Page 25 of The Poster Boy (Love The Game #3)

Jay

I might have cleared it with Boone’s mom, Diane, ahead of our departure, but I didn’t let Boone know about our extra passenger until we were getting ready to leave. I checked my phone to make sure Marek would be here on time, and then the three of us would make the trip to Boone’s house.

His mom was more than happy to add another stocking to the mantel and set another place at the table.

When her kids were teenagers, she was probably the cool mom.

Boone’s house seemed like the kind of place that would gather people.

Every member of the Weimer family had a kind of magnetism about them.

It wasn’t a wonder why Boone had become captain.

“Are we ready to go?” he asked, dropping his bag by the door. He patted his pockets for his keys and his wallet. After last Christmas, when we’d driven halfway to his parents’ house to realize he’d forgotten his wallet and had to turn around to get it, he always double-checked that he had it now .

“I’ve got everything. I think. Did I forget something?” Boone patted his pockets again.

It was the moment of truth now. I had to come clean with Boone about inviting Marek.

I’d lied to Marek a bit when I’d invited him.

I said I hadn’t cared what Boone would think, but my lack of transparency with him about Marek proved that to be a lie.

I didn’t need Boone’s approval, but I found myself wanting it regardless.

By cutting it down to the wire before I told him, it gave Boone less time to talk.

He’d have a stew about it on the way out of town, and by the time we could talk about it again, he’d be used to the idea.

“Not quite.” I looked at my phone again. Marek was five minutes out.

“Jay?” Boone scrunched his face in concern.

“I invited Marek to come with us. Your mom knows. It’s fine.” I resisted the urge to squirm away from Boone’s scrutinizing gaze. It would only give away the anxiety bubbling under the surface.

He took his hat off and scratched his head, then put it on backwards. “You invited Marek. To Christmas.”

“He was going to be alone.”

“How do you know this? You barely talk to him.”

I waited for Boone to put the pieces together. It didn’t take long before the realization hit him.

“Holy shit.” Boone’s eyes widened like saucers. “He’s the guy. The one you’ve been texting with almost nonstop.”

He looked like he couldn’t be more surprised if I told him I’d invited an alien to Christmas.

I shrugged a shoulder, and Boone crossed the room and slugged me in the arm.

“Jesus Christ, Jay. What the fuck? Myers is your secret booty call? Since when? ”

“You did tell me to be nicer to him,” I joked.

“Yeah, by not stomping around and scowling at him. This is not what I meant.” He wiped a hand down his face. “Does he really have nowhere to go?”

“Travel arrangements to see his sister got screwed up. He was going to be alone, Boone. I had to invite him.” I hated the idea of Marek being alone for Christmas. It wasn’t my favorite holiday, but having Boone’s family to be with had taken some of the curse off Christmas.

“And you didn’t tell me until the last minute because…” Boone made a circular motion with his hand, urging me to talk.

“Because I knew you’d come to the exact correct conclusion, and I wanted to give you the least amount of time possible to lecture me about it.

” Tucking my hands in my pockets, I tried to act natural.

I knew I was being weird about this whole thing with Marek, which was why I didn’t tell Boone about it until the last possible moment.

The truth was that I was all tangled up about it.

I knew it was a bad idea, for a lot of reasons, but all of them went out the window when I was with him.

“Why would I lecture you?” Boone appeared to be genuinely confused.

“Because I’m sneaking around with our back-up goalie? Because it could have a negative impact on the team if it goes sour? I’m sure there’s a bunch of other reasons.”

Boone tipped his head back and laughed, then slung an arm around my shoulders.

“Jay, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re still a grumpy, closed-off bastard, and however long this thing between you and Marek has been going on, you’re still the same cantankerous asshole you’ve always been.

If you’re soft for him, no one has noticed.

Your reputation as a stone cold badass is safe. ”

“My reputation as a what?”

Boone ruffled my hair. “You heard me.”

Shoving Boone off me, I checked my phone. “He’s downstairs.”

“So are you and Marek going to play boyfriends when we’re at my folk’s place?”

“As far as Marek is aware, no one knows anything about us. I told him that you know I’m gay, but he doesn’t know that I told you about us. I’m not sure I’m going to, to be honest.”

“And why not?”

“Because it’s not serious between us, and I don’t want to give him the wrong impression.” It wasn’t serious. It was a string of booty calls between teammates. Tentative friends with benefits wasn’t what I’d call a serious relationship.

Boone looked at me, his head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Whatever skepticism I thought I saw on his face was fleeting, though.

