Page 112 of Trade Deadline

He mumbles something incoherent.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I wish you were here; I don’t like going to sleep without you, even though I know you’re only twenty minutes away. If I wasn’t so tired, I’d come to you.”

My heart squeezes. “I know, but I’ll see you soon, ‘kay?”

He nods sleepily, his face sinking into his plush pillows. “Goodnight, baby, I love you.”

“I love you too, goodnight.”

My breath gets stuck in my throat as we end the call.

I really hope Blaine doesn’t get traded, because I don’t know what I’ll do without him.

Thirty-Five

Blaine

“Doyou think I’m going to need to wear a hairnet?” Zach asks, nervously picking at a hole in his jeans.

I take a quick glance over at him before focusing back on the road. I’m driving Zach and Elliot to the bakery, meeting Ethan, Mitch, and the new guy, Caleb Blomqvist, there.

I can’t explain the feeling that overcame me when Alex called me the other night, thanking me for being so kind and helping get this set up.

I’m really grateful the team has been able to pull it off, though, as I know how much this means to Alex and Jacob, plus the publicity it’ll bring to the shop will be immense.

Alex told me how much the team is paying for this to happen. It’s going to really help, especially with the publicity it’ll bring, and I’m so freaking pleased because Alex and Jacob truly deserve it.

“Possibly.” I shrug. “It is a kitchen, after all.”

Elliot cackles behind me, sticking his head through the two front seats.

“You’ll look like a cabbage.” He leans over and ruffles Zach’s hair.

We pull up outside the shop and I send a silent thank you to the parking gods for having a space open out front. We quickly make our way inside to see the other guys have already arrived.

“Hey!” Colleen greets us, then flicks the lock on the door, locking us in. “Jacob and Alex are just in the kitchen getting everything ready. Take a seat; we won’t be long.”

We join the boys in the booths, where there are some cupcakes and donuts stacked on a plate, along with bottles of water. I twist the cap off a bottle and gulp down half before picking up a confetti donut and taking a large bite. Zach’s halfway through his second by the time I’ve finished mine.

“It still amazes me how many sweets you can eat, dude.” Mitch laughs, nudging Zach’s bicep with his elbow.

He shrugs, then pats his solid abs. “It’s called good genes and going hardcore in the gym.”

“Do you know what they’re going to have us do today?” Caleb asks, throwing a piece of cake into his mouth.

He arrived two days ago from Ottawa and he’s fit in really well. We’re gelling on the ice, and the guy has good banter.

I think he’ll get along great here.

“Alex mentioned something about decorating, and then we’ll be selling them to fans. He said he wasn’t going to help me either ‘cause he doesn’t want to give me an unfair advantage.” I roll my eyes dramatically.

No matter how many times I begged and pleaded for him to give me tips, he wasn’t letting up. Even when I swallowed his cock to the back of my throat and made him see stars last night, he still didn’t budge.

My blow job skills must be rusty. I’ll have to rectify that by getting his dick in my mouth as often as I can.

When we’re finally called into the kitchen, Colleen’s team has set up several cameras on tripods in various corners of the room, with two of them holding handheld cameras so they can get up close and personal. Their kitchen is always pristine; it looks like something out of a magazine. The silver countertops are so shiny, you can see your reflection in them. A large fridge takes up one corner of the room, and metal racking stands at nearly six feet. There are free-standing mixers, and more bowls, pots, and pans stacked neatly than I’ve ever seen.

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