“What?” he asks as we step out of the elevator.
I look at him, raising a brow.
“You’re watching me. Do I have something in my teeth?” He gives me a wide grin, showing me his teeth.
I like this Caulder. He’s not stiff and freaked out like he’d been when I first stepped into the room last night. I’m not sure if it’s my expert orgasm-giving skills or maybe the mutual secrets we share, but I really love this relaxed Caulder.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “No. Sorry. Just… observing.”
His cheeks flush. “Well, don’t. I’m already too conscious of you now…” He keeps his voice low, unable to be overheard.
After a glance around our immediate vicinity, I ask, “Because I know?”
He nods and shrugs. “And because of… other things.”
I grin and that grin remains firmly in place as we drop our gear bags at the front in the pile with everyone else’s and then step into the hotel restaurant. I’m ridiculously pleased that he’s still thinking about it. Good to know that I’m not alone in that fact.
There are five tables pushed together and we take seats not next to each other, though I’m not sure we do so intentionally. Caulder takes the single seat next to the Buffalo trio, while I sit next to Max Latham.
“How did you score a room by yourself?” Drick asks Max with a scowl.
“I stood in line for almost an hour and listened to everyone yelling and demanding changes they didn’t get. By the time I reached reception, they naturally asked if my partner would be arriving separately, I said yes, Deryke would be here later tonight. She looked at me perplexed and then tried to explain the situation to which I responded—calmly, I might add—that wewouldn’t mind sharing a room, however, they’d have to explain to my roommate that they will be watching me get railed all night by my boyfriend when he got here. We’re quite kinky and I know he’s checked a bag just for our toys. Magically, I was no longer sharing a room,” Max says, reaching for a breakfast roll.
Noah laughs. “That’s basically what Lix said. Minus the kinky stuff.”
Max tosses a roll at Noah. “Don’t be shy. You can talk about the kinky stuff.”
Noah’s cheeks flush and he shakes his head. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
My gaze drops to the collar around his neck, but I don’t say anything. A waitress stops by and takes orders from me and Caulder. Our eyes meet for a second before he looks away, a smile just barely touching his lips.
“I should have thought of that,” Drick grumbles. “You suppose it would have had the same results if I said my wife was showing up?”
“Yes,” multiple people say.
“Have you seen what the internet is calling this?” Lamar asks as he pulls up a chair. “The Hockey All-Star Great Bed Fuckery of 2022. There’s already a whole bunch of memes and so many of them are ‘what turned that player gay?’ ‘Forced proximity, one bed during the Great Bed Fuckery of 2022!’”
Laughter fills the table, and my gaze finds Caulder’s again. That’s exactly what would happen here. Oh, you’re gay now? Must have been the shared bed during the All-Star that did it. There’s laughter in his eyes and I have a feeling he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“What about you, Lo?” Lamar says. “You get out of sharing, or weren’t creative enough to do so?”
“It didn’t occur to me to tell them I had someone meeting me here,” I admit, shrugging. “So yes, I’m sharing.”
“Who’d you get?”
“This sounds like a trading card game,” Max says, shaking his head.
I look at Caulder and nod in his direction. “Haines.”
The attention turns to Caulder, and he continues to chew on a roll. “Yes, he snores and wakes up a bear in the morning. Ask me how I know.”
Snickers follow his comment, and the conversation moves on, polling the table to find out who was paired up with whom. My gaze remains on Caulder as I eat. Not entirely on him—I’m not staringobviouslyto the point where I’d be called out—but I’m definitely paying attention to him talking to Creed in favor of literally anyone else around me.
It’s not that his conversation is particularly riveting; they’re just discussing the events planned for today. Which events they’re competing in, and who they think is going to win each. I’m not entirely surprised Ethan and Caulder don’t think they’re going to win their particular events. Neither are particularly arrogant players.
My money is on Caulder for fastest skater, though. I’ve always thought he was ridiculously fast on the ice. Or maybe Max. I glance toward Max. Yeah, he could totally take fastest skater. Then again, it’s not always the shorter guys that are the quickest.
Caulder’s voice has one of those tenors that I could listen to all day. He could talk about cotton, and I’d still be riveted. At this point, I’m not even sure what he’s saying. I’m just listening to him talk. The words may as well be foreign.
