Page 27 of Out in the Surf

“Why?”

“I felt like I got cheated, like the game owed me something and didn’t deliver.” I tapped my temple meaningfully. “I’m just beginning to clue in that I was never owed anything. Now it’s up to me to figure out what happens next. Maybe I can find something in hockey. I can volunteer with a youth team or hell, do office work for an organization. I’m open to ideas. It’s just helpful to think that I don’t have to walk away entirely. I might be irked, but I still love the game. I don’t want to give it up.”

“Have you thought about joining a club team? Scouts might not notice you, but you could still do something you love. I’m sure there’s something like that around here.”

“I’ll ask Colby.”

“Good.” Cal tilted his chin and gave me a lopsided half smile. “You’re pretty fucking special, Luca. I know you’ll be amazing at anything you try, baby.”

Sweet affirmationanda “baby”? My answering grin was so wide it hurt my cheeks.

“You called me baby…twice.”

He furrowed his brow. “I did?”

“Mmhmm. Dude. You must like me or something,” I singsonged.

Cal chuckled. “You’re okay.”

“Not good enough. Let me hear it… ‘Luca, baby, I think you’re so awesome.’” I fluttered my eyelashes, hoping to annoy him into a wrestling match.

I figured he’d flipped me off and change the subject in a hurry, but he leaned in and bit my bottom lip.

“Luca, baby, I think you’re so…”

“Awesome,” I suggested.

“Annoying.”

I pounced. I almost warned him to look out. I had a tendency to get playfully physical and tackle hugs were my go-to. But warning him was no fun.

So I went for it, knocking Cal onto his ass and pinning his arms above his head. I blew a raspberry in the crevice of his neck and shoulder, then licked the shell of his ear. He grunted as he pulled his hands free and bucked his hips in a valiant effort to push me away.

“It’s not gonna work. I’m stronger than you,” I taunted.

“The hell you are.”

I was. And he knew it. Cal was lean and wiry and quick. If he had more space to maneuver, he might have been able to slip out from under me. At the moment, he was trapped. After a small struggle, he went limp and wrapped his legs around me, capturing my face as he fused his mouth to mine.

Mmm. Interesting counterattack. Effective too.

I melted into the kiss, angling my head and parting my lips when he pushed inside.

Well played.

I was so consumed with the sweet but ravenous tangle of tongues that I didn’t think twice about sinking against him, rubbing my growing hard-on alongside his. But when he opened his thighs wider still and arched upward, I had to break the kiss to catch my breath.

Cal noted my weakened defenses and made his move.

He lifted his right leg and rolled to the left, using momentum to topple us both off the sofa. We slid in a heap beside the coffee table with our positions reversed. Cal chuckled gleefully as he straddled my torso and declared himself the winner.

I palmed his shaft through his ubiquitous board shorts. The thin layer of fabric left nothing to the imagination. I ran my thumb over the head of his dick and gave him a cocky grin.

“What exactly did you win?” I pushed the coffee table aside and rolled on top of him.

Cal squeezed his eyes shut for a brief second. His Adam’s apple slid theatrically as he met my gaze. “You need to move.”

“How? Like this?” I swayed from side to side.