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Once we’re done with sprints people trickle off, but I hang back to do my stretches. Since I squat so much during a game, I’m more likely to get hip or groin injuries than my teammates, and either one could end my season, especially for a player over thirty. Luca won’t admit it, but he’s in the same boat, so he lingers with me.
“How do you think we’re looking?” he asks, same as he does every year.
Though we’re nearly the same age, and co-captains, he’s always looked at me as the leader, probably because I have the more level head. “When have I ever been able to answer that on the first day?”
“Humor me.”
“The hunger is there. Making it to the playoffs and getting knocked out in the first round is a good driving force.” I drop to my back and pull my right leg toward me to stretch my hamstring.
“Our sprints were a little sluggish.” He mirrors me as I switch to the other leg.
“It’s day one. If we still look like this on day five, I’ll worry.”
“Fair enough.”
I drop into the splits to stretch my groin, and out of nowhere I’m hit with the memory of Tripp spreading his legs wide that first night, giving me an unobstructed view of his hand sliding over his cock. I enjoyed that encounter far more than I expected to, enough that I’d like to repeat it, but can I do that without developing feelings? I’m not usually a casual sex guy, but I also haven’t tried it. And with my demanding hockey schedule, chances are, casual is the only option.
“Earth to Noah. I asked what you thought about the rookies,” Luca says.
“Sorry, I was distracted.” I press my hips lower to deepen the stretch.
“I got that. Where were you just now?”
I’ve never had to ask Luca for advice, personal or otherwise, and I’m not sure how comfortable I am doing it now. At the same time, the only other person I could talk to is Tripp, and since this is about him that’s not an option.
“Is it possible to sleep with someone without developing feelings for them?”
Luca lets his leg crash back to the ground as he sits up to face me. “I thought you preferred to only sleep with people you have feelings for.”
“I thought so, too,” I mumble as I revisit my past partners, most of which I was dating when we slept together.
“Not anymore?” When I don’t answer, a sly grin spreads across his face. “Okay first, it’s about fucking time you have some fun, so hell yeah. And second, you see me do it all the time. Of course, it’s possible.”
“I see you hook up with different puck bunnies. Maybe a few of them are repeats, but you don’t have a regular…arrangement.” I swing my legs in front of me and press the soles of my feet together like a butterfly to get my inner thigh.
“Are you talking a friends with benefits thing or a fuck buddy thing?” Luca runs a hand through his hair, pushing the sweaty strands away from his eyes.
“There’s a difference?”
“Of course. Friends with benefits is someone you’re already friends with and you add sex to the mix. Fuck buddies is someone you just see for sex. So, which situation are we dealing with?”
While I follow that logic, it doesn’t make things any clearer. “It could go either way I think. We sometimes bump into each other socially, so I’m tempted to say friends, but we’ve never made a deliberate attempt to make plans or anything.” Unless you count Tripp extending the invite to stay at his house, but even that came about through a fluke meeting.
“So, this is more like a friend of a friend that you’re attracted to?”
I shift into a low lunge to stretch my hip flexors as I roll that idea around. “I guess you can say that, yeah.”
“Okay, that makes it easy. As long as you don’t get together without your mutual friend—unless it’s for sex—you’ve got the perfect fuck buddy setup. And yeah, I think it’s possible to have that without catching feelings since you’d only need each other for the physical release, not like grabbing a drink together or anything.”
He makes it sound so simple, when the reality is the fact that I’m staying with Tripp could blur the lines a bit. Although, I’ve only got one night left before I can move back into my place, and after that, things could go back to the way they were. We see each other only when there’s a group event, unless we meet up strictly for sex. That seems a little cold and impersonal to me, but I think I’d rather go that route than try to explore this with anyone else. After all, Tripp’s the one who helped me open this door, and I already know I can trust him to be honest and patient and even encouraging.
“Hey, I lost you again,” Luca interrupts my thoughts. “Are you gonna get yourself a fuck buddy?”
While this conversation didn’t go the way I expected, it did end up helping. “Yeah, I think I am.”
Chapter twelve
Tripp
