Page 105 of Cherry Picking
He grins into my neck. “Please do.”
CHAPTER 25
GRIFFIN
After pseudo practicewith the kids, all I want to do is drag Riley back to the apartment and make dirty love to him. And cuddle until our arms go numb.
But we have to be responsible and help the kids pack up.
And since this was my idea and I’m the one running point, that responsibility falls on me.
Thank fuck Riley is right beside me—goddamn hand in mine—exactly where he belongs, otherwise I might go full blown feral goalie on a room full of preteen/teenagers.
“Your brother is an atrocity on skates,” I tell Riley as we round the doorway, quiet so I won’t be overheard and hurt the little buggers feelings.
We all gotta start somewhere.
“Oh, I’m well aware, frat boy.”
I pinch his palm in retaliation, contemplating shoving him against the wall and forcing my tongue into his smart ass mouth.
No making out in front of children.
His fingers tighten around mine as the roar of twenty kids echoes throughout the locker room, and my gaze leaves his face for only the briefest second to put on my best coach mask.
A second is all it takes for my eyes to find the big cloth banner hanging across the span of the room, decked out in maroon and deep yellow paint.
Splattered paint around the outline of two bodies: mine and Riley’s. There’s skates and a net. A video game controller. A VCR with an unraveled tape titled: Griff’s B-Rated Horror Obsession. Sewn onto the body outlines are both mine and Riley’s home jerseys. The ones we took from each other.
Riley Eason & Griffin Foster
Two Idiot Puckheads in Love
Some of the kids are whispering—they’re kids, it’s what they do—but some are looking at us with wide-eyed, slack jawed wonder.
Parker steps forward with the biggest smile. “My brother is a dumbass. But I hear dumbasses in love make for great reading material.”
Riley nearly chokes on his own laugh, but I’m still in too much of a daze to respond. He tugs my arm, and I fold into him like wet paper. His chuckle hits my temple, and his arms come around me as his lips press to mine.
One small, heartfelt peck that makes my chest expand and soar.
“Parker said I needed a grand gesture,” Riley whispers into the sliver of space between us. “It’s not an arena full of hockey players or anything, but … this is it, Griff. I’m yours everywhere. Not just behind closed doors.”
I slam him against the wall. reveling in the startled gasp of air he takes. A couple of kids laugh and cheer, the sound of Rory clapping his hands and shouting orders at the kids close but so far away.
My focus is zeroed closely on the man in front of me. The man whose gray eyes shine with love and relief.
“You better mean this shit,” I tell him, catching his parted lip between my teeth. “I’m not giving you up again.”
“Please don’t.”
I pull away, keeping my voice low. “Being with me after what you’ve lost is hard; I get that. We can make it work. Coach has already said he’d like to keep you on as a consultant with the other coaches. It’s not perfect or permanent … but it lets you stay with the team. Lets you be involved.”
He nods with a smile made of pure affection. “You and hockey. I want both in my life. Both of youaremy life. My heart and my soul.”
As soon as the room is cleared and Rory shuts the door behind them, I yank Riley’s mouth down to mine, biting and sucking and licking my way inside until he’s pliant in my arms. Until pressing close means I can feel his excitement digging into my stomach.
A hard, unyielding body against my own.
