Picks & Pucks (19 page)

We were inches apart when he closed the gap and tenderly kissed me. He licked my lips, and I opened my mouth and poked my tongue out. He groaned and kissed me harder, sucking on my tongue, which apparently had a direct connection to my cock. In seconds, I was rock hard and wanted nothing more than to rut against him.

A noise came from the kitchen, and we broke apart, gasping for breath and staring at each other. His cheeks were flushed, and his dark eyes filled with desire. I felt dizzy and incredibly turned on.

“Upstairs,” I whispered. He was gone before the entire word left my mouth. I adjusted my dick and limped up the stairs. CJ was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. I stood outside the bathroom door, counting the carpet fibers to make my hard-on calm down.

“All yours,” he said when he found me waiting outside the door.

“Okay,” I said.

I stared at him, because he didn’t look crazed. Unlike me, he looked calm. I was close to whipping my dick out and jerking off in the middle of the hall.

He touched my elbow, dragging his finger down my arm, and I stopped. “Justin, we don’t have to do anything.”

“Do you still want too?” I asked.

He snorted and grabbed his dick through his pants.

That was all the proof I needed. “I’ll be right out.”

The demons hovered near the ceiling and watched me brush my teeth. When I finished and went to my room, they followed me. But the moment I looked into CJ’s eyes, the demons faded away, leaving only us in the room.

He already lay in my bed, and I didn’t hesitate to crawl on top of him and settle down. We kissed slowly, tasting and touching. His fingers drifted across my collarbone and over my shoulders. He flipped me over, covering my entire body with his own. I was sure he could feel my rigid dick poking into his thigh. I could feel his against my hip.

He groaned and shifted. The pressure and friction on my dick shot sparks through my body. He rolled off me, panting heavily. I sat up, the deep ache in my groin so painful the scratch of my underwear was going to make me come untouched.

“I have to… to…,” I stammered.

“Justin.” His voice cracked.

“I’m sure,” I whimpered. “I’m so fucking sure.”

Movement under the blankets caught my eye. I watched, mesmerized as CJ inched his hand toward his crotch. My resolve broke, and I tore the blankets from his legs, tossing them to the floor as I climbed on top of him. He wrapped his arms around me and rolled over, settling between my legs. The pressure and friction when he ground down on me made me moan loudly. I wrapped my legs around him, heels pressing into his thighs, keeping him anchored against me.

“Touch me,” he begged.

I reached between us and massaged his hard cock through the fabric of his sweats. He pushed my hand away, rolled off me, then shimmied out of his sweats. I hesitated for a second before I shoved my hand into his underwear, taking his cock. He did the same to me. The heat of his hand on my dick sent a surge of electricity up my spine, and I had to bite my tongue so I didn’t scream his name.

It only took a few minutes of frenzied pumping and we were both coming. I collapsed, using the edge of the sheet to wipe away the mess.

“Okay?” CJ asked.

“Much better than okay,” I murmured against his neck. I glanced around the room and found it still demon free.

T
HE
NEXT
few days were oddly free of demons and that had me looking over my shoulder, waiting for them to pounce at any given moment. I knew the demons were still around, because I could feel them. I hadn’t faced all of them yet, so no way could they all be gone.

With Marina in town and hockey season underway, CJ and I didn’t get much of a chance to talk. He had class, homework, and practice. I had practice and more practice along with costume fittings, choreography discussions, and workouts.

As the week moved toward the weekend, our time became even more limited. Night was for sleeping. We were both too exhausted for anything more than a cuddle.

On Wednesday, my schedule changed, and I had to set my alarm even earlier. CJ barely stirred when my phone chimed in the early morning hours. I kissed him on the cheek, left a note by his phone, and snuck out without waking him.

With a home series this weekend, ice time was limited, and to get my practice time in I had to take what was available. At the beginning of my skating career, I had a lot of early morning practices. So this felt like going back to the start, only without my mother. When I was in California, the rink I trained at was only for figure skaters, so we didn’t have to share ice time.

