Save of the Game (9 page)

He bit Ethan’s neck when he came, and he didn’t even realize it.

Eventually Ethan stretched and said, “I can’t believe I just came in my jeans. Is that what happened in those videos you watched? They came in their pants at the end?”

“I don’t know. I only watched the first ten minutes of one.”

“Because the power went off?”

“Because I did,” Riley answered brightly, and they both laughed.

A FEW
weeks later, they still hadn’t managed to get their pants off, but when it came to getting each
other
off, they were rock stars. Ethan wondered if they should maybe start making some videos of their own, if only to offset the cost of doing laundry so much more frequently than before.

“This is fun,” Ethan said, still catching his breath. He admired how hot Riley looked with his mouth all red from kissing and his dark hair sticking up in spikes from where Ethan had been grabbing it. “I like it. I like you. Are we fucking shit up, do you think?”

“I don’t think so? Well. Maybe just our clothes.” Riley started to sit up and grimaced. Ethan watched the muscles in his stomach tense and move as he did so, and without thinking, reached out to touch them.

“I meant….” Ethan shook his head, trying to clear the jumble of his thoughts and pay attention to the warning bells that were going off like sirens in his head.
Avoid serious discussions. Just talk about hockey.
“Think we’ll go to the playoffs?”

Riley peered at him. He seemed increasingly attuned to Ethan’s moods. Ethan didn’t know if that was a goalie thing or just a Riley thing. And he wasn’t going to ask either.

“What’s the matter? You’re thinking too fast again. And yeah. I do think we’ll go to the playoffs.”

“Nothing. I’m just…. It’s nothing.” Ethan kissed him, stood up, and made a face as he looked down at his pants. “But really, dude.”

“I know.”

“This time we said we were going to take them off.”

“I know,” Riley said again. “We did.”

“And we forgot,” Ethan said, stating the more than obvious.

“Yes,” Riley agreed as he stood up. “We forgot.”

This was dumb. What they were doing felt good with their clothes on. It had to feel better with them off. Right? Ethan looked at Riley. They were at the part where they usually, in complete, unspoken agreement, retreated to separate corners to shower and change.

“Hey, Riley?”

“Yeah?”

Ethan looked up because he realized he was staring at Riley’s crotch. “I don’t think we’re really forgetting.”

Riley nodded. He raked a hand through his thick, dark hair, making him look like an anime character.

“Maybe we should just get it over with,” Ethan suggested. He heard himself say that, and wondered how he got laid—ever. Wow.

“Get it over with?” Riley’s eyebrows went up. It made him look
more
like an anime character. “Really?”

“I want to see your dick,” Ethan told him bluntly, amused at how that made Riley’s cheeks flush. “And possibly touch it. And then I want you to touch mine.” His chin went up. “We’re taking a shower, Riley. Together.”

“Okay,” Riley said. “We’ve showered together before.”

“We have? Where was I?” Ethan crossed his arms. “Did you roofie my Pepsi? What the hell, man.”

Riley made a face at him. Ethan thought it was cute. Then he wanted to punch himself for thinking that. “Eww. No. We shower after hockey. Remember? In the locker room?”

“I don’t touch your dick there, though,” Ethan pointed out. “But I’m going to. I just want you to know that. Now, I mean. Not in the shower in the locker room.” Well, maybe not yet. Illicit dick touching couldn’t be ruled out for the future? Could it? Ethan wanted to keep his options open.

Riley’s response was to pull his pants off, leaving him naked in Ethan’s bedroom.

Ethan was not as good at hockey as Riley, but goddammit, he could be just as good at sex and stripping. He immediately pulled down his pants, kicked them off, and stood with his hands on his hips. “There. We’re naked. Let’s get in the shower.”

They weren’t really looking anywhere below the belt, but Ethan turned around first and marched to the bathroom like he was going to war. “If you smack my ass, I will punch you in the stomach and kick you in the balls,” he said, going to turn the shower on. “I like hot showers. Is that okay?”

“Are there people who don’t like those?” Riley asked. They were both clearly shy, awkward, and determined as they climbed in together and moved beneath the water. “Ow!”

“Told you,” Ethan said smugly.

“You said hot, not scalding.” Riley edged away from the water. “You go first. What is the matter with you?”

