Page 41 of Pucking Around

He’s smiling at me and I feel it all the way down to my toes. “Good morning, Doctor Price.”

I roll my eyes, snatching up my travel cup. “Okay, champ, dial it back a little.”

“What? I can’t call you Doctor Price?”

“No, you can call me Doctor Price,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee. “I meant dial back the eyes.”

He leans against my doorway, arms crossed. “My eyes?”

“Yeah, they give you away.”

“Oh, yeah? And what are my eyes saying this morning?” He flutters his lashes like a total flirt.

I get up from my chair, which does very little to make me feel like I’m taking back my space. He still stands head and shoulders taller than me. “They’re saying they watched me come last night.”

He feigns a gasp. “Why, Doc, I have no idea what you’re talking about. My eyes were with me all night. You can ask Caleb. He’ll tell you that at no point did I watch you ride a toy to climax.”

I stand right in front of him, clutching my coffee and my tablet. “You gonna move?”

“Huh?”

“You make a better door than my actual door, Jake. Move your body.”

“Oh—” He laughs, stepping out of my doorway.

“Hey, Doc, if Compton gives you a hard time, you let us know!” one of the guys shouts. “We’ll set him straight!”

Some of the other guys laugh and shout too, the noises layering with the thumping music.

I open the exam room door and he winks as he walks past, turning to hop dutifully up onto the exam table. This room is a much better size, with enough space for a small sink and cupboard, an exam table. There are a few pieces of equipment I can use to test flexibility and range of motion too.

I set my coffee on the counter by the sink and wake up my tablet. I lean against the wall by the open door and pull up his electronic medical files. “So…let’s see what we’ve got here.”

Jake crosses his arms over his broad chest, still giving me the I’ve-seen-you-naked eyes. I wish they weren’t so damn pretty. They’re a caramel brown at the outside, fading to apple green at his iris. “You gonna shut the door, Seattle?”

I glance up over the tablet. “Hmm?” My gaze darts to the open door. “I don’t think we need the door shut for this exam. It’s not like I’ll have you taking off any clothing. This is more of a formality. I’m just gonna poke and prod at your knees a bit.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a pretty shy guy,” he says with a shrug and that sultry grin. “I prefer to know my doctor-patient confidentiality can’t be breached by some nosy rookie. These guys look for weaknesses, like sharks chasing chum in the water.”

I pause in my skimming to look up at him again. “If I close that door, are you gonna behave?”

He nods, raising the two fingers of his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”

Oh, goddamn it.He did that cutesy little move in Seattle too…right before he fucked me bare and made me scream with my ankles on his shoulders. I can tell from the look on his face right now that he’s picturing it too.

“Compton, I swear to god—”

He barks out a laugh, raising both hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll behave. Look, I’m totally behaving. Ask your questions, Doc. This is about hips and knees, right? No word of a lie, I’m in the best shape of my life. I had some issues with my meniscus about two years ago. Had a minor surgery. I’ve been playing great since.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Mmhmm. Did you know I have a magic talent?”

He raises a brow. “Making a man hard with just a look?”

I shake my head. “Nope. I’m basically a human lie detector. So, I’m gonna review this file, and Iwilldo an exam, and Iwillask you questions, Compton. And if I think you’re lying to me, I’ll ask more questions. I’ll domoreexams. I will poke and prod and X-ray and scan until your records are thick as a phone book.”

His cocky smile falters a bit. There’s nothing pro athletes hate worse than the threat of medical testing. And I bet you any money Jake Compton is afraid of needles. I’ll be giving him an orange juice after he passes out and whacks his head on my table.

“You should know that Doctor Tyler has given me the power to approve your final preseason review,” I add. “You wanna play next week?”