Page 17 of Temptation On Ice

He’s so hot. Taller by a few inches, probably six-three, though he’s built leaner than me, even though he’s solid muscle. He moves with a regal grace that’s a marker of his lifetime as an athlete, and his body is insane to watch as he bends to get the ball from Lux and cocks his arm back to chuck it across the yard. Everything he does draws my eyes back to him, and my body remembers what it felt like to have him pressed against me, holding on tightly for just a few minutes while he took the comfort I offered.

Fuck me. I’ve got a big, gay crush on Sebastian Montenegro, and Cami can’t find out or she’ll never let me hear the end of it. Why do I always fall for straight guys? They never want me back, and it just fucks with my heart when they don't see me as anything other than a buddy who is emotionally intelligent, or in the case of some of the guys from high school, someone they could fuck around with when they wanted to experiment, then go back to their girlfriends because they could never be gay. I shake my head at my stupidity for falling for the same type of guy repeatedly.

Once the chicken is done, I pull it off the grill and head inside to get the rest of the food. I pop the macaroni and cheese in the microwave to heat, and bring the potato salad and a pitcher of lemonade out while I wait. Once everything is ready, I call them back to the deck to eat.

“Hope Enzo will eat some of this. I know kids can be picky,” I say to Sebastian when he gets his kid settled at the picnic table on the deck.

“Oh, you don't have to worry. This is perfect, thank you so much for feeding us,” he says with a smile, fixing a plate for Enzo, then himself.

I bite my lip and look down, pride warming me from the inside out over how happy it makes me to see them quickly digging into the food I made, and Enzo saying “yum!” with each bite. I feel a deeper satisfaction than usual as I eat, sharing it with people who are thoroughly enjoying the meal.

The sun is setting as we finish up, and Sebastian helps me clear the table, bringing dishes inside while Enzo plays in the yard.

“I haven’t felt this relaxed in…years,” Sebastian says with a grateful sigh as he follows me inside and sets the dirty plates in the sink while I wrap up the leftovers. “This place really is magic. Thanks again for letting us come out to crash your peace. Enzo is so happy playing with the dogs. He hasn’t even asked to play on his iPad or watch a show. I think he might fall asleep on the way home, he’s so worn out.”

I smile as I move to the sink and start to load the dishwasher. “It’s that good ol’ country air. It’ll tire a kid out every time. Summers are the best out here. You can run around in the woods, swim in the pond, fish, hike—anything you want, and no one bothers you. Bring him out anytime you want him tired and away from screens.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” he says with a note of humor in his tone. He slaps a hand against my shoulder and squeezes.

I work not to melt when he slides his hand away to grab a dish towel to dry the dishes I've washed.

“You’ll be sick of us before you know it because I’ll abuse the hell out of that offer and will have my kid running through those woods with your dogs every chance I get,” he says with a grin.

I angle my hips away as his easy humor and casual touches perk my dick up. I know better than to take this the wrong way, yet my body wants to respond, anyway.

Before I know what’s good for me, my mouth opens and words are spilling out. “I’ll hold you to that. It’d be good for him, and I think you could use the time out here for some peace, too.”

I bite my tongue. What the fuck is wrong with me? My mouth is not on the same wavelength as my brain, apparently. Why did I use a flirty tone? Could he hear it?

He laughs. “Keep the propane in the grill topped up, and I’ll be sure to bring you the protein to cook and Coronas for the fridge so we’re not eating you out of house and home with our endless appetites.”

“You got yourself a deal,” I say with a grin. He smiles and looks over at me in a heart-stopping way that has my hands stilling on the dish in the sink because I want to focus exclusively on whatever he’s saying.

“Thanks, Tucker. This has been a great evening.” He reaches over and squeezes my traps with strong hands in a platonic way that I wish were anything but before he turns and calls to Enzo, letting him know it’s time to go home.

And just like that, I’m a goner for this stupidly hot straight man.

Here we go again.

Eight

Sebastian

“Barrett, Virtanen, Bischoff, nice work out there today, rookies,” I call as practice wraps up. “Keep up that effort, and you’ll make it off the fourth line and give our boys some competition.” I look over at Nico, Chad, Westy, Rook, and Campbell, who would be at risk of losing a spot on their lines to one of the new guys, and give them a wink.

Westy rolls his eyes, muttering something in French, and Campbell flips me off.

Chad says, “Suck it, Cap,” while thrusting his hips at me.

“In your dreams, rookies,” Rook adds.

I laugh as Nico blows me a kiss and skates off the ice, not bothered in the slightest by the possibility. These guys put in hard work at every practice and know their worth. It won’t come easily for the rookies to move up, but our guys aren’t guaranteed anything, either. Everyone has to contribute to the success of the team, and we’re all itching for another cup run this season after getting so close last year.

“Hey, Sebastian! Can I grab you for a minute?”

I look over and see McKenna in the hallway leading off the ice of our practice facility, waving to get my attention.

“Hey, McKenna, what’s up?” I ask as I skate over. She’s not down here much, since she has plenty of social media admins to get content from the team or her interns to run whatever campaigns she’s spearheading, and normally stays up in her office unless it’s a game day.