Cooper considered changing into something nicer than his white tee and sweatpants. The occasion called for something more formal, but Nico was anything but. Cooper stared at the navy blue suit hanging in the hotel closet, a color he had picked out to match the Knights’ primary color.
Too cheesy,Cooper thought.Too on the nose.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and leaned against the suite bar. He had about seven minutes until Nico was supposed to show up, which meant he actually had about twenty. That boy was never on time for anything.
And then seven minutes early, Nico knocked on the door.
Cooper answered with a nervous smile and was stunned at the man standing before him. Nostalgia had been hitting Cooper hard all day as he felt as if he had watched a boy morph into a man. Standing there in the hallway, Nico looked beyond handsome in a navy suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. The diamond necklace Cooper had bought him hung around his neck. His hair was slicked back with a sliver of hair hanging over the side of his forehead.
Nico stepped inside without a word, closing the door behind him.
“You have that post-win glow.” Cooper pinned Nico against the door and kissed him on the neck. “It’s almost as sexy as your post-nut glow.”
Nico grabbed onto the back of Cooper’s head. “Aren’t I always glowing?”
“Don’t be a brat,” Cooper whispered against Nico’s ear.
“It’s what I’m good at, though.” Nico slid out of his suit jacket and tossed it onto the counter. He pushed Cooper backward, guiding him to a seated position on the couch in front of the open windows. Nico climbed onto Cooper’s lap, straddling him. “I only have about fifteen minutes before I have to head out with the boys.”
Fifteen minutes would have been the shortest amount of time they’d spent together since the plane bathroom. It wasn’t even close to being long enough. “How about thirty?”
Nico’s kissable lips hitched into a wide-stretched grin. “Don’t be a brat.”
Cooper bucked upward, gaining enough leverage to rip his tee over his head. “You’re going to get it hard.”
“I should be exhausted, but I’m on this high I can’t come down from,” Nico said, his voice racing a mile a minute. “I should be lying down like a starfish, but I want you just like this. I fucking won the Super Bowl.”
“I have eyes.” Cooper unbuttoned and pulled off Nico’s shirt and ran his hands over Nico’s smooth torso that was painted in fresh scrapes and bruises. “I’m so damn proud of you.” He bit softly on the side of Nico’s neck. “So damn proud of us.”
“Say that again.” Nico combed his fingers through Cooper’s hair. “It turns me on.”
“I’m proud of you, baby.”
Nico stilled. “Thanks.”
“And we can break this cage wide open and stop living in this solitary confinement we’ve created for ourselves.”
“I don’t want to talk about that now.” Nico lowered his lips to meet Cooper’s, but Cooper withdrew. “I’m being serious.”
Cooper pushed a hand against Nico’s chest, holding him in place. “A deal is a deal.”
Nico groaned. “If you’re in such a hurry to come out, then come out.”
“We do it together.”
Nico sighed and rolled off Cooper. He glanced down at his watch. “Thirteen minutes now.”
“Twenty-seven minutes,” Cooper corrected him, but he knew Nico hadn’t agreed to those new terms. “I don’t like the vibe right now.”
“I’ve just been…” Nico shrugged, “thinking.”
Cooper’s gaze twisted to the side. “You’re scaring me.”
“I don’t think it’s anything bad, but you’re the one who said this stupid cage was meant to protect us. Maybe it’s not so bad here.”
Cooper squeezed Nico’s thigh, comforting him. “You’re getting cold feet?”
“These feet are turning real hot.” Nico grabbed Cooper’s hand and removed it from his body. “This is the last thing I want to talk about tonight.”
