Jace laughed at that. Noah liked being able to make Jace laugh. He could be content with that, he told himself. It was enough.
They both fell silent after, focusing on breakfast. Noah was starving, and he assumed Jace would be, too. On the days after a game, his stomach felt like a bottomless pit. He knew that was because of all the extra energy he’d used playing, but it still amazed him every time. Normally, he’d have a light breakfast and not eat again until the evening, with only coffee in-between to sustain him. After a game, he’d finish one snack and start on preparing another pretty much immediately.
He wondered if Jace was the same. It stood to reason that he would be, especially considering he was a bigger guy than Noah was. Although, he ate well most of the time, so perhaps he’d be more balanced about it.
“I’ll get you some cream for that bruise,” Jace said once he was finished eating, pushing his chair away from the table.
The fact that there was cream for bruises was news to Noah, but he didn’t argue. Anything that made him feel less like there was a ton weight sitting in the middle of his chest was worth a shot.
“I promise to be gentle, or you can put this on yourself, if you want.” Jace returned with a plain white tube in hand. Noah had seen it in the bathroom cabinet, but not really registered what it was. It was obvious that Jace was a nurse based on the sheer number of things he kept in there, most of which Noah wasn’t clear on the purpose of.
“You’re the trained medical professional.” Noah sat back in his chair. “I trust you.”
Besides, any excuse to get Jace to touch him was a good one, as far as Noah was concerned. Maybe he was unnecessarily torturing himself, but he liked having contact with Jace. It couldn’t hurt to indulge now and then.
Noah gasped at the coldness of the cream, but not at the pressure Jace was putting on the bruise. He was surprised by how gentle Jace was capable of being, though he shouldn’t have been. Being a nurse implied he was a very gentle man, and Noah knew that off the track, Jace wouldn’t have hurt anyone for the world.
He was a fundamentally good person. That was why Noah loved him. Anyone who got to know Jace would have.
“What is this?” Noah asked. He didn’t really care what was in the cream, but he wanted to hear Jace’s voice. He liked the idea of Jace tending to him, taking care of him.
Perhaps it was childish, but Noah couldn’t bring himself to care. He wasn’t exactly starved for affection, but it had been a while since he’d had anything more in-depth than a hookup, and yeah, maybe he wanted to be touched. By Jace.
“Arnica and vitamin K. I dunno if the vitamin K helps in a cream, but arnica definitely does.”
“I’ll take any help I can get,” Noah said. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
“No problem.” Jace wet his lips. “And if this doesn’t do it, I’ll bring you home a couple of leeches.”
Noah wrinkled his nose. “This isn’t the dark ages.”
Jace laughed. “It’s not, but leeches totally work. We still use them for post-surgery swelling sometimes. A bruise is just a bunch of blood in one place, and leeches drain the blood. It’s science.”
“Right. Andbunch of blood in one placeis the technical term?” Noah raised an eyebrow.
“The technical term iscontusion. But I’m used to explaining stuff to kids, so…” Jace shrugged. “You get the kids version. Sorry.”
“I don’t want you to apologize. It’s actually really cute. You’re gonna make a great dad one day.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jace screwed the cap back on the cream. “I would like to be a dad. I just gotta find someone who’d also like me to be a dad, with them.”
“Literally anyone would be lucky to have you, Jace,” Noah said. “You are the kindest, sweetest man I’ve ever known. And you’re a badass. And you take care of people for a living. And you have a great ass.” Noah grinned at him, hoping Jace wouldn’t take the compliment the wrong way. Or the right way, depending on what right and wrong were, here. “You’re basically perfect.”
Jace blushed darkly, playing with the tube of cream and looking down at the floor. “If you say so.”
He scurried off to the bathroom, and Noah wondered if he’d been a little too liberal with praise for Jace’s comfort. The last thing he wanted was for Jace to realize how deeply Noah cared about him, how attractive he found him.
Or rather, Noah didn’t mind if Jaceknew. He was just afraid it would make him uncomfortable, and put a strain on their relationship.
Noah went to put a t-shirt on and grabbed his laptop so he could poke at some work while he sat on the couch. Running his own business, as it turned out, required a lot more effort than turning up to work somewhere else. It was way more rewarding, though, and Noah couldn’t remember being happier than he was right now.
If only Jace was actually interested in him, everything would have been perfect.
Chapter Fourteen
There was something indescribably soothing about heading to the locker room after practice. At least, there always had been to Jace. The sound of his teammates laughing and joking with each other, the chance to shower off the sweat and ease muscle aches, the feeling of being clean and refreshed after a good workout.
He walked out of the showers wrapped in a towel, and headed for where he’d stashed his clothes before training. He’d been called in to work on Thursday morning—just this once, he’d been promised, and he could have first pick of Christmas vacation days if he did it—so he and Noah were going to grab a bite to eat on the way home and go to bed early like good little boys.
