Page 71 of Tough Guy and the Show Off

THIRTY-ONE

BEAU

This feels so good.

So… right.

Lying naked and sweaty in a bed with Trav. It’s exactly where I want to be.

“Not a bad mattress,” Trav says, bouncing a little.

My head is on his chest, his fingers tangled in my hair. I missed this.

“It’s nice.” I tilt my head up slightly. “What’s been going on in Boston since I left?”

His face tenses for a second before he erases it and smiles. “Cold.”

“Same here. How’s the new goalie? He’s playing in beast mode. I saw he had a shutout in your last game.”

“He’s definitely a beast. Very focused on the game. Quiet. Weird.”

“Weird like how?”

“He’s got this strange altar thing set up in his stall. A bunch of Polish folklore cryptids. He legit prays to them before games.”

“Prays?”

“In Polish, so no idea what he’s saying, but Klaussen heard him say something about destroying adversaries on the ice. He’s intense.”

I laugh at that. “It must work. Is he cool?”

“No idea. He hasn’t been out with us socially yet. He said he’s still adjusting to playing at sea level and he spends time in an oxygen chamber.”

“That’s wild.”

Trav nods. “Then he looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘Show off more. Playing tame.’”

“Ouch.”

Trav shrugs. “He’s kind of right.”

Before I can dig into that, he continues.

“What about you?”

“It’s been nice. I’m all moved into my new apartment, and the team has been cool picking me up and taking me around to their favorite places, like restaurants and stuff. I met one of my neighbors, this guy named Paul, and he told me about a couple of gyms that are really nice. Guess he works out in a place that’s geared towards queer men.”

Trav’s brow creases. “He’s gay?”

“Yeah. Super fit too. You’d think he played sports, but he jokes that his only cardio is shopping and in the bedroom.” I chuckle, but Travis doesn’t.

“Is he into you?”

His question surprises me. “I don’t think so. Are you jealous?”

“No.”

“We said we were exclusive. I meant it. Did you?”