There’s Been an Accident （15）

December 9

"Hustle, hustle…I got you, hey! I'm open, I'm open!"

TK banged his stick in frustration as his practice squad ran yet another passing drill that no one bothered to tell him he'd been excluded from. "The fuck?"

He skated over to the bench, where Hayes was snagging a quick sip of water while his squad was taking a break. "Is your squad completely ignoring you, man?"

Hayes swallowed, spit, and nodded. "A little. Thought it was in my head. Nah?"

"Nah, baby. Mine won't fuckin' pass me the puck. We ran like, four different drills and they keep shutting me out."

Just then, Hughesy skated over to where they were, snowed them both, and tapped TK on the ass with his stick. "Eh: we're not done. Get your ass back out there."

"Why, so you guys can not pass me the puck?"

"Fuck off, TK. You're lucky you're even playing right now, both of you, after the shit you pulled last month."

"How'd I get dragged into this shit?" Hayes asked, throwing his hands up.

"You wanna sit again?" Hughesy warned, leaning in close to him. "Because that can be arranged. I'm the only reason you two douchebags aren't wasting away in Bridgeport right now." He pointed at both of them. "The only reason."

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with cap hit either," TK mumbled, earning an eye roll from Hughesy.

"We've been on our best fuckin' behavior, man," Hayes added, adjusting his cup. "You know that."

"Yeah, I do know that. And I also know that the other guys? They're not as forgiving as I am. You both fucked this team for a solid month with your bullshit."

"Well, if we're gonna be in the lineup, I fail to see how shutting us out is going to unfuck the team," TK argued. "Just saying."

"It's called making a statement. You're gonna need to earn back the respect you lost. It's earned, bitch. Not granted freely. Just saying."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

Hughesy shrugged, grabbing each of them by the sides of their helmets and clunking their heads together. "Figure it out. And let's go, TK. Your backchecking is absolute trash," he said, before turning and heading back over to where his squad was.

TK opened his mouth instinctively, letting Hayes squirt some water into it. "This isn't even worth it anymore, man. Maybe we should just go back to…"

"Don't talk like that," Hayes interrupted, chopping him in the shin with his stick. "We're doin' so good. Now go, before he starts yellin' again."

The two of them had really made an effort to clean their act up after the night on the bridge and their conversation on the limo ride home. The term "clean up their act" was certainly relative; neither of them, as they'd discussed, were in any position to stop using, and neither of them was willing to go to rehab.

So, the two of them had spent about a week figuring out what combination of drugs they needed to ingest and at what times throughout the day in order to get and keep themselves feeling normal.

OK, so it wasn't ideal, but it was a start, right?

And it had kinda…worked.

Travis Kadin was a goddamn drug wizard. He had provided Hayes's technologically impaired ass with a spreadsheet and had set a series of alarms in his phone.

"Listen, baby," he'd told him, as he went over everything with him. "You do not wanna OD, so you gotta make sure you follow it exactly to a T. Make sure you pay attention to the mg's. Anything over 5? Don't pop more than one, OK? And don't substitute anything. That could throw the whole thing off. If you need a sub, call me first. I'll hook you up. But don't take anything without talking to me first."

Fifteen mgs of oxy at 7 a.m.

Line at 9 a.m.

Fifteen more mg's at 12 p.m.

Two lines at 2 p.m., etc.

And it was at that point, when he sat back and looked at everything, that Hayes realized just how fucked he was.

The amount of drugs he needed to feel normal was costing him upwards of $300 a day, sometimes way more if he had to buy it off the street while waiting for a new prescription refill. And it was nightmare: having to keep track of which pills were which strength because if he accidentally popped three 15's instead of 5's, he'd have a real problem. TK helped him organize everything and keep track of his dosages, and there was no doubt in his mind he would've already OD'd if it hadn't been for his friend.

This shit? Was not only exhausting; it was a full-time job.

But: he could play hockey.

He could function.

And most importantly, like everything else currently in his life, he could effectively hide it from Ryan Baylor.

It'd been about two weeks since the trade and since Hayes had last seen his boyfriend. They'd spoken as much as they could, but Ryan was busy trying to learn the ropes of his new team and adjusting to the much faster paced NHL style of hockey. It'd been a struggle for him, but he'd been making some strides, finally getting his start at home against the Penguins after being named a healthy scratch for the first three games.

