Page 41 of Perfect Storm (Toronto Thunder #1)

He’d come back out of the bedroom, after putting his phone on the charger, and just seeing Levi on his couch made him feel better. Even though the thought Mo had texted did still bug him, a lingering annoyance in the back of his skull that still faded the longer he and Levi sat together.

Until now, when he’d practically forgotten it until Levi turned to him, eyes sleepy and relaxed from his orgasm and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay, bro?”

His first instinct was to say, yeah, I’m fine, even if he wasn’t fine.

But in fact, he was fine.

Totally fine.

“I’m good,” Aidan said instead, hoping the alternate word choice would in fact convince Levi that he was.

“You seem good,” Levi said, sounding surprised.

Nobody was more surprised than Aidan. But that was reassuring, right? It was a positive development he’d seen Mo’s name on his lock screen, was able to look at the text—God, of course the only thing Mo had sent was hey dude, what’s up?—and not spiral.

Not only not spiral, but come back into the living room like nothing was wrong.

Because nothing was wrong.

“Yeah. It’s . . .well, it is what it is. He’s probably just checking in before the season starts. It’s still weird he’s not here,” Aidan said.

Something complicated flashed across Levi’s face, but before Aidan could figure out what it was, it was gone.

“Right. You guys played together a long time,” Levi said.

“Seven years,” Aidan said. It hadn’t ever felt that long; had felt like seven seconds, honestly. He’d woken up and blinked and Mo had been gone, despite all his efforts to keep him in Toronto.

“Yeah, no wonder,” Levi said. “You wanna play again or . . .”

“No, let’s go to bed,” Aidan said, hauling himself off the couch after he turned all the electronics off.

He wanted to believe what he’d told Levi was the truth—that Mo had only texted him because it was the beginning of another season and they were still used to having each other around—but Aidan wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

Because he’d asked Mo to give him some space, and for the last three-ish months, Mo had respected that.

They were nearly in the bedroom when Levi casually pressed him against the wall next to the doorway and kissed him.

It was an intense kind of kiss, not a kiss he’d expect, not after the sex they’d just had, but Aidan couldn’t help but sink into it.

Levi’s hands framed his face and his body caged him in, and it was so good to just not think at all.

To just glory in the feel of Levi against him.

They stumbled into the bedroom a minute later, Aidan flopping down onto the bed, Levi crawling over his body after him.

They made out for so long Aidan lost track of the minutes. Floated in the bliss of Levi’s mouth moving against his own, alternatively passionate and gently sweet, until Aidan’s cock was definitely getting hard again.

They weren’t playing in the preseason game in two days—Aidan wasn’t even dressing, though Zane had made some noise about Levi taking at least a series to continue fine-tuning his new position—and Aidan thought maybe Levi might suggest they fuck again. Or maybe Levi could even fuck him.

He’d totally be down for that.

Sure, they had the walkthrough, but it wasn’t like they wouldn’t be careful.

Levi pulled away, and Aidan fully expected him to bring it up. Was looking forward to turning the tables on him by suggesting they try it the other way, but instead of saying anything, Levi pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He glared at the screen. “It keeps fucking buzzing,” he said with frustration. “Doesn’t it know I’m trying to go two for two?”

Aidan laughed. “Put it down, then, and come here.” He let his legs fall open in invitation, but instead of following instructions, Levi just kept staring at his phone.

He was trying not to get a complex, but it was tough when Levi was not as into this as he absolutely should be.

Finally Levi looked up at him. “Why,” he asked slowly, carefully—too carefully—“is everyone asking me if I’m excited? What should I be so excited about?”

An anxious sensation spiraled through Aidan. He wanted to be happy—it sounded like he should be, whatever it was that had just happened—but it was hard to be when he was still so in the dark.

He scrambled for his phone, and there it was, on the screen.

A lot of texts. So many texts. Fifty-four in the Thunder group chat. Two from his agent. Some from other players he knew. Texts from Riley. Texts from Landry. And then the damning ones. Four more texts from Mo.

Aidan opened those first, heart in his throat.

There was the first one.

Hey dude, what’s up?

Then, twenty minutes later, probably when he’d been in the middle of creaming Levi at Mario Kart, I really meant to give you the space you wanted, swear to God.

Another seven minutes after that: But things are moving quick here. I thought I’d get a say, and I don’t. But I still can’t say I’m pissed this is happening.

