Thad did his best to ignore Graham as they waited for an elevator and on the ride up to their respective floors but when his phone buzzed in his pocket twenty minutes later, the moment he saw it was a message from Graham, his heart rate picked up.
Come to my room in about an hour? It sounds like guys are settling in for the night. The floor should be pretty quiet.
Thad swallowed hard, surprised by the eager excitement that coursed through him.Yeah. I’ll be there.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thankfully, Graham had been right, and the coast was clear when Thad knocked quietly on Graham’s door an hour later.
Graham let him in and although Thad had half-expected Graham to grab him and kiss him immediately, he merely closed the door behind him and turned away.
“Everything okay?” Thad asked with a frown.
“Disappointed in the way I played.” Graham sat heavily on the edge of the bed. He’d changed into sweats and a tee and looked casual and comfy, if miserable.
“I get that,” Thad said carefully as he took a seat beside him, studying his expression. “But you do realize you’re the only reason the team had a chance, right?”
“But if I hadn’t flubbed the shot in the first period …”
For a while, Thad listened while Graham dissected every mistake he’d made.
Thad let him, because that was his process.
This wasn’t the first time he’d sat quietly and listened while Graham broke down every tiny mistake he made in a game.
But it was the first time Thad could cup Graham’s face with his hands when he was done rambling and say, “I hear what you’re saying. But let me tell you whatIsaw.”
Thad proceeded to counter Graham’s critique with praise of what he’d seen and interspersed each point with a soft kiss. By the time Thad was done, Graham was smiling, his expression relaxed and his shoulders softer. Less tense.
Graham lay back, dragging Thad down onto the sheets with him. “You have some good points,” he said huskily.
“Yeah?” Thad propped himself up on one elbow and grinned at him, relieved it didn’t seem like Graham wanted to end things between them. He traced his thumb along Graham’s cheekbone, the catch of blond stubble against the sensitive pad sending a subtle zing of pleasure through his skin.
“Yeah. I like this new style of pep talk too.” Graham grinned back, reaching up to run his fingertips along the shell of Thad’s ear.
He shivered.
“There are some advantages to being more than your friend now,” Thad admitted.
Graham chuckled. “How often did you want to do that before? When did it start for you?”
“Oh,” Thad said. “Shit, I don’t know. Awhilebefore we kissed for the first time. I never thought it would happen but …”
He brushed his fingers against Graham’s temple, still a little stunned they were doing this. That these soft, tender feelings for Graham were something he got to experience, much less act on.
He’d had no idea what it was like to look at someone and feel this way. To think only of what he could do for them and not what they could do for him.
To never wonder if they had an ulterior motive. Because with Graham, he knew better. He never did.
“I didn’t think it would happen either, obviously.”
“That’s because you were afraid of all thisThaddness,” he teased.
Graham snorted, then wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him closer. “Shut up and show me some of these otheradvantagesto being more than friends with you.”
Smiling, Thad did as requested, dipping his head to kiss Graham.
Everything was soft and easy for a while, though Graham let out a quiet groan and held him tighter when Thad placed a few damp, lingering kisses on the side of his jaw and throat.
