Page 31

Hayden

It’s almost dark by the time I’ve changed and stepped out of the locker room. Unable to hold myself back from telling Liam everything, I grab my phone from my bag.

Opening the phone’s screen, I see there’s an unread text from Liam.

Can you come to my apartment tonight? The text says. I’ve got to tell you something and this can’t wait!

Surprise flickers through me. He has something urgent to tell me too?

Just as I’m about to close the messaging app, I see there’s another text from Liam.

Can you bring some food with you? The text says. I didn’t shop over the weekend, so there’s just cereal and coffee in my kitchen.

A chuckle escapes me.

Liam spent his weekend feeding me and taking care of me. It’s time I did the same for him and told him about the most amazing thing that’s happened to me since I started playing hockey.

Pulling my gym bag over my shoulder, I walk out of the locker room.

“Hey, Bastian!” Mitchikov calls out from behind me, making me halt in my steps.

I glance over my shoulder. “What?”

“We’re going out for a barbecue,” he says, grinning broadly. “You wanna join us?”

I shake my head. “Sorry, bud. I’ve got something important to do.”

Chuckling hard, he ambles toward me. “Something important? You mean like a tutoring session?”

My eyes widen at the implication. Does Mitchikov know about me and Liam too?

Still laughing like a maniac, Mitchikov heads back inside the locker room.

Surprise flickers through me.

Does everyone on the team know about me and Liam? And they’re all okay with it?

I feel dazed. My teammates know about my relationship with a guy and they’re just having fun teasing me. No one’s making crass homophobic jokes or attacking me for being gay.

Taking a deep breath, I walk faster. I’ve got to tell Liam about everything!

A cool evening breeze blows past me as I make my way across the grounds. I can’t wait to see Liam but first, I decide to pick some flowers for him.

I go to the supermarket that’s located close to Knightswood U’s campus. Since I’ve never bought flowers in my life, it takes me a while to locate the aisle.

I stare at the rows of lilies, roses, and other blooms that all blur together. Every flower looks pretty to me, making me confused about which one to pick for Liam.

My gaze falls on a bouquet of large sunflowers. They’re bright yellow and look so cheerful, they immediately remind me of Liam.

Liam Myers...my personal sun.

“Um, hi,” a hesitant female voice speaks up from behind me.

Turning around, I see it’s one of the store helpers.

“Do you need help picking something for your girlfriend?” the middle-aged woman asks with a kind smile.

“I already know what to get,” I tell her, grabbing the bouquet of sunflowers.

“Roses are more romantic, you know?” she says, stepping beside me.

“Roses, huh?” I mumble, staring at the big blooms in my hands.

“If it’s for a girlfriend, I’d suggest getting red roses,” she says, picking up a bouquet of long-stemmed crimson roses. “Nothing represents love and passion as these flowers.”

“Oh.”

“Go on. Smell them,” she encourages me with a smile.

Feeling ridiculous, I take a whiff.

Suddenly, I’m transported back to the rose garden in Liam’s beach house.

My eyes almost flutter close as my mind replays a vision of bright sunlit beaches and the sparkling blue ocean.

“Do you still want the sunflowers?” the lady asks me.

I shake my head. “I’ll go with the roses.”

“Great choice,” she says, patting my arm. “I’ll pack them up for you right away.”

“Thanks,” I say, following her to the counter.

“You play hockey, don’t you?” she asks, wrapping up the bouquet.

“Yeah.”

“My son is a big fan of yours,” she tells me, grinning. “He and his dad go to all of your games. I’m so sorry about the last game, though.”

She looks truly apologetic.

“We’ll get them back,” I tell her in a grim tone. “Tell your son we’re already training for our next game.”

“Oh, he’ll go crazy when I tell him I met you,” she says, grinning. She hands me my package and looks up at me with a hopeful look. “Do you think you could sign something for me?”

“Sure.”

She eagerly reaches for her clipboard and slides it to me.

“What’s your son’s name?” I ask, grabbing the pen she gives me.

“Robert,” she answers excitedly.

I write a short, quick message with his name and sign the whole thing.

“I’m Rachel, by the way,” the woman says, taking the clipboard back from me. “Also, thank you. This will make my son’s day.”

