Page 35 of Scoring Slater
Noah padded toward him, wary and guarded, like he expected an argument.
Slater opened his arms and drew Noah against his chest. Rubbing slow circles on Noah's back, he leaned their heads together and held him close. When their breathing was finally in sync, deep and even, he kissed his temple. "I don't care if you don't do any interviews. All I care about is you."
Noah's arms tightened around him. "I've been keyed up all day. There's been a lot to think about."
"I know." He sighed. The last thing he wanted was to cause more drama, but he had to be honest. "But I was hoping you'd want to at least tell people that we're together."
Noah leaned back and met his gaze. "You're angry about the way I answered the reporters' questions. But come on, they don't go around asking the straight guys about their girlfriends."
"Not often, unless they're famous or something big has happened."
"I have no problem telling people that we're together." His arms fell away from Slater's waist. "Where's your phone?"
"On the island."
He grabbed the phone and thrust it into Slater's hand. His eyes gleamed like a superhero about to reveal his true identity. "Go ahead and post that picture."
"All right…" A thrill skipped through him as he scrolled through the camera roll. His heartbeat increased, pounding in his chest. He clicked to share the photo. "It's happening."
Noah leaned against his shoulder. "What are you going to say?"
He uploaded it, chose a filter, then typed out his comment.Great time sharing the weekend with this guy. Best friends, teammates, roommates, boyfriends. Consider this an official announcement. :-)
"Good?" His stomach tightened as he waited for Noah to speak.
Nodding, he slid his arm around Slater's waist. "Good."
"And… it's posted." He set the phone down. Nervous energy filled him. It was electric, like the air was charged with possibility.
Noah stroked his other hand up the front of Slater's chest. He paused when his fingertips rested on the line of skin at his shirt collar. "Kiss me?"
Slater shifted until he held Noah in his arms again. Their lips met, and they both sighed.This. No matter what else, it came down to this, and how good—how right—Noah felt in his arms. He angled his head and teased his tongue along the seam. Noah parted his lips and Slater licked inside. His hands roamed Noah's chest and back. Noah's fingers tangled in his hair. They clung together until his system began to settle and that frenetic energy had dulled to a warm buzz.
He eased back, pressing soft kisses along Noah's cheek. "You're going to have to reheat that water."
"I don't mind. This was more important."
"What I'm hearing is, I'm more important than tea."
Laughing, Noah smacked his arm. "That isnotwhat I said."
He needed to play, for something to be silly and easy and less heavy than the weight of worry he'd held all day. "So, tea and I are equally important? If you could only save one of us, which would it be?"
Noah pulled him toward the door. "You're the superhero expert, why don't we move this to the couch or bedroom and you can tell me how to save both?"
CHAPTER TWELVE
Slater skated across a fresh sheet of ice to the sounds of sticks hitting pucks and skates carving through the ice, his teammates’ shouts and the coach’s whistle. He waved at the fans pressed up against the glass and stopped when one teen raised her phone. Skating closer, he turned to the side and leaned in until his face joined hers on the phone screen. She took the selfie, then held the phone to her heart and rewarded him with the biggest smile. He tipped his helmet to her and took a half-lap around the ice.
Open practices were awesome, if not distracting. The team held them once a month for the fans. Slater loved the events because the players were able to interact with the fans on the way into and out of the facility. It was the kind of energy he’d been attracted to since he was a kid. But as much as he loved it, he could see why some of his teammates—especially Noah—preferred practices to be closed. There was a lot more noise, cell phone camera flashes constantly going off, and a different energy with so many extra bodies in the building.
He skated hard, ran through passing, shooting, and skating drills with his teammates, and flipped pucks into the crowd during any free second he had.
As practice wound down, the guys starting goofing off, showing puck handling skills, and Leo slipped in front of the net and played goalie, much to Rod’s amusement.
"Did you know that Leo hid Rod’s coffee before we came out here?" Slater wrapped his arm around Noah’s shoulder, holding on as they glided across the ice. "In a few minutes, he’ll discover his favorite travel mug has gone missing."
Noah burst out laughing. "Being married to Kelsey isn’t going to save him if Rod finds out he did it. Everyone knows not to come between that guy and his favorite drink."
