Page 23 of Skating to Him
“Okay, boys, this isn’t your hotel room.” Ace erupted in a laugh.
My jaw dropped. Had Hodge said something to him about this afternoon? I released Hodge and stared at Ace while Hodge did the same.
“What the hell did you say?” Biting his mouthpiece as it hung from his lips, Hodge glanced at me and focused on Ace.
“What? It was a joke, man. A joke.” He hooked a brow. “Wait, did you?—”
“Let’s go, Mackenzie. Two minutes for roughing.” The ref skated to me and looked me in the eyes. “You hear me?”
“I heard you.” With a scoff, I picked up my stick and glove and headed to the sin bin. It was all worth it. But did Ace know something, or was he spouting nonsense?
After winningthe game and eating a post-game meal, we headed back to our hotel on the bus and ambled into the lobby. All my earlier bravado was gone, and I was beat.
“You guys want to sneak a beer?” Ace stood with us at the elevator door and pressed the call button. “The way Hodge here played tonight, he’s sure to get an invitation to meet the Blackhawks coaches, and we should have a little celly.”
Now, that might be fun. I leaned toward Ace. “How are you going to pull that off?” I’d been known to bend the rules before, and one beer wouldn’t hurt our game tomorrow.
Myles tsked. “Ace, stop it. You know it’s not a good idea.” He twisted his lips and looked around us and then focused on Tyler. “Sorry, but I don’t want to get suspended from the team.”
“Yeah, fine.” Ace huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess everyone should get a good night’s sleep.”
“We should.” As the elevator dinged and opened, Tyler glanced at me. “How’s the shoulder and hip? You hit those dudes hard tonight.” He stepped into the elevator after Ace and Myles.
“It’s okay. Could maybe use a little rubbing out.” With my heart jolting, I scrunched my face. Fuck me, that was stupid.
“Rubbing out? You guys going to rub one out tonight?” Ace barked out a laugh and pressed the button for the third floor.
Myles giggled with his hand over his mouth.
“Ace,” Tyler hissed and tossed him a glare.
“Aw, come on. That was funny.” Ace ticked his brows at me. “And he had that one coming.”
“Yeah, I did.” With a slow nod, I smiled at Ace. He was a good guy and the best-damned goalie in the NCAA. I bumped my elbow on his. “So, you got any prospects yet this year?”
His eyes widened. “Yeah, uh, I’ve got a few things in the works.” He glanced between Myles and Tyler.
I eyed him. Okay, so he didn’t want to talk. Probably didn’t want to jinx it. Hockey players were so damned superstitious.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
I stepped out first, with the rest of the guys following, and tugged my key out of the breast pocket of my suit coat. My pulse took off like a Formula One race car. I breathed to steady myself. It was time to be alone, overnight, with Tyler. I swung the door open and stepped inside, shrugging off my jacket. I hadn’t worn a tie because fuck that. We were in college. As I twisted, my gaze caught on Tyler, face white and eyes wide. “You okay?”
“Uh, yeah, fine.” Crouching at the foot of his bed, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out his pajama bottoms. As he stood, he held up the clothing. “I, uh, need to take a piss, so I’ll just change in the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure.” I watched him go. Was he feeling weird about changing in front of me? After all the fucking showers we’d taken around each other, he didn’t want to change right here? Well, we were alone in a hotel room…and something was definitely going on between us. I quickly undressed, shimmied my pajamas up my legs, and hung up my suit. As I closed the closet door, Tyler stepped out of the bathroom.
“Oh hey.” He brushed by my back, his bare shoulder touching mine. “That’s a nasty bruise you’ve got on your shoulder.” He rubbed his forehead and looked around the room like he was lost.
“You should see the one on my hip.” I strolled toward him and pulled my bottoms and briefs down over my hipbone, exposing an apple-sized purple bruise. Was I doing this on purpose? Maybe. I wanted to know if my intuition was right.
His gaze dipped to my exposed skin and his breath caught. “Yeah, that’s, um…that’s, um…” He wet his lips and his eyes grew dark. “You should ice that. I’ve got an instant ice pack in my bag.” Stumbling to his bag, he fumbled through it. “Shit, I know I threw a couple in here.” He tossed underwear and socks onto the bed.
“Tyler, I’ve got some.” I stepped behind him, his back warming my chest, and grabbed his forearm. “Stop. I packed some too.” No hockey player left home without instant icepacks. He should know that. “But it’s a sweet gesture, you willing to give up yours for me.”
He turned his shoulders and head, his gaze locking on mine. “G-good, then get it, and let’s get this thing iced.” With a few rapid blinks of his gorgeous brown eyes, he focused on my mouth.
Holy fuck, I could kiss him. Right now. What would he do? But he was acting like a frightened rabbit. And did I really want to go down this path and make my probable bisexuality official? I freed his arm and stepped back, swiping my hand over the back of my puffy hair. “I’ll get it.” I fished an ice pack out of my bag, squeezed it, and held it to my exposed hip. How was I supposed to make it stay there?
