The Acceptance （5）

"And make no mistake: this isn't over. The two of you will be dealt with when we get back to New York. There are some very serious conversations that need to happen regarding your futures within this organization. So, what's the plan when you leave here, boys?"

TK looked across the table at Hayes. They'd been called in by the coaching staff after the game had ended and received a stern talking to about their behavior the previous night, Hayes having already showered and dressed after being shitcanned in the second. The security guard hadn't ratted them out, but apparently one of the other guys on the team witnessed the payoff and had.

Hayes didn't make eye contact with TK. "Ryan is here. He flew in this afternoon and I'll be staying with him at a different hotel than the team."

"Good. And you, TK?"

"Going back to my room and going to sleep," he monotoned, narrowing his eyes at Hayes.

"Fine. You're both dismissed. But rest assured, this isn't over."

They both got up and exited the conference room, TK still dressed in all his gear. Hayes tried to walk away and avoid him on the way back to the locker room, but he caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like we're in deep shit, huh?"

Hayes maneuvered away from TK's grasp and kept walking ahead of him.

"I was thinking we could head over to the Santa Monica pier tonight, get fucked up on the beach."

Hayes stopped walking and turned around to face TK. "Did you not just hear that conversation? My boyfriend's here, man."

"So? Bring pretty boy along. I got enough for him, too. I know he hates me, but whatever. Maybe…"

"He doesn't party like that, TK. He's not into it. Besides, we should probably cool it for a bit. Clearly someone's watchin' our every move."

"Well, what we need to do is figure out who the fuckin' rat is and beat his face in." TK balled a fist up and punched his other hand, causing Hayes to roll his eyes. "We don't have to go to the beach. It was just a suggestion. We can meet up somewhere else…"

"Hey? I'm hangin' out with Ryan tonight, OK? Just me and Ryan."

And possibly Sev, but you don't need to know that.

He watched TK's face drop. "Oh, OK. Yeah, I mean, that's cool. Whatever."

"Listen, we'll hang out again soon. Maybe you should just go back to your room and get some rest tonight. You were pretty banged up last night, man."

"Right, like you care."

Hayes grabbed his arm and squeezed. "I don't fuckin' care? I don't? Who's the one who stayed up all night long holdin' you on a bathroom floor makin' sure you didn't fuckin' die, eh? I don't care," Hayes muttered, shaking his head. "Fuck off with that shit, man."

They both looked up and noticed Ryan was standing within earshot of them, having made his way to the players' entrance. Hayes wasn't sure if he heard them, as he'd been chatting with a few other guys, but Ryan looked over and saw them together just as Hayes let go of his teammate's arm.

"Have fun tonight, Hayes. ‘Sup, pretty boy?" TK offered Ryan a nod, turning left into the locker room, as Hayes continued straight and went to join his boyfriend. Ryan immediately extended an arm, pulling him in for a hug.

"Everything OK?" Ryan asked quietly, running a hand up and down Hayes's back.

He rested his chin on Ryan's shoulder. "I just wanna get outta here. It's been a rough night. Can we go?"

"Of course."

Ryan grabbed his boyfriend's hand and they started to walk to where the rental car was parked in the underground lot before Hayes put the brakes on. "Shit! I forgot…somethin'. Stay here. I'll be right back."

He remembered what he needed to get from Neil Halloway.

???

"So, you're positive you wanna do this?" Hayes asked Ryan for the fifteenth time as they sat together on the couch in the living room area of the suite Ryan had rented. They'd both changed out of their suits and into gray sweatpants and white t-shirts. "Because I don't wanna wake up tomorrow with you regretting this shit. Fuck it, I can call him right now and tell him…"

"Hayes. Stop. Jesus, you sound just like Mar. Yes, I wanna do this. Trust me, this isn't my first rodeo, OK? And it's not yours either. So, chill."

"Yeah, well it's my first rodeo where all the riders have dicks, Rook. That's for goddamn sure."

"So? It's not like you don't know your way around a dick." Ryan took a long pull off the vape he was hitting and reclined back a bit, exhaling the smoke. He'd recently begun smoking a bit for his anxiety. He wasn't crazy about it, but as it turned out, a nice indica strain with high terpene levels, combined with his bi-monthly therapy sessions, had largely kept it at bay. He hadn't experienced a panic attack since the car ride out to Worcester last season.

He offered the pen to Hayes. "Here. Calm your nerves a bit." Hayes took the pen and pulled, blowing the smoke out slowly and leaning back onto the couch next to his boyfriend.

If there was a painting of this exact moment in time hanging in an art museum, it'd be titled "Relationships: You're Doing It Wrong." It would feature Ryan freely handing drugs to his substance-addicted boyfriend while they waited for the threesome Hayes had set up for himself and his sex-addicted boyfriend.

Maybe if they both just ignored reality and pretended things were OK long enough, they eventually would be.

Hayes had pitched the idea to Ryan on the car ride back to the hotel, informing him of the comment Sev had made to him on the ice.

"So? Do you think we should?" Hayes had asked.

After a bit of silence, Ryan finally answered. "Call him. Let's do it."

"Seriously? You don't think it'll be weird?"

"Nah, it might be fun, not to mention hot as hell to watch you with another guy. Truth time: I jerk off to that shit. A lot," Ryan admitted.

"Yeah?" Hayes replied, his voice laced with curious excitement. "So, who am I with in your little fantasies?"

There's no way in hell Ryan was going to admit that, even though he loathed himself for it, he thought about Hayes and TK together pretty much every time he spanked it.

Not happening.

"I mean, you know, just…random guys. Whoever."

"You know what I think about?" Hayes offered. "That night after the wedding with Mar in the hotel room. The way you looked right at me when you came down her throat. That look in your eyes? You didn't take them off me for a second. Fuck…gets me off every single time without fail. I sat here long enough, I could probably cum just thinkin' about it."

"Yep, that was hot as hell, too. I can't believe it took us so long to figure it out after that night. It was pretty clear what was happening between us. Apparently to everyone except us."

"Yeah, well," Hayes said. "As long as it took, I'm fuckin' glad it did. I have no idea how we got here, but I love you, Rook. So fuckin' much."

Now, they both lay there, stoned off their rockers, waiting for Sev to show up. He would be there any minute, Ryan already having made sure the lube and condoms he'd packed were readily accessible. "Um, Hayes?" he asked, not moving.

"Yeah?"

"I need to say something. Hayes, just because we're doing this, just because I'm willing to share you in the bedroom like this? It doesn't mean I'm willing to share you outside of it. You understand that, right? Like, that this is just sex?"

Hayes sat up, reached over to Ryan's face, and placed his hands on either of Ryan's cheeks, leaning in and kissing him on the forehead. "Just so you know, I think this is so cute."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's cute, how you act like you don't know you own me." Hayes kissed him one more time on the forehead and then pressed his against it. "You fuckin'own me, Ryan Baylor. Every single piece of me. And you never won't. You understand that, right?"

Ryan nodded, reaching up and grabbing both sides of Hayes's face, their foreheads still pressed together. "Samesies."

A knock at their suite door interrupted their moment of tenderness. Hayes tried to pull away, but Ryan kept him there. "Hey? I love you. Whatever happens in this room tonight doesn't change that."

"I know that, Rook."