Page 124 of Game Changer
And how could Kip resist that?
“I’ll stay.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The crowd was deafening, but Kip still managed to hear Elena when she leaned over and said into his ear, “I thinksomeoneis going to have great sex tonight.”
Kip blushed and smiled even wider than he had been already. The Admirals had just won their fourth game in a row in the first round of the playoffs, sweeping the higher-ranked Pittsburgh and moving on to the next round. Kip watched Scott celebrate with his teammates on the ice. He was so proud of him.
Scott had had less and less time for him as the playoffs had grown closer. Though Kip was spending most nights at Scott’s place, Scott was only home for about half of them. Kip had told his parents that he’d been crashing with friends in Manhattan. He’d needed to tell themsomething.
Their relationship was still new—just two months old, really. Kip reminded himself of that whenever he felt frustrated about it. He did wonder sometimes if Scott would ever be ready to come out. To let them be a real couple.
In private, though, when Scottdidhave time for him, things were wonderful.
The two teams lined up to shake each other’s hands. Each player on the Pittsburgh team seemed to take a moment to say something to Scott when they had their turn with him. He even received a few quick, manly hugs from some of them. It showed how well respected Scott was, even by his opponents.
Kip loved him. And hewasexpecting great sex tonight.
* * *
Kip was brushing his teeth in Scott’s apartment when he received a text from him.
Going out with the guys. Will probably be pretty late.
Kip tried to not feel disappointed. The Admirals had just swept Pittsburgh out of the playoffs! Of course Scott would want to celebrate with his team.
He sat on the edge of Scott’s bed and wrote back.Ok. Have fun.
He sighed. The truth was he’d been spending a lot of time alone lately. It wasn’t like he didn’t have friends; he just didn’t have friends who knew about Scott, besides Elena. Hisfamilydidn’t know about Scott. His family that he technicallylivedwith.
It was getting harder.
As nice as Scott’s penthouse was, it was also empty and lonely. Plus, it didn’t belong to Kip. He’d moved some clothing and basic toiletries in, and his laptop spent most of its time here, but he was still a guest.
Any sexy thrill of having a secret relationship that had once existed had definitely faded. The disastrous museum outing had probably killed the last of it. Kip had grown tired of being careful when he spoke to his friends and family. He was tired of the lies and half-truths. Mostly he was tired of avoiding everyone because he didn’twantto lie. He had always been a very social guy. He didn’t like this.
Scott seemed to be a lot more comfortable than Kip was with their weird relationship. He very obviously loved coming home to Kip, always greeting him with a warm smile and a kiss. Even the most basic domestic activities like preparing food or watching television appeared to make him very happy. They made Kip happy too, but he’d been feeling very...compartmentalized. He fit into Scott’s life at home, and it was definitely important to Scott that Kip attend the games, but beyond that there was nothing. Kip wasn’t telling his friends about Scott, and Scott sure as hell wasn’t tellinghisfriends about Kip.
Not that their relationship wasbad. Kip was in love. Totally and completely in love. And he had no doubt that Scott loved him too. Plus, their sex life was still amazing. For a guy with limited prior experience, Scott sure found new ways to surprise Kip in bed.
It would be ridiculous for Kip to say that he felt like aprisonerin Scott’s apartment. It wasn’t that. It was just that their relationship really only existed within the walls of Scott’s home. It was the most important thing in Kip’s life, and he couldn’t carry it beyond the front door. Now that the playoffs had started, Kip had given up hope that Scott might make their relationship public anytime soon. And when the playoffs ended, Scott’s plan was to sneak off to Europe with him.
And then what? The next hockey season would start and Scott would get busy and maybe Kip would start school...or worse, maybe he’d just continue working his shitty job and continue pretending to not be dating anyone. Pretending he wasn’t sharing his life with a man he loved. Letting his parents think that he was couch surfing in Manhattan, or sleeping with an endless parade of random men.
Kip threw his phone down on the mattress. He was being selfish. The city was celebrating the Admirals’ victory tonight. He should be nothing but proud, andgratefulthat Scott gave him whatever he could.
Scott loved him. He knew that. He just wished it didn’t have to be so complicated.
* * *
Kip heard the unmistakable thud of Scott bumping into the dresser, followed by the sound of him swearing under his breath. Kip turned on the bedside lamp.
“Hey,” he said, his voice scratchy.
“Hi,” Scott whispered. “Sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep. Jus’ gettin’ undressed.”
“You’re a little drunk, huh?” Kip asked with a slight grin.