He'd sent Hayes a video of his rookie lap, which he watched proudly, but also with an aching in his gut that he wasn't there to witness it live. He remembered his own rookie lap last year and how Ryan had been right there and he lamented the fact that he couldn't return the favor.

"You know I'd have been there for it if I could've, baby," he told him when they talked after the game, putting his phone on mute while TK ripped a couple lines off the Raptor's center console.

"I know you would've. It's just…I'm struggling so much here, baby."

Hayes heard the pain in Ryan's voice as it cracked on the last syllable of the word "baby," and it damn near broke him.

"It's not the same as the AHL. Shit, you know that. It's so much faster, so much more intense. The other guys? They're all so much better than me. I don't…know if I'm gonna make it, and that scares the shit outta me."

"Trust me, Rook. I get it. But you're ready, baby. When I first got here…dude, you're fuckin' bleedin' all over yourself. Hang on, Rook. Here." Hayes leaned over, reached inside the glovebox, grabbed some napkins, and tossed them to his teammate to clean himself up. "Anyway, when I first got here…"

"Know what? I can see you're busy. I'll let you go."

"Rook, no. Wait…"

But Ryan had already ended the call.

"Fuckin' ay, Teek!" Hayes yelled, smacking him in the chest. "You couldn't wait two fuckin' minutes ‘til I was done talkin' to him?" Then, hearing the alarm on his phone, he bent down to clean the two lines that TK had racked for him, already privy to what Hayes needed before even he was.

TK was good like that.

He understood Hayes in a way that no one else did.

Whether or not that was a good thing, Hayes had yet to determine.

Hayes and Ryan had spoken that morning and Ryan had apologized for hanging up on him, assuring him that he was just stressed out after only getting 11 minutes of ice time and ending the night at a minus 3.

He'd also commented on how much more present and more alert Hayes had seemed the past few times they talked. "Are you, you know, taking care of yourself? Have you…stopped?"

Hayes hesitated. "I haven't stopped. Rook, I can't. But I'm…takin' care of myself, OK? I promise. Everything is completely under control. I'm…I've got this."

Ryan, knowing that was bullshit and not having the first clue what to say, just replied quietly with, "OK."

He still hadn't told Ryan about what happened with TK, but he was starting to lean toward the idea that maybe it was better to just not say anything. Maybe it was just one little fuck up; was it really something for which he was willing to throw away their entire relationship?

Tomorrow, he'd finally get to see Ryan again. Their schedules had worked out; the Islanders were playing at home and Tampa Bay was playing in New Jersey, which was only a little over two hours from Long Island. The Lightning had to be in Columbus the following day, but at least they'd be able to spend one quick night together, a night that just happened to be Hayes's 22nd birthday.

And Hayes hadn't been this excited about anything in a really long time.

As the Isles' practice ended, the guys made their way down the tunnel and back into the locker room. Hayes went directly to his stall and within seconds, TK was there, drive-by dropping pills onto his tongue so inconspicuously that he was gone before Hayes even closed his mouth to swallow them.

The two had it down to a fucking science.

Hayes grabbed his phone to check his messages, noticing that the alarm was going off silently, right on cue. He wanted to see if there was anything from Ryan, but there wasn't.

So, he texted him instead.

H: I love you and I miss you. I can't wait to be with you tomorrow night. It's all I can think about.

As Hayes set his phone down and began pulling off his gear, TK was heading toward the showers but stopped to talk to him. "Plans tonight?"

Hayes shook his head. "Nah. I'm just gonna lay low at home I think, watch a movie or some shit."

"Um, fuck that. Your birthday's tomorrow and since you're gonna be with pretty boy after the game, I'm taking you out tonight. Nothing too crazy, but be ready by 9."

"Teek, I can't…" Hayes called after him as he'd started to make his way to the showers. He'd had a flashback to last year's birthday festivities and the shitshow that had followed after he'd managed to get almost the entire Bridgeport Islanders team annihilated the night before a game.

"Fuck. That!" he called back, not turning around. "You will be ready by 9. And dress nice."

"Shit," Hayes muttered, unable to stifle the smirk that was creeping across his face as he wondered just what in the fresh hell his teammate had planned for him.

It was just one night, and they'd both been so good.

One night couldn't hurt, right?

???

