“I bet,” he said.
“The Impala is special, though, because it was the first one I bought outright with my own money. Mom raised me alone, and we were on a tight budget all my life. It felt really good to snap this girl up and give her love. You have family?” I didn’t miss the way he blanched, even though he was near the trunk of the car and I was at the hood.
“Yeah, my parents and brother.” By the way he said it, I had a feeling he didn’t want to talk about them. “How long have you and Jake been together?” he asked, clearly changing the subject. I didn’t mind. In terms of family, Jake and I had it pretty good. Dad left when I was six, but other than that, I was lucky.
“Going on seven years. We’ve been married for four on Sunday.”
“How did you meet?”
I laughed. “I was scouted by the New Gothenburg Blizzards when I was twenty-two, and I moved here. The first thing I did when I got into town was get a tattoo to celebrate. I walked into the tattoo shop, saw him, and knew I wanted him. Most people don’t really believe in that love-at-first-sight bullshit. I never did, but he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in my life.” I shook my head and ran my fingers over the hood of the car, remembering when I’d first laid eyes on Jake and how he’d taken my breath away. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was definitely lust. Lots and lots of lust. “I asked him out and he said no. He didn’t date hockey players. To be fair, he said he didn’t date baseball players or football players, either.”
He grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets, giving a little shiver. “Makes sense.”
“You’d think so, but it didn’t to me.” I laughed harder as I thought back to my confusion. “I asked him why, and he pulled no punches—players stay in the closet for their careers.”
“Well, yeah. Lots of people are homophobic as hell.”
“Yep, but I didn’t care who knew I was gay. I dared them to come at me. I am a fucking good hockey player and knew it. So I invited Jake to come to a game. He actually agreed. At the end of the last period, I walked straight into that crowd and kissed him for everyone to see.”
His eyes widened. “Fuck.”
“Yep. My agent was just as stunned as everyone else. I thought she was going to kick my ass to the curb, but I didn’t care. I wanted him. She didn’t, though, she’s cool like that. And she managed to keep my advertising contracts.” I snorted more laughter as I gestured for him to follow me back out. Jake was probably nearly finished setting up the table and dinner. “So, we started dating, and nearly three years later we got married.”
Something passed over his face I couldn’t determine, but he smiled as I locked the garage up again. “Sounds nice. You two are very cute.”
I snorted. “Cute, that’s a first. We’ve gotten weird, strange, and hot, but not cute.”
He flushed, and I felt bad for him because he was obviously straight but doing his best. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“You didn’t.” I patted him on the shoulder as we crossed the yard. Opening the back door for him, I said, “Don’t sweat it, man. Come on, Jake’s pasta and pizza are to die for.”
We got inside, and Jake had just finished setting out the last plate on the table. I was sad that he’d ditched his apron. He grinned at us and waved toward the feast he’d laid out. His nonna’s famous pasta and Bolognese sat in one bowl, with a gourmet Italian pizza stacked with meat beside it.
“I’d usually make osso buco and risotto, too, but I didn’t have much time,” Jake said as he peered at Logan carefully.
Logan’s eyes widened as he stared at the table. “I think this is too much food already.”
Jake and I laughed. “There’s never too much food. That’s what leftovers are for. You can eat them for days.”
“We’ll give you some to take when you go,” Jake said as he waved us over to sit down.
Logan nearly collapsed in his seat, tongue swiping over his lips. “This looks delicious.”
“Nonna says that if you have guests, feed them the finest-quality foods and have enough for them to take some home.” Jake laughed and sat beside me, leaning in for a quick kiss I couldn’t resist placing on his mouth.
“Thank your nonna for me,” Logan said.
I waved at the food in the middle. “Eat up.”
He didn’t need telling twice. Leaning over to grab the bowl of pasta, he scooped a generous amount onto his plate before he reached for the pizza. I watched him, unable to look away from his obvious hunger. This went beyond one day of starvation, it seemed longer, and he’d clearly been desperate for money when I’d asked him to talk while Jake and I had sex. It was a big ask from me, and he jumped at it, which had already made me suspicious. Logan seemed like a good guy, but the motel I’d followed him to earlier in order to make sure he got back okay wasn’t the nicest.
I glanced at Jake and saw the look in his eyes, similar to how I was feeling, and we didn’t need to talk to know what needed to be done. Jake smiled at me to let me know it was okay, and I kissed him again in ayou’re perfectgesture.
“Logan, I know we haven’t talked about specifics yet, but I noticed the motel by the airport you were staying at wasn’t so great.”
He winced, the fork in his hand pausing before he could shovel pasta into his mouth. His gaze rose to mine and his cheeks took on a rosy hue. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t know where to get a motel in New Gothenburg.”
“That’s fine, we understand,” Jake said, snuggling tighter against me.
