“I did find a few places.” I hold out my hand for Graham to take while steering us toward the bar with the other.
“Send them to me. We can look tonight.”
I laugh. “Our first night of the offseason and this is how we’re going to spend it?”
“Oh. It’s only part of it. I plan on spending the rest of it with you buried in my ass.”
“I fucking hate you. How am I supposed to make it through drinks with my dick at half-mast?”
“Only half-mast?” Graham reaches over, giving me a pat on my thickening erection. “I must be losing my touch.”
“Seriously. I hate you, Graham.”
“I love you too, Noah.”
I scoff, a smile giving me away. “Yeah, yeah.”
“Alright, what are we cheersing to?”I ask.
The bar isn’t crowded for this early in the afternoon. It’s a dive bar, a few blocks away from the rink, but for some reason, it’s never overrun with fans. Makes it perfect for us when we want to hang out but not be in the public eye.
The old, dark-paneled walls make it darker in here than it is outside. Country music plays on the jukebox in the front of the bar. The owner, a Knights fan, keeps a corner of the bar reserved for us. With a wall blocking the booths back here, it makes it the perfect spot for us.
“Well, not the playoffs,” Marcus says, tongue-in-cheek.
“Offseason?” I ask.
“A new house?” Graham says.
“Where are you guys moving?” Dax asks.
“We’re looking at buying,” I tell them. “We wanted our own place together.”
“Aww. Don’t want the single life of Nashville anymore?” Bode teases.
“Fucker.” Graham flips him off.
“Leave them alone,” Jasper butts in. “Let them have their peace.”
“God, you really are getting old, Jas,” Marcus tells him. “Can we fucking toast now? I don’t have all day and my arm is getting tired.”
“Fine. To the Knights,” I say as we all clink our glasses together.
“To the Knights!” everyone echoes.
The guys are chattering about anything and everything. This is just how things were back home. It’s what I love most about being on a team.
Leaning back in my chair as the next round of drinks are poured, a happiness I haven’t felt in a long time spreads through me.
When I got traded, I thought that it would be the end of everything good. That my relationships at home would be strained with me being so far away. That the only reason I had the friendships back home that I did was because we played together.
It’s so far from the truth, I could laugh.
I found a new family here. I found Graham.
I found everything.
“What’s got you so happy?” Graham asks.
