Page 36 of Play Maker

Axel

Skate past him. Keep going, don't look at him, don't talk to him.

But you have to play with him, idiot.

“Lund, Rowland, get over here!” Coach called out.

Jesus, Banning was going to make me and Jace practice together in front of our team.

This isn’t going to be good.

For the first time in all the years I’d been playing hockey, I considered not attending practice and telling Coach that I was sick. Anything to avoid facing Jace again. Last night's conversation with him was playing like a loop in my head, and it sparked more questions than answers. I'd never let anyone get to me this way. Not even my family members, most of whom couldn’t stand me, and hell, I couldn't stand them. And I'd had time to think about what Jace admitted and the more I thought about it the more uneasy I grew. What if Preston was lying to me all this time? What if our whole friendship was a lie?

The thought of losing my closest friend, hell, my only friend at this point, was crushing. The only thing I should be crushing right now was my game. I should be playing the best hockey ofmy life. Instead, I was torn up about this whole situation with Preston and Jace and unsure what, if anything, I should say. Should I confront Preston? Or should I just stop texting him. Should I talk to Dane? He knows Jace.

Or maybe, I should just forget everything and pretend like last night never happened…

“Lund!” Coach yelled as he motioned for me to join him near the blue line. “I called your name twice. Get over here. Now!”

There were murmurs and whispers, my teammates chuckling at my complete oblivion to what was going on around me. I hauled ass and headed over to stand beside Jace, making sure that I didn’t get too close, since I didn't want to risk touching him. Not even brushing against his jersey. Which was stupid, I mean, we played hockey for god’s sake. It was inevitable that we’d run into each other.

Hopefully not in the shower.

And where the fuck did that come from? Thinking about Jace, naked and wet, was even more disturbing. Fucking hell.

“Let’s see those passing drills. Show everyone how it’s done,” Banning announced as he glared at me and then Jace.

Move.

Despite the initial awkwardness and my head being fucked up, everything clicked into place when we got going. I was getting better at reading Jace’s cues and he was the same with me. We passed the puck back and forth like we’d played together for years, not months. Maybe Coach had a point about the one-on-one practice time because this, here, now, there was a different kind of synergy between me and Jace. An unspoken understanding. I didn't like it, and I didn't like him, but I couldn't deny that when we pushed the personal shit aside, we played great together. Or, maybe I was just seeing things that weren't there? No, it was true because when we finished up, ourteammates clapped and whistled. Even Coach Banning told us we did a great job.

Jace and I rounded the net and came face to face again. With any other player, I would have reached for him, hugged him, or slapped him on the shoulder, or the ass. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. We stood there frozen, inches apart, neither of us reaching for the other but not skating away either. The crackle of tension snapped like a live wire, the pulse of it making me aware of my body in a way that I'd never experienced before. Not on the ice, not off it, and not with anyone. Not even the women I’d fucked.

Holy shit.

I didn't know what was going on here, but whatever it was, it scared me.

And staring into Jace’s eyes, I realized I wasn’t the only one freaking out.

CHAPTER 13

AXEL

“Hug it out, guys!” Ethan shouted, breaking the silence as only he could.

Instead of doing just that, I acknowledged Jace with a sharp nod and pushed off. I heard his sigh and wondered, was it relief or exasperation? I didn’t know and wasn’t sure why I cared.

We got razzed relentlessly for the rest of practice.

Teammates started calling me and Jace stupid nicknames, but the one that stuck was ‘Hot n’ Honey’. Thank you, Ethan. What an ass. Even the usually quiet guys like Silas and Maddox got into the teasing, and if Coach hadn’t been there, I probably would have given them all the finger and skated right off the ice.

By the time we got to the locker room, I was exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally. Not sure what, if anything, I was going to say to Jace when I had to actually talk to him again. I grabbed my shampoo and bodywash from my stall and headed for the shower room.

I was halfway done scrubbing up when I heard Jace’s voice and my body went rigid, my dick included. Frantically, I searched for any thought that would gross me out; toenail fungus, jock itch, hemorrhoids…and nope, I was still half hard.Whatever. It's not like I hadn't seen guys with semis or erections in the shower before. I wouldn’t shock anyone. It happened, especially after a practice or a game. We were all pumped up with adrenaline. It was a totally normal reaction.

Only, I hadn't been hard until Jace walked into the room and that realization was disturbing as fuck. I'd never reacted to a guy that way before. That was definitely new. New and unwelcome because it was Jace. I wasn’t upset that he was a guy, I was upset because it was him. Didn’t have any issue with it, it just never occurred to me that I’d be turned on merely by the sound of someone’s voice. A man’s voice.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder and spotted Dane and Jace on the other side, their backs to me. My eyes immediately locked on Jace’s body, water sluicing down his long back and over a tight, round ass that had my cock jerking hard. Stunned, the bottle of shampoo squirted out of my hand and onto the tile floor and the resounding splash had Jace and Dane turning towards me. Jesus Christ. I bent over to quickly pick it up and faced the wall again.

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