Page 61 of Drop the Gloves
In Evan’s hotel room, when his chest was covered in come and Barczyk was cleaning himself up with a washcloth, Evan asked, “You’re not worried about Philly at all?”
Barczyk froze for a split second, then chuckled.He tossed aside his washcloth and got another.Evan heard the faucet run before Barczyk hopped into the bed next to him and cleaned up his chest.
“No, I’m not worried about Philly,” he said while he worked.“They’ll go at me hard, but it’s not my first rodeo.I knew this was coming the moment I left, and I knew it’d be worse once I picked Pittsburgh.”
“You could get hurt,” Evan insisted.He wasn’t sure where the worry came from, but he wanted Barczyk to take this seriously.
“Abs, it’s hockey.I could get hurt literally at any time.I once had a goalie take himself out for three weeks because he stepped on a puck while coming onto the ice.I had a teammate in Squirts give himself a concussion because he smacked himself on the benches after retying his skates.I even had a coach sneeze so hard once that he gave himself a hernia.”
“Which is why most people don’t go looking for more danger.What happens if—?”Barczyk pinched his nipple, and Evan wiggled out of his grasp.“Hey, quit it.”
“You up for a friendly wager?”Barczyk asked.
“What is it?”Evan was instantly suspicious.He wasn’t sure he trusted what Barczyk’s idea of a ‘friendly wager’ might be, but he was too curious not to at least ask.
“Let’s see who gets more hits in Philly.”
Evan didn’t like that he was still lying down and had to look up at Barczyk, so he sat up.They were eye level, though it didn’t help him read what was going on in Barczyk’s head any better.
“But they’ll be after you,” Evan said.“All night.”
“Oh, 100%.”That toothless grin.“Scared of a challenge?”
What was he doing here?Was he trying to distract Evan, or was he trying to convince Evan that this was the right way to play?
...or was he worried about what Philly might do to him, so he was trying to get Evan’s help deflecting their attention?
A month ago, Evan would’ve scoffed at that.Riley Barczyk wasn’t scared of anything.Not old teams, not bigger players, not the hits or the fights, not his reputation.He didn’t need help and certainly wouldn’t ask for it.
It felt like he was asking for it now.
“What’s the wager?”he asked, trying to sound aggravated about it.
“Well, if you get more hits than me,” Barczyk said, pausing slightly before his big reveal, “I’ll let you fuck me.”
Evan’s brain short-circuited.He sat there, unable to process what he’d heard for so long that Barczyk felt the need to keep talking, which only made it worse.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Barczyk said.“If you lose, you don’t owe me anything.You’re new to laying the body.I’m not like trying to trick you into anything here.I know it’s a long shot and all that.And even if you win and change your mind, that’s cool.”
It was Barczyk’s babbling that did it.Evan shook loose the cobwebs in his head so his brain could boot back online.Before he could think it over, he interrupted: “Okay.”He held out his hand.“If I get more hits than you in Philly, I get to fuck you.”
Barczyk grabbed his hand and shook it a little too hard and a little too long.“Deal.”
Riley
Riley hated UNO,but he liked having something to do with his hands.With Abs napping beside him, he needed a distraction, especially when Abs looked so fucking handsome in his blue suit.Like, not fair.Not fair at all.
Evan Abernathy was, in general, not fair.He was attractive and nice and put up with Riley, which was a trifecta Riley hadn’t encountered much in his twenty-eight years.And he played hockey, which was a huge bonus.All of these things would be great in a guy who was into Riley despite Riley being so…soRiley.
The problem was that he still wasn’t sure Abs was into him like that.
Oh, Abs was into the sex stuff.He maybe hadn’t figured out if he’s bi or gay or pan or whatever, but men didn’t suck dick that enthusiastically without being a little queer.Riley hadn’t forgotten what Dalty had said about Abs being ace.Even if that weren’t the case, it sounded like Abs was going from 0 to 100 and hadn’t given himself the time to adjust.
Riley didn’t want to fall for a straight-ish guy.He alsoreallydidn’t want to be used in Abs’ gay experimenting.
Not that he was opposed to experimenting.That was how he’d ended up where he was, after all, but he tried to be upfront with his hook-ups.And back when he was young and dumb (er…youngerand dumber), those hook-ups had never lasted long enough for feelings to get involved.
Feelings were starting to get involved here.
