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“Ooh.” His eyes lit up. “That’s right—you get like three months off, don’t you?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Nice.” He flashed me a toothy grin, then started to push himself up with a groan. “Share a shower?”
I stroked a hand down his back. “As if you need to ask.”
He just winked.
The shower turned into a protracted one. What could I say? I might not have been twenty-five anymore, but I’d been horny as hell and had barely seen Tanner for the last couple of weeks. I doubted he was any more surprised than I was when I turned him around, nudged him up against the tile wall, and fucked him slowly until we were both shaking all over again.
We ended up dozing for a little while in his bed after that, and when we woke up, we moved into the kitchen to figure out something to eat. I was starting to get hungry, after all, which meant Tanner was probably ready to start gnawing on a houseplant or something. Hockey players needed a hell of a lot more calories than their sedate middle-aged schoolteacher boyfriends.
Fortunately, I’d had the presence of mind to suggest he put in a grocery order before I showed up, and the driver had arrived a few minutes before I did. Tanner had bought everything I’d suggested, and he took a seat—maybe alittlegingerly—at his kitchen island while I started putting together a simple pasta sauce.
“Oh my God, that smells amazing,” he purred. “What is it?” He peered into the pan. “Why is it pink?”
I chuckled. “It’s a vodka sauce. The cream makes it look lighter.” I pulled a spoon from a drawer, took a little sauce onto it, and handed it across the island. “What do you think?”
He blew on it to make sure it was cool enough, and then his eyes lost focus as he took a taste. After a second, he refocused on me. “Wow. That’s really good.”
I smiled, pretending my heart didn’t do giddy little flips every time he responded happily to my cooking. So far, he’d liked everything I’d cooked (though that one batch of enchiladas had been alittlespicier than he liked, so I’d toned them down the next time). He wasn’t exactly a picky eater, so pleasing him in the kitchen wasn’t difficult.
Didn’t stop my heart from acting like I was a teenager with a crush, though.
I didn’t mind. I fuckinglovedthis feeling.
As I continued cooking, Tanner wrung his hands on the counter. “So, um…” He cleared his throat. “This time of year—whenever the playoffs are over, I mean—I usually go home for the summer. Back to Colorado.”
A mix of disappointment and hope vied for dominance in my chest. Partly because I thought he was gently breaking it to me that he’d be gone for a while. Partly because I was hanging a lot of hope on the word “usually.”
Tanner swept his tongue across his lips. “I, um… I think I want to stay in Pittsburgh this year. At least part of the summer.”
I almost dropped the spoon in my hand, and excitement rushed through me. “Oh. Really?”
“Yeah.” He met my gaze, his expression almost shy. “If being away from you for the playoffs was this tough, I don’t think I want to be gone for months on end.”
Holy shit. That… He wouldn’t give up an off season in his hometown with his family just for some dick. Would he?
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, being apart is tough. But you always go home, don’t you?”
“I do, yeah.” He chewed his lip, studying me uncertainly. “And Iwouldlike to go home for a while this year.” He swallowed hard, and his voice barely carried over the island between us: “Would you want to come with me?”
“Come—” I blinked. “Seriously? You want me to?”
Tanner nodded. “My mom’s already said you’re welcome to come.” He laughed and rolled his eyes as some renewed color bloomed in his already flushed cheeks. “She’s dying to meet my new boyfriend, especially since she can’t believe I’m with a teacher.”
My stomach flipped. “Oh. She… doesn’t like that you’re…”
“Oh, God, no!” Tanner sat up straight and shook his head. “I didn’t mean—it’s nothing like that. Just, I was kind of a little shit in school and drove my teachers up a wall. So she thinks it’s fucking hilarious that I landed a teacher as a boyfriend.”
I was almost embarrassed of the relief that tumbled over me. And the cynical comment that almost slipped out about how my parents would probably be skeptical as hell that I’d landed a hockey player as a boyfriend.
Damn. I really needed to stop being so damn insecure. Focusing on the sauce I was stirring, I said, “I’m, uh… Sure. Yeah. I’d love to come with you.” I paused. “School’s not out for a bit, though, and I’m planning to head to my parents’ place for a week after the school year ends.” Then an idea burrowed through all my insecurity, and I timidly asked, “Do you want to come with me?”
I didnotexpect Tanner’s eyes to light up like that. “You want me to meet your family?”
“I’m meeting yours.” I couldn’t help smiling. “Why wouldn’t I want you to meet mine too?”
