Page 65 of Unrivaled

Well—he could have complained Max didn’t have a hand free to wrap around his dick, but that seemed in poor taste since Max was injured and Grady’s arms worked fine.

He did drop the condom on the sheet afterward, so Grady bitched about that instead, even though the linens were already destroyed from earlier.

Max snorted into Grady’s shoulder and wiped his lube-sticky hand on Grady’s stomach. “I don’t know why I thought this would make you mellow.”

Objectively, they were disgusting, but Grady was comfortable and Max wasn’tthatheavy. They could shower later. “Me neither. You really misread that situation.”

Max’s laugh tickled the hairs on the back of Grady’s neck. Neither of them got up for several minutes.

Grady didn’t have a game that night, but if he thought spending the entire day with Max would be awkward and strange, Max surprised him again. Grady did an off-day workout in his home gym while Max helped himself to Netflix, and then they argued about dinner for twenty minutes before settling on gnocchi with kale, Italian sausage, and a browned-butter sauce.

“If you turn the heat up in the pan, you can get the kale to crisp up on the edges,” Max commented as he drained the pasta.

Grady didn’t remember telling him where to find the colander. “Maybe I like it wilted.”

But he turned the heat up when Max wasn’t looking.

Everything went surprisingly well until bedtime rolled around and they realized they’d forgotten about the state of the sheets.

Max pursed his lips in consideration. “So when you said I wouldn’t be sleeping in your bed… you meant that you wouldn’t either?”

Asshole. Grady pointed. “Guest bedroom’s upstairs.”

Last time they’d shared a bed, Max slept ass naked, passed out facedown. This time Grady woke up to find him curled into a ball on his side like a kid, wearing Grady’s stolen boxers since he’d been too lazy to get his bag out of the car.

Maybe he thought it was rude to sleep naked in someone else’s bed.

Probably he was just a weirdo.

Grady had practice in the morning, so they made a quick breakfast before he left. He had no idea what Max planned to do while he was gone, but as long as he didn’t burn the house down, Grady didn’t care.

His agent called when he was halfway home. “Keep this quiet for now, but things are in motion. Don’t be surprised if you get scratched this week.”

For years, Grady’s shoulders had been gradually tightening with stress about the team. Half a dozen seasons now he’d spent training up a new linemate, working to generate chemistry, only for management to turn around and trade him for a defenseman or picks because Grady’d played with him enough to inflate his numbers. They seemed to expect Grady to play just as well with anyone.

Now the tension finally started to relax. It felt… strange.

Of course part of him was sad too. He liked Coop and Zipper. He liked his home here.

But he could like it somewhere else too. “Any idea where they’re sending me?”

“Looks like Anaheim.”

Anaheim had a stable full of young talent. When they clicked, they steamrollered their opponents. When they didn’t, they could blow a 5–0 lead in a single period. It made sense that they’d be looking for a few veterans to keep the hotheads in line and keep them on an even keel. Grady could see himself fitting in there.

It was on the other side of the country, though—kind of a long way to go for a booty call. He should enjoy this time with Max while he could.

“Thanks, Erika.”

When he entered the house, Max was sitting in the living room in his boxers, eating a bowl of cereal. He paused the TV and looked up when Grady entered.

Grady looked over Max’s shoulder at the TV screen. Apparently he was fifty-seven minutes intoPride & Prejudice.

“Don’t judge me.”

Grady raised his hands. “No judgment.” Max could watch whatever he wanted.

“So.” Max craned his neck to meet Grady’s eyes. “Where are they dealing you?”

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