Page 64 of Bad Pucking Roommate

“And how would anyone find out?” Tripp shoots Xander an accusatory look as I declare, “We’re too valuable to cut.”

“You willing to risk his career on that?” Xander inclines his head toward Justus though he’s looking at me.Shit.

“I’ll risk mine. I’ve only got a year left on my contract. I’ll walk away from it before I let anything happen to Justus.”

“You can’t do that.” Justus picks his head off my shoulder and gapes at me.

“I can, and I will. But I really don’t think it’ll come to that.” I give his fingers a reassuring squeeze.

Xander ignores both of us and looks around the room with a heavy sigh. “Am I the only one who realizes these two are making googly eyes at each other?”

“Googly eyes?” Tripp snorts. “Isn’t that too sunshiny a term for a grouch like you?”

“You know what I mean. They’re head over heels.”

I look down at Justus, cuddled next to me, and yeah… We might be a little obnoxious. In the privacy of my own home—relative privacy—I don’t give a fuck.

“To be fair,” Niko starts, “Justus has always looked at Luca like that. It’s a little different now, yeah. Less awe and more affection, but he’s still watching Luca like he hung the moon. That might not raise a red flag.”

Damn right that’s how he looks at me.I plop a kiss on Justus’s forehead.

“On its own, maybe not, but instead of looking at Justus like he’s got potential, Luca’s staring at him like he’s proud of him,” Noah states.

“Teacher/student vibes don’t have to mean they’re fucking, big guy.” Tripp steps into his boyfriend’s space, forcing Noah to uncross his arms and wrap one around Tripp, who pats him on the chest.

“You don’t know Luca like I do. He doesn’t look at anyone like he’s proud of them,” Noah says.

“Hey!” I frown at my fellow captain.

“You respect everyone and give credit where it’s due, but you don’t look at any of us like you admire us or take pride in what we do. Like our happiness is more important than yours,” he clarifies.

“Okay, I’m an asshole. Thanks for pointing that out,” I scoff at him.

“That wasn’t the point.” Noah shifts his head back and forth. “The point is you treat Justus differently. The rest of us are average stars while he’s your sun. You two orbit each other. It was there before, but distant. Only on the ice. Now it’s who you are. It won’t go unnoticed, especially after you flew off the handle and attacked the guy who sent Justus into the boards.”

Okay, that’s fair. He could’ve phrased it that way from the start though.

“So, you’re saying it’s inevitable people will find out about us? Fine,” I say defiantly. “I still think we’re too valuable to cut.”

“If management feels like you’re threatening their control, your talent might not matter,” Xander says.

“You think they’d risk the cup because we broke their rules?” I snort, even though I’m feeling slightly less confident now than I was a few minutes ago. I’ll put on a brave face for Justus though. “The two of us are unstoppabletogether. If management fucks with that fans would run them out of town.”

“I’m inclined to side with Luca on this one.” Niko gives his boyfriend an apologetic look. “We’re at the top of our division right now, in large part because these two have an unreal scoring streak going on. No way the organization risks the cup by breaking that up.”

Xander holds his palms up like he’s innocent. “All I know is for as long as my dad has been coaching the Bulldogs, management has had the final word. Overall, that hasn’t been much of an issue—they’re usually pretty fair—but that doesn’t mean my dad has always seen eye-to-eye with them, and in those cases, he just had to accept their decision.”

“What if Luca and I pre-date the no fraternization rule?” Justus speaks up.

“What, like your relationship should be grandfathered in?” A crease forms between Xander’s brows.

“I guess.” Justus shrugs uncertainly.

“Did it?” Niko asks. “Were you together before they made that rule?”

“Yes and no,” I say. “There wasn’t a label on it or anything, but we were…”

“Fucking,” Tripp interjects.

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