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me right now? Holy shit, dude!"

A completely clean-shaven Hayes, dressed in a tailored black suit that hugged his amazing body to perfection and a light purple dress shirt, gawked at the lime green Lamborghini that was parked in front of his apartment building.

"Yep. Huracan Tecnica. V-10, 630 horseys, baby." TK, wearing a dark blue suit that looked like it'd been sent to him from God himself, tossed him the key fob. "Got her ‘til tomorrow. Knock yourself out."

"Dude, there's no way…are you serious?"

"Oh, get the fuck in already," TK ordered, tilting up the passenger door and maneuvering his way inside. These cars weren't exactly designed for tall people, but with some careful placement, it could work. "You ever driven something like this?"

"Nah. Always wanted to, just never really had the…" He stopped talking, grinning at the engine's throaty rumble as he started it up. "Teek. Yo. Holy shit!"

"Happy birthday, baby." TK winked at him and patted him twice on his right thigh, letting his hand linger briefly before pulling it away. "Let's take her for a ride, shall we?"

"Where we headin' tonight anyway?" Hayes asked, looking around the dash wildly, trying to figure out how to shift.

"So, it's a DCT. The trans will work the clutches for you but you can use the paddle shifters if you want," TK explained, reaching over and pointing them out. "Or you can put it in auto mode and just cruise. That's," he said, gesturing to the button, "right here."

"Umm, yeah. That's probably the way to go."

Hayes had a blast driving them around for about an hour, eventually hopping onto the highway to see how fast he could push it, finally chickening out and backing off when he'd hit 145 mph. "Teek, this is fuckin' unbelievable. This is like a 300-thousand-dollar car, man."

"You deserve it, baby. You deserve it all, to party like the fuckin' star you are. Speaking of which…" TK typed into his phone for a few seconds, plugged it into the car, and told Hayes to follow the directions, which ultimately landed them at one of the most prestigious and notorious strip clubs on Long Island.

Hayes drove up to the valet and waited in line, shooting TK a look of uncertainty. "You sure this is a good idea? I mean, they're watchin' us, man."

"You know what? Then let ‘em watch us. Besides, we've been really good. We deserve a little treat." He reached into his pocket, pulled out two little blue pills, popped one onto his tongue, and lifted the other one to Hayes's face. "Open up, baby."

"But my alarm didn't…"

"Shhh," TK hushed him, bringing his hand to Hayes's lips, coaxing them open with his fingers, depositing the pill, and dragging his index finger down them.

"What, um…is it?"

"Molly," he said, as they approached the valet station and got out. "And I figured we'd be safe here since you're not really into chicks anymore. I still am, though. Besides, gay or not, who doesn't like to stare at a nice pair of tits?" He nudged Hayes, who looked like he'd seen something horrific. "You good, baby?"

"I just…I've never done molly before. And like, aren't we not supposed to be substitu…"

TK faced him and brought a finger to his lips. "One night, OK? It's just one night. You're gonna be feelin' so good in about a half hour. Relax and let loose. OK? You deserve it."

Hayes nodded as TK slid his hand across his cheek, slipped it behind his head, and pressed their foreheads together. "OK," he replied obediently, closing his eyes and struggling to understand the disappointment he felt when TK pulled away without kissing him.

He wanted TK to kiss him so bad.

Get it together, Hayes.

You have a fuckin' boyfriend.

They entered the club via the VIP entrance and immediately made their way to the semi-private VIP lounge. Amidst the whispers and stares, they had a seat and were quickly approached by a waitress, TK ordering a bottle of Cristal. Not long after, two of the girls made their way over and began propositioning them.

The blonde straddled Hayes, resting her wrists on top of his shoulders and pressing her naked tits against his chest as she leaned into his ear. "Somethin' I can do for you, baby?"

His cock twitched briefly but stopped when it realized that there were other things on which he'd rather focus his attention. He held onto her waist and turned his mouth to her ear as the music blared. "Actually, I'm all set. No offense. I mean, you're a fuckin' smoke and your tits are amazing, but I've got a boyfriend."

She moved her mouth to his ear. "That's kinda hot though. Is it him?" she asked, gesturing toward TK, who had his face shoved in between the brunette's small tits as she rocked her hips slowly into his.

Hayes shook his head.

I fuckin' wish.

No, you don't. Stop it.

