Page 75 of King of the Crease

23

HANK

Alittle while later, we finally untangle ourselves from bed. We have a hockey game to win. I just had the best sex of my life, a capper to one of the best nights of my life, so I’m feeling optimistic about everything. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket, too, while I’m at it.

“Did you want to hop in the shower first?” I ask Nick, lying with his head against my shoulder, the light scent of sweat damp in his hair.

“Yeah. Sure.” He sits up, seeming a little distracted.

“You okay?” Is fucking a person’s brains out a real thing? I don’t want to give myself too much credit, but then again, I’ve never seen a man come that hard or that plentifully. Now I know what those poor people experienced when the tsunami wiped them out at the end of Deep Impact.

Whatever was clouding his mind, he shakes it off. He looks over his shoulder, a vision of post-coital glow. “Actually…would you want to shower together?”

Would I? Like something out of a horny Looney Tunes, my dick instantly tents the blanket it’s resting under currently.

“Hell yeah.” The more I have of Nick, the more I want. But then I remember the actual size of my shower. “I’m not sure if we can both fit. It’s not one of those fancy walk-in ones.”

Nick leans forward and kisses me. “You’ve proven yourself quite adept at squeezing into tight spaces this morning.”

He leaps off the bed, and I watch that fine ass shimmy into my bathroom. Is it normal to be this blatantly happy?

We take a luxuriously long shower capped with hand jobs. I tried using Head & Shoulders as lubricant, but quickly realized what a horrible idea that was. Ow.

When we get to the locker room at Summers Rink, it seems that Nick and I are the only ones in a good mood. Mitch is sitting on the bench with his head in his hands. Des is lying flat on his back on the floor, one arm draped over his eyes like a Victorian widow. Tanner leans against his cubby in a daze. Griffin is aggressively rubbing at his temples, his skin a pale white.

“Don’t take this personally, but you guys all look like shit.” I drop my bag in my cubby.

Bill is the only one for whom it’s business as usual, as he finishes suiting up. The man is a tank. If you told me he slept with both eyes open, I’d believe you.

“Some of us had too much to drink last night,” Bill says. “Everyone keep drinking water.”

The guys each take a sip from their water bottles.

“I didn’t drink, but I still feel hungover. I had two servers call in sick on the busiest night of the year for us. I was cleaning up until four. I have no idea why I’m here this morning,” Mitch says.

“For the camaraderie,” Nick says.

“Look at Nick with the jokes.” Des laughs to himself, then winces with a bad headache. “I knew I shouldn’t have had those martinis. They were made with cheap, off-brand gin.”

“This is all Griffin’s fault,” Tanner says in a hushed tone.

“Yeah. He’s a witch. Get him!” Des points an accusatory finger at our teammate, who looks in the worst shape of everyone.

“I didn’t force you to go out,” Griffin says.

“Yeah, you did,” Des shoots back. “Told us it was our patriotic duty.”

“Everyone is speaking way too loud. Indoor voices, everyone.” Tanner gestures the international symbol for “keep it down.”

“Why did I expect a bar with an open trough in the men’s room to use Bombay Sapphire in their drinks? I would’ve settled for Aviation.” Des massages circles on his temples. “Does anyone have a cucumber face mask I could borrow?”

“Last night was fun,” Griffin says. The guys all boo at the statement, except for Nick and me. We share a knowing smile. Last night was very fun for us.

“For who? Your boyfriend and his friends? You didn’t look too happy to be there. You were trying way too hard,” Bill says. He takes Griffin’s water bottle and refills it.

“Fuck off. I had a blast.”

“I am so glad my younger husband doesn’t force me to do this shit. I got him into grilling,” Mitch says of Charlie.