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Nick

A s Caleb leads the way to his house, I wipe my clammy hands against my jeans. I’m not sure why I’m antsy about meeting his mom. Caleb says she’s wonderful, and I’m sure she is, but I have the very strong urge to make a good impression.

“Relax,” Caleb says, pulling on my hand. He doesn’t call out how cold my skin is, and we step into his cozy two-story house. There are some shuffling noises coming from down the hallway, but it’s otherwise silent.

Caleb takes my bag from me and deposits it at the foot of the stairs, then he grips my hand and pulls me down the hall. We end up in the kitchen where his mom is putting away plates, and she perks up as soon as she sees us, circling around the counter and giving us the widest smile.

His mom is a head shorter than him and has the same eyes he does, though her hair is pitch-black. I wonder if he got his light hair from his dad’s side?

“Hello, ma’am.” Caleb’s still holding my hand, which I forgot about and makes me blush. I shake my hand out of his and offer it to his mom.

“Call me Naomi.” She smiles at me warmly and then takes a step closer, suddenly wrapping me in a tight embrace.

“Yeah, she’s a hugger,” Caleb says dryly.

“Shush.” She swats at him and pulls away. Holding me by the arms, Naomi says, “Thank you for what you did for Penny.”

“It’s nothing.”

Caleb huffs a laugh. “That’s his favorite word.”

She swats him again and rolls her eyes. “Stop it. Have you eaten dinner, Nick?”

“Yes, we got some burgers on our way back,” I say.

“No wonder you both took so long.” From over her shoulder, Caleb flashes me a sly grin. The reason we took so long was because we got… distracted before we actually got to his car. His mom, oblivious, continues talking. “Penny tried staying up, but she got too tired, and I convinced her to sleep. Come, Nick. Let me get you some extra blankets from the cabinet.”

Caleb’s mom pulls me along, hooking an arm around mine. She chatters as we walk through their hallway, and I glimpse their living room—their Christmas tree is still up, and there are books scattered all over the carpet. It feels nothing like Dad’s penthouse, which is mostly space and hard corners.

Naomi tells me about Penny’s new nurse, Charlotte. She’s going to be around during the weekdays, then on the weekends, there’s another person coming in—I didn’t even know that. Dad really went out of his way and took care of everything.

She grabs a blanket from a cabinet and hands it to me, and my stare drifts to Caleb who’s following behind us with a slight grin on his face.

“Do you prefer pancakes or waffles in the morning? Or something else?” Naomi asks, catching me off-guard.

“Oh. Uh… either.”

“Let me know, and I’ll run to the store and get what you want real quick.”

“Ma, no need to go out of your way,” Caleb cuts in, and her cheeks redden, and she giggles.

“Am I being too much?” she asks. “It’s the first time Caleb’s brought a boyfriend home, and I don’t know how to act.”

“Ma!” Caleb protests, and his grin wavers as he glowers at her.

Is it because she called me his boyfriend?

“Don’t let me keep you up,” she says, ushering us towards the stairs. “Caleb, go show Nick your room.”

Caleb mumbles incoherently, then he kisses her on the cheek and says good night. I grab my bag and follow him up the stairs, noting how his shoulders are stiff and how he runs a hand through his hair.

His room’s not that bigger than our dorm, and his bed’s as small as the ones we’ve got. I scrub a hand over my face, remembering how he teased me earlier about how he needed to make me come my brains out, because it was the only way to get me not to beat him up in my sleep. Then he got on his knees and blew me.

I subtly adjust my pants, not wanting to draw attention to it, especially with how uncharacteristically quiet Caleb’s being. He gives me a forced smile and takes his shirt off, and even if I just saw him naked an hour ago, my dick still stands to attention.

God. Apparently, I’m insatiable when it comes to him.

Caleb pulls on a fresh shirt, and I pout once I’m no longer being treated to the view of his amazing abs and pierced nipples. I’m still pouting as I change my clothes as well, and Caleb tells me that the bathroom’s the door down the hall if I need it. When I tell him I’m going to go brush my teeth, he says we should just go together, and we end up sharing the single mirror.

It’s so… domestic. I still can’t believe that this is the same guy I’ve been sharing a room with for months now, but also the same guy who I clashed with so much at the start. How did we even get here?

We settle into his too small bed, and I smile at him in the dim room. There’s light from a lamppost right outside his window that lets me see his face, and I run my fingers through his hair and watch his eyes flutter.