I give a nod and turn away.

While some of my teammates enjoy the attention of fans, I usually hang back and stay away from the limelight. My irrational fear of being found out made me hide from people. For the first time in my life, I feel excited at being recognized.

Liam walking back into my life has changed everything for me.

Maybe I should’ve bought him those sunflowers too , I muse, picking up a box of chocolates. He deserves every good thing in the world for taking care of me when I needed him the most.

Walking out of the supermarket, I make my way to a local Chinese restaurant. Liam mentioned the place to me while we sat enjoying our meal last night, so I know he’ll love their food.

I pick up his favorites—egg fried rice, dumplings, and orange chicken. Since it feels a little cold today, I also pack up some egg drop soup for us.

By the time I reach Liam’s apartment building, my arms are full.

A couple of teenage kids stare at me, eyeing me up and down. I put on my signature scowl that keeps people away from me and walk past them.

I can’t wait to start playing as a pro player and make enough money so I can afford to rent a better place for Liam. This crumbling structure with its dirty, graffitied walls and stairs doesn’t feel safe enough to me.

Taking a deep breath, I head up the staircase and reach Liam’s apartment. Balancing the bouquet and food bags in one hand, I knock on the door.

The door swings open.

A smile slowly comes on Liam’s lips as he realizes it’s me. Dressed in sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, he opens the door wider.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says, wrapping his arms around my neck. “You have no idea how much I missed you the whole day!”

Warmth washes over me as I stroke his tousled golden curls. This is what it must feel like to come home to someone who loves you and cares about you.

“Hey, I smell garlic and chili oil,” Liam says, loosening his hold on me. “Did you get me Chinese food—”

I don’t let him finish.

Wrapping my arm around his waist, I pull him against me and kiss him hard.

Liam gasps into my mouth, too surprised.

I push him inside the apartment, barely giving him the time to kick the door shut before I press him against it.

Letting the bouquet and food packages gently drop to the floor, I hold his beautiful face in both my hands, deepening the kiss. I pour everything into the kiss, hoping he’ll feel my unquenchable desire for him.

Liam responds just as fiercely, his fingers curling into my jacket, pulling me closer as if he’s afraid I’ll run away if he lets me go.

I swirl my tongue around his sweet, hot mouth, silently telling him I’m his.

I’m not going anywhere and I’m never leaving him behind again.

Our hands roam all over each other’s backs, arms, and chests while we continue to kiss. Before I know it, we’ve gravitated to the bed in the corner.

By the time we fall onto the mattress, most of our clothes are gone, scattered all over the floor of his tiny living room.

Our tongues dance together in a frenzy, making fire course through my veins, burning away all my exhaustion. With a sudden move, I shift, bringing Liam crashing down on the bed.

“Hayden,” he gasps, panting hard.

I have him on his stomach, his face pressed to a pillow. Straddling his thighs, I loom over him.

Liam’s pale, round ass is smooth and full, the taut skin lit up by the warm glow of the bedside lamp. Keeping him pressed down, I grab two handfuls and lean down to suck up a mark on one creamy cheek.

He groans. “Hayden...”

I smirk and lean down to trail a line of kisses along his spine, making his body shiver with each press of my lips.

“I want you right now,” I murmur against his ear.

He turns around and gazes at me with a mischievous look in his beautiful blue eyes.

“Where do you keep your lube?” I ask in a rough voice.

“Over there,” he says, pointing toward the drawer beside the bed. “I’ll get it for you—”

“No. You’re staying right here,” I say, laying a hand on his back. “I’ll get it.”

My arm is long enough to reach for the cabinet while keeping my weight on Liam. He squirms underneath me, so I lightly nip his earlobe to punish him.

“Stop,” he moans, arching his neck back.

“Be patient, babe,” I say, running my hand up his bare back and into his blond curls. He closes his eyes when I pull at the strands, just hard enough to make him groan.

My dick hardens at the sound he makes.

Focusing back on the beautiful man before me, I notice him biting his bottom lip, turning it a bright red. Leaning over, I suck those luscious lips and swipe my tongue over them.

Cupping the back of his neck, I hold him close and deepen the kiss, seeking more of his heady sweetness. Liam whimpers and moans, melting into the sheets underneath him.

