Picks & Pucks (24 page)

“Janae doesn’t have time to go to the grocery store. Do you want to come with me?”

He bit his lip and gave me an expectant look. I couldn’t refuse him.

His whole face lit up, making the butterflies spin in my belly.

“Great,” CJ said and grabbed my hand.

Eli giggled and wiggled his fingers at me. I could do nothing but blush. This whole blushing thing was more than annoying.

My responsibility at the grocery store was to steer the cart and name the items on the list. Every time CJ put something in the cart, his fingers skimmed across my arm or wrist, making the poor butterflies in my stomach twirl in circles. The demons rode on my shoulders, not knowing what to do.

“You guys are so cute,” the checkout lady said. “How long have you been together?”

“Er, what?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m usually not wrong about these things.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see where CJ was. He was still inspecting the lettuce section.

“What makes you think we’re together?”

“The way he looks at you,” she said. “I’m really sorry if I offended you.”

“You didn’t offend me,” I said. “How does he look at me?”

“Like he absolutely adores you,” she said.

The heat flared in my chest, radiating up my neck and coloring my cheeks. “You’re not wrong about us,” I whispered. A demon near me exploded. For the first time, I’d admitted to a stranger that CJ and I had something.

She raised her eyebrows.

CJ came rushing back, slightly out of breath, holding up a bag of lettuce with a triumphant grin on his face.

“I found the perfect greens for the salad.”

“They look like dandelion leaves,” I said and tossed the bag on the belt.

Both CJ and the checkout lady rolled their eyes. I snorted.

“Food snob,” I muttered.

CJ hip-checked me and smiled. That warm feeling flooded my body again.

We paid for the groceries and trudged through the snow to load up the car. I was shivering by the time we got into the car. CJ leaned across the console and grabbed my jacket, pulling me in for a kiss. By the time he let me go, I was rip-roaring hot.

“Thanks for coming shopping.”

“My pleasure,” I panted.

When we got back to the house, I enlisted Eli and Taylor to help with the groceries. CJ slipped into his apron and started giving me orders. His voice slithered down my spine, making my dick stir.

“You’d look good bent over the kitchen table,” CJ whispered.

“Stop it,” I said weakly, batting his hands away from me.

“I’m sorry, but you’re very distracting,” he said. “I should be stuffing you instead of a turkey.”

“Oh my God, shut up,” I said, laughing.

“Some other time, then,” he said and flipped a page in the cookbook.

I swallowed hard and let my imagination take over. The demons tried to step in, but I held them off and thought about a future with CJ. It was scary, but the idea didn’t totally freak me out.

CJ spent the entire afternoon fussing in the kitchen. I whined a lot, trying to get him to pay attention to me.

“Behave and I’ll reward you later,” he said, winking.

The next morning, CJ gave me a blowjob worthy of an Olympic gold medal. When I tried to reciprocate, he waved me off.

“You looked so fucking hot, I got myself off,” he said, holding up a messy hand. I grabbed it and licked the cooling cum from his palm. His eyes went wide.

“I have things to do in the kitchen,” he said, wrenching his hand out of my grasp. I grinned at him and snuggled back under the blankets.

A short time later, Eli jumped on my bed, and demanded I come downstairs to help get ready for the company.

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “I need to take a shower first.”

“You have ten minutes. If you go over, I’m coming in and dragging your naked butt downstairs.”

I rolled my eyes, but I took a nine-minute shower, because I knew Eli would come in and drag me naked and screaming into a room full of hockey boys.

Eli glanced at his watch when I came downstairs, giving me a nod of approval. CJ was ordering everyone around. The task of setting all the tables fell to me.

“I wish I would have had time to do some baking,” CJ said.

“Are you serious?” I asked. “You’ve done way more than your share of things.”

The front door opened, and my dad walked in with his arms loaded with boxes.

“I brought dessert,” he said.

Eli and Taylor rushed to help him, but not before CJ shouted about keeping their filthy hands out of the sweets.

“Is he always this bossy?”

“Yes,” I answered quickly.

“Everywhere?” Eli asked. Taylor cracked an invisible whip, and I felt the annoying heat of another blush staining my cheeks.

The doorbell rang and I was saved from answering their question. I clamped my mouth shut and walked out of the kitchen to answer the door. I made it to the hall and was immediately overrun by hockey boys. Spock ruffled my hair, Kris gave me a knuckle bump, and several other guys patted me on the back. I swear someone even swatted my ass.

The dinner was a huge hit with everyone. CJ beamed under all the compliments and snuck his hand under the table to squeeze my knee, and for once, I didn’t flinch away from his touch. Instead, I slipped my hand over the top of his and laced our fingers together.

The softness in his eyes spoke volumes, and I had to resist the urge to kiss him in front of everyone. When the meal was complete, a lot of guys went to the living room to watch football. I helped Eli clear the table and start the dishes.

We made sure to tell CJ to get out.

“Go watch the game,” I said. “You cooked everything. The least we can do is clean up.”

My dad gaped at me. “Who are you?” he asked. “You used to run for the hills if your mother even mentioned cleaning in your presence.”

“That was a long time ago, Dad,” I said. A small hint of sadness in the air had the demons surging forward. “I have come to appreciate the amount of work that goes into a good meal.”

My dad grinned and pulled me in for a hug before I had time to react.

“You’re a good man,” he whispered. “She would be so proud of you.”

Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them back before they could fall down my face. For the first time in many years, I hugged my dad back. Several demons circling around my head exploded in a shower of color.

The party slowly wound down, and the players started filtering out of the house, saying their good-byes and thanks to CJ for the great meal. I wandered upstairs to use the bathroom and ran into Danny. The guy could still take my breath away.

