Page 144 of Pucking Sweet

He behaves as we take a few more pictures, even offering to take the camera so I can get a few of just me and Colton.Then Colton takes the camera but keeps cutting Lukas out of all the shots. They fight until they nearly send my phone over the side, and I have to tuck it away for safekeeping.

We settle back against the deck cushions, and I smooth my hands down their thighs. Turning to Colton, I smile. “Are you having a good time?”

He tucks my wind-whipped hair back from my face, kissing my cheek again. “This is great, baby. I needed the fresh air.”

“We both did,” says Lukas, stretching out with his arm around my shoulders, ankles crossed, feet bare. “Sometimes it feels like the only place I exist is on the ice, in the gym, or on the seat of a damn plane.”

Their schedules really are grueling. I see how hard it is on the families too. The players with kids miss so much—birthdays, doctor’s visits, recitals. Walsh had to attend his girlfriend’s first baby wellness check from a bus this week. Lukas said he video-chatted in, showing them all the live sonogram. They get the summer to recover, but during the season, these men are living and breathing hockey 24/7.

“I’m glad we could do this together,” I say, snuggling in a little closer to Lukas to give him another kiss. I just can’t help myself.

Colton scoots into the space I’ve made, tucking me in tighter between them. He snakes his hand around me, cupping my breast, and I gasp, grabbing his hand. “Col—they’ll see us.” I glance over my shoulder to where Steve and Mike stand at the helm, still chatting.

“So?” says Lukas, stealing another kiss, his own hand roaming as he slips it under the large, striped beach towel.

I let their petting go just a minute too long—Colton’s tongue is in my mouth, and Lukas is kissing my shoulder with his fingers brushing over my panties—when Steve comes padding over in his flip-flops. “We’ll be anchoring here in a minute to watch the sunset,” he calls out.

The three of us break apart, Lukas dropping his hand away from me under the blanket.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Steve says with a chuckle. He’s a young guy with a beachy Matthew McConaughey vibe. “Y’all poly?”

I blink, heart suddenly racing. Oh god, the sandy-toed, sun-kissed boat captain wants to know the parameters of our relationship. I can literally feel the walls of our protective clamshell snapping shut as Colton says, “Yeah, we are.”

“It’s new,” Lukas adds, his hands still on me. “Just consider us a trio of sea explorers.”

“These be strange tides,” Steve says with a wink.

Oh my god, what is happening right now?

“I’ve dabbled myself,” he goes on, readying to drop the anchor as the boat slows. “Love is love is love, am I right?”

“Definitely,” Colton replies, his hand brushing down my arm.

“We’ll stay here about thirty minutes,” Steve goes on, hands on his hips as he glances around at the blue patch of water. Off in the distance, you can still see the shore. “That sun’ll go down quick. Then it’ll be back to the marina. You love birds have a nice time,” he adds, walking away. “Mikey and I will make ourselves scarce. If this boat’s a’rockin,’ we won’t come knockin.’”

On that note, he leaves, Colton and Lukas laughing to either side of me.

“What the heck was that?” I hiss, sitting up.

“What was what?” says Lukas.

“You just told Steve that we’re in a relationship.”

Lukas glances to Colton, confused. “Is that not what this is? I mean, I don’t have all the words for it, but I’m pretty sure the term ‘poly’ applies to a ‘two guys, one girl’ situationship, right?”

“Neither of us is French-Canadian,” Colton adds. “So, I don’t think we can use ‘ménage à trois’ without sounding like assholes.”

Lukas snorts. “Yeah, I’m not calling us that.”

My heart is racing so fast as I glance between them. “Well…whatwouldyou call us?”

Lukas narrows his eyes, his smile turning to a smirk. “Uh-oh. Brace yourself, Coley. Poppy wants to have the talk. You realize it’s only been, like, a week, right?” he teases at me.

Is that how time works? I’ve been so swept under in all this that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you told me I’d been with these two for a decade.

Colton crosses his arms, his pretty dark eyes locked on me. “What are we allowed to say here that won’t scare you off?”

“What do you mean?”