Page 59 of The Best Parts of Him
Dabbs wasn’t exactly the poster child for PDAs, but in that moment, all he could think was Fuck it.
He kissed Ryland. Right there among other travelers saying goodbye to loved ones and patrolling airport security and kids complaining that their suitcases were too heavy, Dabbs kissed him as if they were alone in his bedroom.
Ryland’s hat fell off, and he made a sound of surprised delight that Dabbs would remember forever.
Dabbs tugged him into his body, letting out a groan when Ryland swept his tongue into his mouth for a taste. Ryland clutched the back of his jacket in one hand, and the fact that he stood on his toes to get closer had desire bursting to life in Dabbs’ veins.
Dabbs pulled back only far enough to meet Ryland’s hazel eyes and said, “Deal.”
Grinning like he’d won the Stanley Cup, Ryland retrieved his hat and pointed at Dabbs with it. “Goddamn right.” With a final jaunty salute, he joined the line for security.
Dabbs waited until Ryland was on the other side before he left, a sense of hope and anticipation nearly burning him from the inside out.
That lasted only until his organization’s head of media relations called.
“Hey, Lynne. What can I do for you?”
“Well,” Lynne said over his car’s speakers, dragging the word out. “I’m so glad you asked, because what you can do for me is confirm whether you’re dating Ryland Zervudachi.”
His mind went blank. “Uh . . . ”
“Because I’m looking at a photo of the two of you kissing—which, really, Kyle, I don’t need to see my players in such a passionate embrace, ever—in what appears to be an airport.”
Dabbs cursed under his breath, a mess of knots forming a ball in his stomach. “I left him at the airport ten minutes ago. How can there possibly be something online already?”
And who had snapped a photo of them? Christ, it could’ve been another traveler, a security guard, an airport employee, a flight attend, or . . .
Fuck. It could’ve been any number of people.
But did the who really matter?
“Two to three thousand passengers go through Burlington airport per day,” Lynne said, not unkindly. “If you were trying to keep your relationship a secret, you picked a shitty place to lay one on him.”
“I wasn’t . . . ” Gritting his teeth, Dabbs powered through a yellow light. “I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret, but I also wasn’t trying to out us. Honestly, we haven’t even discussed going public.”
Lynne’s sigh was audible. “I wish you’d have told me about your relationship, Kyle. We could’ve controlled the narrative better if we’d had pre-approved statements prepared.”
“Our relationship is two days old.”
“Fine, you get a pass.”
“Generous.”
“Hey,” Lynne snapped. “Don’t get snippy with me. I’m trying to protect you—and Ryland Zervudachi.”
“I know.” Dabbs gripped the steering wheel hard. “Sorry.”
Pulling into his driveway, Dabbs parked and rested his head back against the headrest.
He had mixed feelings about everyone knowing about them. On the one hand, it wasn’t anyone’s business. On the other, he got to proclaim to the world that this amazing man was with him.
Just, he would’ve liked to decide when and how he proclaimed that. Being outed by a stranger to be gossiped about by more strangers reminded him too much about Dimitri telling all the kids in their class that his dad was scary.
Why couldn’t people mind their own business?
“You couldn’t have started dating a florist or something?” Lynne muttered. “It had to be a player from another team?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose.”
