Page 71 of Body Check

Dakota squinted at Violet over his cup of coffee. He rarely drank it, didn’t like the jittery way it made him feel, but he was desperate forsomethingto wake him up. He’d stayed at Gavin’s incredibly late last night and had finally relented to Gavin’s offer to pay for his rideshare home.

And, of course, the team had an afternoon game today, so he had to be at the arena earlier than usual.Ugh.

“The what now?” Dakota asked, trying to process his sister’s earlier words.

“Family holiday skate,” Violet repeated, sliding a warm-looking headband over her glossy blonde hair and making sure it covered her ears. “It’s at the Hawk’s Nest. You should have gotten an email about it.”

“I saw it come in but didn’t check it. I thought that event was for players and families.”

“No, staff are invited too. Particularly ones with kids, but everyone’s welcome. Sometimes people even bring their dogs! We went last year. Daisy was too little to skate on her own and, obviously, Lily wasn’t born yet, but we took Daisy out in our arms and had a blast. C’mon, you should come. The food is great and there’s a guy dressed as Santa and it’s always really fun seeing the guys let loose and relax. Daisy is old enough we can put her on skates for the first time. You won’t want to miss that, will you?”

Dakota sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Great!” she said, like it was already a foregone conclusion he’d eventually give in. Damn it, she knew him well.

She tugged on her mittens. “Now, are you sure you don’t want to come on a run with me this morning?”

Dakota laughed. “Absolutely fucking not. It’s cold and snowy. Why the hell would anyone want to run in that?”

“It’s exhilarating!”

“Sure it is, you weirdo,” he said affectionately. “Go for your run. I’m going to do some private client work before I head to the arena for the game today.”

“Your loss,” Violet said cheerfully before she ducked out the door.

After a surprising win following a short string of losses—because the team wasdefinitelystruggling with consistency right now—Gavin popped his head in the locker room to tell the guys how well they’d played, then headed to the gym. He hadn’t had time to do his full morning workout because of the early game and he was determined to get it in before the end of the day.

There were a few players doing some cool-down work but for the most part, the gym was empty. He nodded at the guys, then stuck his earbuds in and got to work.

Half an hour later, the gym was empty, and Gavin had finished jogging when Jesse stuck his head in the door. He waved,presumably to get Gavin’s attention, so he pulled one earbud out and lifted an eyebrow.

“Hey, Webs. You need something?”

“We’re heading to O’Neill’s tonight to celebrate the win. You wanna come?”

Gavin was tempted to join them at the team’s unofficial hang-out spot, a low-key Irish pub the O’Shea family favored, but he caught a glimpse of Dakota through the open doorway and shook his head. “Nah, I’ve got other plans. Thanks for the invite though. Have fun!”

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow at the holiday skate?” Jesse asked.

“I’ll be there,” Gavin promised, stepping off the treadmill.

“Cool. Enjoy your evening.”

“You too,” Gavin said with a smile. He hastily scrubbed the treadmill with a towel and some cleanser, then went in search of Dakota.

He’d decided to take Wade’s advice and go for it. See if he could convince Dakota to let him through a few of those high, high walls he had built up.

Gavin found him in his studio, wiping down the Pilates equipment. “What are you still doing here?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Dakota glanced up. “Hey. Just finishing up after I got a workout in. I’ve been struggling to find time lately.”

Gavin knew the feeling. Their hookups were amazing, but he was getting even less sleep than usual, and he was starting to feel it.Allof it. He was doing his best to do the daily stretches Dakota had given him, but some other things had fallen by the wayside.

Gavin stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. “You want to come over tonight?” he offered.

“We hooked up last night,” Dakota said quietly.

Gavin shrugged. “I have a high sex drive.”

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