“Try growing up in a house with three women. You’ll learn to yank it to the left and hope for the best. Wow. That sounded dirty.” Ethan ducked his head under the nozzle. “Did you grow up with three women? I don’t even know that.” Ethan gave him a searching look. “I’m sleeping with a man I barely know. Hurry. Tell me shit before we turn into an independent film.”

“I have an older brother and a younger sister,” Riley answered, and Ethan saw him tense a little when he answered, as if he didn’t want to talk about his family.

Maybe some people don’t like to do that when they’re in the shower with their gay lover
, Ethan thought. Then he told himself firmly to never, ever use the phrase “gay lover” again. Mostly just “lover,” though. Eww.

“You got hot showers, though, is what you’re saying.”

“Yeah.” Riley didn’t say anything else, and Ethan didn’t push. He knew there was something weird about Riley’s family. There had to be. Normal people did not live in Wyoming.

Riley took a step closer and reached out to touch the tattoos on Ethan’s arms. “Your sister did all of these? They’re cool.”

“Yeah. She’s really good. She was always drawing on everything when we were kids.” Ethan took a slight breath, not moving as Riley touched him. It felt good. “You ever think about getting one?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah. I keep trying to think of something meaningful.” He touched the shamrock with the number
three
in it—the tattoo right above Ethan’s heart. “That’s your number. Isn’t it?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah. We all have that tattoo, actually. Me, my mom, and my sisters.”

Riley tilted his head. His fingers traced the ink lines, making Ethan shiver despite how hot the water was. “They got the tattoo because it’s your number?”

“Kinda. It’s my number because of them. You know.” Ethan felt kind of stupid. “Family and all that shit.”

“But there are four of you,” Riley said, as if maybe Ethan couldn’t count.

“Well, yeah. But it’s like…. Fuck, man,” Ethan laughed, blushing a little. “Three people in my heart. That kind of thing. My sisters and my mom, their tattoo is on their back. They’ve got my back, and ha-ha, they’ve also got my number,” Ethan said with a fond laugh. “It’s weird to talk about my family in the shower with you, Hunter.”

Riley gave a small smile. “Right. I’m only stalling a little.” His fingers moved down Ethan’s chest, slowly inching their way lower. Ethan’s breathing stuttered as he hardened in anticipation.

“Just do it,” he muttered, looking down at Riley’s hand on his stomach.

“You’re so impatient.” Riley brushed his fingers over Ethan’s lower abdominals. Ethan could see Riley was hardening too. It was so weird, it almost made Ethan want to start giggling. Until Riley said, “Touch me.”

Ethan drew his fingers down Riley’s chest, still distracted by Riley’s hands on him. “You know you’re being a cocktease right now. Right?”

Riley snorted. “If I double-dog dared you to go first, would that work?”

“What? No,” Ethan huffed, and at Riley’s stare, his chin went up a notch. “Yes. Fine. It would.”

“This was your idea,” Riley reminded him.

“Right. That means you go first. Man up and touch my dick, Hunter.” Ethan tried to be his usual cocky self, but the only cocky thing about him was the squawking sound he made when Riley finally touched him.

“Your turn,” Riley said, as if Ethan hadn’t just made a sound like a demented rooster.

“Now you gotta double-dog dare me.” Ethan watched Riley’s hand move over him, and he had to reach out and brace himself against the shower tile because it made him dizzy. And he wasn’t breathing. That would probably help… if he started doing that.

“Why? Are you scared?”

That got a breathless laugh from Ethan. “No. Shut up.” Ethan slid his hand lower, because that worked. Touching Riley’s cock was strange at first, but when Riley moaned, it was all worth it.

At some point they started kissing and trying to jack each other off. Which was not as easy as those porn videos of Riley’s made it seem either.

“This is like doing it backward,” Riley muttered, a small frown of concentration on his face. “And I never realized you were left-handed. Probably because I hardly ever see you shoot the puck.”

“Hey.” Ethan turned and tried to hit Riley with his shoulder. “No chirping during sex. Do you want me to get mad?”

“Mmm. Maybe.” Riley grinned and then moved in closer and started kissing him.

Ethan made a noise of protest when Riley took his hand off Ethan’s cock, but then Riley wrapped Ethan’s
own
hand around it and said, “Show me how you like it.”

Here’s a thing I never thought I’d be into.
Ethan was having trouble breathing, and he tried to not go too fast. But the way Riley watched him—all dark-eyed, serious, and intent—really got him going.

