Page 85 of Man Advantage

He carded his fingers through my hair, sending goose bumps prickling down my spine. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Beat. “And the lube in my pocket.”

“Good idea.”

CHAPTER 26

CAM

Unsurprisingly,Trev and I fell effortlessly into the perfect rhythm of a couple in their honeymoon phase. In bed whenever we had a chance. Texting and FaceTiming whenever we could.

The sex was off the charts. I’d never experienced a man who couldn’t get enough of me, and it was addictive. Just the way he’d look at me whenever one of us walked into a room would make my toes curl. Being desired was familiar. Beingcraved? Being the reason a man lost his train of thought or—as had happened at practice a couple of times—nearly lost an edge? That was very, very new, and I loved it. He wasn’t kidding about being hot for me when he saw me working out, either; I’d lost count of how many times we’d ended up going at it right there in his home gym.

And that was to say nothing about talking. Lying in bed. Driving back from a game. FaceTiming until all hours of the night. Sitting on the couch long after the boys had gone to sleep. My mom had once mused that she wondered if we’d ever run out of things to talk about, but if the last few weeks were any indication, that wasn’t happening any time soon.

My life looked nothing like it had a year ago or even three months ago. I was in a new city, working a new job, and absolutely loving every second I spent with the man I’d been away from for too many years. Kind of felt like the universe was doing me a solid after running me through the wringer with Daniel.

I’d take it.

The boys turned seven the first week of December, and as luck would have it, the Rebels were in town. Trev felt guilty that he had a game on their birthday, but the twins were thrilled, especially when the Jumbotron read,Happy Birthday, Zach & Zane Allen!and the whole crowd applauded.

Their dad scoring a goal that night was the icing on the cake, and they were bouncing with excitement when we met up with him after the game. I was pretty sure their giant smiles and tackle hugs reassured him that they weren’t even a little bit upset that he’d had to work that night.

The Saturday after their birthday, Trev hosted a party for them. Apparently Bryan had wanted to throw one, too, and he’d conceded that the house was a better venue. Trev said he was welcome to come as long as they kept their issues out of the kids’ sight, and he tactfully requested that Tim not attend.

But then the boys had asked if Tim was coming, and Trev hadn’t had the heart to say,“No, your dad’s boyfriend is a giant bag of dicks, and if he comes in my house, I’ll drown him in the pool.”

So… there we all were—Bryan, Tim, Trev, and me—in a sea of children and parents, trying to keep everyone entertained, happy, and fed.

It wasn’t as bad as I expected. For one thing, the weather was unseasonably nice, so we could let all the kids outside to play. For another, as much as Tim could be an asshole to Trev, he was great with kids. That was apparently enough for him and Trevto pretend they liked each other while they showed all the kids how to hit pucks into a net in the backyard. Or maybe he was just media-trained enough to know that if a video surfaced of him being a jerk to Trev at a children’s birthday party, it wouldn’t go over well with the team.

Whatever the case, I was relieved. I had fully expected today to be a struggle of trying not to throat punch Tim or Bryan. There was still that temptation just because it was kind of my default state with both of them, but it was tempered today. They were behaving. Trev was happy.

What I severelyunderestimated, though, was how stupid I’d be around Trev.

Like, I already knew that watching him with kids turned me into a swooning dork.

And I knew that he was so damn hot that my brain shorted out whenever I saw him.

And—the most recent development—I knew exactly how hard this man could make me come.

But still, somehow, I was not prepared for those three to come together into a perfect storm of distraction.

The boys had been at Bryan’s until the party, which meant Trev and I had had the house to ourselves this morning, and we’d taken full advantage. Now I couldn’t look at him without remembering how hard he rocked my world every time we were alone.

And I also couldn’t look at him without going a little wobbly because he was just so damn cute. When a girl tripped on the deck and skinned her knee, he’d been gentle and kind, helping her to her feet. He’d sat her down on a deck chair, where he’d carefully cleaned the wound, put a colorful Band-Aid on it, and then showed her a scar on his own knee.

“I got that falling off a bike,” he told her. “Had to have six stitches.”

She’d sniffled as she’d looked at the silvery scar, then peered up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “Did it hurt?”

“Uh-huh. It hurt a lot.” He gestured at the Band-Aid on her knee. “And they didn’t give me one of those.” He tsked and rolled his eyes. “Just one of the plain ones.”

That got a giggle out of her, and a moment later, she was off and playing in the yard with the other kids.

I stood next to him on the deck as we watched her and everyone else romping around on the lawn. “Falling off a bike, huh?”

He muffled a laugh. “That’s the official story.”

“Mmhmm. And how much is it worth for me to not tell her the truth?”

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