Graham rolled his eyes and high-fived him.
Thad used the opportunity to pull him in against his chest into what probably looked to anyone around them like a one-armed, back-slapping bro-hug. “You won’t regret it,” he promised before he pulled away.
Graham’s gaze was heated and full of anticipation as Thad let go. “You ready to get out of here, now?” he asked huskily.
Thad nodded. “Oh yeah. I’m ready.”
After they turned in their putters, they headed for the exit, still trash talking and subtly flirting.
Thad had leaned in to whisper, “I can’twaitto get my tongue up your ass,” as he pushed the door open to leave the building when they came face-to-face with two very familiar people.
Fuck.
Graham tensed at the sight of Jesse and Connor standing at the building’s entrance.
“What are you two doing here?” he blurted out to his surprised-looking captain and goalie.
Connor scratched his beard and nodded at Jesse. “The fun committee needed to check this place out before he agreed to bring the team here.”
Thad grinned. “Mixing team stuffanddate night together, huh?”
Connor shrugged. “It’s kinda rare we have a night without hockey or the kids. We thought we’d wrap up both in one shot.”
“What are you guys doing here?” Jesse asked.
“Uhh,” Graham’s brain went blank, trying to think of a word that wasn’t a date.
“Just wanted to get out and do something fun,” Thad said smoothly, then nudged Graham with his elbow. “And I dragged this guy out so he wouldn’t get up in his head about the loss.”
To be honest, Graham had totally forgotten they’d lost their last game. He glanced at Thad, wondering if that really had been part of his plan.
Or, maybe he was better at making up a story on the fly.
Connor grimaced. “Yeah, but Coach is right. We can’t get hung up on the losses this season. It’ll only drag us down, especially since we've been picking up points lately. “
“Yeah,” Jesse said. “You’ve gotta shake it off and focus on doing better next time.”
As the three of them talked about mindset, Graham glanced at Thad.Shouldit make him uneasy that his boyfriend was a good liar?
Until now, being good at lying hadn’t exactly been a selling point inanyoneGraham was dating.
But if they were trying to keep anyone from figuring out they were dating,oneof them needed to be good at lying.
Graham definitely was not.
And well, given Thad’s history, it made sense he would’ve had experience at lying.
Thad had been trying to protect them both now, that was all. The same way Graham had tried to do the same when he ran into Jesse at HCI.
Relieved by that thought, Graham tuned back into the conversation to see Connor glance at his phone.
“We should get going,” Connor said. “We have a meeting with someone about renting the place out for the team event. I don’t want to be late. Enjoy your evening, guys.”
“Sure.” Graham smiled at them both. “Enjoy your date.”
“You too!” Jesse said cheerfully. “I mean … not a date, right? Just hanging out.”
There was nothing accusatory in Jesse’s blue eyes, but Graham still had to hide a flinch.
