Face Offs & Cheap Shots (CU Hockey Book 2) Read online

  “You’re okay with it?” He doesn’t look like he believes me for a second.

  “Okay, so yes it’s disappointing because I’ve been aiming for it for years, but the thing is … you deserve this. So much. I’ll be proud to follow you this year.”

  Beck hangs his head. “You’re not allowed to say shit like that when I can’t jump you.”

  “You can show me how much you appreciate it tonight.”

  “After the meeting.”

  I groan. “We could skip it? It’s not like anything important is happening.”

  I follow Beck from the alley, and he backhands my abs. “Nothing important? Excuse me, we have a captain to crown.”

  “Captains don’t wear crowns.”

  “Now you tell me. Guess I should return that tiara, then.”

  “Not before I get photo evidence.”

  We part ways to go to class, and I take a moment to check him out as he walks away. His broad shoulders, narrow waist, and that ass I couldn’t help noticing even when I hated him are even hotter when paired with this warmth in my chest.

  And when I think about telling the team, I’m actually excited about it.

  Because I’ll have Beck, and anyone with an issue can go fuck themselves.

  I head back to my dorm to shower and change before I make my way to the meeting. Beck’s not in his room, so I assume he’s already headed over, and sure enough when I walk in, he’s there, saving a seat for me.

  Yep. My boyfriend’s cute. And still in high school apparently.

  “Nervous, Jacobs?” Cohen asks as soon as I sit down.

  “Nah. I have a feeling things will go exactly the way they’re supposed to.”

  “Couldn’t agree more,” Beck says.

  Cohen narrows his eyes and looks between us. “Riiight.”

  Somehow, I hold in my laugh. There’s a lot of attention on us—because of the vote, because we’re sitting together, who knows?—so I lean closer and drop my voice. “Nervous?”

  “About the vote? Nah, I know how this goes.”

  “I’m glad you’re confident.” I can’t even tease him for it. “But no. You know what I’m asking.”

  “Why would I be nervous about that? It’s no big deal. It’s nothing special—we’re just two dudes who are dating. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

  “So … you’re terrified, then?”

  “Quietly shitting myself, yes.”

  I laugh and wish I could give his thigh a reassuring squeeze, but I manage to keep it together. It’ll only be a few more minutes, and then I can do whatever the fuck I like.

  I dunno how it’s possible to be dreading and anticipating something so much.

  The vote isn’t even on my radar, because like Beck, I know how it goes. I want this to be over with. I want to tell people and let them get their reactions out of the way so we can be Beck-and-Jacobs without input from anyone else.

  Motherfucker, I think my hands are actually shaking. I want to laugh, at myself, at Beck, at this whole situation because it’s so dramatic and ridiculous and why the hell didn’t we just walk around for the day holding hands so the news would spread and it would be out there? That would have been the simple option.

  Instead I’m sitting here, afraid of … what?

  A laugh jumps out, and I quickly run a hand down my face to stifle it. Beck shoots me a look, and I’m about to tell him how dumb this all is, when Coach walks in.

  The whole mood of the room changes.

  “Vote time!” Cohen says, rubbing his hands together.

  Coach chuckles. “Sorry, team. There’s been a little change of plans.”

  Umm, what?

  I go to exchange confused looks with Beck, but he’s still staring at Coach Hogan. Surely, surely they’re not going to take it from us after how hard we worked this summer.

  “So … what’s going on?” I finally ask.

  Coach smiles. Then he lifts a navy-and-silver jersey and throws it my way. I catch it purely on reflex, and when I look down, I’m sure there must be some mistake.

  A giant silver C stares back at me.

  “Wha—”

  “Team, Jacobs is our new captain.”

  “But—”

  Coach holds up a second jersey and tosses it to Beck. “And this year, we have an alternate. Congratulations, boys. You worked hard for this.”

  I’m still completely numb as I quickly turn to Beck, sure he’s going to be as stunned as I am. Instead, he’s smiling.

  Smiling.

  “What did you do?”

  Beck smirks as he takes the jersey from my loose grip and tugs it over my head. “I made sure things went the way they were supposed to.”

  I dumbly shove my arms through the sleeves as Beck tugs on his own, lit up like he’s the one who was named captain.

  But I get it.

  Because up until a minute ago, I’d been perfectly happy not to have the C if it meant he’d be wearing it. A few months ago, I never would have believed it. A few months ago, it was captain or bust.

  Now, none of it matters without him because his happiness is more important than mine.

  And apparently, it goes both ways.

  That gross, sappy feeling returns, and I can finally pinpoint exactly what it is.

  I’m in love with my Teddy Beckett.

  I stand up and tug him to his feet. Before I know what I’m doing, I kiss him. It’s soft and tentative, but then I cup his face and put as much passion into it as I can, without going overboard. My heart is in my throat, and I’m overly conscious of how silent everyone has gone around us.

  Beck breaks the kiss and pulls me into a tight hug. “You could have given a guy some warning,” he tries to joke, but his voice is all thick.

  “Like you can talk.”

  “I fucking knew it!”

