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

  I guess it feels exactly like this.

  “You can crash with us,” I say to Cohen. “We’ll even let you watch.”

  Jacobs elbows me.

  “I was kidding!” Sort of. I don’t want him watching, but if being with Jacobs has taught me anything, the only time I can lie next to him without wanting sex is after working on his family’s farm where my arms and body are broken.

  No other exceptions.

  Cohen glances at Grant’s brother. “Please let me stay in your room.”

  “I don’t even know you,” Seth says.

  “I really don’t feel like listening to your brother have sex, and I just spent two hours in the back seat with Beck.”

  “Hey,” I complain.

  “Feel sorry for me!”

  Seth sighs. “Fine. I wouldn’t subject anyone to Foster and Zach’s sex noises, and I don’t even need to justify the Beck thing.”

  “Hey!” I say more emphatically. I point at everyone in the group. “You see this? This is why we haven’t been close the last three years.”

  Jacobs laughs. “Sure. That’s why. Has nothing to do with your annoying personality.”

  “You pronounced delightful wrong. Also, I don’t know what all your problems are, the rest of the team loves me.”

  “That is true.” Jacobs squeezes me. “I would say something about them being dumbasses, but I’m the one who’s dating you, so what does that make me?”

  “King dumbass,” Grant says.

  “New nickname!” I hold Jacobs tighter.

  “I will kill you,” Jacobs threatens.

  “You know how getting you mad turns me on.” I lean in close to his ear. “Think we have enough time to blow each other before we head to the arena?”

  He grabs my hand. “We’re gonna go check out our room! See you all later.”

  He drags me away but not before I hear Cohen speak to Seth.

  “Seriously. Thank you. I owe you one.”

  We race upstairs to our room and dump our bags, shed our clothes, and tackle each other to the king bed.

  “First one to come wins?” I ask.

  Jacobs rolls on top of me. “Isn’t it usually fastest on the trigger loses?”

  “Yeah, but we don’t have time for that. Flip around.”

  “Fuck, I love you.”

  I grin. “Turns out there’s a fine line between love and hate, and that line is blowjobs.”

  “Duh.” Jacobs positions himself on his hands and knees, facing my feet.

  His cock hangs between his legs, hard and ready for my mouth.

  I grip it tight and guide him toward my lips, loving the sound of his moan as I lick over the head.

  But then his mouth is right there, taking me all the way to the back of his throat in a move he had mastered pretty much from the beginning.

  And after the fastest sixty-nine known to man, where I, of course, win and bow down to the blowjob king, we lie there in the hotel sheets, sweaty and breathing heavy.

  “Are you going to talk to Grant about your business plan?” Jacobs asks.

  I groan. “If that’s the first thing you ask after I blow you, I really need to up my game. I need a bit of mouth or dick worship first.”

  Jacobs runs a hand down my chest. “Your dick and mouth are both tasty.”

  I laugh.

  “But are you going to talk to Grant?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  I roll onto my side to face him. “Because it’s too soon. I need to graduate, get some coaching experience, blah, blah, blah.”

  “I still think you should talk to him about it at the after-party.” Jacobs sits up. “Come on, we need to get up and meet the guys for the game.”

  I sit up and run a hand over the back of my head. “Hockey, beer, stadium food, and an after-party with honest-to-God NHL players. This is going to be, like, the best New Year’s ever.”

  Jacobs pulls his pants on but then puts his hands on his hips. “I think you’re missing a pretty important thing on that list.”

  I cock my head. “Food, hockey, NHL players … Hmm, nope, I can’t think of anything.”

  Jacobs takes a pillow and throws it at me.

  “Oh, spending it with you? Is that what you mean?” I try to hide my amusement.

  He scowls at me.

  I stand and make my way over to him. I’m still completely naked, and I don’t miss the way his eyes rake over me.

  I cup his cheek and lean in to brush my lips over his. “Just so you know, you’re at the top of that list. I would be happy to be anywhere this New Year’s so long as you were with me.”

