It took another minute before Tobias’ sight functioned properly, and he was floored by the vision at his feet. Chase leered at him from his spot on the floor, one of his hands dripping with come under his spent cock, while the other softly caressed Tobias’ thigh. Chase’s face was as relaxed as he had ever seen it, a smirk making Tobias think things that were way too soon to be thinking.
Instead, Chase did what he did best and took control of the situation.
“Ready to train now?”
Tobias barked out a laugh, shocking both of them, Chase’s delight unmistakable. He didn’t laugh often, but Chase had a way of disarming him like no one had been capable of doing before. And it was addictive.
He cupped Chase’s cheek in one of his hands and internally cheered when Chase leaned into it.
“Yeah, I’m ready for anything now.”
It shocked Tobias how much he meant those words.
————————
Thump thwack.
Thump thwack.
Thump tap.
Thump thwack.
“Keep it up, you’re killing it,” Chase said, throwing the reaction ball against the wall in front of Tobias again, the thump of it hitting the wall and the thwack of it meeting his glove sounding like music to his ears.
When the ball headed toward his stick side, he tapped it away easily, staying alert in case it bounced back toward him, always a possibility with the misshapen ball.
At long last, Tobias was in the zone, a place he didn’t think he’d ever be able to return to after leaving the sport he loved.
With every catch, every block, he returned to his oldself. The self that deflected pucks like second nature.
And it felt fucking amazing.
Tobias’ confidence built with every save he made, until he thought he could actually manage tending the goal for this alumni game.
There was an extra motivation he didn’t have before, all thanks to Chase.
Chase, who looked at him like he could stop anything thrown or shot at him, like he’d singlehandedly solved world hunger, instead of just catching and deflecting a ball a bunch of times in a row. Chase, who worked his body like a damn instrument. Chase, who had quickly become a major part of Tobias’ life.
Tobias could get used to this.
As he gulped down some water during a much-needed break, Chase cleared his throat, and Tobias was thrown off by the nerves on his face.
“Uh, so I was thinking, have you ever been to Otherworld in Philly?”
Tobias furrowed his brows before he answered, “No, what’s that?”
“It’s sort of like a museum, but it’s more like a really cool immersive art experience with these wild interactive sensory rooms. I thought it might be a fun place to take Madison for Valentine’s Day next week, if you were up for it.”
There was a sudden ache in Tobias’ jaw from smiling.It didn’t happen often, but it happened more and more around Chase.
“So, would this be… a date?” Tobias asked, Chase’s nerves making more sense now.
Chase’s answering smile would have been enough, but he responded anyway. “Yeah, a date. We can show Madison how a date should treat her. And… how I’d like to treat you.”
Tobias’ heart raced. He wasn’t sure what was sweeter, how Chase wanted to treat him right or how he wanted to include Madison.
How had Cooper phrased it before? His balls were exploding from this guy being so damn cute? It still sounded more dangerous than swoon-worthy, but Tobias thought he understood exactly what Cooper was talking about.