The time change didn’t affect my jumps or motivation on the ice. Things were going so well Marina gave me her blessing to go to the games that weekend. CJ was thrilled, and when we got home, he placed the tickets in my hand and kissed me, making my knees go weak and my head spin.

“Thanks for coming to the games,” he said, dragging his finger along my jaw. “It means a lot to me.”

I squeaked and let him kiss me again. Even the stupid demons in the room swooned.

“Eat your dinner, Justin,” CJ said, placing me in the chair and handing me a plate. How could I be expected to eat anything when I could barely see straight? But when he opened the oven and the smell of broiled steak and baked potatoes filled the air, my mouth watered and my stomach growled.

“Holy shit,” Eli shouted when he came in the house. “There better be enough for me.”

“I’d never forget you,” CJ answered.

“You better not,” Eli said. He sniffed the air and sighed.

“Are you wearing black lipstick?” I asked.

“I lost a bet with Taylor,” he said.

“Please don’t share,” I mumbled. “And don’t you ask,” I said to CJ. “It’s better not to know.”

Janae showed up and drooled over the meal, fawning all over CJ until I wanted to growl at her to quit touching him. I couldn’t blame her, though. The meal was fantastic. An hour later, I headed back to the ice, and CJ went up to his room to write a paper. When I got back, he was still working on his paper and I needed to crash.

“I’ll be done in about twenty minutes.”

He still wasn’t in bed in an hour, but I managed to doze until he crawled in next to me. Ten minutes later my phone alarm went off.

“Good luck tonight,” I whispered before I trudged off to practice.

He sent me a text a few hours later. It made me blush, and Marina got a good laugh when she asked me what it said and all I could do was stammer and hide my face.

Marina looked at her watch and told me I had fifteen minutes to get to the other side of campus for Eli’s presentation. I had a general idea of what was going to happen, but I was nervous as hell because Danny was in the class.

Eli’s presentation was set up like an ESPN interview. He asked me normal questions and several goofy ones, which made me laugh and helped me relax. Everyone in the class seemed to enjoy listening to me talk. At the end of class, they all wished me luck as they filed out of the room.

When Taylor was busy telling Eli he could be the next Oprah, Danny pulled me aside. As soon as Eli spotted us, he acted like an overprotective mama lion, growling and fiddling with his backpack while Danny quietly told me the programs looked great. I needed to pay more attention to who was in the rink when I was skating.

“The nerve of that guy. I never know what the fuck he’s up to,” Eli said.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll see you after classes.”

He smiled and skipped off to his next class with Taylor in tow.

When Eli picked me up for the game, he was decked out from head to toe in the colors of the school.

“Did you join the cheerleading squad?” I asked.

“Just doing my part to support the team.”

“Even your earrings match,” I said. “It’s sort of creepy.”

“It’s called an ensemble. Everything is supposed to match,” he said. “Now, let’s go cheer for your hockey boy.”

He whipped his scarf around his neck and tossed me a beanie. I pulled it on and grinned at him. I knew I should protest the hockey boy thing, but the idea that CJ was
my
hockey boy made the butterflies soar with joy and my heart bang loudly in my chest. Off in the corner, I heard the demons whispering about poisoning the butterflies. I ignored them and listened to Eli as he redesigned the hockey uniforms.

The crowd got rowdy, and the game grew intense. CJ got nailed hard into the boards a few times. His teammates quickly responded, but it made me grind my teeth and want to give the jerks a few quick jabs with my fist. The refs kept control of the game by handing out penalties. Sitting in the penalty box against our team wasn’t a good idea. Each time they were in the penalty box, Danny capitalized, scoring a hat trick.

No way would I toss my new hat on the ice, so when he skated by us, I waved the hat in the air. He caught my eye and gave me a tight, sad smile. A wave of guilt rushed over me, and a demon perched on my shoulder. Why I would feel guilty about Danny was beyond me. I shoved the feeling aside and searched the ice for number seventeen. When I found him, a rush of warmth filled me.

Eli noticed and nudged me. “Taylor does the same thing to me.”

My eyes widened, and I had to take a deep breath. It didn’t mean anything. I just liked the guy.

Eli placed a gloved hand on mine. “It’s a good thing, Justin.”

