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After a moment, he tilted his head and captured my lips again, this time with featherlight kisses that made me sigh. I melted into him, savoring the sweetness of the moment.
We stayed like that for a while, trading kisses and being close. The night air had cooled considerably, but next to Ethan, I barely noticed.
Eventually, I couldn’t hold back a yawn.
Ethan did the same. “Oh man, I tried so hard to keep that in.”
We laughed, which triggered more yawns.
“It’s been a long day.” I untangled myself from his embrace. “I should head home.”
“Or…” He looked suddenly shy. “You could stay?”
My breath hitched. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Just to sleep,” he added quickly. “It’s late, and we both have another long day tomorrow.”
The thought of falling asleep next to him sent a wave of longing through me. “I’d like that.”
He stood, offering his hand. “Fair warning—I haven’t shared a bed with anyone in a long while. I might be rusty.”
“Same here.” I let him pull me up. “But I’m willing to risk it.”
His smile was worth any potential awkwardness. “Me too.”
TWENTY-THREE
ETHAN
The rink parking lot was nearly full when I arrived after judging the crafts competition.
I chatted with a few people who were looking over the T-shirts and jerseys for sale as well as autographed auction items.
Liam and I had hosted exhibitions during Pride over the past couple of years, usually featuring one or two special guests including fellow hometown boy Ryland Zervudachi, who played for Columbus. This year we were able to bring in several pros to play alongside some of our most elite campers.
“Coach Ethan!” Tommy’s voice carried across the lobby. He and Milo were already in their gear except for skates, talking and signing. When I reached them, Tommy continued to speak and sign. “Ready for us to crush…”
Tommy stopped and looked at his hands with a frustrated expression.
“Crush.” Milo chimed in, saying the word while putting one hand over the other, palms facing. Then he slammed the upper hand down on the lower and rotated the palm of the upper hand in a squishing motion.
Tommy nodded and turned back to me. “Ready for us to crush your team?”
He signed the whole question over. The quick tutoring session was completely adorable.
“Pretty confident there, aren’t you?” I replied, signing as well.
Milo’s hands flew in response as he spoke. “With good reason. Coach Liam stacked our lineup.”
“Don’t let them intimidate you, E!” Caleb called out as he and Mimi joined us, already mostly geared up. “Our first line is going to find the back of the net. A lot.” He fist-bumped Mimi. “And the second will add even more. Plus we’ve got Zervudachi on deck as our third center.”
Mimi nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, Tommy. You might want to save some of that energy for when you’re trying to get past Coach Ethan on D.”
“All talk.” Tommy flashed a playful smirk. “We’ll see who’s celebrating after the final buzzer.” He and Milo shared a fist bump.
“I’m sure that’s going to be us,” Bellamy Jordan said as he arrived. He also fist-bumped Tommy and Milo.
“No way!” Ry came in close behind along with his brother Jason, who was also Bellamy’s boyfriend. “Our lineup of centers can’t be beat, right, Cap?” He looked at me.
