“Yes.” He shifts his hips. His back seems even tenser than before, and his breathing becomes shallow and uneven.
“Try to relax,” I murmur.
His breath catches.
I do not attempt conversation. I continue to massage him, to try to ease his rigidity, but I am helpless.
“Time to flip over,” I say finally. “I’ll do your chest and arms.”
Florian goes rigid. More rigid than he already is, which is definitely an athletic feat.
“I am fine,” he says into the face cradle. “I do not need… I have to go to practice!”
He leaps up and hurries away from me. He grabs his shirt and sweatpants without turning around, keeping his back to me the entire time. He slides his sweatpants on, clutches his t-shirt in front of him, then exits.
That was… okay, that wasn’t great.
I sigh.
But the thing I hate most about it is that I’m certain thatFlorian did not need to go to practice. I know the practice schedule.
No, he ran away.
I sigh. Was it the eyeshadow?
Florian
I keep my pace quick until I am in the showers. I turn the water knob to the coldest setting.
Dummkopf.
I press my forehead against the tile and try to breathe. The water beats down on my shoulders—the shoulders Mateo was just touching, his hands warm and competent and utterly unbearable.
I was becoming aroused.
On my first day. In my first session. With the massage therapist who has an upturned nose and dark eyes and hair that is a bit too long and who talked about castles like they were the most interesting topic in the world.
Du bist ein Idiot.
I wanted to come out here. This team has Finn Carrington and Noah Fitzpatrick and Luke Hawthorne and Jason Larvik and Axel Knight and Enzo Bellanti and Evan McAllister and Vinnie DiCosta.
But the way I wanted to come out was discreetly, after I established myself and feel confident that I will not be traded away. It is not after I get a hard-on on my first day from the massage therapist.
I pretend that I didn’t see him look upset.
God, he probably thinks I’m…
Ishake my head.
No, he is probably not thinking about me at all.
Most people do not. My agent thinks about me ten minutes before he calls me.
I am overthinking things. It is fine.
I am a Blizzard, and I should celebrate that.
But my shoulders are heavy like I did disappoint him.