“Are you sure? I’m getting involved with a hockey boy again.”

“For once in your life, don’t worry about everything. Let it happen and see where it takes you. Yes, you could get hurt, but he could turn out to be the love of your life.”

CJ skated by, and I could see his smile through the cage of his helmet. The butterflies did loops in my stomach.

“I think I’m already in trouble,” I mumbled.

“Me too,” Eli said as he blushed while reading a text from Taylor. “He’s meeting us after the game.”

“Is he here?”

“Yep, he has season tickets in the student section.”

“Was he one of those idiots who camped out when tickets went on sale?”

“Yeah.” Eli pointed in the direction of the mass of students cheering. “See, he’s in the green jersey.”

“Everyone has on a green jersey.”

“He’s the cute one.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

As the score escalated, the hits got more brutal. It seemed like they were singling out CJ, and it made me want to put on my gear and take some hits for him. A gigantic defenseman drove CJ into the wall, elbowing him in the head. The guy was thrown out of the game.

“Why in the world would you want to play a game where people try to rip out your spleen through your ear?” Eli asked.

I shrugged it off and told him that was hockey.

T
HE
NEXT
night, the game was even more violent. It seemed like the opposing team had placed a target on CJ’s back and chased him around the rink every time he was on the ice. The game looked like
Fight Club
. Several players were ejected, and CJ left with nine minutes remaining in the third period. I stood up and tried to crawl over Eli.

“You keep telling me you don’t want anyone to know about you and CJ. Going down to the locker room will open eyes and mouths. You stay here,” Eli said sternly. “If something is seriously wrong, I’m sure someone will come find you.”

“Fine.” I folded my arms across my chest and watched the end of the game. Even the handshake between the teams was tense.

I shoved past several people, trying to get to the door as fast as possible. Eli grabbed my coat and stopped me, reminding me we needed to wait for Taylor. I chewed on my nails and paced in a small circle while we waited.

“Justin, you’re driving me crazy. If you want to go home, then go,” Eli said.

“Really?”

“Yes.” He waved and a big grin spread across his face. “Taylor!”

“Bye,” I said, bolting for the door. With no snow or ice on the ground yet, I ran all the way home.

CJ pulled into the driveway as I turned the corner. “CJ!” I shouted, slowing to a jog.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Um, Eli and Taylor were taking too long, so I ran home. I wanted to make sure you were okay and ask you what the hell is going on.”

As I was finishing the sentence, Eli and Taylor pulled up. I bent at the waist to catch my breath while they all laughed at me for being a fucking idiot.

“Shut up, Eli,” I grumbled. “You keep your mouth shut.”

He snickered, and I felt my face go red. The blushing whenever someone mentioned CJ was getting out of hand. I needed to learn to control my feelings, or at least hide them better.

“Can we just go inside?” I said, frowning.

The moment we stepped inside, Eli started talking about the game. I tried to direct the conversation toward asking CJ why guys seemed to be going after him at the game, but he ignored me and gave Eli all his attention.

After watching three games, Eli fancied himself an expert. Taylor laughed at him as he talked about strategy and better ways to score goals. CJ listened carefully, not telling Eli he didn’t have a clue. I told Eli until he learned how to skate properly, he had no right telling CJ how to score a goal.

“You use my choreography,” Eli said, sticking his tongue out at me.

“He has a point,” CJ said.

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I pouted.

“Why are we forming teams?” Eli asked.

“You can be on my team,” Taylor said to Eli.

“Oh, aren’t you sweet,” Eli said, nuzzling his nose against Taylor’s cheek.

“I’m exhausted,” CJ said. “Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone.”

CJ pulled me to my feet, locking his fingers with mine. He held my hand all the way up to my room. The butterflies living in my stomach did some wild dance. The demons appeared and lined up on the stairs, watching me, specifically focusing on our clasped hands.

We collapsed on the bed, where we spent several minutes kissing and touching. I tried to bring up the game, but he distracted me by shoving his tongue down my throat. Exhaustion soon won out and we fell asleep. When I woke in the morning, CJ was still holding my hand.