Page 19 of Perfect Storm (Toronto Thunder #1)

"Are they trying to kill them out there?” Wes asked Aidan, as the second offensive lineman broke ranks and went to a knee, retching onto the grass.

Aidan shrugged. “Levi said they were drilling basics today. He didn’t sound very excited about it, but they gotta get better.”

Wes shot him a look.

“Okay,” Aidan amended, “the protection’s gotta get better. How can we run the kind of game we want if it doesn’t?”

“That just looks . . .rough.” Wes winced.

Aidan shot the group another glance. Zane had already informed them that they wouldn’t be running plays this morning—that the offensive line coach had said they were running drills instead, which jived with what Levi had told him on their way into practice this morning.

“Good news, we’ve got a day off tomorrow,” Aidan said.

“Hey, speaking of that. And speaking of that,” Wes said, gesturing towards the offensive linemen, “we should get a group to go out. Celebrate not dying today, or something.”

“Or something,” Aidan said dryly.

“Seriously, I know a great place. New bar that’s been open for a few months. Friend introduced me to it.”

“You have friends?” Aidan retorted fondly, smacking Wes on the back of the head.

“Hey, shut up. More friends than you.”

“Here I thought you were too busy sulking over—” Aidan cut himself off. It had been one thing to tease Wes over his ex, but it was another to tease him when he knew how that felt. At least Wes had had his guy. Aidan hadn’t even gotten that far.

Wes shot him a look. “Yeah, sort of am. That’s why the friend took me out. Said I needed to get my head out of my ass.”

“Well, that’s true,” Aidan said. “Dawson could use it too. He’s seriously angsting over the whole father-in-law-stealing-all-his-money shit.”

“Kind of hard not to,” Wes said sympathetically.

“Who’s this friend?” Aidan wondered. “Do I know them?”

“Uh, no. He’s actually not a football player. Hockey player. He’s on long-term injured reserve though. No idea when he’ll be off of it. Bad concussion.”

“Sucks,” Aidan said.

“Yeah, I told him to come up here, stay for a bit on my couch so he wouldn’t just be alone in Buffalo. Bored. Feeling sorry for himself.”

“I know weirder things have happened but I also know a few hockey players,” Aidan said. “Hockey’s no football, but it’s pretty decent to follow.”

“Don’t let him hear you saying that.” Wes tossed him the ball and Aidan tossed it back. They were still waiting on the receivers to finish their warmups. Over on the other side of the field, the only linemen still upright were Levi and Griff.

Aidan decided that probably didn’t bode well for his protection this season. Maybe he could use a drink tonight.

“Maybe you know them too. The Barnes brothers? Avery plays on the West Coast, but Charlie’s in New York,” Aidan said. “They’re from Michigan. Own a house on the lake a little bit down from me.”

“Oh yeah. I do. I think . . .yeah, pretty sure my friend knows them. Knows the youngest anyway. Played on his team in college when he was a senior. Ethan?”

“Oh yeah. That’s the youngest. Haven’t met him yet, though. Only Charlie and Avery.”

“Well, you’ll like my hockey player. Everyone does,” Wes said wryly.

“Let’s get a count together of who’s in during lunch,” Aidan suggested, and Wes nodded.

The receivers were trickling over, finished with their warmups, and Wes threw a long pass to Trevor, who snatched the ball out of the air.

“Come on,” Aidan said, gesturing towards him. “Let’s get some plays going.”

They worked on timing routes for over an hour, both the receivers and the cornerbacks getting a good workout.

“Trev, you gotta break a little sooner,” Lane yelled over at his stepbrother on the very last set of passes.

Wes and Aidan exchanged concerned looks when Trevor ignored Lane, brushing off his concern.

“You wanna deal with this?” Wes asked Aidan.

“Hell no. I’m supposed to be . . .how did you put it? Being nice to them collectively. And we already established I’m no good at it. You’re the good cop, Matthews, so you’re on it. Consider this part of my mentorship. Gifting you the demon twins.”

Wes shot him a look. “Calling them the demon twins isn’t really being nice—collectively or not.”

“Nope. Just being honest.” Aidan nudged him again as twenty yards down field, Trevor and Lane had started exchanging words. “Come on. Get down there, before they start doing something collectively.”

“You’re the worst,” Wes groaned. But he jogged down there anyway.

Aidan watched as he defused the situation, and, deciding that Wes had it under control, he headed towards the locker room to get cleaned up for lunch.

Levi cornered him while he debated between a buffalo chicken and a turkey ranch wrap for lunch.

“Wes told me we’re going out tonight,” Levi said, looking too excited considering he’d spent the morning being dragged to hell and back.

