Page 61 of From Coast to Coast

“Borrowed, huh?”

“I appropriated it. You don’t need it, after all, since you have to wear Colorado stuff now. I was doing you a favor, honestly.”

Laughing, I wait until he gives me a crooked smile before clicking the buttons on the side of my phone to take ascreenshot. Remy probably heard the noise and can figure out what I did, but I don’t care. What I care about is having photographic proof of Remy looking adorable in my too-big clothes. If he wears it enough, it might smell faintly of coconut.

“You definitely did me a favor,” I agree. “I’d have left more behind if I knew I’d be seeing it all on you.”

He smiles, the left side of his mouth kicking up higher than the right the way it always does. The way I love. It fades quickly, though, and he bites his lip once more, looking preoccupied. I wait, knowing that he’ll let me know what’s bothering him when he’s ready and content to just stare at him until that time comes.

“Gray?”

“Mm?”

“Do you want to come to California with me over All-Star Weekend?”

I blink at him. The words tumbled out so quickly it didn’t sound like there was a single space to be had between them. There’s a slight blush creeping across his cheeks as though he’s embarrassed for having blurted it out that way.

“What if you get invited to All-Star?”

He scoffs. “Please. I’m a solid middle-of-the-pack player. Guys like me don’t get invited to All-Star. I’ve already got a flight booked to go home for the long weekend. You should join me.”

Images of Remy underneath the California sun flood my system. Blond hair and dark skin making his hazel eyes pop. His tan lines would become more pronounced and his skin would taste like saltwater. Maybe we’d spend all day at the beach and go home covered in sand. The sun would get to kiss his skin during the day, but he’d be mine at night.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have invited you if I wasn’t sure. You can meet my mom and Alex, maybe.”

I’m trying not to get too excited, because even though this sounds a lot like “meeting the family,” I still don’t believe Remy and I are on the same page where our relationship is concerned. He’s still comfortable with friends with benefits, while I’m ready to commit. Hell, I’ve been ready since the first time we kissed outside of the nightclub.

“Okay.” I nod, trying to keep my cool and not sound too ecstatic. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

He brightens, smile stretching from ear to ear and crinkling the corners of his eyes. That smile is like a punch straight to the throat.Christ, he’s pretty.

“Yeah?” he repeats excitedly. “Great. I’ll teach you to surf!” He laughs when he sees my expression, camera shaking in his hand. “Okay, fine, I’ll do a little surfing and you can just float. Holy shit, this is going to be great. Have you ever been to California before?”

“I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I play hockey in the NHL. I’m kind of a big deal.”

“Shut the fuck up, Big Deal. Imeant, have you visited anything in California other than your hotel and the rink?” I shake my head no and his excitement ramps up. “This is going to be the best. I’ll plan everything out, all you have to do is show up.”

He leans off to the side out of the view of the camera, shuffling around for something in the background. When he comes back into view, he’s holding his laptop.

“Okay,” he says, running a hand through his hair haphazardly. “Let’s book your ticket.”

“Remy.” I laugh. “I can get my own ticket.”

He ignores this. “We both have a game on Tuesday before All-Star, but then we’re off until the following Wednesday. Fuckyes, this is going to work perfectly! Do you want to do a red-eye on Tuesday, or would you prefer a flight early, Wednesday morning? Let’s look at both options, just to explore all avenues. We need as much time together as possible, so, in a perfect world, we’d both fly in around?—”

He rambles on, face lit up by the screen of his laptop as he taps the keys. His brow is furrowed and he touches his top lip with his pointer finger when he thinks.Fucking adorable.

“Gray?”

“Mm? Sorry.” I shake myself out of my stupor. “What was that?”

“There’s a flight that gets in an hour before mine. It would be an overnight, but…” He trails off, waiting for me to veto the long travel day, or agree that we need to book it so that we have the most time together. There’s no question.

“Overnight. I don’t mind getting right back on a plane after a game, as long as I get to see you on the other side.”

If I thought his smile had been bright before, it was nothing compared to now. He’s going to put the sun out of a job if he keeps it up.

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