Page 41 of Skating to Him

I strode out of the locker room and into the hallway with a few of the other guys. “Can I follow you to your place?” Then we could talk, and no one would get suspicious.

“Sure, see you over there.” He offered me a flirty smile.

Did he think we were getting a quickie in before the bar? With a snicker, I shook my head.

After parkingand following Rowan to his front door, I stood behind him, breathing in the spicy and musky scent of his shampoo, my dick waking. I couldn’t be alone with him and not think about sex. I had to restrain myself.

He unlocked the door, threw his bag next to his couch, and faced me, his lips shining in the ambient light.

God, he looked good. I flicked on the light, stepped to him,and cupped both his cheeks, pressing my mouth to his and then sliding my tongue between his lips. Heat flared in my body and tingled in my balls. But I wasn’t here for this. I wanted to know what the hell Knight had been going on about. I broke the kiss. “I have questions.”

His hooded and darkened gaze met mine, and he scraped his teeth over his upper lip. “What sort of questions?” He leaned in, fixated on my lips.

“No.” I pushed him back. “Tell me about Knight. How do you know him, and what was he saying about fucking his girl?”

“Shit.” His shoulders slumped as he turned from me and trailed his hand through his still-damp bangs. “I fucked up.” He fell into the corner of his sofa.

“Okay.” I set my duffel down. I’d only brought it in to change into the jeans and shirt I’d brought for the bar. “How did you fuck up?” I rounded the end of the couch and sank down next to him.

“It was last year. I was at a frat party, and his girlfriend was there.” He huffed an exhale. “I played juniors with the guy, so I knew him and his girl.” He scrubbed his face.

I stared at him. “You hooked up with another guy’s girl?” This was not what I’d expect from him. Oh, but he did have player tendencies…shit.

He threw his hands into his lap and shifted to face me. “Look, she came on to me. She acted like he didn’t even exist, so I thought they’d broken up or something.” His forehead wrinkled. “She was hot.”

“You didn’t ask?” I raised my brows. “How good of friends were you with Knight?” No wonder Knight had wanted to pound him into the boards.

“We weren’t friends. We were teammates for one season. I went on to Boston College, and he ended up at Providence. I’d only seen his girl with him a few times, but he talked trash about her in the locker room.” He dipped his gaze and fisted his hands. “It didn’t sound like he was into her all that much. I have no idea why he’s so pissed off now.”

“Wait a minute.” I grabbed his fist and twined my fingers through his. This plot was thickening by the minute. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You were in juniors with this guy who was a dick to his girl, then when you found her at a frat party, she came on to you and you two hooked up?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know they were still together. I swear it.” He pursed his lips. “We didn’t fuck either. She gave me a BJ in a restroom.” His cheeks flushed. “I was drunk.”

“Being drunk is no excuse.” I slowly shook my head, peering at our entwined hands. It didn’t sound as bad as it had at first. “So how did he find out?”

“She told him about it. He came home for the holidays, found me at a bar in Boston, and tried to rip my head off.” He scoffed a sigh. “The guy is a psycho, and so is she. I think she did it to get attention from him. I don’t know.” He hung his head. “I was afraid he was going to be a dick tonight.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before the game?” Tilting my head, I attempted to see into his face. At least with some warning, we’d have been able to protect him better. Okay, I’d have been able to protect him better.

“It’s embarrassing. The whole thing was stupid.” He lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Would you want to admit to being played like that?”

I squeezed his hand and kissed his knuckles. “No, guess not.” As heat flashed in my chest, I said, “If he comes at you again tomorrow night, I’m going to take him out.”

“Don’t do anything to jeopardize your chances with Chicago. They’ll be watching you this weekend.” He sucked his lower lip between his teeth. “Especially not on my account.”

Flicking my gaze to his, I smirked. “I’ll be stealthy about it. Don’t you worry.” Yeah, I had some moves.

He mirrored my smirk. “Okay, Hodge. We’ll both get him tomorrow.”

I glanced at my bag, resting on the floor. “I need to change.” My attention drew to him. “How are you feeling about going to the gay bar with me and my friends tonight?”

“Truthfully? A little excited and anxious. It’ll be my first time being in a place like that, knowing I’m queer.” He peeked at me from under his brows.

“Do you want to come out to Myles and Ace?” I chewed my lower lip. Then they’d know we were together. I wouldn’t have to hide it from them anymore.

“I…don’t know.” He shook his head. “Can we play it by ear? I trust your friends, but these things have a way of getting out the more people know about it.” He puffed out a breath.

“Okay. I’ll leave it up to you.” I rose from the couch. “Let’s get changed so we can go. I’m sure Ace, Zoma, and Myles are there already.” And we weren’t staying out too late since we still had a game tomorrow.

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