“You sure you’re up for it?” Aidan said, pulling the turkey ranch wrap onto his tray.

Levi made a scoffing noise. “Those guys just aren’t conditioned right.”

“Yeah?” Aidan raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, well, there were a few rough moments, but I’m still here,” Levi said, chuckling under his breath. “And nothing better than a few drinks to medicate the pain away.”

“Alright. I’ll add you to the list. Or um, to Wes’ list.”

Levi nudged him. “I didn’t think you had a list, bro.”

“Is this your way of saying I’m boring?” But he knew he was. That he’d ground down all his hard edges, ages ago. Anything that could compromise him winning had been eliminated.

“Bro, you don’t even drink coffee.” Levi shot him a sad, pathetic look from his brown eyes. “You need to lighten up. Not a lot, just a little.”

Aidan huffed out a breath. Half embarrassed, half annoyed, but entirely interested in lightening up if Levi was involved.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Aidan retorted. He wasn’t about to tell Levi how attractive that idea sounded, but only if he was the one specifically doing the lightening up.

“That right there? That’s it, right there.” Levi leaned right into his space, looking and smelling better than he had any right to, especially after the morning he’d had. “Advisement.”

“What?” Aidan asked, suddenly even more self-conscious.

“Bro. We get it. You went to college.”

“So did you,” Aidan said dryly.

“Well, some of us don’t go around advertising it all the time,” Levi teased, like somehow that was a bad thing.

Aidan had worked like hell for his degree. He’d been in school, going to classes, QB1 for a major NCAA program, and he’d been basically raising Riley on his own, since his parents had been too busy squabbling to bother doing it.

He wasn’t ever going to apologize for getting it done and for actually graduating.

“Am I . . .” Aidan trailed off. He rarely experienced a crisis of confidence, but it was becoming obvious that, at least to Levi, he was a boring, pompous stick-in-the-mud.

No wonder he hadn’t brought up sex since he’d gotten to Toronto. Who would even want to have sex with him? Not Levi. And apparently not Morris either, though Morris’ disinterest was at least because he wasn’t interested in having sex with any guy.

“Are you?” Levi questioned. He was still grinning, like he was actually enjoying this conversation.

Aidan, on the other hand, wanted to sink through the floor. If this was what losing your confidence felt like, no wonder he’d spent his life avoiding it. “Am I . . .ugh. That awful? A boring, pompous ass?”

Riley had called him an ass on multiple occasions, and even Landry had, once or twice. That had felt earned. He’d overstepped his bounds. Out of love, for sure, but in the end, did it matter how much he cared if the way he showed it was by being an overbearing dickhead?

The answer: no.

Levi, however, looked floored. “What?” he exclaimed.

“I said it,” Aidan mumbled. God, he was embarrassing. If Landry was witnessing this, he’d never let him forget it. Riley, either. And Mo? Well. Aidan rarely thought it was good he’d been traded, but right now? It was humiliating enough that Levi was here. That he’d actually asked Levi.

“I just . . .” Levi looked more than floored now.

He looked dismayed. “Aidan, I was teasing you. I wasn’t serious.

You’re . . .” His voice dropped even more, so low Aidan could barely hear it and they were practically on top of each other.

“You’re not boring, and you’re not pompous and you’re definitely, well, most of the time, not an ass.

And when you are? Well, these days it’s kind of hot, if I’m being honest.”

Aidan couldn’t believe it. “But you just—”

Levi groaned under his breath. He’d flushed red, too, which Aidan couldn’t say he’d thought was attractive before, but he was rapidly changing his mind on the subject.

“I was an idiot, okay? You just . . .you fluster me. And I like flirting with you. I’m like a snotty-nosed stupid kid, pulling your pigtails. ”

“Seriously?”

“The idiot part? Or the flustered part? Or the snotty-nosed part?”

Aidan was barely keeping up. “Um. All of them?”

Levi leaned in even closer. Aidan’s pulse jumped, even as he told himself to keep calm. Or maybe it didn’t even matter. Aidan was flustered. Well, according to Levi, he was too. “Newsflash, I like flirting with you. And I wouldn’t do it if you were boring or pompous.”

Aidan swallowed hard. Maybe right now was when Levi would bring up the sex pact.

Next, he’d say, in that matter-of-fact, teasing voice that was hotter than it had any right to be, I wouldn’t have agreed to have sex with you in a year if you were boring.

Or pompous. Or kissed you right there, in your kitchen and enjoyed every second of it.

But of course, he didn’t.

He just didn’t.

Aidan kind of wanted to yell it, right there, in the middle of the cafeteria. Why aren’t you saying it? Why are you pretending like it didn’t happen?