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I never really thought of myself as a virgin, or even put that much stock in virginity. It was such a weird concept that you’d got to give something to someone else, or that you lose it. I knew it was meant to describe someone who had no experience, but I hadn’t felt that way traversing the soft planes of Wren’s sweet body. It came naturally, and I almost came too quickly. I’d never related to someone in that way, emotionally and physically at the same time, together, both circling each other in some mating dance.

Waking with Wren seeking my warmth in any way he could, he’d been restless, tossing and turning as he didn’t know which part of his body he wanted warmed more. I preferred his tush, for obvious reasons, just feeling it press against me was enough now to want to please him again. His happiness was a priority, he was the best thing since becoming captain that had happened to me.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” he grumbled, meeting my face as he turned again. “I never sleep naked.”

Hugging him in my arms, I knew I wasn’t a match for the coverage a onesie gave him, but the attempt was worth it. “You waking up or want to go back to sleep? I’ve got to be up soon. But you can stay in bed as long as you like.”

He yawned and groaned. “I’ll wake up,” he said as his stomach grumbled. “Oop.”

“Breakfast,” I said, kissing his forehead. “Most important meal of the day. Let’s get dressed and we can sort out that rumbly belly.”

He rolled over as much as he could inside of my hold on him. I didn’t want to let go of him, even if my day was already planned out. There was no rest for the Orcas, especially when we were fresh off the first victory of the season.

Julia didn’t work on the Sunday morning, she only came in briefly through the afternoon where she took stock of food in the pantry before going shopping. It meant Sundays were the day everyone was leaving their list on the kitchen counters addressed to her because everyone wanted something different, and it was up to her whether we got it or not.

The team welcomed us into the kitchen with a round of applause. Wren hid behind me, clutching his teddy at the surprise of all the sound. They were all making a mess with bowls, pans, and cutlery as they fended for themselves with toasted options, cereals, and even some poor pancake attempts.

“Looks like we all celebrated last night then, huh?” Zachary laughed. “I’m kidding, but I hope you celebrated well because we’re about go into beast mode.”

Wren continued to stay quiet as I made us some cereal, the good chocolate kind that creates the tasty milk afterwards. “He already knows. He’s got to know. Remember, he’s reporting on all you lot as well.”

Dixon mimicked zipping his mouth. “Then I won’t say anything,” he snickered, biting into a blackened side of a PopTart. “Next weekend is our away game, will you be traveling with us on the team bus?”

I glanced to Wren who gnawed his lips together. “Yeah, he will be. Every other team reporter has come with us on the bus. But, we should eat so he can go tell the college how well we all did.”

“You hear about the Caracals game on Friday?” Jack asked, appearing from behind me. He leaned in to grab an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. “They had such a messy game. They lost spectacularly. I think they might even pull funding.”

Wren scoffed, but as eyes turned to him, he quieted. Except when you made a sound like this in this team, you didn’t get a free pass to just go on. If you had something to say, you best bet you were going to be forced into saying it. “They’d never lose their funding. They just recruited an AFL legacy player. Sure, he’s only a freshmen, but—do you even read the chronicle?” He looked up at me.

“Uh. Yeah, I read the stuff about me.”

“Yeah, I’ve read it before, sometimes,” Jack said.

Dixon laughed, nearly sputtering his food out. “I once used it as TP when we ran out. Stuff was not good to use, just a fair warning. I think you should suggest they use thinner paper in future, and maybe something scented.” We all paused to listen and make our mind up about how wild that was.

“What?” I asked.

“It was only the business section,” he continued to defend himself. “Anything that mentions me gets cut out and sent to my mom.”

“As long as it’s nothing I write,” Wren said.

“As long as it stays positive,” Dixon countered. “But I’m sure it will, unless the two of you break it off, then I’m sure you’ll be a professional.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll always be a professional. I wouldn’t sacrifice journalistic integrity over something personal.”

I pulled him into a hug around his side. “See, I told you he’s great. And cute.” I finished getting the breakfast ready. I knew we had to leave soon, and he would want to go spend the day at home surrounded by all his things, which I could appreciate and understand.

The entire groups reaction to having Wren around was refreshing. Usually, whenever a guy brought a girl home and she stayed around, there would always be side conversations in the group chat talking about them, asking when they were going to leave.

It hit me. Of course, the side conversations were going to still happen.

I just wasn’t going to be part of them because it was about me.

It was about us. Like a gut punch, the realization hit and I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Liam,” I said, walking towards him as I left Wren to finish his breakfast.

“Yo, what’s up?”

“Your phone,” I said.

In his hand, he tried slipping it into his pocket. “Why? What do you want it for?”

“I wanna ee what you’re all talking about. I know what happens.”

He sighed and showed me. “Listen, it’s nothing, really.”

The conversations weren’t that bad. They were jealous that Wren would write more about me because I was dating him. It was clear there was still some form of plot to try and get me off the team, which was wild considering I was a senior, I’d put in the time, getting me taken off the time was going to be near impossible. Whoever it was had some wild idea, and I couldn’t narrow it down because the group chat was everyone in the house except for me.