Liam glances back at me, his sapphire eyes glowing with lust.

I’m almost glad he likes to dress in baggy trousers and oversized hoodies with long sleeves. He’s so stunningly beautiful, that I want to hide him from the rest of the world.

Grabbing the lube, I squirt a generous amount on the cleft of his ass and wet my fingers with the cool gel before sliding them one by one into his tight hole.

“Hayden,” he whimpers as my other hand reaches out to grasp his cock. “Oh fuck! Fuck...” He chants as I slowly pump his cock.

“I like how your vocabulary gets so limited when you’re hard, babe,” I say in a soft voice.

“Please...fuck.”

The slick wetness between his shaft and my palm allows me to rub him harder. His hips rise from the bed as he seeks the friction. “Please...Hayden,” he breathes.

He looks at me with a pleading look in his eyes as my hand brushes over his balls. His body tightens and his dick twitches in my hand.

Liam is ready for me.

I spread his cheeks with both my hands and thrust my cock into his hole. My fingering helped him relax and ease up, allowing me to slide in deeper.

My eyes close in pure pleasure as I feel the incredible heat and tight clench of his muscles around my cock. A groan escapes me.

Liam lets his chest fall to the mattress and raises his hips to meet my slow, deep thrusts. Nothing compares to the feeling of being inside him like this. Leaning further against his back, I press my face against the side of his neck as I slide in and out of him at a faster pace, relishing every noise and squeeze of his body.

“You’re so damn hard,” Liam groans as my cock thrusts into him, pounding him deeper into the mattress. “I wanted to talk to you about something important tonight but fuck, I can’t remember what it was.”

“I. Don’t. Want. You. Thinking. About. Anything. Right. Now.” Each of my words is punctuated by a deep thrust.

Liam’s voice soon turns breathy. “Oh, fuck...”

His muscles clench and squeeze around my shaft, making the heat deep in my belly grow into a raging inferno.

Kneeling further down, I press a hand flat between his shoulder blades and hold him down firmly against the bed as I thrust into him.

My jaws clench together as my own need for release heightens. I drive into him harder and reach between his thighs to grasp his cock.

“Oh, gods!” Liam whimpers as I stroke his rigid, throbbing cock. Precum dribbles onto my hand as he makes breathy, gasping noises. “I’m gonna...I can’t...”

His whole body tightens underneath me as his back arches off the bed. With a cry, he comes undone, his body trembling underneath me with the force of his pleasure.

It only takes me a few more thrusts until I feel my release bursting through me. My cum gushes deep inside him as I collapse on top of him. My heart pounds in my chest as I lie against him, soaking up the warmth of his skin.

When my pleasure slowly fades away, I suck Liam’s earlobe and gently pull out of him.

He slowly turns around to face me.

Liam looks breathtaking with his stray curls falling over his eyes. His lips part slightly as he continues to gasp for breath. A crimson glow spreads on his cheeks, making me want to take a bite out of them.

I settle against a pillow beside him and pull him against my chest.

For a while, we’re both quiet as we catch our breaths.

I kiss the top of his head, savoring his sweet caramel scent. There’s no better feeling than having Liam in my arms.

“Hayden?” Liam speaks up after a few minutes.

“Mmm?”

“I spoke to Logan and Pavel today.”

It takes a second for those names to register in my pleasure-soaked mind.

“Wait. What?!”

“Don’t panic,” he says, laying a hand against my chest. “It’s all fine.”

My heart pounds. “When did you talk to them?”

“This afternoon,” he replies, massaging my chest soothingly. “They met me outside the library and invited me to the cafeteria beside it. They even bought me donuts and coffee.”

I stare at him.

“They’re not supposed to know about you,” I murmur.

“Well, Logan spotted me back at the restaurant and I told Pavel I was your math tutor on the night you played against Silverlake University. I went to look for you in the changing rooms and he told me you’d already left with your dad.”

A heavy breath escapes me.

I’d tried so hard to hide Liam from my teammates but in the end, I failed.

They figured out about my relationship with Liam without me breathing a word to them. Just how much did these guys observe me over the past three years to know every damn thing about me?

“They’re cool with us,” Liam says, his eyes shining with hope. “Hayden, they don’t mind that we’re seeing each other.”