Boone grabbed his bag off the floor. “You do you, man. But I hope you know what you’re doing.

Myers is still the media darling of the team.

If the press gets wind of this…” He trailed off, not needing to describe the shit show it would be.

“I know,” I groaned. But I wasn’t going to let it get that far. Marek seemed like he needed a friend. He put on a good front to the rest of the team, but the transfer had been hard on him. As soon as he settled in more, I could break it off.

“As long as you know what you’re doing, man. Come on. Your boyfriend is waiting for us.”

Marek stood in the lobby of our building, a fat duffel bag at his feet. He was wearing a charcoal gray pea coat, black pants, and stylish but warm-looking boots. He was definitely more presentable than Boone and me, both in ballcaps and hoodies.

“Marek, glad you could make it,” Boone said as if he hadn’t just learned that Marek would be coming a few minutes ago.

“Thanks for the invite. It was really nice of you and your family.”

“It’s my pleasure, believe me. You’re way cuter than this asshole, and not as old, so maybe my baby sister will stop crushing on Jay.”

“You better be careful what you wish for, Boone. She might end up with a crush on both of us.”

“Ugh. True. Anyway, let’s get out of here.” Boone clapped me on the shoulder and steered me toward the garage where his Jeep Wrangler was parked. Marek let out a low whistle at the sight of Boone’s shiny black machine.

Boone grinned. “She’s nice, right? I don’t drive her as often as I want to, though.”

I opened the hatch and dropped my bag in the cargo area behind the back seat.

Boone tossed his stuff in next to mine, and Marek slid in next to me and put his gear on top.

The shy smile he threw my way made my heart lurch.

I wanted to press him against the side of the Jeep and kiss him senseless.

But I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea about us.

This wasn’t some kind of romantic getaway.

This was me not wanting Marek to be alone on the holidays.

“Are you going to call shotgun, Jay?” Boone asked as he pulled the driver’s side door open.

“Myers can sit up front. He should get the full Boone Weimer behind the wheel experience.”

Marek gave me a worried expression.

“Do you get car sick, Myers?” I asked as I slipped into the seat behind Boone’s. Marek went around to the other side and got in the front passenger seat.

Had I positioned us so that I could spend the next few hours getting my fill of staring at Marek? I didn’t want to answer that.

He clicked his seatbelt into place and looked back at me. “How bad is he?”

“I haven’t killed us yet, have I?” Boone started the vehicle and threw it into reverse.

“Comforting,” Marek said with a wry smile.

I itched to reach for him, and it was at that moment I realized what a long few days it was going to be. I’d only spent five minutes with him, and already I wanted his undivided attention. Boone knew about us, so theoretically I could play the part of the boyfriend for a few days.

But I’d never been a boyfriend before. Not as an adult.

If I wanted to keep Marek, I had no idea what it would look like.

What would the relationship of two hockey players be like?

Would the team be okay with it? Would I fuck it up?

I had no relationship experience beyond a couple short-term things in high school.

But hockey had always come first. As long as I was a player, it would come before everything and everyone.

Hockey was all I had. Without the team, my life was shockingly empty. I had Boone and his family, but the rest of my world was sparsely populated.

“So, Myers, what’s the deal with the volunteering?

How’d you get into it?” Boone asked as he navigated the streets of Vancouver like a fucking beast. He gave no quarter to other drivers, effortlessly moving into the lanes he wanted without batting an eye.

Boone was as natural behind the wheel as he was on the ice.

“Once upon a time, there was this kid who just wanted to play hockey. He had the attention span of a squirrel at a rave until you put him in the net. The first time I was in net, they did it as a joke, I think. The assistant coach was a bit of a dick, and the other kids weren’t fond of me.

They put me in net so they could shoot pucks at me. ”

“Jesus Christ, Myers.” Boone sounded genuinely pissed off.

“Well, it was pretty clear right away that Marek in goal was different than Marek in any other position. It went from the kids trying to hit me with the puck to them trying to get it past me. I guess I volunteer because I know there’s still kids out there who are like me.

Kids that don’t really fit or haven’t found where they fit yet. ”

“Well, Myers, I think you fit just fine where you are now.” Boone met my gaze in the rearview mirror.

He and I had been friends for long enough that we could communicate through a look, a gesture, a glance in the mirror.

I didn’t have to hear the words to know that Boone approved of us, for whatever reason, and his approval meant a whole hell of a lot as it turned out.

Because, for the first time since I’d invited Marek along, the knot of anxiety in my chest loosened and disappeared.