Page 62 of Time to Shine

Landon snapped out of it. “Yeah. I’ll be right back.”

There was nothing, Landon reminded himself, absolutely nothing sexual about what was happening right now. This was a comfort thing, and he was glad that it was a comfort thing. He couldn’t even imagine what he’d do if it wasn’t.

He couldn’t, for example, imagine digging his fingers into Casey’s long curls, tugging slightly until Casey’s head tipped back and his lips parted on a gasp. He couldn’t imagine kissing him, hard and hungry and maybe against a wall. Or, scratch that, gently kissing that shy, sleepy smile until Casey laughed and kissed him back. Maybe crawled on top of Landon while he kept kissing him. Maybe rocked against him, showing Landon how turned on he was...

Impossible to imagine.

And, goddammit, Landon was hard now.

Arousal was something he rarely had much use for. When it happened, he either ignored it, or dealt with it quickly and privately if circumstances allowed it. It wasn’t much different from having something stuck in his teeth.

Landon didn’t want to keep Casey waiting any longer than necessary, so while he brushed his teeth he tried to figure out if it would take longer to will his erection away, or to jerk off. He certainly couldn’t return to Casey’s bedroom in this state.

He worked through a list of pros and cons, then ultimately decided that jerking off would be the best defense against unwanted future erections tonight.

He’d need to be quick, though.

He stepped out of his pants, then tugged the waistband of his boxer briefs down just enough to free his cock. There was no time or reason to be fancy about things, so he leaned over the bathroom sink and went to town on himself. He jerked himself hard and fast and without lube, keeping his gaze locked on the sink so he wouldn’t look in the mirror. He didn’t close his eyes because he was sure he’d think of Casey.

It took about three minutes. He watched as his release splattered the porcelain, and embarrassment crept in before his orgasm had even finished.

God, he hoped he’d be able to forget this moment, and not forever link it to his first NHL win.

At least it was done now, and he could relax and hopefully fall asleep quickly. He cleaned the sink with a facecloth, then thoroughly rinsed the facecloth. He changed into pajama pants and a T-shirt and, after a few centering breaths, went back upstairs.

Casey was already in bed, and smiled when Landon walked in. “I was thinking about that guy in the grocery store. The dude whose hat we signed. He must be bragging to everyone about having Landon Stackhouse’s autograph now.”

Landon huffed. “As if.” He pulled back the covers on his side of the bed and climbed in.

“You can turn off the lamp,” Casey said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Casey yawned, then snuggled under the comforter in a way that was so cute Landon wanted to rewind it and play it back. “It’s cool.”

“Goodnight,” he said, and turned off the lamp.

“Goodnight, superstar.”

The king-size bed put a lot of space between them, which was good, obviously. It was a comfortable bed, and not having to worry about crowding Casey was a plus. But. It wouldn’t be so bad, Landon thought, if Casey’s hand found its way to Landon’s arm under the blankets. If it rested there, warm and reassuring and sending confusing but exciting tingles into Landon’s bloodstream.

He could probably live with that. If it happened.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Two days later, Casey’s brain woke him up and immediately reminded him that he hadn’t mentioned something important to Landon. Something he had promised to mention to him.

He rolled over and saw that the other half of the bed was empty. The sheets had even been neatly tucked and folded, as if Landon had never been there at all.

He had been there. Casey had crashed hard after their brutal loss to New Jersey last night, but he remembered the warmth of Landon’s body, and the way his lips had looked extra kissable.

Casey left his side of the bed unmade, and ventured downstairs to look for Landon. He found him in the gym, doing a full side split with his face almost touching the floor.

Casey completely forgot what he was going to tell him.

It shouldn’t even have been interesting; goalies did stretches like this all the time. He’d seen Landon doing these sorts of stretches lots of times. It wasn’t a big deal.

“Wow,” Casey blurted out.

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