Page 57 of Stick By Me

I sniggered. Jonah always knew how to make me laugh. “Yeah, I know, but heisfrom Wisconsin, so you can’t blame him.” I tipped my head back, then focused on him. “His dad, Ed, is a nice man. He didn’t have any problems with Axel and Remy, and they were very affectionate all night.”

“Good.” He patted my thigh. “And I suppose his mom is just as lovely?”

“She is. She’s a teacher and loves both her sons very much,” I said. “She was really nice to me. Very welcoming.”

“And so, when is Leo?—”

“Stop, I knew you were going to go there.” I shook my head once. “He’s working on it. We talked about it when we got back and…” I gave him a sly grin. “We’re boyfriends now. It’s official.”

“No shit?” He snapped his brows up. “Are you in love?”

“I’m on my way there.” I arched a brow. Who the fuck was I kidding? If the way my chest ached and my heart did flip-flops whenever I was around him was any indication, then yes, I was in love.

“Damn, dude. I knew it. You can’t take your eyes off each other. I knew it was only a matter of time.” He threw his arm around me and hugged me to his chest for a second, then freed me and pointed his finger at me. “You deserve a guy who’s out though. A guy who shows you off like the hotshot hockey player you are.”

“Stop it. I know.” I snatched his finger and he tore it out of my grip. “It’ll happen.”

The next night,after having the game of my life, stopping so many passes I’d made Dartmouth dizzy, I drove with a smile on my face all the way to Leo’s house. I couldn’t wait to talk to him about the game. And to eat whatever special dish he’d made me.

I pulled into the driveway of his house, a smaller white bungalow centered in a neighborhood with large trees, and parked.

Leo, wearing a close-fitting tan sweater and sexy-as-fuck jeans, opened the front door and strode down the walkway to my car, smiling as much as I was.

After opening the door and climbing out, he wrapped me up in a bear hug.

“God damn, you were great tonight.” He kissed my cheek and squeezed me, then let me go, grabbing my hands.

“Thanks, it felt good, really good.” I freed one of his hands and strolled with him into his house, then shut the door behind us. Garlic and something spicy floated on the air. “Oh, damn, that smells great.”

“Yeah?” He strode toward the kitchen.

I perused the main room. I hadn’t been in here before, only dropped Leo off. The place was decent enough with warm leather couches and black IKEA coffee tables in the main room, the television in the corner still paused on the stream of our game. I strolled to his kitchen and took in the updated black appliances and white tile on his counters. The kitchen was definitely nicer than the one I shared with my buddies. My gaze landed on the dinette, already set with plates and silverware and a few thick candles centering it. My heart flipped in my chest. He was going all out for me. “Nice place.”

“There’s wine already set on the table if you want to pour yourself some.” He opened the oven and pulled out a meatloaf, simmering in reddish juices. Fuck me, my favorite thing and I hadn’t even told him that. “Leo, how’d you know I lovemeatloaf?” I rounded the kitchen island to get to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind, resting my cheek on his shoulder blade. Yeah, I loved this man and not just for his cooking.

He patted my hands at his waist and said, “Well, you are a midwestern boy, so I figured you’d like this.” He turned in my hold, cupped my cheeks and planted a lingering kiss on my lips. “Now, be a good boy and go and sit at the dinette with some wine, so I can get dinner on the table.”

“Yes, Dad.” With a chortle, I turned around, my stomach grumbling.

He snapped a towel at my ass. “It’s Daddy to you.”

As a sting lit up my ass, I rubbed it and raised a brow. “Really?” I was going to leave that one alone for now.

As I sank into a chair at the dinette and poured my red wine, my phone buzzed. I slid it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. It read,Richard Dupont. “Holy shit.”

“What?” Leo set a platter of meatloaf and a bowl of mashed potatoes with a gravy boat on the table.

“It’s uh, the Coyotes’ coach.” I tapped the green button and held my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Archer, this is Richard Dupont.”

“Uh, yeah, nice to be hearing from you.” My eyes grew wide. I’d put his number in my phone, but thought I’d be the one to call him someday.

“I was able to see some of the highlights from your game tonight against Dartmouth. You did a fine job, and it was great to see the Devils pull off the win.”

“Um…thanks. Thank you very much.” A grin broke out over my face and my chest puffed out. God damn, I really did play well if he was calling me about it.

“Keep playing like that and we’ll definitely have a spot for you at development camp.”

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