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“Thanks. I loved seeing you behind the bench. I’d love to have you there all the time.”
Aaron struggled with what to say next because so many thoughts vied to get out. He shouldn’t be nervous around Caleb, but this getting was insane.
A knock at the ajar door made it so he didn’t have to speak.
“There you are! Get in here.” Grant stepped to the side as Caleb pulled in one of his fellow players. The handsome man’s dark hair was slicked back, and he wore a well-tailored suit similar to Caleb’s. “Aaron, this is my best friend, Dimitri.”
Dimitri smiled rakishly and extended a hand. Aaron hesitated for only a moment before his manners kicked in. He hadn’t expected to meet any of Caleb’s teammates, at least not yet. “Good to finally meet you,” Dimitri said. “I thought we could go grab a late dinner and hang out for a while.”
“I’m up for that if Aaron is.” Caleb raised his eyebrows and looked expectantly at Aaron.
“Sure.” Aaron couldn’t say no to Caleb’s silent request. The weekend was supposed to show Aaron all about New York life, and time with one of Caleb’s closest friends should be part of it.
“I’ll bring the car to the loading dock so you can get out without too much fuss.” Grant was almost out the door before he stopped and turned back to them. “Do you need reservations anywhere?”
“I got this.” Dimitri looked proud of himself. “I’d hoped Aaron would say yes, so I rang up one of my favorite places on the Lower East Side, where we should be out of the postgame fray.” Dimitri clapped Caleb on the back before saying his goodbyes. “I’ll meet you guys there.”
“Give me five minutes, and I should have the car in place. I’ll text you when I’m there.” Grant headed out too.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Caleb said, wrapping Aaron in a tight embrace. “Are you having a good time so far?”
“I guess.” Aaron’s entire body seemed to shrug. “The game was amazing. Watching you in person is so much better than on TV. All of this back here”—Aaron gestured around—“it’s a little much. I wish I’d gone back to your place to wait.”
Caleb deflated a little, and Aaron wished he’d kept his mouth shut. “I hadn’t considered what all this would be like with no one to hang out with.”
“It’s okay. You had a job to do.”
“Let’s relax and get some dinner,” Caleb took his hand. “That should let us ease into a day that will be mostly all about us.”
“Let’s do it.” Aaron said, managing to sound upbeat.
“Let’s go to where Grant’s bringing the car so we’ll be ready as soon as it’s there.” Caleb led them to the loading dock so they’d be ready to go.
Chapter Twenty-Three
AARON gazed out of the wall of windows of Caleb’s sixth-floor loft. The view of the Hudson River was gorgeous on the clear spring night. He’d gravitated to the windows when they’d come in from dinner with Dimitri a few minutes ago. Aaron had had a good time hearing all the stories Dimitri had shared. Dimitri knew Caleb at this point in his life far better than Aaron did.
“Hey. You look really good there.” Caleb, returning from the kitchen with two bottles of water, came over and stood next to him. “Grant texted that he’s got us a brunch reservation at eleven thirty at a place in Chelsea he says we’ll love. We can head there as soon as I’m back from the radio thing. You ready for the grand tour?”
Aaron liked Grant. He seemed genuinely nice and took good care of Caleb, making sure he met all of his commitments.
And Caleb had a lot of professional obligations. What Phil had said earlier continued to gnaw at him. The truth was, Aaron was a distraction. There were so many things that Caleb should be doing to stay on track for the playoffs and for his contract negotiations. If he was to have a boyfriend, it should be someone who understood how to navigate it all, not an outsider with no experience in the spotlight. And not someone who’d had a mess of a relationship with a baseball player. How was he supposed to make it work with Caleb, whose celebrity was orders of magnitude greater than Tyson’s?
Aaron sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the night. “I was thinking I should head back. You can rest up tomorrow and be ready to dominate on Sunday afternoon, and I can get back and prepare for class next week.”
“What?” Caleb sounded disappointed, as Aaron expected.
“We’re fooling ourselves to think I could possibly belong here, doing this.” He tried to look at Caleb but quickly turned back toward the river view. “I’m glad we spent more time together, but you’ve got enough to do without making sure I’m happy. You’ve done it subtly ever since I got here, when you were looking at me in the stands and while we’ve been together after the game. You steal these looks at me to make sure I’m okay. You need to be focused on the game, on the Stanley Cup, on your career. Not if everything’s all right with your boyfriend who’s out of his depth.”
Caleb turned Aaron to him. “Sure, I’m checking on you, but it’s because I care about you and you’re visiting a place you’ve hardly been to before. Where’s this coming from?”
“Caleb. Think about it. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are. You love what you do—anyone could see that when you played tonight. And the truth is that I love what I do. I love teaching, and I still feel like I’m getting my life back together. You don’t need to deal with my baggage.”
“Aaron—”
“Please let me get this out. It’s hard enough already.” Aaron looked Caleb in the eye and prayed he had enough courage to finish. “I don’t want you to wonder why you stuck it out with me when you could’ve had anyone. I refuse to be the one to hold you back or the one you regret later. I can’t stand the thought of messing up the life of someone I care so much about simply because I’m—”
“I love you, Aaron Price!” Caleb blurted out as he grabbed hold of Aaron and brought him in for a kiss, which nearly unhinged him because it was the most passionate kiss he’d ever received. It also pissed him off because that kiss did nothing to help get his point across. Aaron’s body didn’t listen to his brain. It took over, kissing Caleb back. They continued until Aaron released a long, low moan of pleasure.