"That's too bad. I'd pay you to watch that."

He laughed, eyes lidded and starting to relax as the drug did its thing. He took notice of the music, able to feel it in ways he'd never realized before, and he couldn't get over the feel of the stripper's skin against his hands as he rubbed it slowly. It wasn't sexual; it was just so damn soft and smooth.

The brunette tapped the blonde in Hayes's lap on the shoulder, holding TK's hand with her other hand. She leaned in and whispered into her colleague's ear, who then nodded. She informed Hayes that they'd be heading to a private room.

She pulled him up, grabbed the bottle of champagne with her other hand, and followed TK and the brunette. Hayes was aware of the many looks they were getting on the way there, but he was feeling entirely too good to give even half a shit.

As soon as they got into the room, TK took out his phone, typed for a bit, and had both girls digitally sign an NDA, something Hayes had never had to worry about while playing in the AHL. But, considering he was now making nearly 11 times more a year in New York than he was in Bridgeport, it wasn't something he could skip or for which he could grant the benefit of the doubt.

Hayes fixated on TK as he set his phone down, unbuckled his pants, and slid them down over his ass, the brunette rubbing his stiff cock through his black Calvin Klein briefs as she kissed his neck.

The blonde set the bottle down on the cocktail table and reached for Hayes's belt buckle, but he promptly stopped her. "Nah." He pushed her hands away but continued to work the buckle loose. "Why don't you give him your attention, too? I'll just enjoy the show," he told her, sliding his pants down and having a seat in the leather chair. "Just make sure I can see him."

"Whatever you want, baby," she said with a wink, heading over to TK. The girls pushed him back into the chair, the blonde shoving her tits in his face while the brunette positioned herself on the floor between his legs. "Your friend wants to watch you get your cock sucked," she whispered, as he took turns licking each of her pierced nipples.

"Then get the fuck on the floor and suck my cock," he ordered, and she did as she was told. He lifted his hips so they could remove his underwear, and he shoved his shirt up so they could run their fingers along his abs while they took turns attempting to deep throat him.

He threw his head back and closed his eyes, appreciating the tandem blowjob. It was mediocre at best, but that didn't matter since molly made him horny as fuck. When he lifted his head back up and opened his eyes, they found Hayes's, his usual soft green irises replaced by severely dilated pupils that reflected a clear desire for what he was witnessing at that moment. TK let his eyes fall to his teammate's lap, where he'd freed his big, beautiful cock and begun jerking himself off.

"Cum for me," TK mouthed slowly from across the room, and no sooner than he had, Hayes moved his shirt out of the way and moaned loudly as he shot several thick streams of cum onto his naked abs, eyes locked with TK's the entire time.

"Fuck yeah, that's so hot, baby," TK moaned, letting the girls think it was for them. He came in the brunette's mouth while the blonde tongued his balls, his eyes falling on Hayes's cock as they both pulsed through the rest of their orgasms. "So hot."

Once they were finished coming, TK reached into his wallet, promptly paid both girls, and they exited the room, leaving the two boys alone.

TK pulled his underwear back on, followed by his pants as Hayes did the same while remaining in his seat. TK, not taking his eyes off his friend's, walked over to him, grabbed his hands, interlaced their fingers, and pulled him to his feet. Both of their eyes were hooded and relaxed, with Hayes sporting the dopiest, post-orgasm grin on his face.

"Feel good?" TK asked.

Hayes nodded slowly, as he stood facing his friend, their hands caressing each other's mindlessly.

"Ty Hayes, Ty Hayes. I'm not gay, but I could watch you beat that gorgeous cock all day long. Seriously, you should start an OnlyFans. You have any idea what people would pay to watch you jerk off, or to watch you and Ryan fuck? Holy shit. You could retire."

Hayes smirked, thinking back to the first time he blew Ryan on a hotel room floor and how awkward it'd been.

"Rook, I don't know what to do with my other hand…Wow, this is going well. We should start a fuckin' OnlyFans, eh?"

How far they'd come since then, those two.

Quite literally.

"So, uh…hey?" TK asked slowly, his jaw vibrating slightly from his teeth grinding together. "Wanna kiss a little? Because, holy fuck, I really wanna kiss you right now."

Hayes gulped, frozen. He struggled to make it out at first, but he heard the little voice inside his head ever so faintly, with it eventually graduating to a scream.