“Slow down,” Riley bossed. “I just wanted to see how you liked it. So I can do it.”

“Then you need to give better instructions,” Ethan growled, slowing his hand.

Riley’s eyes flashed with sudden heat. “I do, huh?” He moved in closer, pulled Ethan’s hand off, and replaced it with his. And he was clearly a fast learner, because, fuck. He was doing it just like Ethan liked it,
and
he was crowding Ethan up against the shower wall and biting at his neck while doing it.

Ethan fumbled his hand down to get it around Riley’s. It wasn’t fair, being the only one who was making embarrassing noises and trying to fuck someone’s fist.

But Riley wouldn’t let him. “You first.”

“Why?” Ethan demanded. He did not whine. Absolutely not.

“Because you won’t figure out how I like it if you’re all worked up.” Riley pulled back a little. “I like this. Touching you. I will definitely want to do it again.”

Ethan groaned and hit his head back against the tile. “Don’t say that or I won’t…. Look. I’m trying not to come too fast and embarrass myself here.”

“But I want you to come,” Riley said very seriously. “Hey, do you like this? I do.” He rubbed his thumb over the head of Ethan’s cock, and his fingers rubbed at the bottom of Ethan’s balls.

Ethan came with a surprised half shout, half moan that was definitely a
yes
.

Riley was right about the paying attention thing, though. After he stopped himself from slumping into a boneless heap, he eagerly pushed Riley against the wall and made him do the same thing so Ethan could watch him too.

It didn’t make it any easier to do, and a few times, Ethan got frustrated at his inability to make it as mind-numbingly good as Riley had made it for him. That frustration made him lean in and bite Riley—hard—on his chest.

Riley moaned loudly, and his cock twitched in Ethan’s hand. Ethan lifted his head. “Hey,” he drawled, grinning. “Someone likes that.” He leaned in slowly and bit Riley again. It got the same reaction, and Riley thrust forward—hard—and he grabbed Ethan’s shoulder. Ethan kissed him, and it made him want to get on his knees and suck Riley off—like in those videos Riley liked so much. He should probably figure out hand jobs first. But hey. It was good to have goals. Right?

“Bet I know what you really want me to do with my mouth,” Ethan murmured, biting gently at Riley’s neck. Riley made a tormented sound, and Ethan kissed his neck again and tried that thing with his hand that Riley said he liked. “Want to tie my hands behind my back and I’ll suck you off?”

He might not be ready to do that quite yet. But he was definitely on board with getting Riley off by talking about doing it.

Riley came over his fist, and Ethan thought it might be weird, but it wasn’t at all. He liked that he could feel Riley’s heart racing and the slow ease of tension in his muscles as he caught his breath.

Even though they’d both already come, Ethan kissed him. Riley kissed him back and his hands settled on Ethan’s hips and moved up his water-slicked back.

They stayed there until the water turned cold. And even then, it took a while for either of them to notice.

A FEW
days later, Ethan got a very cranky voice mail from his mother.

Ethan Patrick Kennedy, this is your mother. And don’t you dare make that face at me, Ethan. I am not in the mood. And yes. You’re in trouble. Call me back.

Ethan came by his flair for the dramatic honestly. He called her back, because he’d learned from experience that to ignore her only made it worse.

His mom answered immediately. “I thought I told you that you would pay your own way in life,” she said. “You are not mooching off your roommate. I won’t let you. You pay that boy every single penny you owe him, Ethan.”

“Ma,” Ethan interrupted, taking a drag of his cigarette. “What are you talking about?” He wasn’t mooching off Riley. He was
getting off
on Riley. Totally different.

“There isn’t a single check made out to him on your bank statement.”

“Why are you reading my bank statement? You shouldn’t do that, Ma.”

“Then don’t have it sent to my house,
son
.” His mother’s voice sharpened. “Are you smoking? You’re supposed to stop that. My God. You play hockey and you smoke cigarettes. Would you want your sisters doing that?”

His mom used that a lot. “Would you want your sisters doing that? Smoking, taking Jagermeister shots, trying to ride the subway without buying a ticket.”

“No,” Ethan muttered, putting his cigarette out guiltily. His mom used that tactic because it usually worked. “But I have been. I give Riley a check every month. I swear. You think I wouldn’t?”