Page 37 of One Touch

The past two games had been brutal wins, and we were all tired. The only benefit to being on the road was not seeing Lathan everywhere I looked. Everything else about it sucked. I liked having my own space, so living out of a suitcase and in a hotel wasn’t my jam. It didn’t matter that the bed was king-size; it wasn’t my bed. Or Lathan’s, to be exact, but his bed was comfy. It was like sleeping on clouds and angel wings.

Tonight was our last road game against New Jersey, and I made plans with Reese for Friendsgiving. There wouldn’t be enough time to visit my parents in Washington before I was expected back in Austin for our home game. I was sad to miss my family, so getting to catch up with friends was more than I could have hoped for.

“You played with their right-winger, right?” Bell asked as he stepped up next to me.

“Yeah. Braden Riviera. He’s a good player and friend.”

Bell snorted. “He won Rookie of the Year. I’d say he’s better than good.”

“Fair.” I chuckled and finished tying up my laces. As it usually did, my gaze lifted to find Lathan across the locker room. He had his head back against his cubby with his headphones in. Even after living with him for a few months, I still didn’t know what he listened to.

Shoot. Had it already been a few months? Time always flew when the season was underway. Not that I’d spent much of my off time looking for a new place. The insurance money had come through at the beginning of November, but the desire to leave had waned. Who cared about finding a place to live when I had a naked Lathan to explore?

“How’s that going?” Bell asked.

“Huh?” I blinked and turned to him, fear crawling up my throat. There was no way he knew something was going on between us.

Bell cocked his brow. “You good? You went all white, dude.”

“Uh, yeah. What did you ask?”

“Oh, how’s it living with Silver? I don’t know how you do it. He seems the type to have the contents of the fridge alphabetized. Though I suppose he’s at least nice eye candy.”

Relief swept through me as his words registered, quickly followed by fierce protectiveness and possessiveness. “What? He’s… No… Don’t talk about him that way.”

Bell held up his hands. “My bad. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I took a deep breath. “Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah, things are fine. He’s, um, different off the ice.” It was the most I could give him, and even that felt like too much. I liked knowing things about Lathan that no one else did, and I wanted to hoard his secrets for the precious gems they were.

“Cool.”

Coach walked in, stopping the conversation, and I’d never been more thankful. This was precisely why I needed some time apart from Lathan. I was too hung up on the guy, and if I weren’t careful, I’d ruin the friendships I’d made. I couldn’t afford to be on the outside of a team again. Austin was my chance to belong, and I needed to remember that.

The rustle of twenty hockey players moving roused me from my thoughts, and I stood to join the team as we took the ice. Braden skated over just as I finished my warmups.

“Get ready to lose, Fahn,” he teased.

“Are you looking in a mirror, Riviera? Last I checked, Austin only had four losses, and you’re not going to make number five.”

He chuckled and pulled me into a hug. “Good to see you, man. I’m glad you’ll be joining us after. It’s been too long.”

“Me, too.” I smiled as we pulled back. “Plus, Reese wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I really had no choice.”

“I have no doubt. Things seem to be going well with the new team. You and Lathan are fire on the ice.”

My face heated. “Yeah, we’ve meshed well.”

He snorted. “I’ve watched more films of you two than any other player this week.”

“Then you have no excuse,” I countered.

“Hey, Lathan,” Braden said over my shoulder. “Get ready to add a big fat L to your record. See you two on the ice.”

He skated off, and I turned to head to the box. Lathan frowned at me but didn’t say anything until we were almost to the bench.

“Get your head in the game, Bambi. This isn’t social hour.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t respond. We both knew his comment was baloney. Hockey wasn’t something I slacked off on.

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