Sebastian chuckled, and Ethan cleared his throat. “Tables, Will.”
“Right,” he said, his gaze lingering on Sebastian again for a beat too long. Then he said, “We’ll talk later,” and sauntered away, turning his head to catch one last look at Sebastian before he disappeared around the corner again.
Rachel set down her knife and started cackling. Wiping at her eyes, she turned to Bell. “You created a monster.”
He held up his hands, palms facing out. “Don’t look at me. All I ever did was tell him that being bi was nothing to be ashamed of. I guarantee Ineversaid anything about ogling every handsome older man that crosses his path.”
Ethan turned to face his husband, his mouth tilting up. “I seem to recallsomeonewho ogled the hell out of older men.”
Bell planted a quick kiss on his lips. “And you ogled right back.”
“Hell yeah, I did.” Ethan wrapped an arm around Bell’s waist and pulled him in for another quick kiss.
I didn't think I'd ever get over seeing grumpy curmudgeon Ethan Harrison acting this soft.
Will reappeared a few minutes later, making a beeline for the bar where Sebastian was busy opening up bottles of wine to breathe, and striking up what looked like a very engaging conversation. After a few minutes, Sebastian glanced up, caught my eye, and winked before tuning back in to whatever Will was saying.
The house filled up over the next hour with a couple of Ethan's colleagues from Thackeray, a few of his players who weren't from around here, and several of our teammates.
Dmitry Petrov had brought his younger brother, a man who seemed to know even less English than Dmitry did. Monroe also showed up with a woman who may or may not have been his girlfriend. He was incredibly vague whenever anyone tried to pin him down. A few of the rookies were taking turns “sneaking” beers out of the fridge in the garage, genuinely seeming to believe that they were a lot slicker than they really were.
Marc Lavoie and his wife, Gabi, had brought along one of her friends, a woman named Maggie, who—like Will—was clearly besotted with Sebastian.
He was gracious about her attention in the same way he was gracious about everything—warm, attentive, and interested in what she had to say—and I’d spent the past twenty minutes pretending I wasn’t watching their interaction.
Bell materialized at my elbow, following my line of sight to where Sebastian was laughing at something she'd just said. “You might want to dial that back about forty percent,” he said conversationally, “unless you want someone asking why you’restaring at your college roommate like you want to drag him home and have your way with him.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”
Across the room, Will had joined their conversation, his body angled toward Sebastian in a way that left zero ambiguity about his intentions. Sebastian was nodding politely at both of them, his expression warm and open.
I felt my lips dipping down into a scowl.
Bell chuckled and said, “To be fair to Will, your boyfriend isveryhandsome.”
“Yeah, but like ... he's laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?”
"For Will, that's subtle." He chuckled again and squeezed my shoulder before strolling away to talk to Monroe.
I got pulled into a conversation then with one of Ethan’s players about the Marauders’ chances of making the playoffs this year—precisely zero—and by the time I managed to extract myself, I’d lost track of Sebastian.
I finally spotted him near the back door, Will standing beside him once again. Sebastian said something that made Will laugh, and he reached out to touch Sebastian's forearm. Sebastian smiled and gently eased out of his grip.
I was about to go rescue him when Lavoie appeared at my side, steering me toward the corner.
“Hey,” he said, keeping his voice low as he glanced across the room to where Maggie was attempting a conversation with Petrov and his brother, her hands moving animatedly. “What’s the deal with your friend?”
My stomach dropped straight through the floor.
Shit.Bell had been right. I’d beenwaytoo obvious about my feelings for Sebastian.
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying my damnedest to keep my voice even.
He jerked his chin to indicate the makeshift game of charades going on across the room. “Maggie’s, like, super into him and wants to know if she has a shot.”
I let out a breath that I disguised as clearing my throat. “Uh …” I began, trying to come up with an answer.
