Page 61 of Broken Ice
Emilio didn’t even notice for a few seconds, gazing out at the water. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Beau’s face. “Oh, shit.”
“You hate surprise parties?” Beau croaked.
“I…I was kidding.”
Beau groaned. “No, you weren’t! Oh my God, I’m the worst fucking birthday planner in the world. Why doesn’t anybody know this about you?”
“I mean, my sister definitely knows.”
Beau gasped. “Thattraitor.”
Emilio laughed. “She doesn’t pass up an opportunity to mess with me.”
“Urgh. Siblings.”
“Yep.”
Beau chewed on his lip. “You want me to cancel?” The party should be mostly set up, but if Emilio hated them…
“Nah. I mean, it’s not even a surprise anymore, so now it’s just a normal party.”
“I guess…”
“Seriously, Beau. It’ll be funny to see the guys try to surprise me now that I know what’s coming.”
“I’ll tell them to really ham it up.”
Emilio sniggered. “Let’s do it.”
The party ended up being a lot of fun. It was surprisingly entertaining to see everybody get dramatically disappointed as Emilio didn’t even flinch at their “Surprise!”
The food was kind of a disaster—having an event catered by a bunch of hockey players wasn’t going to result in the best fare—but Emilio’s face lit up as he spotted all the familiar dishes.
“Beau gave us a recipe each,” Pavel explained.
Emilio shot Beau a look that went right through him, lighting him up. Fond, and grateful, eyes soft and mouth tilted up.
Even the impromptu film of childhood photos didn’t phase Emilio too much—he took the ribbing from the team with a smile on his face.
The best part, though, was at the very end when everyone else had left. Emilio stopped Beau from cleaning up and wrapped him up in his arms, tilting him in for a slow, thorough kiss.
“Thanks for the party, baby,” Emilio whispered, scent as happy as his words.
“It wasn’t a total disaster?”
“Not even close. How ’bout we leave this for tomorrow and you come to bed?”
Beau didn’t have to be told twice, pushing Emilio onto the bed when they got to his room and crawling between his legs. He proceeded to indulge in the slowest, wettest blowjob he’d ever given, soaking in the sight of Emilio panting and groaning.
Sleep that night took him sweetly.
***
Beau had already gone through the trials of his first match-up against Atlanta. It had been in Miami at the beginning of the season, the Manatees logo on his chest fresh enough that it was easy to scrub away for a few hours, having dinner with his old teammates, feeling like one of the guys.
It was different this time. Not only because it was in Beau’s old barn but because he actually felt like a Manatee this time.
Beau, Emilio, and Moose were a killer combination. They were performing even better than Pavel’s line—at least in points raked in.
