Page 135 of The Trade Deadline
“Probably,” Ryan said. His heart thudded so loudly in his chest he wasn’t sure how Lars couldn’t hear it. “Are we…dating?” And then he braced for the answer.
“I think so,” Lars offered, though he didn’t seem any more confident than Ryan did. “We are in love, and I don’t think we want to sleep with anyone else…”
He paused and it took Ryan too long to realize Lars was waiting for a response.
“No!” His hands clenched in Lars’s shirt and pulled him close. He was still buzzed enough that he didn’t feel ashamed when he whined, “I only want you,” then pressed this body closer so Lars could feel his erection.
Dazed for a moment, Lars seemed to decide between being responsible and finding out just how much Ryan wanted him. “Okay, good. Are we…are you my…boyfriend?”
His dick jerked between them. “Yes, please.”
That prompted Lars to surge forward and kiss him, rolling on top of Ryan so that his own dick pressed insistently against Ryan’s thigh.
“So mean of you to say that in the handshake line,” Lars growled between kisses and pulling their shirts off. “Make me want to fuck you right there on the ice, and you disappear to party without me.”
“You’ve been saying it for weeks!” Ryan said. Then, briefly, coherent thought fizzled out as Lars started to suck a bruise on his neck. “Not fair,” he said eventually, and it was a struggle to find each word. “Saying it when I couldn’t understand you.”
Lars’s hand worked under the waistband of Ryan’s pants. “Think you’ll be able to forgive me?”
“I’m sure we could work something out.”
* * *
Ryan woke up decidedly more sober than when he’d passed out. He was alone in Lars’s bed with a glass of water and an aspirin there to greet him.
The guest house had a small kitchenette tucked in one corner of the living area, and he found Lars there, naked as he poured himself a large glass of strawberry lemonade while a pot of coffee brewed.
“I feel overdressed,” Ryan said. He’d put on the first thing he could find—a blindingly yellowTre Kronorshirt and a pair of sweatpants that were both too long and too tight—and regretted the effort.
Lars gave him an appreciative once over. “It is a shame to cover up such a hot body, but I do like seeing you in my clothes.” And then he made a face, as though realizing where they were. “I don’t really have any food. I usually eat at the house…” He trailed off and shifted awkwardly on his feet.
“We didn’t really figure anything out last night, did we?” Ryan asked. What was the protocol on eating breakfast with his boyfriend’s family when one of them was your teammate and none of them officially knew the two of them were dating? God, they must have known he’d spent the night. How weird would it be if Lars’s fuck buddy showed up for family breakfast before they cleared up that they were in fact dating?
“Not as much as we should have, no.” Lars grabbed a cup of coffee and they headed back to the bedroom. This was a conversation that required clothes and a bathroom break before they started.
“So, we’re dating,” Lars said, now dressed in joggers that were the perfect length and not at all loose. Still no shirt, though, and the dark blond hairs curling along his chest were an unfair distraction. He waited for Ryan’s nod. “How does that work, exactly? We won’t play for the same team for at least a couple years. We might never play together again.”
“Long distance?” Ryan offered. “I mean…it’s about the only option, isn’t it?”
They both agreed that wasn’t ideal but acceptable. They’d been more or less doing it for months now and had managed it despite not realizing they were dating. It should be easier now that they understood what they were doing.
“Is it a secret?” Lars asked quietly as he stared at his empty lemonade glass. “I know I’m out, but it can be a secret. I don’t mind. If I had kept my mouth shut against the Prowlers, that’s what I would’ve wanted.”
Ryan considered. He wanted the refs and Jake and everyone to lay off him about Lars. They looked at him so suspiciously, and he hated it. But he also didn’t think it was any of their business. Neither he nor Lars had ever really dated before this: having the whole world as an audience seemed awful. Especially since he’d seen the way social media had made Lars’s name a trending topic because of a private part of himself he’d accidentally made public. Lars clearly wasn’t thrilled, but his stardom within the league had already gotten him plenty of attention over the years. While the current discourse around him was new, the fact that everyone was talking about him wasn’t.
Ryan, though, hadn’t really ever gotten used to having the attention—rare as it was—cast his way. If it came out that he and Lars were together…part of him wondered if he’d ever be asked anything ever again that wasn’t at least a little about Lars.
“I don’t have a contract for next year,” he said slowly.
Lars’s face hardened. “I understand.”
“But just because I don’t want everyone knowing…it doesn’t mean it has to be acompletesecret. We could tell your family. I think Anders and your mormor already know, so Amanda probably does, too. And Tanner keeps asking. There are definitely people who we could tell.”
He liked the idea of bringing Lars home for Thanksgiving on the ranch, or staying here for a week over the summer.
“You’d be okay with that?” Lars asked, his relief adorable. “I would like it,” he admitted.
“Me too.” Ryan swallowed. He really should stop while they were ahead, while they had a plan that they both agreed on, but he was tired of dreading anything when it came to Lars. “Would you want more…?”