“Caleb?” I murmur. “Earlier, when your mom called me your boyfriend, did that bother you? You didn’t seem happy about it.”

He shakes his head. “Just caught off-guard because we haven’t actually talked about it.”

“Oh. I actually assumed—” I press my lips together, realizing I’m about to say something monumentally stupid.

Caleb flicks my ear. “Assumed what?”

When I keep quiet, he glares at me and pinches my arm.

“Ow!” I frown, and Caleb snickers and presses his lips against mine. He holds me by the jaw and slips his tongue between my lips, and I open for him. No matter how often we do this, it still makes my heart hammer as if it’s the first time.

Smirking, Caleb cups me through my sweats, and I squeak in surprise.

“We can’t do that here,” I complain.

“Not doing anything.” He lazily gropes me, thumbing at the head of my dick in the slowest, agonizing way possible.

I rock against his hand, frustrated that he clearly has no intention of going any further.

When my thoughts melt into a pleasant thrumming, Caleb lets go and I glower at him. He grins. “What did you assume?”

This guy doesn’t play fair.

“I assumed we were seeing each other,” I admit. “I know we called it casual at the start, but it hasn’t felt that way for me in a while—which, in retrospect, I probably should have said way earlier just to see if we were on the same page.”

His eyes widen and his mouth parts. “Oh, wait. We’re dating?”

“You spent New Year’s with me.” Nervously, I play with the waistband of his sweats. “And when we started this, I told you I don’t share… you haven’t been with anyone else, have you?”

Caleb grins wickedly. “If I were?”

“Caleb,” I warn, gripping his hip. He knows how possessive I can be.

“No. Of course not. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’d fear for their safety with how jealous you can get… and, kidding aside, I know you just got out of a relationship where she…”

His voice trails off, but I get it. We both get it. He knows what Jessie did to me.

“Yeah, so…” I stare at him, wondering why he isn’t getting this. “I think we’ve been dating for a while now. Calling it casual but exclusive was silly from the start.”

“Oh, fuck.” He smiles wide and his eyes lighten up. “Shit, you’re right. We’re boyfriends.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, dumbass.” Caleb laughs and grips my hair, yanking me close. He sucks on my lips and grips my cock through my sweats once more, and I curse and thrust into his hand.

“Stop it,” I say. “Your sister’s sleeping in the next room.”

And, just like that, he lets go and scowls. “Well, that’s the biggest vibe killer ever.”

I laugh against his lips. “Don’t worry,” I assure him. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“Yes, because we’re dating. We’re actual boyfriends .” He pats my head, ever so patronizing. “You have no clue what you’re getting into, baby. Just wait and see. I’ll be the best boyfriend ever.”

Smiling, I nod at him. Despite his cockiness, I know he’s right.

The silence of the room is soothing, and Caleb lightly scrapes his nails against my scalp. It makes my eyes droop—I haven’t really had a good night’s sleep since he’s left me alone in our dorm. My own voice sounds distant when I mumble, “Your mom’s really lovely, by the way.”

“I know,” he says smugly. “She’s amazing. Raised two kids on her own after our shitty excuse of a dad ran out on us.”

I don’t think Caleb’s ever mentioned his dad before this. I’ve never wanted to prod in case it was a sensitive issue, and my curiosity piques and I blink at him. I want to know everything about him, even the things that are difficult to talk about.

“When did your dad leave you?” I murmur.

“Penny was around five, I think. She was in and out of the hospital and while we were getting a diagnosis for her, our medical bills were racking up. He didn’t have a job and didn’t help around the house either, and instead of stepping up, the asshole left. He couldn’t take it, I guess.”

“You haven’t seen him since?”

“Nope. Not sure if he’s ever tried getting in touch with us again, and I don’t care.” Nothing in his expression gives away how he feels, though his fingers falter in my hair for a moment. “Better this way, though. He was useless and made Mom cry a lot. Literally nothing changed when he left, except that we didn’t have to deal with him.”

“You stepped up, though.” I hold his gaze. “Your family’s lucky they have you.”

He scoffs. “Come on.”

“It’s true. Despite being last year’s champions, you transferred to Camrose just to be close to them. You work despite already having a busy schedule so you can help them out as much as you can. You’re incredible.”