“I know.”

“What? They already told you?”

“I didn’t have a direct talk with Mitchikov but I got a chance to speak to Logan at the coach’s office after practice,” I tell him, glad to be finally able to give him the big news.

Liam’s expression dims. “Why did the coach call you?”

I press a kiss to his lips, reassuring him. “Coach wanted to tell me that the Buffalo Wolves are interested in drafting me.”

“Who?” A completely clueless look comes over my smarty-pants boyfriend.

Shaking my head, I lightly nip his cheek. “I’m going to have to tutor you on hockey,” I growl, squeezing his ass. “The Buffalo Wolves are one of the best teams in the NHL.”

“What?” he squeaks, his eyes widening. “Are you telling me you’re getting drafted to play in the NHL?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my God!” he cries out, lunging at me, hugging me tightly. “Oh, my God, Hayden! You did it! You made it! You’re going to be a pro!”

A heady feeling wraps around me as Liam congratulates me with kisses and the sweetest words.

I’ve won tough games. I’ve brought home trophies.

But no one’s ever hugged me and praised me like this. Maybe if my mother were alive, she’d have shown me some warmth but I’ll never know. She died before she could see me skate and play hockey.

“I’m so proud of you, Hayden,” Liam says, his eyes shining with tears. “It’s an amazing achievement to be selected in an NHL team. You’ve suffered so much but despite everything, you made it. You’ve been so damn strong to reach this milestone. You absolutely deserve this.”

“You’re proud of me?” I ask in a low, hesitant voice.

“Yep. I’m so proud of you, Hayden.” He suddenly breaks free from my arms and sits up. “We’ve got to plan something special. We’ve got to celebrate this.”

“Hey, stay!” I say, capturing his wrist and pulling him back against me. “You’re not going anywhere. Not yet, anyway.”

“But—”

“I’m not done telling you everything.”

My grim tone finally calms him down. He settles down beside me and looks up at me, waiting.

“Coach and Logan know about my dad now,” I tell him. “Coach suspected him of being an asshole a long time ago but now, I’ve confirmed it for him.”

“I hope your dad won’t do anything to ruin this opportunity for you,” Liam says, looking anxious.

“He can try,” I say, my voice turning ice-cold. “I have both my coach and my team captain’s support this time. They’ll make sure Dad doesn’t ruin anything for me again.”

A heavy sigh escapes him. “That’s good. I told Logan and Pavel about what happened between you and your dad after the game with Silverlake U. I explained how he hurt you so badly, that I was left with no choice but to take you somewhere safe.”

“So, you told them everything about us, huh?”

“Kind of,” Liam says with a chuckle. “Your friends convinced me they were okay with our relationship and that I could trust them. Pavel is a little bit crazy but Logan is a solid guy.”

A laugh escapes me.

Just a single meeting with them was enough for Liam to know them.

“Next time, though, you’re not allowed to go with them,” I growl, squeezing his ass cheek. “I don’t like you hanging out with anyone other than me.”

An amused grin comes over Liam. “Are you jealous of your teammates? They came to speak to me because they were worried about you . The whole thing was about you. I’m kind of jealous I don’t have friends like that in my life.”

Friends...

The word sends warmth shooting through me.

I never thought I could have friends who could accept me fully. Now that Logan and Mitchikov know about me and Liam, a giant weight seems to have lifted from my chest.

For the first time in my life, I feel like I can breathe .

“Hayden?” Liam looks at me, searching my face for something.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t care that they know about us now?”

“I stopped caring what people thought of us the moment you took me back to the beach house with you that night,” I tell him. “I’m not willing to hurt you again. If I can’t play hockey again, so be it. I’m never going to make you feel like you’re someone who should be hidden. I want to proudly show you off to the world!”

“Hayden, don’t say that,” Liam murmurs. “You love hockey and you have a long, long way to go in your career.”

I smile, capturing his lips in a kiss.

“There’s nothing more I want in my life as long as I can play hockey and have you by my side,” I say, wrapping my arms around him. “Nothing else matters to me.”

“I’ll always be with you,” Liam promises, kissing me again.

I trace lazy circles on his back, feeling free and happy. With him in my arms, I feel like I’m truly home.