Page 56 of The Waiting Game

“Not that late. I still have plenty of time to get to practice and it’s before visiting hours,” Felix rasped. “You can’t go to the hospital yet.”

Jonah’s heart slowed when he saw there were no missed calls or voicemails. He had about fifteen minutes until his alarm went off.

“How’d you sleep?” Felix asked and Jonah shifted onto his side to see Felix reaching for his own phone.

Jonah shrugged. “Better than I expected.”

“It’s because I was here,” Felix said, sounding a touch smug.

“Probably,” Jonah admitted. Which didn’t do much for him getting over this crush on Felix, but heart be damned, he’d needed the comfort last night. And maybe Felix had too.

“I should go shower,” Jonah said but he made no move to get up, too comfortable and enjoying this simple moment too much. “And put together a bag of Grandma’s stuff before I go to the hospital.”

“I should get to practice. I’ll probably just eat there.” Felix didn’t move to get up either. “Unless you want gyeran bap for breakfast. It won’t be as good as Grandma Ji-min’s but …”

“If you have time to make it, I wouldn’t turn that down,” Jonah admitted. He loved fried rice with eggs.

“Yeah, I can throw something together with the leftovers from my birthday dinner and you can grab it on your way out. And hey, if I don’t see you again before I leave, tell Grandma Ji-min I hope she’s feeling better. Text me if you need anything, okay?” Felix said, setting his phone on the bed between them.

“Yeah, I will.”

For a long moment, they stared at one another and Jonah had the oddest urge to lean in and kiss Felix.

He didn’t know why. Maybe the moment just felt like a relationship moment. Like when he was dating a guy and it was new but they were starting to settle into those cozy domestic moments. Like he’d shower and go downstairs to find that the guy had made him coffee and breakfast, just the way he liked it.

But this was Felix.

And while they might have the emotional intimacy of a couple and they’d shared a bed last night, they definitely weren’t together.

Jonah would keep reminding himself of that until it stuck in his stupid head.

He threw back the covers and got up, sure he was imagining Felix’s gaze on his bare torso. “So, I’m gonna shower now.”

“Yeah,” Felix said. “I’ll, uhm, get up in a minute and make breakfast.”

Jonah scratched his head as he walked toward the bathroom, wondering why things suddenly felt awkward.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“How’s Grandma Ji-min?” Felix asked Jonah later that afternoon as they waited to tee up at the first hole of their favorite Toronto golf course. The foursome ahead of them wasn’t off to a very quick start.

Felix didn’t know the guys, so he wasn’t going to heckle them, although Matty kept eyeing them like he might.

Not that they were in any hurry. They had ample time between practice and their dinner plans tonight. Besides, the pressure of the end of the season and Grandma Ji-min’s health crisis had Felix appreciating the leisurely day ahead of them.

Jonah still looked tired but a little less stressed than he had this morning, so that was encouraging.

He was wearing another polo, navy this time. He did love to show off his biceps and Felix had seen plenty of people drool over those guns.

Jonah claimed fitted clothing was more practical for caring for plants and kept him from knocking things over.

Yeah, right.

Of course, if Felix had arms like Jonah, he’d show them off the same way. Felix was no slouch in the strength department—he had to be for hockey—but he’d never been able to bulk up his upper body the way Jonah had.

“Ugh. Grandma’s being stubborn as fuck.” Jonah sighed. “But what else is new?”

“In what way?” Matty asked. “Felix caught us up on what’s happening with her health stuff but what’s she being stubborn about? I thought she was coming home today.”

---