Page 10 of Puck My Stepbrother (Pucked and Possessed #2)

LEVI

“ W hat’s with you lately, bro?” Ryan Detenbeck asked as we sat on the bench overlooking the practice rink.

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I kept my focus on Quinn Standish, where it’d stayed ever since the shower.

Shit, my focus had zeroed in on him long before that, but now I could think of nothing else.

Showering with my stepbrother-to-be, caressing his shoulders and stroking his cock, had felt so fucking exhilarating.

I still tasted his lips on mine, and I wanted more.

Not finishing the job drove me crazy and left me feeling even hungrier than before.

“Levi?” Detenbeck asked again. “Yoo-hoo. You still with me?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course I am, bro.”

“You really spaced out on me for a minute there.”

“Sorry about that, bro. What was the question again?”

“I asked what’s been up with you lately.”

“Nothing, dude.”

The goalie lifted an eyebrow like he didn’t buy my story.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno. It’s like you’ve been completely zonked out during practice these last few days. Actually, you’ve been at least a little off for a few weeks now.”

If he ever met Quinn, he’d understand why.

Detenbeck’s comments alarmed me, forcing me to search for a story to feed him, but then I checked myself. I’d never overcome my problems if I let fear control me.

“You were so hungry coming into the season,” he continued.

“You were on the second string all last year, you’ve wanted to prove yourself for the longest time, and now you’ve got the opportunity to do it.

With Kayden Preston and Erik De Ruiter gone to the pros, you could show the Larkin Lions that you’re the guy to lead the team to back-to-back championships. ”

“Yeah, it’s great to be a starter now, but…”

I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. Thoughts of Kayden Preston and Erik De Ruiter swirled through my mind, whisking me back into the fog Detenbeck had yanked me from only a minute ago. I found my opening to escape my immediate problem and answer my own questions, and I decided to go for it.

“Hey, Detenbeck, did you know about Preston and De Ruiter?” I asked.

“Know about what?”

He had to know what I meant. How could he not?

“Come on,” I said, “you know what I’m talking about. The fact that they were…”

“Gay? And apparently a couple for most of last season even if they honestly seemed to want to rip each other apart now and then?”

“Uh, yeah. That.”

Detenbeck smiled. “I knew as much as you did. I thought they had some sort of weird love-hate thing going on. You know, like frenemies? I wouldn’t have thought the love part would become so heated. Maybe I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t notice enough to realize what was going on.”

Silence settled over us while I thought of what to say next. Deep down, I wanted someone to finally ask something that would open the door to a discussion about our former teammates. Detenbeck had done that without prompting, which I totally appreciated, but…

He’d called them gay. I hadn’t thought of them that way even after their love affair had come out. Even still, I couldn’t cram the toothpaste back into the tube. I had to know his take.

“Why did you bring them up?” Detenbeck asked.

“You brought them up, bro.”

“Okay, fine. Why did you want to know about their relationship?”

“I think of them randomly sometimes and realize I didn’t talk about that stuff with anyone, including teammates. I never really noticed anything about them before the news broke, but I thought maybe others had seen some signs.”

I’d seen no signs but had noticed those two plenty, realizing that they were both fucking hot.

Kayden’s height, wavy hair, broad shoulders, and powerful chest had caught my eye, making me lick my lips more than once.

Erik De Ruiter boasted a rugged but wholesome farm boy look that I found impossible to resist. Only after the championship game did anyone know something had been going on between them.

They’d kissed after our championship game, shocking everyone, myself included.

That kiss played on various sports networks for days. Both Preston and De Ruiter were drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rest, as they say, was history.

In case you were wondering, I have noticed guys other than Quinn.

No way could I have missed specimens like Preston and De Ruiter.

I stole as many glances as I could of their naked asses in the shower, wishing I could stand there and watch as they soaped themselves up.

But I’d never realized I could have their life for myself.

The thought of taking a brave next step seemed unthinkable.

My attraction to Quinn felt different from my lust over my teammates.

Those feelings had budded and bloomed a long time ago, and I figured they’d always stay bottled up.

Quinn Standish had represented an unattainable dream.

But Preston and De Ruiter showed me that was utter bullshit.

I could have him and fulfill my dreams…if only I took control of the situation.

“You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” Detenbeck asked.

“No, of course not.”

“Because that must’ve been seriously hard for them to do, even if they made it look easy. They took a big risk, but it paid off in the end.”

“I know, bro. I’m telling you, I’ve got no problem with it.”

“Then why did you ask?”