Caleb gives me a lop-sided grin but doesn’t say anything. I’m not sure he even believes me.

It really is true, though. He has a tough exterior because of a rough childhood, but he’s also incredibly thoughtful and sweet. He takes care of everyone around him, including me, and I should never have taken that for granted.

“I’m not incredible. I’m an asshole, really,” he tells me.

I bite my lower lip. “You? Noo.”

Caleb snickers and leans in until our noses touch. “Want to know a secret? I get envious easily. When I see someone who has a perfect life, it makes me angry… which I know is unreasonable, but I can’t help it. That’s why I like to rile people up. People seem much less perfect when I get under their skin.”

“Caleb,” I say, not being able to help the laugh that escapes me. “Is that… is that why you threatened to knock me out that one time we were up against each other?”

“Nah, babe. I really did lose my cool that time. We were down and I was struggling and giving it my all, and you weren’t even breaking a sweat. Then you kept smiling at me like you weren’t kicking our asses.”

“I wasn’t trying to make you angry.”

“Yeah, I know that now. “

That makes me chuckle, and Caleb gives me a kiss and pulls away when I try to deepen it.

“What was your childhood like, Nicky?” he asks. “You’ve told me about your mom’s cooking. What else? I want to know everything.”

I hesitate for a moment. As much as I want to open up to him, it’s difficult—but then again, if I want to know every piece of him, then I owe him the same.

“I grew up with my mom,” I tell him. He nods, already knowing this. “She was amazing… kind of like your mom. We lived in an apartment that was just right for us, and her sisters would come over a lot.”

“Do you still see your mom’s side of the family?”

“Yeah, sometimes. They live in Watertown, and I drive there sometimes. They’d love to meet you.”

“Yeah?” He grins. “You going to introduce me as your boyfriend?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitance, noting the way his eyes widen in pleasant surprise. “But… yeah. It was mostly only me and Mom.”

There must be something in my voice because Caleb’s eyes soften. “We don’t have to talk about this. I mean, I want to know, but… we don’t have to.”

“I want to tell you, don’t worry.” Smiling, I reach for his hand in the dark. “I didn’t really understand why Dad didn’t live with us, though he was there for all the important stuff like birthdays and graduations. He brought Dianne with him sometimes, and she wasn’t… she was never cold to me, but always very distant and quiet. I think I was in the first grade or so when I asked Mom why our family was different from the others.”

“And… she told you everything?”

“Yes. She said that she and Dad weren’t together, that they met one night and made a mistake.” My voice hitches at that last word, and it makes Caleb’s eyebrows furrow, but he keeps silent. I remember Mom wincing when she used that same word, but then seven-year-old me had brushed it off until I fully understood it years later. “Dianne was Dad’s wife, not her, she told me. When my mom get very sick and passed away, Dad took me in, and I remember that I wouldn’t even talk to Dianne because I was so ashamed. Like, I’d literally hide around a corner if I knew she was around.”

“Nicky…”

“She caught me hiding once and she got this look of clarity on her, as if she never realized I was doing that. That’s when she started being less distant to me and would reach out when she could. We’ve always had an awkward relationship, though.”

“It’s not your fault. None of that is on you.”

“I know, but the brain’s a tricky thing. Anyway, that’s…” I force a shrug. “That’s why I am the way I am.”

Caleb grips my hip—I don’t even remember when he put his hand there. He nods slowly, his forehead against mine, mumbling, “Okay. Okay, baby.”

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t understand why I won’t even talk to Dad about the NHL, but—”

He cuts me off with a kiss. “It’s okay,” he says. “I won’t even bring it up again.”

That makes me smile. “Thank you.”

“But just so you know, you have nothing to be ashamed of. At all. You’re so fucking flawless that it should be a crime. I’d yell to the world that you were my boyfriend, if you let me.” Caleb titters. “Actually, could I? At our next practice, can I get the attention of the entire team and tell them we’re together?”

Cheeks flaming, I groan and bury my face in his neck. “Caleb,” I whine, and he presses his lips against my hair. “I don’t mind you telling people, but announcing it like that? I’m not sure how I feel being the center of attention in that way.”

“Okay, then I’ll just hold your hand and kiss you when I want to, and they can figure it out themselves.”

I stifle a laugh. “That works.”

My mind has always been too noisy but talking to Caleb like this and melting in his arms, my thoughts settle somewhat. I could get used to this.