  I miss whose voice it is, but before I can turn, someone slams into my back. I immediately brace for a fight, but then … arms close around us. And another set from Beck’s side. Then another, and another.

  Are … are they hugging us?

  “The fuck?” I breathe.

  Beck turns his face into my neck as I feel the ghost of a laugh against my skin. “This is—”

  “Ridiculous?”

  He nods, but neither of us make a move to end it.

  “Okay, assholes, sucking up to the captains isn’t going to get you out of a nasty practice next week,” Beck says.

  “And I don’t share, so get your hands off my man.”

  Someone laughs, and then Rossi yanks me into a headlock and ruffles my hair. “This is taking gay chicken a bit far, guys.”

  Beck shrugs. “You set me a challenge, I’m going to follow through.”

  “All right,” Coach says, finally stepping in. “That’s enough excitement for one meeting. We have work to do.”

  I shove Rossi off me, and Cohen pats my shoulder while the few other guys who joined the group hug take their seats again.

  And even though I can feel the stares of some of the guys who might not approve, it doesn’t do anything to dim my happiness.

  Beck reaches over and takes my hand as Coach walks us through game tape from last season, and I’m even more keen for this season to begin than any other.

  Because Beck and I have got this.

  We’re a team.

  And we’re going to prove we’re unbeatable.

  30

  Beck

  Fuck, I love being on the ice.

  I always have.

  But this year is different.

  The shift happens during our first practice. I’ve always had this pull toward the game, and for the first time since I started playing, a future in it is not only possible but within reach.

  I might not be going pro, but there’s no doubt about it. My future involves hockey in some capacity.

  Knowing that makes the successes bigger, the losses more gut-wrenching, and that’s only in preseason.

  I’ve already got half my pl
an in place. I organized more classes with my advisor, and even though it’s going to be an insane schedule to fit it all in before I graduate, I have to take my shot. I have to try.

  The only thing I haven’t tried to do yet is tell Jacobs about it, and that’s because I’m scared he’ll think my idea is dumb. I also don’t know where this idea will lead me or what it will mean for us next year.

  We haven’t talked about a definite future, but I know he wants to be close to his family, and they’re two hours away.

  Every time I try to bring it up, I chicken out and swallow his dick instead.

  I’m not sure if he’s noticed my distraction or not, but he sure as shit isn’t complaining.

  The team gets cocky when we win the traditional pre-preseason game against the University of Vermont. In the past, that’s worked as a good-luck charm. Anytime the team has beaten UVM in that game, we’d make it to the Frozen Four.

  That is until last year, when we smashed that theory out of the water by losing the first game in terrible fashion but taking out the championships anyway.

  Jacobs and I have had a full-time job reeling in the team and telling them that just because we won, that doesn’t mean we can become complacent. Especially when we lost half our official preseason games.

  We need to work our asses off, and I’m working doubly hard with the extra classes I’ve picked up.

  Tonight’s our first official game for the season, and even though it’s a tight match and we’re down by one goal, the buzz under my skin doesn’t let me dwell on it. I may be exhausted and skating on fumes, but the craving I have for the W puts me in the right headspace. It makes me focused.

  I was secretly worried Jacobs and my animosity was the reason we worked well on the ice and that changing our dynamic off the ice would mess with that, but it’s only better.

  We’re more of a team.

  We’re more in sync.

  We have that thing that he used to have with Grant where they could sense each other and know where to send the puck instinctually.

  Everything is better when we get along, but that doesn’t stop me from taunting him. Because nothing beats that spark between us when we’re sniping at each other.

  “Hey, honey? See the net? Yeah, it would help if you shoot the puck inside of it. Outside doesn’t count, ’kay?” I smack his ass as I skate past him and get in the team box.

  “You’ll pay for that later,” he says as he takes his spot next to me.

  I’m counting on it.

  Our guys get a shot on goal, and we all jump out of our seats.

  Simms puts one through the goalie’s legs, bringing the score up to 3-3.

  I lean in close to Jacobs. “If you sink this next one, I’ll let you sink one in me later.” I wink.

  He groans. “Sometimes I hate you. I can’t be thinking about that right now.”

  “Good. Hold on to that and take it out on me after the game.”

  He snorts.

  “Only if you get this next shot.”

  “Otherwise you’ll hold out on me?”

  That would only torture both of us. So not going to do that. “Yup,” I bluff.

  And he buys it.

  New determination flashes in his eyes, and as soon as our skates hit the ice again, he’s a man on a mission.

  He sinks the puck in just over a minute.

  We crowd him with hugs, but I can’t help laughing.

  “Let’s hope it’s not that quick later,” I mutter to him.

  “It won’t be.” He leans in closer. “I’m gonna fuck you until you can’t walk.”

  My skates wobble as my knees try to fall from beneath me. That kind of promise would’ve scared me not that long ago, but now I want to call the end of the game so we can get out of here.

  When I was a kid and Baby and I would play together, I’d always try to quit while I was ahead so I could say “I win.”

  I’d really appreciate it right now if we could do that.

  We’re winning. All we have to do is run out the clock.

  But I want to go now.

  I want Jacobs’s dick inside me.

