Page 7 of One Touch

The blue in his eyes darkened, and I became mesmerized by them. What made them change? And why did I want to test all my theories to see what colors I discovered?

Lathan didn’t say anything else as he shoved off and took a step back. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the bracelet I’d made him, and tossed it at me. My hand came out automatically to catch it, my eyes never leaving his.

Spinning on his heels, he stalked off as quietly as he came and left me reeling. I glanced at the bracelet and the word WINGBUDDY before wrapping my fingers around it. I’d debated what to give him for days and thought that maybe this would be okay since we’d been friendly on the ice. Apparently not.

I’d just have to keep trying.

Shoving it into my pocket, I climbed into my car and started it. My erection had deflated, but the phantom burn of his skin against my throat remained there all the way home.

* * *

“Second line, switch!” Coach bellowed, and I leaped over the wall with Lathan and Cian O’Leary. The first line skated past us as we took their place on the ice. Every time I heard Coach Mack call our line, a thrill ran through me. Much to Lathan’s annoyance, I’d been put on the same line as him. But he couldn’t deny that the three of us played well together. Or, we had been.

It was the last preseason game, and we were playing St. Louis, who we’d beat at home during our preseason opener. But tonight, we were on their turf, and they were up by one point. Up until this game, we’d been playing well. But tonight, no one could find a rhythm, and it showed. The whole team was off, and we were missing passes everywhere.

Case in point, a play Lathan and I had practiced to almost perfection during training camp was not working tonight. Each time I went to pass back to him, he wouldn’t be where I expected, and the puck would go wide. Then he’d look to pass to me, and I’d be too far ahead instead of where he needed.

We were off-balanced, and it was frustrating. The only silver lining was knowing this was only a preseason game, and it was better to get all the kinks out now. When the last buzzer sounded to end the game, our team slinked into the locker room in defeat. It always sucked to lose, but again, at least this one didn’t count.

Though, by the look on Lathan’s face, he believed it was the last game in the series and we’d just lost the Stanley Cup. Part of me admired his dedication, but the other half knew you couldn’t get hung up on the games you lost, or it would consume you.

It felt like forever before I finally left the arena and headed toward the bus. Once we returned to Austin, we’d have a full week off before the regular season started. Granted, we had practice and weight training, but a week of no travel sounded blissful. My stuff had arrived finally, but most everything was still in storage. I’d taken a few boxes to my new apartment, but with our schedule, I hadn’t had a lot of time to unpack. I wasn’t the world’s most organized person, but I hated living out of boxes. I was itching to make my apartment my own, and now I had a week to do it.

“Miller!” a familiar voice called. Turning, I smiled when I spotted my college roommate and Reese.

“Landon! Reese!” I took off into a jog and hugged them both. They chuckled, returning the gesture. “What are you doing here?”

“We both had a game nearby and decided to surprise you guys,” Landon said. “Cam’s inside with Braden.”

“Let me guess, getting a refill on his popcorn?”

“You know it.” Reese chuckled. Reese, Landon, Braden, and Cam were a polyamorous couple. I’d played college hockey with Braden, Cam, and Landon and had met Reese through them. We’d all become close friends and Reese and I had bonded over our hobby of making friendship bracelets. It was their brother-in-law, Fletcher, who had owned the Chicago Ice Foxes. “How are you doing on the new team?” they asked after we’d stepped back.

“It’s great,” I said, and I meant it. I felt connected to this team in a way I never had with Chicago. It also helped that I got to play more. It had nothing to do with a grumpy right-winger.

“I’m glad it’s working out. You looked great out there tonight.”

“Eh.” I shrugged. “We’ve played better, but it’s preseason.”

“Has Lathan been welcoming? I told him to play nice.”

Before I could respond, the man in question appeared. His face morphed from his grumpy scowl into a genuine smile at the sight of his stepbrother. They embraced, and I watched in fascination how different he looked when he wasn’t grimacing. It was more beautiful than I was prepared for.

“You okay?” Reese asked.

I swallowed and nodded. “Uh. Yeah. Long week, and I’m just tired.”

Reese studied me but eventually nodded. “Okay. But if it’s something else, you can talk to me.”

“I know. Thanks, Reese.” I hugged them again. “I better get on the bus before I crash. It was good to see you.”

“You too. Let’s meet up next time you play one of the guys.”

“Sounds like a plan. Bye.”

I waved and gave one last glance at Lathan as he chatted with his stepbrother. It was almost impossible to believe the two versions of him were the same.

Ten minutes later, he climbed on the bus and ignored me as usual, his face back to his grumpy frown. Everyone was quiet as we headed to the plane. Whether it was from exhaustion or the loss, I couldn’t tell, but it made for a long flight home despite it only being a little over two hours flight time.

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