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Aaron flexed his hand in Caleb’s, and he squeezed gently as they gazed at each other.

Caleb slowly leaned in, giving himself an out if Aaron’s expression changed. The sad look disappeared, replaced by a shy smile. Caleb took that for a yes, closed his eyes, and placed a soft kiss on Aaron’s lips.

Aaron kissed him back, matching Caleb’s gentleness. As their lips stayed together, Caleb interlocked his fingers with Aaron’s. Caleb, emboldened by Aaron’s reaction, slid his tongue across Aaron’s lips, but he didn’t force it inside. The last thing he wanted was to go too far or too fast.

Caleb pulled back just enough so he could speak. “I hope you’re not going to run away.”

Aaron shook his head slowly. “No way. Not after my first kiss from Caleb Carter.”

“It’s not really our first,” Caleb said, smiling shyly and feeling, for a moment, like a teenager again.

Aaron’s brows knitted together in confusion. “What are you talking about? Of course it is.”

“Remember when I gave you the trophy when you graduated?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I hugged you, and my lips brushed against your cheek when you pulled away,” Caleb whispered, close to Aaron. “I’ve always considered that our first kiss.”

Aaron raised a hand to his cheek as if that might conjure the memory. “What do you know. I’d had a kiss from you all this time and didn’t know it.”

“Well, it was subtle, barely a kiss at all, so I’ll forgive you for not remembering.”

Aaron chuckled softly as they gazed at each other.

“Come on,” Caleb said, wanting to break the moment before it had any chance to get weird. “Let’s go buy some baked goods to support a good cause.”

Chapter Fourteen

“DIMITRI!” Caleb shouted into the phone as he connected the call. He was just off the ice from his late-morning practice and rehab session, sitting on the bleachers adjacent to the rink.

Dimitri Stanislov and Caleb arrived in New York in the same season and became fast friends. Dimitri was traded from Minnesota, where he’d spent a couple of years after being drafted straight out of a Denver high school, while Caleb went to the Rangers from the University of Maine. Dimitri was a couple years older and was a top wing, even winning the Ross Trophy three years ago as the top scorer in the league. The two bonded over being the first out players for the Rangers and enduring the media spotlight that brought with it in their first season. Luckily it faded quickly once they proved themselves on the ice.

“I’m surprised to hear from you since you guys are out West. What’s goin’ on?”

“It’s good. You know, usual road stuff. We’re about to fly to Vancouver. Not the same without you, man. I miss my roommate.”

“That just means you can have overnight guests, and I know you like that.”

Dimitri grunted. “Yeah. But it also means I don’t get enough sleep because you don’t come back to the room to gently show them out. I was good last night, though. Phoenix didn’t put any interesting guys in my path.”

Dimitri loved road hookups. Caleb played wingman sometimes, and other times he just let him do his thing.

“So, to what do I owe this unexpected call?”

“You’re really going to play it that way, huh?” Dimitri was fishing for something, but Caleb had no clue what.

“You know everything going on. I’m still on track to be back next week.”

“You’re kissing some guy.”

Caleb was dumbstruck. Sure, some people in town might have seen, but—

“How do you know about that?” Caleb hadn’t known how to talk about what was going on with Aaron, so he hadn’t said anything to Dimitri. And the kiss had only happened yesterday. He’d barely had time to process it himself. He looked around the rink and was glad it was early on a Sunday morning. There were few people around, and no one on the rink he occupied.

“It’s all over the internet, my friend. You’d know that if you actually paid attention. I’m surprised you haven’t heard from Grant. He’s gotta be fielding calls and messages.”

Caleb had never embraced social media. He had official Twitter and Facebook pages because the team insisted on it. He didn’t have personal profiles on any site. He preferred to see people in person or communicate with texts and emails. He understood, however, the need to have his professional life covered, which was one of the main reasons he’d hired Grant.