Page 138 of Body Check

Gavin gave him a gentle smile. “Hey, can we talk about what we said earlier?”

Dakota swallowed hard. A small part of him had wondered if Gavin had remembered that portion of the conversation at all. “What about it?”

“Did you mean it?”

“That I love you?” Dakota smiled tremulously and took Gavin’s hand. “Yeah, I meant it.”

“Dakota…” The way Gavin said his name made Dakota’s heart flutter and he clutched Gavin’s fingers tightly.

“Maybe it’s too soon …”

“No.” Gavin smoothed a hand up his back, under his sweater, his palm warm through the cotton of Dakota’s shirt. “Not at all.”

“I know we’ve both been hurt before.”

“We have. But I’ve never been so glad something didn’t work out,” Gavin whispered.

“What do you mean?” Dakota frowned.

“I was crushed when Rory left me. My world was flipped upside down and I felt like I’d failed. Like maybe I was a fraud. Just pretending to be what people saw me as. Pretending to be happy and successful. But now …” Gavin let go of his hand, but only to stroke his thumb across Dakota’s cheek. “Now I feel like every moment was leading me to this. Tous.”

Dakota’s throat was too tight to manage words at first, so he nodded, eventually whispering, “Iwantan us, Gavin.”

Gavin studied his face. “You sound like you weren’t so sure before now.”

There was no judgment in his voice, but Dakota still winced. “Maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I was doubting myself a little. But seeing you and Thad reconcile, I realized how much I want—want someone to be here for, someone to support. Not in the way I did with Bryce, where I lost myself. Where he took and he took andgave nothing back. But I … I like helping the people I care about. I like being there for them when they need me.”

Gavin nodded. “I want to do the same for you.”

“I know. And that—that makes all the difference, doesn’t it?”

“That’s what love is, I think.”

“It’s scary,” Dakota admitted.

“Yes.” The corner of Gavin’s mouth lifted in a little grin. “But isn’t that fear half the fun?”

Smiling too, Dakota leaned in. “Spoken like a true adrenaline junkie.”

“Are you ready for all that?” Gavin asked. “All of my big dick energy and former hockey player crazy?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners, glowing a rich color that made Dakota think of the Pacific Northwest. Deep, warm browns with hints of mossy green.

Like home.

“I’m ready foryou,” Dakota said.

Happiness lit Gavin’s face before he cupped Dakota’s cheek and pulled him in until their mouths were nearly touching. “Fuck I love you, Dakota Crane,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

THIRTY-TWO

“Welcome to Boston,” Gavin said on New Year’s Eve, shaking Rafael Moon’s hand, impressed by the strength of his grip.

Damn, he had a physical presence. It was rare for Gavin to have to look up to meet someone’s gaze, but Moon was 6’7” and 245 pounds.

His flight had been delayed due to inclement weather—not really a shock in the winter, especially coming from Minnesota to Boston—but it meant he had about three hours between when his flight landed and when he had to play.

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