Page 44 of Forbidden Hockey
That gets me moving in his direction, but he’s the one to hold up a hand this time.
“No,” he says. “I can’t let you touch me tonight or I’ll …” He doesn’t finish that sentence. “Look, tomorrow’s my day off. I won’t be in.”
I nod.
“And Trav? Teach your fucking son to knock, eh?”
I chuckle at his back as he leaves. Sometimes Dirk’s an old soul, and other times just a young man in his twenties.
Chapter
Five
Mid-August
Dirk
Things are tense between Trav and me until mid-August, right around the time we’re all thinking about training camp. I’m outside in the driveway, shooting pucks at the garage door. We’re definitely gonna have to replace it before we move out, if we ever do. What are the chances we’d be rich enough to buy this place someday? Vancouver real estate ain’t cheap. Even a house like this one would cost a mint, being in the heart of Kitsilano and all.
Thank fuck for my and Trav’s taciturn ways at a time like this. No one’s suspected a thing. The only time I almost gave myself away was when he went on his trip, and I checked my phone every five minutes for a message from him, and people noticed. The asshole waited two days before he returned any of my texts.
Trav
Do you think you’d be okay to hold the fort for another week?
No, “Hi, honey, how’s your goddamn day?” just that bullshit. Yeah, I’m already that partner, but fuck him. I deserve a little fucking respect.
Me
Stay away forever. No one cares.
Except that all evidence pointed to the contrary, and he knew it.
Trav
I thought you needed space, kid?
Kid.Trav’s way of putting a barrier between us. I’m so glad he’s doing that. Did that mean we were off? I didn’t know, but it was nice of him to fucking tell me.
Me
Have a great trip
I’d said instead of getting into another fight over text.
The hardest part through that was not knowing where we stood, and I wasn’t going to make the first move again. It was his turn. When he returned, I forgave him way too fucking easily forthe kid comment, but I’m learning that when Trav touches me, I’m putty.
I’d heard his bike pull into the parking lot. That was enough to have the butterflies in my stomach doing backflips. He strode into the bar’s lounge. I was in the middle of well stock, but so help me, as much as I wanted to ignore him, I couldn’t.
Dash was there, wiping down some tables, and therefore the only thing stopping me from running to Trav. Dash got to do what I wanted to, encasing the still leather-clad man in a bone-gripping hug. Dash gets a bit squirrely and clingy when his dad’s away. Yeah, Dash has Stacey, but he doesn’t have Stacey in the way he’d like to have him. I suspect things would be different if he did.
I let them have their moment, enjoying the relief that was visibly filling my best friend, but also admiring Trav. Cause, holy fuck, him in all that leather made my heart race and my cock raging hard. But at the same time my heart raced, it cried. God, I’d missed him. Had he missed me at all? Or had he managed to permanently sequester me into some kind of “his kid’s friend” category?
“Stace is taking me out,” Dash said, “but I was hoping we could catch up later? You could report back about your new girlfriend … or boyfriend.”
Not gonna lie, I was pissed when I heard that. I didn’t know at the time Dash was being optimistic, and I assumed they’d talked about it. My heart broke in half, and it was also the moment I knew that, yes, I’d lie for Trav. I’d tell a hundred lies to be with him.
Fuck it. I’d sell my soul to be with him. That one moment, feeling what it felt like if he moved on was utter agony.
