Page 10 of Stick By Me

I stared at him, my mouth gaping. “I’m…I’m okay for the most part.” That was big fat lie. It had changed the trajectory of my life, kept me from playing to my potential and fucked with my head. Well, Dad fucked with my head without Mom there to stop him.

“You can talk to me, anytime. I’m serious.” He let go of my hand to slide his phone out of his pocket. “Here, give me your number.”

“Um, okay.” I gave him my number and he called it.

“There, now you have my number, too.” Leo locked his gaze to mine, planting his hand on my shoulder. “My friends tell me I’m a good listener.” He tensed the edge of his mouth. “So, call me. Don’t think it’s weird.”

“I-I will.” I glanced at Jonah, smirking back at me. I knew what he was thinking. If I didn’t ask Leo out today, he’d be allover my ass to do it when we got home. He’d even get the other guys in on it, the fucker.

Jonah shoveled his rice and steak dish into his mouth.

“So, let’s eat.” Leo cut into his steak, then ate a bite and moaned. “Damn, that’s good.”

My dick took notice. Was that how he sounded in bed? I focused on my food. “Would you uh, would you like to see our game on Friday?”

A wide smile grew over Jonah’s chewing mouth.

Leo’s gaze met mine. “Yeah, sure. I know Remy would like to go and I can return your shirt to you.” With a soft chuckle, he brushed his hand down the back of his head. “In fact, we were talking in the car about going to a game on the way over here and that’s a big one.”

“Cool.” Nodding, I twirled my fork in my pasta. “I’ll get you set up with something close to the bench maybe?” A grin teased my lips. Then I could keep my eye on him a little bit.

“Don’t get yourself distracted during the game, Carlson.” Jonah pointed his fork at me. “Ace is going to need you at your best.”

“Ace can defend the fucking goal without any of us on the ice.” I scoffed. The guy was quick and focused. He was like that off the ice, too.

“So, I take it Ace is your goalie?” With a half-smile, Leo sipped his beer.

“Yeah, cool dude.” Jonah cocked his head. “A little quiet and weird, but he’s still a squad member and the best damned NCAA hockey goalie I’ve ever seen.” He scooped rice and steak into his fork. “And with a name like Ace, how could he go wrong?” He beamed at Leo.

“So, all the guys you live with are queer. How many of you are there?” Leo pushed roasted potatoes around his plate with his fork, then snapped his gaze to me.

“Six. There’s six of us. Sometimes we’re even all out on the ice at the same time.” I drank some beer down.

Knitting his brows, Leo dipped his head for a beat, then came back up with a soft grin. “Any of you know a guy named Milo?” His gaze flicked between us, from me to Jonah and back again.

My pulse quickened and I threw a glance at Jonah. “Uh, yeah. I know a guy named Milo.” It wasn’t a common name. Could we be talking about the same person? “Keyboard player for Knot Me?”

With a deep breath, Leo set his fork on his plate and sat back. “Yep.” He rubbed his eyebrow. “My brother, Axel, is the guitar player for Knot Me.”

“No shit?” A sly grin worked over Jonah’s mouth. “What are the odds?”

Leo pressed his lips together. “So, you and Milo were uh?—"

“Yeah, we hooked up a few times.” I swallowed hard. If my chances with Leo were bad before, I had a feeling they were worse now. “I’m not seeing him anymore. He started dating his friend. What was his name, Ryder?”

“Yes, Ryder.” Leo blew out a breath, shaking his head, then picked up his fork and cut a piece of steak. “Anyways, you’ve gone to see them play?”

“Yeah, they’re fucking good. They bring the house down.” I watched Leo eat his food. What was he thinking? “They’re playing at Gila River Casino this Saturday.”

Jonah rubbed his chin, then leaned in. “We were going to go to that show after our game. Were you going?”

“I was…am. Am going.” Leo’s gaze cut to mine. “Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other this weekend?”

I studied his face. I couldn’t tell if he was happy about us both being at the show or not. “Guess so.”

“Anyways, here’s to new friends.” Leo held up his beer glass to me. “This weekend will be fun.”

“New friends.” I tapped my glass on his, then gulped my beer down. Fuck…I think I’d just been friend-zoned.

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