Page 33 of Puck You Very Much
Levi smiled. “Real funny. No.”
“But he was the one holding out, right?”
“Yeah, can you believe that? All this was here for the taking and he acted like it was no big deal.”
He used both hands to point to himself like he was the most sumptuous banquet on earth and Quinn had risked missing out. The car swerved into the left lane, prompting another driver to honk and flip the middle finger at us. Levi grabbed the wheel and righted the car, paying no mind to the angry motorist.
I wanted to tell Levi everything, to unburden myself. Of all the people in the world, he should’ve been the last to judge me.
“Did it feel weird, though?” I asked.
“Did what feel weird?”
I shrugged, not wanting to say it out loud.
“I had experience with guys before Quinn, you know.”
“You did?”
“Sure. I messed around with tons of guys.”
“How come I never heard about that?”
“Because not everyone brags about their sexual escapades.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You used to tell us about women you banged all the time.”
He smiled like he knew I had him dead to rights but arguing would bring him no pleasure.
“Hookups are one thing,” he said. “I didn’t think I was really into guys. It was just sex. It didn’t mean anything. And then Quinn came along, and I realized I could actually feel something for him. I could feel a lot, actually.”
“That’s amazing
“Come on, Jakob, I’m not the first Larkin Lion to be in a relationship with another guy, you know.”
“You’re not? What, has Ryan Detenbeck been taking it up the ass or something?”
Levi howled with laughter and even slapped the wheel a couple of times. It would’ve sounded obnoxious coming from anyone else.
When he settled down, he focused on the road again and said, “Kayden Preston and Erik De Ruiter.”
“Who?”
“They played for the Larkin Lions. They were also playing hide the salami between each other’s ass cheeks.”
I took my turn laughing out loud but probably wouldn’t have had anyone else said that.
“I didn’t know about them,” I said.
“They were on the championship team a few years ago, before you got here.”
In truth, I did know who they were; I needed a moment for their names to register in my memory. Both had moved on to the pros, but I’d heard plenty about them. The news had covered them because their relationship was unlike anything hockey at any level had ever seen.
I didn’t even think about those two when applying to Larkin. Why would I have? I’d never experienced a moment of man lust in my life before Zane Hirst had oinked his way into my life. I just wanted to play hockey at the college level while remaining local. It would also boost my efforts to reach the NHL.
“Would you ever do it for a hockey player?” I asked.
“I’d let Connor McDavid put me through the spin cycle, but nothing long term. You can only do what feels right.”