  The buzzer can’t come soon enough. And when it does and we take out the win, Jacobs and I are first in the showers and first out the doors, telling the guys we’ll meet up with them for celebratory drinks later.

  I think they all know we will not meet up with them later.

  We’re quick to get back to the dorms, faster to get out of our clothes, and before I know it Jacobs has me kneeling on the bed, bent at the waist with my hands flush up against the wall above the headboard, and he’s opening me up with his mouth and his fingers.

  “Fuck!” I cry out.

  There’s no finesse, just all tongue and spit and his thick digits pushing into me over and over again. The sensation is overwhelming.

  I don’t want him to stop, but I need more. I breathe hard. I need all of him.

  “Topher, I … Fuck …”

  “Are you ready for me?” Jacobs asks.

  “Yes, fucking, yes. Hurry up.”

  “We need lube and a condom.”

  I let out a breathy, “Screw it, no we don’t. I …”

  He hasn’t removed his fingers, and I fuck myself on them.

  “I don’t care, do it now.”

  Jacobs stops completely.

  “No! What are you doing?”

  “Are you sure?” Jacobs’s voice is quiet and uncertain. “No lube will hurt. And the condom …”

  I look at him over my shoulder. “Fine, lube yes, condom no. I want to feel all of you.”

  He still seems hesitant. “Have you ever not used one before?”

  “Never. I promise.”

  “I trust you. I haven’t either.” He reaches for the lube, and then he’s filling me again with his fingers, making sure I really am ready for him.

  I’m a shuddery mess at the first brush of my prostate.

  I can’t talk. Hell, I can hardly breathe.

  “You’re so hot like this,” he rasps. “Ready and open for me. Begging for my dick.”

  “Fuck you, I don’t beg.” I might beg. But not right now.

  “Not with words.” Jacobs’s hand runs down the middle of my back. “But with your body.”

  “I swear on all that is holy, if you don’t fuck me right now, I will hurt you.”

  He slaps my ass. “You’re forgetting I like that.”

  “I hate you,” I chant. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t. You never did.” He finally puts me out of my misery, lining up his cock.

  I feel the head at my entrance, and I crave the burn. I crave him deep inside me, turning me inside out until I can’t walk like he promised.

  He goes slowly—too slowly—and I rock back on my knees to take him deeper.

  He lets out a groan I feel all the way to my toes, and that’s nothing compared to when his cock is finally inside me.

  The guttural noises coming from both of us are animalistic.

  “Holy shit,” he whispers. “It feels … different.”

  He’s barely moved though.

  “Fuck me,” I demand.

  “Don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Yes, you do. This is your chance to take out all the frustration I’ve caused you the past three years. All the taunting. All the immaturity. All the—”

  He pulls out and slams back inside so fast, I’m not expecting it.

  “Yes,” I hiss. “Do it.”

  Jacobs does it again and again, each thrust harder than the last.

  One of his hands grips my hip while the other holds on to my shoulder to keep me in place as he fucks my hole.

  “God, you really must’ve hated me,” I grit out.

  All I can do is take it as he pushes into me over and over.

  “Too much?” he asks.

  “No. Never too much.”

  “I won’t be able to do this for long. You’re too tight. Too warm. It’s … indescrib
able.”

  “Keep going. I’ll get myself there.” I move one hand from the wall and reach for my aching cock.

  The higher we climb, the closer to the edge I get, and the more my mind fuzzes over.

  I go numb.

  When it’s him and me like this, nothing else matters. When his hands brand my skin, and he takes my body like he owns it, it becomes just the two of us.

  School doesn’t exist.

  Hockey is only a sport.

  Everything fades away except one prominent thought cutting through the din.

  I’m in love with Christopher Jacobs.

  And that wasn’t supposed to happen.

  Oops?

  Jacobs grunts.

  I love you, my mind replies. To a grunt.

  I shake it off and focus on my hand working my dick.

  Jacobs’s sweat drops onto my back, and his rhythm falters.

  I know he’s getting close.

  “Teddy, I … I …”

  The anticipation of him saying the exact words I’m thinking builds until I can’t hold back my orgasm anymore.

  “I’m coming.” I explode all over my hand and the headboard. Not to mention his pillows.

  Again, oops.

  It’s really hard to care when my prostate is being pounded to the point I almost can’t take it anymore.

  I take deep breaths and ride out my orgasm while Jacobs continues to take what he needs.

  My hand on my cock stills. It’s all too much. Too much stimulation. Too much … everything.

  Jacobs pulls out and flips me onto my back, and I know without a doubt I now have cum hair, but I don’t care.

  Jacobs lifts my legs and slams back inside me.

  “Fuck!” His hooded eyes scrunch closed, and it only takes three more thrusts before the sexiest moan falls from his mouth and warmth fills my ass.

  He rolls his hips, milking the last of what he has left.

  When he eventually pulls out and collapses on top of me, we both struggle to breathe.

  His hot mouth peppers kisses along my collarbone as he makes his way up to my mouth, while his fingers slip between my ass cheeks. He circles my hole, then slides one finger back in.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Pushing my cum back inside you.”