Page 24 of Breakaway Goals
“You don’t seem fine,” Danny said. His gaze narrowed and that teasing, knowing expression thatneverboded well when it was on Danny’s face, emerged. “You seem kinda . . .hot.”
“Oh. Uh. No.”
It was early February in Toronto. Hot was something he wasn’t. Unless Danny was talking about the raging inferno inside him whenever he thought of Morgan calling himbaby, and the possibility that he might do it again. Softer this time, and more earnest, pressing him next to his hotel room door . . .
“Youlookhot,” Danny leered.
“Stop it,” Hayes said, smacking him on the arm. “Nobody wants to know about your secret crush on me.”
He’d learned, a long time ago, how much easier it was to go on the offensive sometimes. To push back on guys who tried to make him uncomfortable.
Not that he really thought Danny was doing it on purpose.
“We really don’t,” Morgan said through clenched teeth.
If Hayes hadn’t been present for his own accidental coming out, he’d have assumed Morgan’s discomfort was about the possibility a guy might have a secret crush on another guy, but he knew Morgan better than to believe that was true.
So what was he pissed about? About Danny hitting on him, in the most straight-bro way ever? That was ridiculous.
“How aboutyoursecret crushes, Mo?”
Morgan rolled his eyes. “You are the most outrageous person I know.”
“And you say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Hayes laughed at the disgruntled face Morgan made.
“Are we gonna go out tonight?” Danny asked, changing the subject.
“We have a game tomorrow,” Hayes pointed out. “Against Finland.”
“Yeah, Danny. Youdoremember you’re here to play, not to party, right?”
Danny ran a hand through his wild blond curls. “Yeah, I did get that memo, Captain and Captain’s shadow.”
“I’m not—” Hayes protested, suddenly flustered and unable to hide it.
“No, you’re just a very good boy. No wonder Morgan likes you so much.” Danny flashed Hayes a toothy grin.
“Ilikethat he doesn’t want to go out and get drunk the night before a game,” Morgan said.
Hayes knew Morgan’s praise shouldn’t hit him as hard as it did. But it was impossible not to feel the thrill of it.
“Too bad,” Danny said.
“You’re not still—”
But Morgan didn’t get even half his admonishing question out before Danny just shook his head. “No. No. I hear Cal’s getting up a Mario Kart tournament. You two in?”
Hayes didn’t want to play video games. He still wanted to curl up in his bed with the trashiest TV he could find. Try to go to sleep early, be extra ready for the game tomorrow. The Finns weren’t going to go down easy. They never did.
But Morgan nodded and then turned to Hayes. “You in?”
How was Hayes supposed to say no whenMorganasked him? Not especially nicely, but with that extra affectionate glow that Hayes might or might not be wishfully making up in his hazel eyes?
Which was how he ended up pressed up against Noah with Danny on his other side, lying on the floor next to one of Calvin’s beds, as Morgan kicked Bram’s ass in Mario Kart.
Jacob wandered in at one point—the tournament had grown big enough they’d ended up split between two rooms—buthadn’t stayed, which was better for everyone, because Hayes hadn’t missed how Morgan’s back tensed even as he tried to clear the sour expression off his face.
