbing my chin with his free hand. Brushing his lips close to mine, he said, “Grind on me.” His eyes darkened.

I pushed harder against him, my dick waking and rubbing on his. Damn, so this was what all the fuss was about? I clung to him as sensation heated my skin and lengthened my cock behind my zipper. Turning my head, my mouth found his, and I kissed him, slipping my tongue between his lips.

Slanting his mouth over mine, he deepened the kiss, tangling our tongues and rubbing against me. Moaning out a breath, he said, “You were so fucking sexy in your football gear tonight.”