Hello? Ryan! Do not kiss him, you piece of shit!

"I…really do," he finally said, pulling his hands back and stepping away from TK. "But I think it'd be better if we didn't."

TK nodded, reaching for the champagne bottle, turning it upside down, and chugging before righting it. He wiped his mouth and handed it off to Hayes, who tipped it back.

"If things were different, would you?"

Hayes wiped his mouth, righted the bottle, and set it down. "Teek, if things were different? I'd let you do whatever the fuck you wanted to me."

???

"Biggest issue I'm seeing with you is you're not defending at the blue line, Baylor. You need to read that attack and put pressure on them, keep ‘em out. You can't let a two-on-two or a three-on-three situation inside the zone. You gotta get ‘em at the line. You're hesitating and letting ‘em come right in. That's a problem."

Ryan nodded, as his captain, Marco Mizrak, hit him with some constructive criticism while they removed their gear following that night's 5-4 loss against Seattle.

"That, and you keep screening Boosh. You gotta communicate with him more. You're big as hell and you're always right in his line. Hey," Marco said, smacking him lightly with one of his gloves when he saw him hang his head. "You'll get there. I know it's hard being the newbie, but other than that, you're hustling like crazy. You're a beast offensively. I've never seen a one-timer like yours, man. Take what I'm saying and let it make you better, not bitter. OK?" He patted Ryan's shoulder, turning away. "This L wasn't on you tonight."

Bullshit, Ryan thought, shuddering at the fact that he was now at a minus 6. The only reason that number wasn't higher was because he'd happened to be on the ice for a few of Tampa's goals. But he'd been on the ice for each one they'd given up tonight as well, and though the game came down to the wire, they weren't able to pull off the W.

"Baylor."

Ryan, down to just his hip pads, turned when he heard his name. There, he found one of his fellow d-men, Joss Koskinen. "What's up, Koski?"

"I know you were frustrated out there tonight. Don't be. Lots of mistakes were made. It wasn't on you."

Ryan smiled, sitting down to take his skates off. "I appreciate that, man."

"Listen, when we get to Jersey tomorrow, before practice, if you wanna hit the weight room, I can show you some leg shit that will help you with your speed bursts. I mean, if you…" His voice trailed off and he looked away. "I don't mean…I just wanna…"

"Nah, that'd be great, man. Thank you."

"Um, OK. Cool. Also, like," he said, lowering his voice. "I know that you…and Tyler Hayes…and I wanted to…like, is no big deal. At all. OK?" Koski closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Fuck, I sound like asshole…"

"Hey. Not at all. It's…thank you. Seriously."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, examining him. He was a little older than him at 27 and kind of a fucking smokeshow. He was Finnish with a slight accent, icy blue eyes, and dark blond hair.

"Cool. You get a car yet or you still Uber?"

"Still Ubering. Which reminds me, I gotta set up a ride after I shower."

Koski shook his head. "Nah, fuck that. Let me take you home."

"Um, yeah? That'd be…thanks, man."

"Yeah. Is no problem." He tapped Ryan on the arm before heading toward the showers, Ryan's eyes accompanying him there. He averted them quickly when Koski turned around to look back at him and smirked.

Easy, killer.

You have a fucking boyfriend.

Speaking of which, Ryan grabbed his phone to check the time. It was already after 11 PM, since tonight's game hadn't started until almost 8:30 PM due to some technical issues with the arena's sound system. He found the message Hayes had sent earlier in the night, smiling as he read it and typed a quick reply.

R: I'm excited to see you, too, baby. Miss you. How'd your practice go? Things any better with the guys?

He waited a few minutes for a reply, but it hadn't come. And just as he was getting ready to make his way to the showers, his phone rang. Assuming it was Hayes, he answered and said, "Hey."

What he wasn't expecting to hear was Neil Halloway's voice.

"Ryan?"

He could tell just from that one word that something wasn't right, and his heart immediately sank into his stomach.

"Neil? What happened?"

"Ryan," he repeated. "Don't freak out, but there's…there's been an accident."

Instant hot flash.

Instant anxiety.

Fucking breathe, Baylor.

"OK…" he managed to choke out.

"TK and Hayes. They wrecked a rented Lambo. TK was driving. Both of them were taken to the hospital. You should…I don't know, but you should probably come."