22. Christian

Christian

I was so exhausted I was on the brink of hallucinating, but if I didn't get naked with Theo soon, I was going to lose my goddamned mind.

I still had to wait, though. Tonight was game two of a back-to-back, and we were leaving for the airport right after the game to head for Calgary. Before that, there'd been some issues with a visiting team's gear; I had no idea how, but one of their travel cases just… hadn't made it onto the plane. My crew and I—and every crew I'd ever worked with—had eleventy billion checks and balances in place to make sure we didn't leave so much as a helmet strap behind, but somehow, one of their cases was still in Buffalo's arena.

So, after we'd picked up the crew and their gear at the airport, we'd all been scrambling to get them everything they needed for the game. That was the thing about equipment managers—we all looked out for each other. We met visiting teams at the airport, helped them load and unload their gear, and helped them get situated in the arena. If something was missing or damaged, we'd help them out. Whenever we were in another arena, the host team's equipment managers did the same for us. There was no competition or backstabbing between any of us; it was our job to make sure both teams had everything they needed to play a proper game.

Sometimes that meant for an incredibly long night. I had planned to meet up with Theo after we got the equipment managers settled into the arena, but once I'd realized something was missing, I'd texted him to cancel. Good thing, too—between their delayed flight and the missing case, I didn't leave the arena until almost four.

That game came and went uneventfully, and then the next crew came in, and after a shorter but still late night, I was running on a handful of hours of sleep. Still, I'd been here in time to set up for the morning skate, and thanks to a few gallons of coffee, I was still on my feet.

When I got home tonight, all I was going to want to do was faceplant in my pillow and pass out for a few short hours. I was so tired I could barely stand, goddammit.

But that didn't stop me from wishing I could have a moment alone with the man wearing number sixty-one.

For the last few days, Theo and I had barely had time to look at each other, never mind touch, and I was losing it.

Now we had a lull in between the morning skate and warmups. My crew and I had finished everything we needed to finish. Steel was sharpened. Sticks were taped. Jerseys were hung. Skates were drying. One of Rusanov's socks had needed patching and Condit's jersey had a tear in the sleeve from last night. I'd fixed the tear enough to finish the game, and then I'd reinforced it today.

Everything was done, and we had about two hours before warmups. Most of the players were in the building. They'd had a team meeting after the morning skate, and now they were trickling in to start their pregame routines. A few of them were playing two-on-two soccer in the hallway as they always did. Rusanov and Grekov were taking their usual walks around the upper, lower, and ice levels.

Theo also took walks before warmups, but he always went alone. He'd put in his AirPods, disappear into his own thoughts, and make a few laps around the ice level before he did a light workout.

I was restless when he came in to put on his workout gear before his walk. I desperately wanted to go sleep for a bit—Marty had already stepped out to take a nap in his car—but I knew myself. I couldn't relax. No matter how exhausted I was, I was too wound up, and that had everything to do with Theo.

I missed him. I wanted him. Even if I was too exhausted to get it up, I just wanted to touch him, for God's sake.

When Theo left for his walk, my heart started pounding.

Should I?

Absolutely not, but is that going to stop me?

Also absolutely not.

He always went counterclockwise, so I went the other way, running through my mental map of the arena to figure out the best place to pull him aside. Someplace that would be empty. Hidden from view.

As I came around a curve, a familiar alcove caught my attention, and I grinned.

Oh, yes. This would work just fine.

I made sure no one was around, then dipped into the alcove and took out my phone. Theo usually listened to music while he was walking, so I was confident he'd have his phone with him.

Christian:Meet me by the Zambonis.

My heart went wild as the message sent. Even wilder when "read" appeared beneath the message.

He didn't reply.

I waited, shifting my weight and trying to will my pulse to come back down. We wouldn't be able to do much—assuming he actually took me up on this—but I didn't care. I just wanted a moment alone with him. That would tide me over until we got through this game and the next road trip. Even a stolen kiss would be enough to keep me sane until—

Footsteps approached out in the main thoroughfare, and I closed my eyes, silently begging for them to turn into this alcove.

Please be Theo, please be Theo, please be Theo.

They turned.

I opened my eyes.

And oh, God, yeah, it was him.

He didn't say a word, though. He walked right up, pushed me against the Zamboni, and kissed me deep and hard. It was like the first time we were in here, but also different. There was no hesitation this time. No uncertainty. His kiss was anything but tentative, his hands sure as they slid all over my body.

My knees shook under me, but Theo and the Zamboni kept me upright. I wrapped my arms around his neck and indulged in the kiss I'd been craving for the past few days.

It occurred to me then that this might not actually help me stay sane. His thickening hard-on rubbed mine through our workout pants, and it was going to be how long before he could fuck me again? Damn it!

Eh. I could hate myself for this later. For right now, I surrendered completely, loving the way his body felt against mine and how he explored my mouth like it was the first time all over again.

"We have to stop meeting like this," he murmured against my lips.

"Fuck that." I slid a hand up into his hair. "We can't go out like a normal couple. We can at least sneak off and make out between the Zambonis."

Theo laughed, and then he reclaimed my mouth. I hummed into his kiss, melting all over again between him and the Zamboni. God, he was such a good kisser. So good in bed, too. And just…

So good.

I liked being close to him. Even when we were hanging out in a bar with his teammates, carefully keeping some space between us so no one caught on, I liked it. Catching his eye and seeing that smile—whether it was shy or devilish or somewhere in between—could have my heart fluttering for hours.

In over my head? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Theo broke the kiss again, breathing hard as he met my gaze. "You know, we could actually go out like a normal couple."

I stared at him. "We—How?"

"Meet somewhere. A movie." He slid his hands up my sides. "We don't go in or out together, but we have, what? Two, three hours to watch a movie?"

I thought about it. Movies had never been my ideal dates because… I mean, what was the point of going on a date and not talking for a couple of hours? But sneaking around behind closed doors had left me a little stir crazy, and the thought of sitting in a movie theater with Theo—in the dark but in public—had some serious appeal.

Who was I kidding? Just being with him under any circumstances had a ton of appeal.

"A movie could be fun." I lifted my chin for another kiss. "Maybe when we get back in town after the road trip?"

Theo's lips curved against mine. "Sounds perfect."

Yeah, it did.

And I couldn't fucking wait.