Page 55 of Hard Ruck

“He’d have to stop being a prick, for a start.” Atlas shrugged. “He needs to get over himself, especially where you’re concerned. It didn’t bother you did it? When I touched your neck?”

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was listening. “It didn’t bother me at all.”

He leaned in closer and spoke with his mouth beside my ear. “I know. I felt your heart racing like a runaway train. You wanted it as much as I did.”

“I did,” I whispered. “What about Jay? Where does he fit into all of this?”

Atlas leaned back. “I don’t know. It’s complicated. He and I—” He shook his head.

“Are you together?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” he said. “We’ve… Dabbled. I think he has feelings for me.”

“He absolutely has feelings for you,” I said. “Anyone could see that. Question is, do you have feelings for him?”

“Would it be a problem if I did?” He looked genuinely conflicted.

“Not at all,” I said. “Not for me anyway. It might be a problem for him. He might prefer to keep you to himself.”

Atlas took a couple of steps away and rubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. “I don’t know if I want that. I want him and I want you.”

He looked like he was going to add more, but didn’t, so I had to ask. “What about Frost? You didn’t seem to hate kissing him.”

Atlas glanced around us, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, or at least the idea of being overheard.

I got that, guys like him often took longer to accept they had feelings for other men. Especially when those other men were teammates. A relationship could complicate things. A relationship breakdown could make being teammates difficult, to say the least. Not to mention the possibility of people pointing fingers and making judgements.

People needed to mind their own fucking business.

“I want to kiss you too,” Atlas said. “I want to do more than kiss you. Can we— Can we have this conversation somewhere else?”

“Definitely. I need to have your nose x-rayed so I can see how it’s healing. The technician should be ready.” Doctor Stuart wasright, I needed to focus on work. This wasn’t the place for this conversation.

“Dinner?” Atlas asked before stepping towards the x-ray room.

“Sounds good,” I agreed. We had a lot to talk about.

I waited while the technician took the x-ray, then looked at the pictures, comparing them to the ones taken on the day of the break.

“Admit it, you’ve never seen such sexy nose bones,” Atlas said, peering over my shoulder.

“If I was ever going to call nose bones sexy, it would definitely be yours,” I said with a laugh. “I mean, look at those boney bones.”

“Would you say they’re the boniest bones that ever boned?” He stepped around and grinned.

“I’d say they’re right up there,” I agreed. They looked like average nose bones to me, to be honest but I liked the way he smiled at the silly banter.

“All this talking about bones is giving me a boner,” he whispered.

I laughed. “Serves you right for bringing up the topic.” My gaze dipped to the front of his track pants. Light grey ones, which were helpful for displaying his growing erection.

“Ouch, thanks for the sympathy.” He dropped his hands in front of his groin.

“I’m supposed to be treating your nose right now,” I reminded him. “Which, by the way, is healing nicely. I don’t think we’ll have to amputate.”

“That’s fucking good,” he said with a laugh. “I couldn’t give you permission to amputate my nose.” He leaned in and whispered, “But I give you permission to treat my cock, any time.”

“I’m sure you do.” I slipped the x-rays into a cardboard sleeve and printed out a sticker to identify who they belonged to.

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