Page 7 of Off Sides

I’m pretty sure I hear my door open and close while I’m shutting off the water, but my roommate, Bryce, doesn’t knock or talk to me through the door. Hopefully, he’s passed out before I get out there.

I dry off and wrap the blue towel around my hips before digging in my dresser for clothes. Since Bryce is also a hockey player, we’ve changed in the locker rooms a bunch so none of us have much modesty anymore. Bodies are bodies, get over it.

I pull on underwear and a T-shirt and toss my towel into the bathroom. Bryce is face down in his pillow, cuddling it, and I’m pretty sure drooling, so I flick the lights off and lie down. Once I crawl into bed, my body is tired from the long season and tonight’s activities, and I’m frustrated when I don’t fall asleep easily.

Instead, I stare at the ceiling and replay my night. Finally, Wants_2_Bone and I were able to meet up. I should have known he wouldn’t know what he was doing, he was too cocky, but desperate times and all that. When I was left wanting, I allowed my dick to tell me where to go. It’s not often I have a free night, and damn it, I wanted to get off. When my eyes met that guy at the bar, electricity lit me up, and even though I didn’t know what I was doing, I tried to play it cool. Since he asked if I was experienced, I’m guessing I failed there, but it didn’t matter. His lips on mine were pure magic. The way he controlled my body while I explored his mouth was perfection. I was able to give up control to him and sink into that feeling. It was a freedom I’ve never experienced before.

A lot of the time, I struggle to be comfortable with someone controlling my movements. Hell, I’ve never been able to come so easily, especially with a partner. Was I able to for him because I was already on edge?

That has to be it. Nothing else makes sense.

Right?

I don’t know him so there’s no way it could have been him, and there’s no way I can test the theory since I don’t even know his name. Not that I would be able to ask him for a repeat. I also have responsibilities and I can’t let sex distract me from them.

With a huff, I roll over and face the wall, punching my pillow into a better shape and forcing my eyes closed.

Eventually, I’m able to fall asleep but it’s restless. I toss and turn all night, despite being exhausted. My alarm goes off at five thirty, and I get up. Technically, I don’t have to go to the gym right now since we’re on a two-week break for Christmas and New Year’s, but I’m not sleeping so I might as well get my workout in. Even though we don’t have practice or games, we still have to stay in shape or Coach will kick our asses. Our first practice after the break will be brutal so that he can see who stuck with it.

Bryce is still passed out, and I slap his ass hard on my way past him. He jerks awake with a yell and rubs at the spot while I change into workout clothes.

“What the fuck, man?” he yells at me through his pillow.

“Time for the gym, let’s go.”

He rolls over and looks at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“You’re fucking with me, right?”

I pull a hoodie on over my T-shirt and look at him. “Do I look like I’m fucking with you?” I grab some socks and my gym shoes, then sit on my bed to pull them on. “Just because we don’t have practice doesn’t mean you can skip the gym. It’s better to keep the routine up.”

I finish tying my shoes and stand up, looking expectantly at my roommate. He grumbles but gets up and gets changed.

I pat him on the shoulder as I go to fill my water bottle. “Good man.”

“Fuck off, Carp.”

I stop in the doorway and point at him, “That’s fuck off, Captain.”

He throws a half-full water bottle at me, but I duck with a chuckle, so it slams into the door.

Once we find our earbuds and phones, we head to the elevator, then down to the gym. When we get inside, I’m surprised Preston Carmichael isn’t on a treadmill already. He’s normally finishing up as I get in, the crazy bastard. Dude is intense. There’s something going on with him, Brendon Oiler, and Jeremy Albrooke, but I can’t figure out what. Oiler and Albrooke were hooking up for a while, but I think that’s ended. They were not at all subtle about it, though I think they thought they were. Everyone knew.

I don’t know, maybe Carmichael threw a wrench in the hookups? I can’t see him being a homophobe, but I’ve been wrong before. It’s weird. Carmichael is a dick to everyone, no one is given a pass, but most of the team ignores him. Albrooke fights back, and every once in a while, Oiler and Carmichael come to blows too.

I shake off the thought as I pull my hoodie off and stretch. The pull of my muscles forces a groan from me. My ass is a bit tender this morning, which makes my face flush. I’m hoping the workout will quiet my head enough that I can take a decent nap. I’m tired.

Starting slow on the treadmill to warm up with music blasting in my ears, I’m about a mile into my run when the gym door opens again, letting a blast of cold air sweep through the space. Bryce is on the treadmill next to me, going slower than a fucking snail this morning. In the mirror that the treadmills face, my gaze is pulled to one of the guys that’s just come in. The way he moves pulls at my memory, and an icy fear trickles down my back.

It can’t be.

There’s no way the universe is so fucked up that my random hookup is a jock on this campus.

As he gets closer, going to the locker room to get changed out of his gray sweats, our eyes lock for a second in the mirror, and I stumble. I lose my footing, hitting the belt and shooting off the end onto the floor in the blink of an eye. My forehead hits the floor with a thud, my knees sting, and my face burns with embarrassment. What. The. Fuck? I lie face down on the floor, trying to figure out what the actual fuck just happened and hoping the guys who just came in will just keep walking.

Bryce jumps down next to me, concern on his face as he asks me if I’m all right. I’m breathing too hard, wishing the earth would open up and swallow me whole, adrenaline coursing through my body like I’m fighting for my life. Fucking hell.

“Carp, you all right, man?” Bryce drops down to kneel next to me and puts a hand on my back.

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