“Never mind.” Graham waved off the questions. Okay, so maybe Thad wasn’t planning to break up with him. And since he’d never really dated anyone, he probably didn’t know the terror that came with the words, ‘we should talk.’ “Yeah. We can do that.”
“Your place?” Thad asked, still so quiet Graham had to strain to hear him.
“I’m fine with that.”
“Think we can get away with taking a ride share there together?” Thad asked.
“Yeah,” Graham said, and he probably shouldn’t be so cavalier about it butdamnThad looked good. He looked good and he smelled good andfuck, Graham wanted him.
And if Thad didn’t want to end their relationship then he probably wanted to talk about why he left.
Graham knew theyshouldtalk about it.
He’d been thinking about it a lot in the past few days. But right now, he didn’t want to be responsible and talk through whatever had made Thad leave his condo in the dead of night.
What he wanted was to grab the front of Thad’s shirt and slant his mouth over his. He wanted Thad’s hands on his skin and scent in his nose. He wanted Thad’s name on his lips as he came and to hold him close after.
He knew Thad was going slow for a reason and Graham didn’t want to push him but fuck, it was hard to think of anything but sex when a simple handjob had felt so good.
Graham shivered and wet his lips. “I’ll head inside and tell the guys I’m tired and am heading home now. You follow a little later. Act like you’re planning to get laid tonight.”
“Aren’t I?” Thad asked and the look in his eyes made Graham’s skin flush with heat.
“Yeah, you fucking are,” he rasped and turned on his heel before he could do something even stupider than what he was already doing.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Graham went in search of his captain, his alternate, and his goalie.
Jesse was easy to spot, dancing to the band—even though it wasn’t really danceable music, as far as Graham was concerned—while Rafe and Mickey were deep in conversation at a table. Connor was at the bar, talking to the bartender.
Graham waved at Jesse, interrupted Rafe and Mickey long enough to say he was heading out because he still felt exhausted after the late flight in from New York, and told Connor the same.
He got a blown kiss from Jesse that made him laugh, a worried look from Mickey, and a slap on the back from Connor, then he was out on the street in front of the pub.
The signal was always terrible right there, so Graham walked a few yards away and ordered a ride share.
The October air was cool and crisp tonight, and Graham shivered, suddenly wishing he had on more than a suit jacket.His ride was still a distance away, so he dicked around on his phone while he waited, letting Thad know the ETA.
The door of the pub opened a few minutes later, spilling light and sound into the relatively quiet side street. Graham glanced over, expecting to see Thad, but it was the gaggle of rookies.
They glanced over at Graham, sobering. “We’re not going to another bar or anything where we can get in trouble, I swear,” Erik blurted out. “Just planning to do some gaming at the hotel. We’ll be on our best behavior.”
“Sounds like a great plan,” Graham said mildly.
The rookies left a few minutes later, their own rideshare pulling up quickly because apparently,they’dbeen smart enough to do it before they left the pub.
When the door opened a few minutes later, it wasn’t Thad either.
A short, pretty woman with dark hair and a curvy body stepped through the door. She grumbled about something under her breath, frowning at her phone, and Graham called out, “Signal’s better over here.”
She shot him a vaguely wary look but walked a little closer, her expression lightening when she looked at the screen again. “So it is. Ugh, wait times are terrible for rides though.”
“Yeah, I’ve been here a while,” he agreed.
She glanced around. “Hmm. Maybe I should walk home.”
Graham thought it would probably be smarter not to at this hour of the night, but he kept his mouth shut. His sister, Corine, would smack him if she found out he was giving women unsolicited advice about their safety.