“You look good,” Danny said. His gaze roamed my body, and it made me squirm. He took a step closer, and I could smell his cologne.

“You too,” I said, closing my eyes when his fingers skated across my cheek.

“I miss you,” he whispered.

“I can’t.”

“I know,” he said.

The sadness in his eyes told me he was telling the truth, but I could do nothing for him. I realized at that moment, my heart belonged to CJ now.

He sighed and turned away from me, then slowly walked down the stairs. CJ stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at me. When Danny got to the bottom, CJ handed him his coat, and they shook hands, exchanging words I couldn’t hear. Danny glanced back at me once more before leaving.

Before CJ could come upstairs, Janae appeared with her phone. “Jack wants to talk to you,” she said.

“Why would he want to talk to me?” I asked, backing toward my room.

“It’s Thanksgiving, Justin, talk to him.”

I shook my head and went into my room, leaving her standing at the bottom of the stairs holding the phone. Jack didn’t want to talk to me. He probably wanted me to get on the phone so he could say cruel things to me. I wanted nothing to do with him. I didn’t need to hear the venom in his voice when he said my name. He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. I’d come to accept that fact.

“Are you okay?” CJ asked.

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

“You upset your sister.”

“She upset me. I don’t want to talk to my brother,” I said.

“She said he’s reaching out to you.”

I glared at him. “I don’t see you talking to your family. I know you have one,” I snapped. “Just keep your fucking nose out of mine.”

His face fell, and before I could take my awful words back, he backed out of my room, ran down the stairs, and left the house.

After I pissed off CJ, I called Eli and whined to him. He took CJ’s side and then shouted at me for hurting Janae.

When the wind started to howl outside, I sent CJ a text begging him to come home. I received no response. Every fifteen minutes, I’d send him another text, but still, I got no answer from him. I leaned against the railing of the stairs and closed my eyes.

I dozed off and woke up when cold hands touched my cheek.

“Justin, what are you doing?” CJ asked.

“Waiting to tell you I’m sorry for saying that stuff to you,” I said. “My brother and I haven’t gotten along since I took over the throne of best hockey player in the family. We haven’t talked to each other since he walked in on me and—” I paused and took a deep breath. “—a guy.”

“Oh,” CJ said. “I’m sorry for leaving, but things with my family are bad.”

I touched his hand, realizing it would be the perfect opportunity for us to talk, but once again, I chickened out. “Let’s not talk about the shitty things in our lives.” I stared into his dark eyes and pulled out my sappiest lines. “It’s Thanksgiving and I’m thankful you are here with me.”

He smiled and his dark eyes sparkled. “I am thankful for you as well.”

I kissed him, murmuring, “I’m sorry,” several times.

“I don’t like to fight with you,” he said, biting his lip. “You’re leaving tomorrow for the other side of the world. And I’ll be gone when you get back home.”

He gathered me into his arms, and we settled on the couch to watch TV. I fell asleep snuggled against his chest. A few hours later, he woke me up and dragged me to my room. I undressed and was about to pull on my sleep pants, but CJ stopped me.

“I need to be with you before you leave.”

He leaned in and I knew what was coming. He latched onto my collarbone and bit down, sucking and biting until he was satisfied with the mark. My clothes were the next casualties and soon he was buried in me, and I couldn’t breathe because I was drowning in him.

“I don’t want to go to sleep,” CJ whispered.

“That’s silly,” I murmured and snuggled closer to him. “I’m not going to sleep until I see you again, so I need to sleep now.”

He snorted and ran his fingers through my hair. Soon he was snoring, and I was left staring at the demons floating around the room. I shrugged and buried my nose in his neck, closing my eyes.

“I’
M
STILL
not happy about this whole thing,” Eli grumbled as he stuffed CJ’s T-shirt into my suitcase.

“I know and I’m sorry you can’t come with me,” I said.

“Taylor is taking me out to a Japanese restaurant after the game. He’s sitting with me at the game too.”

“Let me know how it goes,” I said. He gave me a hug and told me how proud he was to be my friend.

“I really do wish you could come with me.”

“I’m your second choice, but for some weird reason, I’m okay with that,” he said.

When I landed in Japan, I got a three-word e-mail. It said,
we had sex
. I couldn’t believe he didn’t elaborate. How the fuck was I supposed to acclimate to the time change and concentrate on the new programs without knowing details?

“What’s up?” Janae asked.

“Eli and Taylor had sex.”

“Really?”

“He didn’t give me any details. The little shit left me hanging. I’m going to kill him.”

“E-mail him when we get to the hotel,” Janae said.

“He won’t answer me,” I said. “He’s punishing me for not bringing him to Paris or Japan.”

She shook her head and laughed. “He is a shit.”

Besides being angry with Eli, it was an amazing week in Japan. The new programs were a huge hit, and Brian Fonta couldn’t think of anything to say about my free skate. I outscored the shithead by forty points. Usually, we were neck and neck.

To be honest, I was blown away by my performances. I hadn’t been able to sleep through a full night since I got here. The demons held noisy parties in my room, and if I did manage to fall asleep, my dreams were haunted with images of people leaving me.

The hall was filled with people congratulating me and asking me about my plans for the US Nationals, the Olympics, and Worlds. A lot of people were telling me I was a lock to win the gold. It made me paranoid about all this talk actually jinxing my chances. Several of the female competitors attacked me, kissing me and fawning all over me. Gillian Shay was the worst. No matter how many times I told her no, she still insisted on trying to lure me into her bed.

“Thanks, Gillian,” I said after she kissed me. “Now please get your girl parts off me.”

She giggled and grazed my crotch with her hand.

“Hey, little brother!” someone shouted. “Quit letting the girls molest you.”