Page 40 of Bad Pucking Roommate

Luca casts me a sideways glance and licks his lips. “What do you remember?”

I say a little prayer that my cheeks aren’t turning pink as I run my hands under the water. “Not much. One second, I’m skating toward the goal, the next…it’s just static.”

Luca keeps his gaze focused on his reflection. “You don’t remember anything after the game?”

“It’s pretty hazy. Are these yours?” I tug the waistband of the briefs I’m wearing away from my skin, letting it slap back against my stomach.

His chest rises and stills as he meets my stare in the mirror. “Yes.”

I swallow thickly. “Thought so. They’re softer than mine.”

Luca’s eyes skate down my torso, resting on the slight bulge between my legs, if I’m not mistaken. I’m not sure if that bulge is from the decadent fabric—Luca has expensive taste—or the tinge of heat in his expression. Either way, my skin tingles under his perusal.

“I wanted you to be comfortable,” he rasps as he brings his gaze back to mine in the mirror.

“I am.” Goosebumps pebble on my arms as I lick my lips.

“Justus, I—” A persistent buzz pierces the relative silence of the bathroom, cutting Luca off before he can finish his thought. He whispers a curse as he pulls his phone from his pocket, his features softening as he reads the name on the screen.

“It’s your mom.” He holds out his cell. “Catch up with her while I get you something to eat.”

Our fingers brush together just slightly as he passes his phone, sending a jolt of electricity to my chest. Then he spins away, giving me the privacy that’s never once felt lonely. Until now.

Chapter fifteen

Luca

Idial Justus the second I enter the room, needing to hear his voice.

It’s strange – I’ve never craved anyone’s company on the road, and now that I’m once again in a room by myself, I miss it. Not just in an audience capacity either, but for the company. Someone to banter with me while we watch highlights on ESPN, or to bitch about our opponents with.

Justus and I fell into an easy rhythm over the months we’ve roomed together, and without him here it's just…quiet.

“It’s a little early to start your ritual, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.” I can hear the grin in his voice, and picturing it has me smiling too.Thank God he can’t see what a dork I am.

“That’s not why I’m calling.”

“Good, because we’ve been through this. Looking at a dim phone screen for five minutes isn’t going to slow down the healing process.”

“Five minutes?”I snort. “I can last way longer than five minutes.”

“That’s all you get. Doctor’s orders.” There’s that grin again.Man, I wish I could seeit.

“What doctor?”

“The team doctor. Who else?”

“Oh yeah?” I smile to myself as I fall on the bed. “And what did he say when you told him you wanted five minutes of Facetime to watch me jerk off?”

“He said I could have five minutes when I told him my mom wanted to see me with her own eyes and make sure I was okay.”

I mock gasp. “You lied to a doctor? Who are you and what have you done with my honest and trustworthy Justus?”

“I told him he’d earned five minutes of fun after staring at the back of his eyelids all day.”

My laugh takes me by surprise, and I realize I feel almost as light as I did yesterday, when Justus and I spent hours lounging in bed. Me reading aloud, since he wasn’t cleared to do anything but stare at the ceiling, and him lying close enough I could feel the sparks jump back and forth between us.

I’d never lingered in bed before, not without sex in the mix, and I can honestly say I didn’t miss that part. Well, maybe a little, but only because Justus has a gorgeous body, especially clad only in my underwear. If he hadn’t been recovering, I’d have been happy to get physical, I just don’t feel like the day was wasted since we kept our dicks covered. That’s new too. Obviously because of the wholehe’s a manpart, but also just in general. I sincerely liked having him next to me, even without sex, or the affection I couldn’t stop myself from showing when he was at his worst.

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