Page 44 of Riding Pine
“You’ll hear the Americans sometimes say ‘offsides.’ Same thing, but we say it singularly here.” He winks. “We’re the right way.”
“Right. So not only do I need to grasp the rules, but now there are language differences. Got it.” Jesus, can this not be simple?
After our shower, Lukas declared he’s the best at making mac and cheese. Which at first doesn’t sound too impressive, but onceI tasted it, I agreed. He cooked a giant pot of it, and after I found a T-shirt of his to wear, we settled on his couch, eating straight from the pot between us, while he tried to teach me about hockey.
“Whoa! Why was that a whistle? Why are they fighting?”
Lukas chuckles as he takes another forkful of the mac and cheese. I’d never call it that either. It’s always Kraft Dinner to me, but he said when he lived stateside for a few years, that’s what they called it, and it sort of stuck. Same orange stuff. Different name. Kinda like this hockey lingo, I suppose.
“He shot the puck over the glass. Instant delay of game penalty. Now they’re fighting about it. It’s just a mind game.”
“But he didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Nope. It doesn’t matter.” Lukas sets the empty pot on the table along with our forks and wraps an arm around me, pulling me close. “Lots of penalties happen because you didn’t do it on purpose. It’s part of the game.”
The players are still arguing with each other, and some pushing happens until they both fling their gloves on the ice and start throwing punches.
“Oh my god! Is this what you do?” I flinch when the guy takes a punch to the side of the face and look up to find Lukas watching me closely.
“Some people will tell you fighting has no place in the game. They want pure sport and finesse. Others will tell you that you need the roughness and fights to keep a game interesting or to keep it in control. I’m a little in between.” He dips down and kisses the top of my head. “I fight for reasons that my team thinks are justified. It has a place, but needs to be done with purpose.”
“Does it scare you?”
He shakes his head with a small smile. “No. Sometimes I feel bad if I hurt someone, but it’s nothing worse than getting stitches.” His voice drops to just above a whisper. “Does it scare you that I do that? Fight, I mean?”
When he showed up with his black eye, I wasn’t scared. I was just worried he was hurt. Taking his free hand from his lap, I bring his knuckles to my lips. “You don’t scare me, Lukas. You make me feel safe, and it’s odd that these hands can be so gentle with me now, but might break someone’s nose in two days.”
“My mom used to say something similar. She said I was the sweetest boy, always. Even as a teenager. She had a hard time reconciling my job with who I was. You and she would have gotten along great.”
His lips quirk in a sad smile while his gaze shifts to the photo on the wall. The only photo he has that includes other people.
“She died right after I was drafted. That’s when that photo was taken. Draft day. The best day of my life.”
“I’m sorry she’s gone. You must have been close.”
“We were. She was the best.” He smiles again and kisses my cheek. “She taught me the secret to the best mac and cheese.”
“Did she? Is it a family secret, or can you tell me?”
He turns off the television and pulls me onto his lap. “I like you wearing my clothes.” His hands smooth under the far too big T-shirt, brushing over my hardening nipples.
“Well, I might need to borrow underwear since you ripped mine.”
He pulls me closer for a deep kiss. “I’ll get you a new pair.”
“Are you distracting me so you don’t have to share the secret to your mac and cheese?” Lukas stands with me in his arms, andI laugh against his lips. “For the record, I approve of this level of distraction.”
“Good. Because it’s about to get better. I never got that ass in the air from earlier.”
Yep, I’ll forget about the secret ingredient if he prefers to bury his face in my ass.
Tomorrow is a new day and all that.
Besides, never waste an opportunity to be a hot man’s snack.
thirteen
Lukas
