AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine, I’ll wear it for the playoffs. Final games only though, as in playing for the cup, not winning your conference.” Xander takes the focus off Tripp, laying out his terms to Niko like a peace treaty.
I’m not sure how they went from sex to playoffs, but I’m happy for Niko. Having someone you care about wear your jersey, especially one you give them, is a point of pride for most of us. For Niko to see Xander wearing his number in the stands, I’m not sure there’s any greater motivation than winning for the person wearing your name. Except winning for your teammates.
“Guys, we have to play for the cup.” Niko clears his throat and turns a near desperate gaze on all of us.
“Uh, don’t we do that every year?” Justus asks.
“Yeah, but the only way Xander will wear my jersey is if we make it to the final round.”
“Xander, what would your father say?” Luca scolds, which makes sense since Xander’s dad is our coach.
“He’d pat me on the back for finding a way to motivate Niko.”
“I’d say he doesn’t need that to motivate him.” Justus shoots an apologetic look at Niko. “But knowing how he feels about you, having you wear his jersey is just as meaningful as winning the cup.”
“Cruel but effective.” Luca taps his glass against Xander’s before raising it for a group toast. “Speaking of effective, have you ever seen a shot as brilliant as the one my boy took tonight?”
Now, it’s Justus’s turn to blush. As a fellow forward he idolized Luca for years, and now his adolescent hero is his mentor. I’ve heard the saying that you should be careful about meeting your heroes, but in this case, it seems to be benefiting both of them. They’ve developed a rhythm that’s hard for defenses to stop.
We all toast Justus’s incredible play then start rehashing our favorite moments from the game, while Xander offers his bird’s eye perspective—he’s fairly astute as assessing games given his lineage—and Tripp gushes about fast shots and hard hits.
Though I jump in with my own observations and laugh at all the right moments, my thoughts never stray completely away from Tripp. We’re not touching, but he’s close enough that I feel him next to me, like a live wire, crackling with energy. It makes me want to put my hand on his leg, to trail my fingers along the inside of his knee and watch him shudder. I’d do it if I thought it was a fuck buddy gesture, but since that kind of touch is something Niko and Xander started only after coming out to us, I’m pretty sure it falls into boyfriend territory.
Needless to say, by the time everyone’s ready to go, I’m feeling desperate and deprived. I'm positively clueless about how to say that to Tripp. I manage to catch his eye a few times as we pay the bill, and again in the parking lot, but when he heads to his car, I can only assume those looks didn’t say what I wanted them to. It’s not until I’m home, staring blankly at my phone and debating how to start a text asking to see him, when the doorbell makes me realize they worked. Sort of.
“You’re lucky you resemble a Norse god because puppy dog eyes don’t usually work on me,” Tripp declares as he steps inside, green eyes full of mischief.
“Puppy dog eyes?”
“You know, the sad, helpless stare cute little animals give you when they want something. I don’t usually consider it a good look on a man but you’re sexy enough to pull it off. Besides, if a man misses my cock enough to silently plead for it, it’d be pretty cruel to deny him.”
“I wasn’t pleading. I was… Trying to gauge your interest.”
“Sure, you were.” He pats my chest as he brushes past me and sets his keys on the foyer table. “In that case, I’d say you could just ask if I want to fuck, but since I’m always interested you can skip that step and just say your place or mine. Now, show me to your bedroom. I assume you’ve got a giant bed and I think we should use every inch of it.” He walks further into the house.
My body is intrigued by that plan if my rapid heartbeat is any indication, but my mind is stuck on logistics. Do we really just go at it without any buddy stuff?
When he’s a few paces away Tripp pauses and shoots me a puzzled look over his shoulder. “Fucking against the wall works too if that’s what you want…”
Ducking my head, I rub my hand over the back of my neck. “I…”
“Why is timid Noah back?” He faces me, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I thought you were pretty clear on wanting to explore sex with me.”
“Well, yeah. I do, but…”
His eyes soften when I bring mine to meet them. “You need me to seduce you, is that it?”
I shrug sheepishly. With a subtle sigh, he closes the distance between us and starts kissing my throat, his hands roaming over my chest, down my stomach, ghosting over my groin. “What are you in the mood for? A striptease? A lap dance? A massage?”
Threading my fingers through his hair, I capture the strands in a gentle grip and tug his head back so I can see his eyes. “Why are you really wearing my jersey?”
A slight crease forms between his brows. “I told you, it matches the hair.”
“I don’t buy it. You heard the same conversation I did between Xander and Niko. You know it’s not just a jersey when you’re sleeping with the person wearing it.”
“I’d never heard that until tonight.” He makes an imaginary cross over his chest.
“But you wanted me to see you in it. Didn’t you?” That’s more of a gut instinct than a statement, until I catch his eyes darting away from mine for a brief second.
