Page 50 of Blindsided

“Hey! I hadn’t known how bad traffic really was when I moved into my place. At least I don’t have to get on the highways often.” And it really did suck. Nashville traffic was a nightmare that was hard to explain to people who hadn’t witnessed it firsthand.

We rounded a corner and Easton pointed to the house three down from where we stood. “That’s their place.” It only took another minute before we were walking up their driveway. “Oh! I should have mentioned this before. They’ve got a dog named Gretzky. He’s only dangerous if he wants attention.”

“Uh… okay?”

Easton didn’t head toward the front door but instead headed straight for the opened garage. I knew the guys were close but hadn’t realized they were the let-yourself-in-without-knocking type of friends until we walked through their open garage door and headed into the kitchen.

“I don’t think I’ve ever just let myself into a house that wasn’t my parents’. And once we moved out, it has always been expected that we knock.”

Easton looked at me like I was from a different planet. “I don’t think my parents have ever locked the door. I think they’d actually be offended if I knocked.”

The concept of an open-door policy was so foreign to me, I had a hard time imagining it. Despite the strangeness, it pulled at a place deep inside me I didn’t fully understand. “I’d like to see where you grew up.”

“We’ll figure out how to make that happen. Though it might not be until after the season now.” He squeezed my hand and smiled at me. His blue eyes shone with warmth in the dim lighting of the small entryway we were standing in. We stood like that for a few seconds, emotions neither of us was willing to voice sparking and sizzling between us, before Easton finally pulled his eyes from me and called out our arrival.

A few seconds later, Trevor slid into view on socked feet. “Hey! Tory just called. He’ll be here in like, five minutes. D—” He winced and cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. Brax just ordered food.”

If his voice hadn’t been as deep as it was and I hadn’t seen him around camp earlier in the summer, I’d have never guessed he was an adult and not a young teen. I didn’t think he was even five feet five, nearly five inches below the national average height. As for hockey? He was nearly ten inches shorter than the average player—a fun fact I’d picked up in my countless moments of stat scouring over the months.

I’d never heard of Tory, and from the look on Easton’s face, he hadn’t either. “Who’s Tory? And where’s Gretzky?” I asked when I wasn’t immediately mowed down by an overly excited puppy.

Trevor looked between the two of us, cocked his head to the side in thought, then had an aha moment. “He’s at Seth and Maz’s house for the night. Figured he’d do less damage there. And Tory’s a hair stylist next to the arena. He’s always great about fitting us in when a player pops into the salon looking for a quick cut.”

Easton ran a hand through his hair. “Good to know. This is getting long.”

“What?” I knew my voice rose on my question, but the idea of Easton cutting his hair was horrifying to me. “No, I like your hair just like it is.”

Easton’s surprisingly bashful grin turned devious in the blink of an eye. “Is that so?” He bent over to nip at my ear and grabbed a handful of my ass at the same time. The conflicting sensations had goosebumps dotting my skin and a noticeable shiver running through my upper body.

“Oh my god! You didn’t tell me your friends were so gorgeous! Dammit, were you holding out on me?” The unfamiliar voice was filled with fake indignation and caused us to jump apart and search for who had spoken.

A man with soft brown hair was standing next to Brax. He was tall and slim, though his body was toned. It was easy to tell since his entire midsection from the top of his pubic area, which was well shaved—which reminded me I still needed to do something about mine—to just below his nipples was completely exposed.

“We weren’t holding out on you. East and Lincoln aren’t ones to share.”

“Absolute shame.” The man put his hands on his hips, his orange nail polish catching my eye more than his low-riding white cotton shorts that barely covered his ass and the crop top that showed his entire stomach, the tattoos on his ribs, and his well-defined abs.

Brax gave an exasperated shake of his head. “Tory, behave yourself. Then you can meet Easton Lafferty and Lincoln Lewis. East is the assistant coach for the Parliament and Lincoln is the owner.”

Tory’s eyes widened as we were introduced. “Oh, new blood! Please come to the salon so I can do your hair!” He glanced my way. “But don’t worry, I won’t take too much of his. You’re right, it’s gorgeous!”

Easton blinked between Tory, Brax, and me, and his mouth opened and shut wordlessly.

“I think you’re overwhelming Easton. He’s rather broody.” Trevor wrapped his hand around Tory’s bicep and gave him a gentle pull backward and away from us.

I couldn’t help it—I snorted. It was such a good description of Easton when he was being all take-charge Dom. Throughout college, broody would have been a perfect description for Easton, but he’d begun to show a much softer side as well.

Trevor cut off the start of what could have been an awkward silence with a gasp. “Oh! Your nails! You and Seth are going to have to give me a lesson in nail polish. I’m terrible at it and Brax is even worse.”

Tory glanced at his nails as though he had no clue what Trevor was reacting to. “That’s a shame. Everyone should know how to paint nails.”

Brax shrugged his shoulders. “I’m known for a lot of things. Painting nails is not one of them.”

Trevor stood on his tippy-toes and managed to brush Brax’s lips with his. “It’s okay. Your other skills far make up for it.” He winked, and I couldn’t help but think I’d stepped into the twilight zone.

Easton rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to brag about his other skills. Besides, I’m pretty sure I’m the one who taught him those skills.”

Trevor looked between Brax and Easton before grinning broadly at Easton. “Well, if that’s the case, I really should thank you for that.” He then turned to me. “That also means you’re a very lucky man.”

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