“A little bit. But I happen to like your brand of weird.”
Elliot’s compliment washes over me, and I feel my stomach go topsy-turvy.
“Elliot Baker, you flatterer. Alright, tell me your zodiac sign. Oh! No, let me guess!”
“Guess away, my friend.”
“Well, you’re solid. You’re clearly a hard worker. Definitely an earth sign. You’re helpful and kind, and you put others first. You gave up your chance of getting laid to help me correct my bad karma. I’m going to say…you’re a Capricorn, aren’t you?”
“You nailed it. January 9th.”
“I knew it! A Pisces and a Capricorn, no wonder we get along so well. We’re compatible as hell.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Of course! We’d make wonderful partners in crime. We’ve got great conversational compatibility, and sexual…” I trail off, clearing my throat. A flurry of images pass through my brain. My front porch, the night sky, Elliot’s lips brushing against mine before claiming them…
“Partners in crime, huh?” Elliot snorts, brushing past the awkward moment. “Well, it's a good thing we found each other. Now I know who to call if I ever want to rob a bank and need a getaway car driver. And I also know that I should add “searching for sexy Pisces” in my online dating profile.”
I press my tongue against my teeth, noticing something hot and unpleasant curdling in my stomach. It feels almost like jealousy, but that doesn’t make any sense. I’ve got nothing to feel jealous about. Hearing about Elliot’s dating life does not bother me one bit.
I bet it's just the three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I scarfed down in the locker room after the game. They’re not sitting well. I’ll have to take a shot of Pepto to calm my tummy before bed.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for an online dating profile kind of guy, El. I thought you were more interested in hookups?”
“True, but I’ve got to find those hookups somewhere. Every time I meet a great, hot, funny guy outin the wild, he turns out to be the tragically straight goalie of my city’s new hockey team and isn’t interested in pegging me at all,” Elliot says with a shrug and a self-deprecating smirk.
Right. That’s me, the tragically heterosexual goalie.
The peanut butter and jellies roll over in my gut once again.
I’d better make it two shots of the pink stuff.
“I think it's my turn to ask a question,” I mumble, pressing a hand on my abdomen to try to calm the whirring flurry of activity happening there.
“Make it a good one,” Elliot says with a wink.
“Tell me a secret that no one knows about you,” I hear myself asking before my brain has a chance to catch up with my mouth. Elliot lets out a low whistle, the five o’clock shadow on his jaw highlighting his pink, pursed lips.
My mind flashes back to Sunday night and the way those lips had felt against mine. Soft, new, different, but not at all unwelcome. Everything in me tightens at the memory, at the regret I’d felt when I’d pulled away.
I’ve never had so many warring thoughts over a simple peck of a kiss in my life.
But then again, before Sunday, I’d never kissed another man before.
I’d never kissed Elliot Baker before.
“Truthfully?” Elliot asks, breaking through my thought process and bringing me back to the conversation. “I think I might be lonely. I didn’t notice it before because I’ve got my friends, I’ve got my team. I’ve got my mom back in Minnesota. Up until recently, I’ve been perfectly content with my life just the way it is. But lately? Coming home to an empty house tends to sour my moods. Not having someone kind of sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of sex to fill my time, but not having someone to talk to at the end of a long day bums me out.”
“I get that. I’m in the same boat. Old friends, the new team, but... leaving Boston was tough. I’m lucky that Miles and I were traded together, but he’s married and they’ve got a kid on the way. It’s different here. The team is new, the city is new. Everything is new and I feel like I haven’t found my footing yet,” I sigh.
Elliot gives me a half-smile, a softness coating his features that tells me he’s listening and understands. That somehow, we just get each other.
“Can I tell you a secret?” I ask quietly. My heartbeat picks up in my chest as I wait for Elliot’s nod to continue. “I know it’s only been a few days but…I feel less lonely since I met you, Elliot. You make me feel less lonely.”
“Alex,” he sighs, blinking those green eyes in rapid succession, matching the flutter of my pulse. “You make me feel less lonely, too.”
I feelthe hum of a moan in my throat, hear the soft sound escaping my lips as tingles spread through my body.
