Gavin subtly winks at me, and it sends shivers down my spine. He doesn’t do that to the rest of the team. That’s something I can have to myself. I take another drink from my can and replay practice in my head. I know I wasn’t imagining what I felt today. Gavin and I worked well together. We anticipated each other’s moves on the ice. We were where the other needed us to be at all times. And we managed to score the only two goals against Bouchard.
But it was more than that. Despite being roughed up by my teammates, I felt safe on the ice when he was skating with me. I’ve never once felt that. I’m an excellent skater, I can hold my own, but I’ve always had to outskate everyone on the ice for my own protection. Now with Gavin, someone who can both keep up with me and watch my back, I feel like there’s not much I can’t do. Gavin is good for me. He gives me more confidence, which, despite what everyone in the league thinks, is something I desperately need. Together, we can unite the team. Together we can win gold.
Gavin
“Come on, Captain,” I say to Connor as I pull him out of one of the chairs. His eyes have been slowly closing for the last few minutes.We should have wrapped this party up an hour ago. “Ten minutes until curfew.”
“Did everyone else go to bed?” he asks around a yawn.
“Just about,” I tell him and gesture around the room. There’s only a few guys left, and Bouchard is ushering them out through the door. He points at me and mouths, “You good?”
“I’m good,” I mouth back and nod.
I hook an arm around Connor’s waist. I have to stoop a bit to do it, but he feels dead on his feet. This is going to be a long trek up to our hotel room if he doesn’t start cooperating.
“Are you carrying me to bed?” Connor asks. He’s staring up at me with his sleepy eyes that look twice as blue with how glossy they are.
“No.” I shake my head at him as we get to the closed door. “You better be ready to walk. The last thing you need is a picture of me carrying you.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why isn’t that the last thing you need too?”
I steady him on his feet and try to assess if he’s drunk, exhausted, or both. He stumbles into me and yawns. My money’s on both. I grab his face in my hands and direct him to look at me. A smile pulls at his lips and I hate to say what I’m about to, because it’s going to make that smile go away. “Because unlike you, I don’t have a father who will make my life a living hell if I’m seen carrying another man to my room.”
As predicted, Connor’s smile falls from his face. But he looks at me with wide, curious eyes. “Your dad doesn’t care that you’re gay?”
“He does not.” Not that we talk about it. But then again, I have a sneaking suspicion we wouldn’t talk about my love life if I was straight, either. That’s not how we roll in Alaska. It’s a very “your business is your business, and my business is my business” kind of place. My father genuinely doesn’t care who I date or if I date, as long as I’m happy and he doesn’t come home from a fishingtrip to find me dead due to the bottle. It’s a pretty low bar of expectations but it works for us.
“That’s nice,” Connor says. “I’d like to meet him.”
“I’d like that, too,” I say, because it’s true. My dad is the complete opposite of Connor’s. It would be good for him to see the juxtaposition. I smirk at him. “We could even introduce him to your father.”
Connor’s face goes serious. “I wouldn’t want to do that to your dad.”
“He can hold his own,” I assure him, and reach for the door handle. “Are you ready? We now only have five minutes to make it to our room.”
His lips lift into a half smile. “Race you?”
“You’re on, Kennedy!” I say and swing the door open with one hand and use my other on his lower back to gently guide him through.
Connor
It wasn’t so much a race back to the room as it was a stumble. But Gavin did a good job of keeping me from falling over.
I’m hanging off one of his shoulders when we reach the room, and he has one of his huge hands pressed firmly on my lower back. It’s been there a lot on this trek from the team room to our hotel room. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the feel of it. It’s strong, wide, and warm. Reassuring. Safe. He uses it to nudge me through the open door and into our room where he puts me onto my bed.
Once I’m seated, he drops onto one knee and begins to untie my shoes before he slides them off. He rises to his feet and stands in front of me. “Come on. Let’s take your shirt off.”
I look up at him and admire his angular face and the kindness in his deep, dark eyes. “I thought you weren’t going to take advantage of me.” I wink at him. At least I think I do.
“I’m putting you to bed.” He laughs and one half of his smilequirks up. “Now come on, let’s take your shirt off. I know you like to sleep in your sweats.”
“And you like to sleep in your briefs.”
“Actually.” He grins like the devil. “I like to sleep naked.”
“You do?” My eyes open wide and my cheeks heat.
“No.” He laughs again, then presses a finger to my cheek. “But I knew saying that would make you do this.”