Wasn’t that the fucking million-dollar question? I should’ve prepared for the likelihood of Detenbeck acting stupid before entangling myself in this conversation. I needed a plausible reason for asking, even though I wanted to tell the plain truth in the worst way.

“I was just curious if people knew about them all along and I was in the dark, or…”

“If it was a huge secret from everyone?”

I nodded, reminded of the secret I’d carried around for years.

“I think it was an open secret,” he said.

“No…that’s not right. I think it was a secret they must’ve known deep down would come out one day.

But they would’ve had no idea how the team would react.

And if they’d taken their relationship public right away, they would’ve created a huge distraction while we were chasing after the championship. ”

“Makes sense.”

“But more than anything, it was probably fear of rejection. There’s no going back after dropping news like that—especially the way they did it.”

“I hear ya. What did you think of it all?”

He shrugged. “Hey, you do whatever’s best for you. I was surprised and everything, but I wouldn’t say I was shocked. And it honestly didn’t make a difference to me. This isn’t the 1950s, you know.”

“I get you, but I would’ve thought there’d be some sort of sign before they came out.”

“Maybe they weren’t gay.”

I cocked an eyebrow to tell him he’d taken a sharp detour from the claim he’d made earlier.

“They might’ve been bisexual,” he said, “which means the time they spent with girls wasn’t some ridiculous charade. What I mean is, they could’ve liked girls as much as they always seemed to, but liked guys a whole lot, too. Does that make sense?”

“A little.”

“Or maybe they didn’t like any other guys, just each other.”

“I hear you, but…how do you know all this stuff?”

“Psychology and sociology classes. They touch on stuff like this sometimes. Human sexuality, I mean. It’s not always black and white.”

I realized right then the category in which I belonged.

I loved women and had chased after them constantly since arriving at Larkin University.

But I’d noticed guys beyond Quinn, Kayden Preston, and Erik De Ruiter.

My mind again drifted to checking them out in the shower and hoping they’d steal glances at me, too.

At the time, I’d had no reason to believe they would, so I hadn’t lifted my hopes.

I’d enjoyed hookups, mostly with campus guys. Mine had started as one-nighters and extended to three or four, but who’s counting? I’d savored their bodies, reveling in the heat and excitement, but hadn’t expected those feelings to reach beyond the physical.

Living with Quinn had made all the difference. With him, I felt something more powerful, life-changing even. I wanted to take a big step, but how could I tell Ryan Detenbeck?

I wouldn’t. Plain and simple. Instead, I’d go where my heart led me.

“So,” I said, “you’re saying what Preston and De Ruiter were doing was basically normal?”

“If you want to put it that way. Seriously, bro. I don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘normal,’ at least if you take the classes I have.”

My teammate made sense to me now. My feelings for Quinn had started in elementary school, not long after I’d known how it felt to like anyone in that way .

Then, I honest to God thought those feelings would go away.

They’d meant nothing. Only they didn’t disappear—they carried over into high school, where they really picked up steam.

I’d wanted to believe I’d only found Quinn sort of cute, that I didn’t like him and totally didn’t…

you know. After high school, my thoughts kept returning to Quinn, how badly I wanted him, and how I’d correct the past if an opportunity appeared.

Though I chased after and mostly slept with women, my every masturbatory fantasy revolved around Quinn Standish.

Living in such close proximity to him drove me even crazier. I couldn’t even think about Quinn sleeping in the next bedroom without wanting to jump into bed with him. And I couldn’t hear him showering down the hall without doing the same…but you already know that.

“There’s got to be a reason you’re bringing this up now,” Detenbeck said as we stepped back onto the ice and skated to the far end of the rink.

Again, I avoided a direct answer.

“Maybe I was just curious about Preston and De Ruiter. I don’t take psychology classes like you, you know.”

My teammate half-smiled, like the classes he took had nothing to do with it.

“And hey,” I said, “it never hurts to learn something new.”

Detenbeck stood in the net and I skated around him, sweeping up a puck with my stick and firing it at him. He stopped the first couple of shots, but I landed the third.

“Can’t keep up with me, can you?” I asked.

“What are you talking about? You missed the first two shots!”

“Yeah, but I did it with authority after you accused me of living in la-la land.”

Detenbeck rolled his eyes like I couldn’t have sounded more ridiculous. That suited me fine. I only wanted to change the subject. If I’d told him the full truth, I couldn’t walk it back. Preston and De Ruiter had proven that with their victory kiss, even though everything had worked out for them.

I could do what they did. I totally could. All I needed was to become the master of my own destiny with Quinn Standish.