“Have a shot at what?” Sebastian asked, suddenly appearing at my side, a fresh glass of wine in hand, his eyes moving between my teammate and me with polite curiosity.
Lavoie looked at the ceiling briefly, like he was asking God for patience, then dropped his head back down to address Sebastian. “Okay, look. Maggie likes you and wants to know if you’re dating anyone. My wife made me ask. I’m just the messenger.”
Sebastian glanced across the room, then back at Lavoie, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “You can tell Maggie that my boyfriend and I are very happy together.”
My head swung his way before I could catch myself, my mouth dropping open. Sebastian looked at me for just a fraction of a second, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he lifted his wine glass to his mouth.
What the fuck was happening?
How was Sebastian standing there completely composed, like he’d just commented on the weather and not …this?
His eyes flicked to me again, and he shook his head—just one quick jerk. I snapped my mouth shut and turned back to Lavoie, hoping to hell my face didn’t give me away.
Lavoie simply chuckled and popped a grape into his mouth. “Okay, definitely not interested then.”
Sebastian smiled warmly. “Sorry, but no.”
Lavoie turned to me. “Hey, you see the highlights from the Liberty game? That overtime goal was something else."
“Insane,” I said, though I hadn’t watched and had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
The second I’d stepped through the door last night, Sebastian had been there waiting for me. We’d stayed up late, but hockey was the last thing on either of our minds.
“Right?” He said, adding a few more slices of cheese to his plate. “Anyway. I’ll let Maggie know you’re with someone,” he said, wandering back across the room.
Sebastian watched Lavoie go, then he looked at me.
I looked back at him.
He raised an eyebrow, the very picture of composure, until his cheek fluttered from suppressing a grin.
“Outside,” I said, pointing to the door. “Now.”
The back door opened onto a large deck strung with lights, the cold hitting us the second we stepped through. I pulled down my sleeves and flipped up my collar.
“What the fuck was that?”
“What was what?” he asked, his breath fogging in the air.
“Sebastian.” I let loose something that sounded embarrassingly like a growl and reached for his arm. I caught myself just in time and dropped my hand, which made everything so much worse. Standing two feet away from the man I loved and not being able to touch him was its own specific kind of torture.
“It's not a big deal. Your teammate was trying to set me up with someone. I told him I have a boyfriend.”
He said it the same way he might have said,“Your teammate handed me a beer. I told him I prefer wine.”
Calm and completely unbothered.
“Just like that.” I snapped my fingers, then looked down at my hand. Where the hell had that come from?
“Yes. Just like that.” He smirked, turning toward the house, where thirty slightly drunk guests were paying us exactly zero attention.
Sebastian reached out with his free hand, looped our fingers together, and squeezed.
“I can’t believe you told a guy you met two hours ago that you’re gay,” I breathed out, still feeling somewhat dazed by this very unexpected turn of events. “Aren’t you worried?”
He dropped my hand and leaned back against the railing, facing the door. “I’ve been watching these people all night. They care about hockey and their families and the turkey—in that order. They don’t give a shit about me.”
“Will does,” I pointed out, my tone teasing.