“Wren’s not going to talk about me all the time,” I said in a hushed tone. “If anything, he’s going to be more conscious of it. He’s going to be trying to talk as little about me as possible in the paper.” Wren’s anxieties weren’t new to me, I’d seen them, and I’d witnessed what anxiety did to a person, forcing them to second-guess their every action.

“I know that, I do,” Liam said, taking his phone back. “But there are others who think he’s gonna be a distraction. And we’re not just saying that because coach mentioned it.”

The agenda was clear. I’d tried not to make it feel like it, but last night should’ve been proof that I wasn’t going to put a relationship above the game. I’d enjoy them both equally, for their own thing. “If anything, I think he makes me play better. Knowing he’s watching. You should try it sometime, you know, finding someone to date.”

He scoffed. “Come on, I don’t have the time to go out on dates.”

“Neither do I.”

“Yeah, well, Wren’s always around. I’m not exactly swimming in options. Am I?”

I didn’t know the answer to that, because I didn’t know how he aligned himself sexually, or anyone else in the house, except for some of those in relationships already, and they made it work by being with people who were also on sports teams.

Wren came to me, a hand on his stomach after finishing his breakfast. “I’m gonna go get my bag,” he said. “I should write my article before all the excitement goes away.”

“Don’t forget to mention me,” Liam said. “Please.”

He chuckled. “Obviously. You had some great plays. But I think you could do better if you let the other team come to you. You do much better when you can take a firmer stance rather than when you’re focused on going forward.”

We both blinked wildly, looking to each other.

“Ok, I see why coach wants you around,” Liam replied with a snort of laughter.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just have my own idea of how I see people play the game and I think holding back if where you could become stronger. Like, you—you are clearly already very strong, but I mean, like you aren’t exactly streamlined.”

He nodded along to what he was saying. “You know, you make a great point. I do get a lot of drag when I try and fly forward into defense. But I’ll stick to the coach’s plays. It’s what he’s paid for, right.”

“It’s a good point though, you do get distracted and outpaced by some of the smaller players,” I added. “But we’ve got plenty of defensemen like that. I think you’re well-suited to being our tank.”

Wren nodded. “I just think it’s—it’s wild that last year I was just sat watching those games and thinking about what I’d ever say if I ever got to meet you. I mean, it’s like your campus famous.”

Technically, we were, people loved our team. The only other famous team on campus were the Caracals, and they were famous for all the wrong reasons right now. I hadn’t read the article, but I’d heard about their loss, and they were clearly going through crisis after losing their strongest players last year when they graduated. Two-thirds of them got drafted into the pros. That was the dream.

I accompanied Wren upstairs to my room where he expressed regret in telling Liam his thoughts.

“It’s almost like an out of body experience,” he said in a soft voice. “Like, I know I’m not supposed to give these people all the advice and stuff, but I just cannot help myself. It happens and I’m like—bleurgh. Word salad.”

The only thing I could do after that moment was to pull him into a deep hug and force his head against my chest. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something to another player about their playstyle or how they could improve. Most of the time, he had great ideas, but ever since seeing him flop to his knees on the ice, I didn’t know if his thoughts could be trusted on it, but his heart was in the right place.

As I helped him back his teddies into his bag, I noticed a bumble bee and I was reminded of a small nearby town. “Hey,” I said. “I had an idea.”

“A good idea or a bad idea?” he asked.

“Good, of course.”

“Ok, ok, well, what is it?”

“There’s this place nearby, and maybe during break we could go spend a couple nights together there,” I said. “Pineberry Falls. It’s got this lake, and they have some of the cutest little collectibles. Your bee reminded me. There’s like an entire store dedicated to bee memorabilia and honey. I—I think it would be nice, if you have the time.”

He nodded, looking down at my hand with the bee plush. “That sounds fun, but I only want to go if I don’t have any deadlines or anything. I don’t want to be distracted.”

“Funny you mention distractions,” I said, grabbing him and pulling him into my arms. His legs around my waist. “Because some of the guys think you could be a distraction for me.”

“The opposite is true,” he said, kissing me on the lips quickly. “You’re a distraction. A big one.”

“As Daddy, I command you not to be distracted by me.”

“Mhmm, nope! It doesn’t work like that. In fact, now I’m even more distracted.”

I kissed him back just as quick. “This week I’ve got group practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and gym sessions every day except Friday. So, I hope that doesn’t interfere with seeing you in the week.”

Hugging my chest, he stayed there with his ear listening to my heartbeat. “I’ve got a lot of reading to do, and some creative writing to work on. And I need to check my standing in the fantasy league. I know I got points for you.”

Gently stroking his back and patting a hand down him, I was already going to miss him next week when we were both busy. “Good,” I said. “Next Saturday, I’ll make sure we’re sharing a hotel room. And I’ll make sure they have good breakfast options.”

He smacked his lips. “Can we just stay here for a moment longer?”

“Sure, baby.”

I walked around the bedroom with his legs wrapped around my waist. I didn’t want to let go of him, I didn’t want to part. Wren completed me. Of all the pieces of myself I’d put together, Wren was one of them, and he fit so well. I just wanted to exist in this moment alone with him for a moment longer.