Page 194 of Pucking Around

“Chirping with what?”

“That you and Compton are together,” says Morrow. “You know, like…together.Like a gay thing.”

“Yeah, I get what ‘together’ means.”

“There’s all this footage from the game last night,” Novy adds. “Compton skating up to you on the ice, and you’re wearing his jersey and, like, smiling and shit.”

I know exactly what they’re talking about. God, it felt good in the moment. Rachel was by my side, and we were laughing, having fun. I had my girl and my…fuck—well, he’s not really my guy, is he? We fool around a bit with Rachel, but he’s given me no indication he wants anything outside the comfort her presence provides, the inhibitions she helps us all lower.

Visions of last night fill my senses, making my heart race and my palms sweat. I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it. Jake’s face so close to mine, his thumb on my lips, the smell of his cologne invading my lungs, filling me up. I wanted him to kiss me…but he didn’t. He pulled away.

But then he put me on my knees and popped my fucking cherry in the middle of an orgasmic four-way. I’ve never been filled like that before. Not even by a toy. I may love sticking my dick in asses, but I’ve never once considering having a dick in mine. Turns out it wasn’t even a question. He offered, and I couldn’t bend over fast enough.

And I want more. I want his cum in my mouth, my ass. I want to lay that man out and feast on him till he begs me to stop. I want Rachel to hold him down while I fuck his tight ass, riding him hard and long, edging him to within an inch of his sanity.

And I want kissing. More than sex, I want him to want me. I want the intimacy of my lips on his and I want it to behisidea. Until then, Jake’s not queer for me. He’s just a straight man having his cake and eating it too.

I clear my throat, snatching up the iron again and putting my eyes on my work. “So, all of this chirping is based on me wearing Jake’s jersey to the game last night and the fact that he skated up to the boards?” I move the iron down the sleeve, glancing up between the guys. “You know I was with Doctor Price and Poppy too, right? Did the footage catch that? Pretty sure Doc was in a jersey. Is she getting dragged too?”

My heart is silent in my chest, unwilling to beat. What the fuck am I doing? I don’t want to draw attention to Rachel, but I also need to try to deflect this for Jake’s sake. Her image with the guys is spotless right now. So is Poppy’s. This could work. I can buy us time and get Novy and Morrow to help me spread the ‘nothing to see here’ message far and wide.

“Yeah, some of the noise is tryna say you and Hot Doc are a thing,” says Morrow with a shrug. “But that’s just the celebrity news and stuff the bunnies spread around.”

“Only some of the noise, huh?” I say, setting the iron aside as I slip Sully’s jersey back on its hanger and hang it up. “What does most of the noise say…”

Novy sighs, leaning against the table, arms crossed over his barrel chest. “Inside the League, the news is that you and Compton are finally out.”

I let out a breath, trying to control this sick feeling in my gut. Distracting my hands, I reach for the next jersey. Fuck, it’s Jake’s. “Finally? What, like we’ve been trapped in the closet lookin’ for a key to unlock the door?”

The guys offer me weak smiles. They’re not buying my deflection.

“Come on, man,” Morrow mutters. “You gotta know you guys have a reputation from the other teams, right?”

I say nothing, eyes on my work as I smooth out Jake’s jersey.

Novy clears his throat. “Yeah, apparently some of the guys from the Pens and the Kings are chirping about it. And some ofourguys share chats with them. They were all talking about it up in the PT room just now. Avery goaded them on—”

“Which is totally not cool,” Morrow says, voice firm.

“Yeah, we’re not gonna tolerate any Rays chirping about our guys,” says Novy with a reassuring nod. “The jerks talking about it upstairs got their asses handed to them, so don’t even worry about it.”

I glance up sharply from my work. “Wait—by who?”

“Kinnunen,” Morrow replies.

“Who knew Mars was such an ally, huh?” Novy laughs. “Most I’ve heard him talk all season. He told Perry what he could do with the weight he was lifting.”

“Yeah, but then he switched to Finnish,” Morrow adds.

“Made the poor kid cry. I never want him to yell at me in Finnish,” Novy said, eyes wide as he shakes his head in horror.

“And I don’t know what the deal is with Avery,” Morrow mutters.

“Yeah, that guy is such an asshole,” Novy huffs, arms crossed. “I don’t know why they hired him, honestly. I wish they’d can him and just hire Price.”

I glance between them. Rachel hasn’t said anything, but I know Avery’s reputation. And I’ve seen them interact a bit at games. He’s always putting her down and leaving her hanging. I think he might feel threatened by her. “Wait—was he chirping too?” I say, eyes narrowed at the guys.

“Nothing Mars couldn’t handle,” Novy replies with a shrug.