Then the last, probably when he’d been rolling around with Levi on the bed, not even five minutes ago: Gonna be sweet to play with you again.

There it was.

Mo was coming back to Toronto.

Aidan’s phone slipped from his suddenly nerveless fingers.

He didn’t know what to say. Only that he should say something, at least when Levi looked at him in confusion.

“What is it?” Levi asked.

He had to say it. He only had to get the words out.

Just the actual thing that had just happened.

He didn’t have to say how he felt about it yet—because he didn’t fucking know.

Or how this would change anything with him and Levi—theoretically nothing, because it wasn’t like Mo had suddenly changed his mind on the whole interested in guys thing generally or the whole interested in Aidan specifically thing.

“Mo just got traded back to the Thunder.”

Eight words. Aidan counted them back in his head as he watched Levi struggle to get his expression under control.

There was a part of him that wondered if it was just sex, if they were just doing what they’d promised in July, why Levi would look like he was being marched to death row, but he shut that question down.

Aidan only had the bandwidth to deal with the fact Mo was back.

After he’d acclimated to that idea, he would try to figure out what the fuck this meant for him and Levi.

Was there even a him and Levi? Aidan couldn’t be the one to decide that. Fuck.

“Wow. Okay. Wow.” At least Levi didn’t seem to know what to say either.

“Yeah.”

Aidan opened Landry’s texts next. They were all variations of are you okay?

He didn’t know what he was, so he moved on to his convo with Riley.

Riley had only sent one message, but it was a fucking solid paragraph of text.

God, Riley was the worst texter. Aidan could basically sum the whole thing up in two sentences: That’s crazy, but great. I hope you’re holding up okay.

He looked up at Levi and realized a second too late that Levi was still staring at him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Levi asked.

If he did, Aidan wasn’t even sure what he’d say.

There were the things he was expected to say, first as the starting quarterback of the Toronto Thunder, along the lines of, “We’re excited for the opportunities this opens up in the passing game.

” And then as the long-time friend of Mo, something like, “I’m thrilled he’s back. ”

But then there was the secret Aidan—the Aidan he’d buried back deep down, in July, and that was quieter, that hurt less, but still existed, somewhat.

The Aidan that had hoped and maybe even dreamed a little that something like this could happen. After all, it was the NFL, anything could—and did—happen.

The real Aidan.

The Aidan that had stood in front of Mo just last June and had told him the truth. Had accepted even through Mo’s surprise and sympathy that nothing was ever going to happen.

The Aidan that had sulked through that weekend in early July, and the Aidan that had told Levi the truth to first. The Aidan that was here with Levi now. That wanted him so badly he shook with it.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Aidan said, finally.

He couldn’t be the first Aidan. The QB Aidan or even the public-friend-to-Mo Aidan.

Levi had already long since slunk his way under those walls.

He could only be who he really was—the Aidan who’d only shown himself to a handful of people he trusted.

There was no question Levi was one of them.

Maybe the one he trusted the most.

Less than ten minutes ago, he’d been wild for Levi to fuck him. If that wasn’t trust, Aidan didn’t know what that feeling was, pressing hard and fast up against his breastbone.

“Talk to me,” Levi persuaded in a soft voice. He relaxed on the bed and actually managed to coax Aidan down. He settled half on Levi’s chest, Levi’s arm stroking up and down his back in a comforting, reassuring way that he didn’t think he’d ever experienced before.

“I’m freaking out,” Aidan said finally.

“Yeah, no shit,” Levi said, voice rumbling underneath him. “Which part?”

“All the parts?” He knew, of course, what the public Aidans needed to say. That was never a question. “No, that’s not true. I know what I’m supposed to say about it. What I should feel about it.”

“Bro,” Levi said in an aggrieved voice, “I’m not asking Aidan Flynn, QB1 for the Toronto Thunder, right now. I’m in your bed. You can talk to me. Really talk to me.”

He was. Levi was in his bed because Aidan had invited him there. Would he have done it if he knew Mo was coming back?

Probably yes, because Mo coming back changed the way their offense played on the field, but not really anything else—and God knew, Aidan would have still wanted Levi.

Maybe acting on it would have taken longer, if Mo was around all the time. Maybe Aidan would’ve spent more time trying to get out of his own fucking way. But there was no way it wouldn’t have ended up exactly the same, in the end.

Levi in Aidan’s bed.