Page 53 of Puck You Very Much
“You know what’ll happen to me if they see me with you, being all friendly let alone, you know,friendly.”
“I do. Probably the same thing that the Lions would do to me if they caught me being allfriendlywith you.”
“String you up by the balls?”
“I can only hope they’d be that gentle.”
A laugh spilled out of his mouth. Sometimes you’ve got to joke to ease tense situations. Still, I couldn’t deny we seemed to dig ourselves in deeper by the day. It all seemed like fun, like forbidden fruit, with consequences we just didn’t want to consider.
“And when we’re on the ice, we need to pretend we don’t know each other,” he said.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious. Do you know what they would say?”
“Do you wonder what they would say about you dating a guy? Or all the other stuff you’ve done with me that you can’t undo?”
Saying that reminded me of how inherently complicated our relationship was. Beyond a rivalry, we would have to explain a relationship (and secret desires) we’d kept quiet from everyone. Part of me still didn’t regret it. We couldn’t help what we felt. No, more like we couldn’t help what had grown overwhelming.
“So, what’s the plan then?” I asked.
“We play the game like normal. Forget the fact that we’ve been down each other’s pants and ignore that we’ve fucked each other’s brains out.”
“Lovely imagery.”
“It’s just business. We’re playing hockey and competing. It’s that simple. We get that out of the way, and we can go back to gobbling each other’s cocks.”
Though I hated how pig-headed Zane sounded, I couldn’t deny that he had a point. Any other time, I would’ve totally agreed with him. Each team had business to take care of, and winning was everything.
“So, will there be any hard feeling when we beat your sorry asses again?” I asked.
“Oh, okay, are you so sure about that?”
“We did it once this year. We’ll do it again.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“You won’t see anything. You’ll be laid out on the ice just like you were at the Colter Bay Grill.”
I stood up, wanting to joke challenge him. He glided up to me with ease, and I wrapped my arms around him so casually and squeezed. I kissed him like we’d done this a thousand times before. Now it felt as natural as breathing.
We shuffled over to the couch. I fell back onto the cushions and Zane landed on top of me. His rock-hard cock announceditself through his jeans. An erection throbbed in my boxer briefs, and he took it in his hand, kneading it.
For a moment, my troubles drifted away. Contact of that kind with a gorgeous man would do that for anyone. Over the next few hours, I totally forgot that another game between the Larkin Lions and Remington Riptides awaited.
21
ZANE
“Men, let me tell you how things are going to be,” Coach Mack said. “This Larkin Lions team is a thorn in our side. They have been for years. You don’t need to be told that, but this particular squat is worse than any of them and something’s got to be done.”
Voices chimed in agreement throughout the room. I muttered the same under my breath and it sounded like a squeak. For some reason, I felt obligated to go along with the coach’s sermon (so far) but wouldn’t appear too gung ho.
I’d heard a thousand pep talks from Bill Mackenzie, it seemed, but this one already struck an unusual tone. Even still, I couldn’t have prepared myself for what came next.
“If anyone’s going to stand in the way of us winning a championship this season, it’s that goddamn cross-town rival of ours. And they’ve already beaten us once. If they’re smart—which is questionable, I guess—they’ll know they really beat us. They’ll want to get inside our heads. I sure hope you all have kept the bitter taste in your mouths nice and fresh.”
That gnarly taste really had remained daisy-fresh in my own mouth, no matter what I had going on with Jakob Martin. AndCoach Mack was one hundred percent right: the Larkin Lions were not only a thorn in our side, but the most credible threat to our championship season.
