“I know.”
He nods. “Because we could take you if we had to. If you weren’t serious or anything.”
My mouth drops, then I start to chuckle. Troy has it all wrong. If any hurting is going to go on, it will be from Finn, because I’m so far gone on him.
But that’s more personal than I want to get into.
“He has good friends,” I say instead.
Troy smiles. “And we’re going to be your good friends.”
I nod and wait for them to comment about how odd it is for them to see Finn with a guy. I wait for them to muse about how used they are to seeing Finn with a variety of women, and I wait for them to joke about how seeing Finnmake any commitment, much less with someone of my gender is something that’s going to take some getting used to.
They don’t say any of those things.
Luke asks me about Providence, then they both ask me about New Hampshire. It’s the polite conversation that they might make to any significant other or new teammate, and it’s the nicest thing ever.
Finally, the rest of the players emerge from the interview room.
Finn heads straight for me, rushing past Evan and Vinnie. “I missed you.”
He pulls me toward him and kisses my cheek. I wonder if he’s going to give me a deeper kiss, the kind that is actually on my lips, but Finn turns his head, and I see he is observing Evan and Vinnie.
Finn drags me away, and we’re soon driving back to Finn’s apartment.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Finn
Noah snuggles into me as the plane takes off after a night playing Carolina after another win. His eyes are shut, and his breath sends warm pulses through my body. The curious glances of my friends as they see Noah and me together have eased almost entirely. Noah and I are always together, and that’s fine with everyone.
My team is awesome.
This is only for this year though.
That’s the secret that Noah and I have. The promise we’ve made each other.
At some point, I’ll have to explain to my friends that Noah and I have split. At some point, I’ll see him dating other people. And at some point, I’ll be going on dates of my own, trying to capture something of what I felt with Noah, even though I’ve never felt close to this before.
I stare out the window and keep my arm still so that Noah will not wake, as my heart thunders.
Because Noah and I are in our early twenties. And even though hockey players marry young, I don’t know if Noah had that same goal. Noah has partied less than me. Why would he give up the option of doing that, now that he is making good money for the first time in his life?
No, if Noah wants this to be for one year, then that’s what we’ll have. But my heart already aches. I’ve met someone so right for me, but every game we play is a day closer to the end. When Noah acted surprised that I wanted to have all the sex with him, I decided not to press anything.
Murmurings sound around me. Some guys play cards, while others have inserted their AirPods into their ears and are watching movies on their iPads. Evan and Vinnie share an iPad in front of us, and their deep voices rumble whenever a particularly funny scene comes on.
My iPad is tucked in my bag. I could get it out. But Noah is sleeping so soundly, and I won’t wake him. Warmth fills me where our skin touches. I close my eyes and imagine stripping him naked once our jet lands and we’re safely checked into our next hotel. I imagine kissing every inch of his body, like I’ve done before. But this time I also imagine spreading his cheeks. I imagine seeing his pink hole, and I imagine licking it. It’s not a fantasy I’ve had before, but I may have ventured to my favorite porn sites when Noah was sleeping, this time clicking on the gay category.
Yeah, there are things I want to try.
I want to hear Noah moan beneath me. I want to thrust inside him, and I want to pound against his special button and see if it drives Noah as crazy as I see it drive people crazy in porn. I want his long legs to dangle from my shoulders, and I want to flip him over and take him doggy style, so all I can see is that great, round hockey ass, and I want to lie him down and kiss him as I thrust inside him.
I want everything. I want him.
My cock twitches, and I force my mind away from images of Noah’s naked body and attempt to sleep.
If we have one year, I want to make it count.