  I kiss him again, pouring some seriousness into it so he knows I’m not talking out my ass like I usually am.

  He groans and runs his hands down my back, gripping my ass and pulling me against him. He’s hard again.

  “Ooh, round two before we go?” I ask.

  “No time,” he grumbles. “Get dressed.”

  We get ready to go and meet the others in the lobby.

  Grant’s boyfriend is kind of hilarious in his oversized jacket, beanie, and scarf. I’m a little worried the bulky clothing is trying to swallow him whole.

  Even though it’s cold as fuck outside, we walk the five minutes to the stadium.

  Entering the arena and taking in the atmosphere is probably the first time it’s truly hit me that Grant plays for the NHL. We’ve watched his games on TV, but there’s something about a real-life game that just has that calling. It’s the same as when I’m on the ice, and it was the exact same feeling I got running drills with the high school kids over summer.

  Grant’s rookie year is off to a great start. He’s getting some serious ice time for a newb.

  The idea of helping others potentially reach Grant’s level fills me with more excitement than anything ever has before.

  I want to hold on to that feeling and make it a reality.

  And I want to do it with Jacobs.

  34

  Jacobs

  I’d thought our Frozen Four victory party last year was big, but it has nothing on an NHL win on New Year’s Eve.

  I don’t think anything could beat this.

  We hang out at the team party for a while so Grant can celebrate with his teammates, and even though he didn’t score, he got an assist in the short time he was on the ice. Beck, Cohen, and I are hanging on the outskirts, stunned to be surrounded by some of the best players in the league.

  Even if they do play for Montreal.

  It’s hard not to fanboy all over them.

  Grant makes his rounds with Zach, and it’s heartwarming to see how Grant’s big, masc, straight teammates treat them with respect, treating Zach like they would any of the other wives and girlfriends. Even still, I’m uncomfortable being affectionate with Beck in front of everyone.

  When some teammates start making their exit, Grant takes the opportunity to suggest we head downstairs away from all the noise. Zach agrees immediately, and I get the feeling he’s all peopled out.

  I’m ready to leave if it means I get to touch my boyfriend again.

  The party is on the top floor of one of the tallest hotels in Montreal, so we take the elevator down to the lobby bar. Being New Year’s, it’s still busy, but this bar is dark, and the music is low. It’s the complete opposite to the mayhem upstairs.

  A group gets up to leave as we arrive, so Seth and I grab the table as the others go to get drinks.

  There aren’t enough seats for everyone when they reach us. Grant immediately pulls Zach into his lap, and the pair of them look so loved up it’s ridiculous. Seth and Cohen chat happily across the table, and I drag my chair closer to Beck’s and sling my arm across the back of his.

  This moment is actually kind of perfect.

  “I did this,” Cohen says to Seth, pointing at us. “I started a game of gay chicken that neither of them wants to bow out of.”

  “We’re competitive fuckers.” Beck grins.

 
“Though I’m actually gay,” I point out. “So does that mean I win?”

  Beck gives me a look. It’s part-proud, part-surprised. Probably because I found a label for myself and finally said it out loud. Is it the right label? I’m still not one hundred percent sure, but it feels right in this moment.

  “Pretty sure I had just as much dick in my mouth as you did earlier,” Beck says with a smile. “That’s pretty gay.”

  Cohen chokes on his drink. “Okay, okay, you’re both the winners.”

  “What’s wrong?” I ask as Cohen’s cheeks go red. “You’ll make out with your friends, but you draw the line at blowjobs? You’re missing out.”

  “You really are,” Grant agrees, apparently finished with whatever mushy shit he was whispering in Zach’s ear.

  “You’re a bunch of assholes, and I hate you,” Cohen says into his beer.

  “Wait.” Seth leans toward me. “You’re gay? But I’ve seen you hook up with girls before. How does that work?”

  I shrug. “Hard to explain. There’s nothing wrong with women, but now I know how it’s supposed to be.”

  “Now who’s missing out?” Cohen nudges Seth. “Chicks, am I right?”

  Seth gives him a weird look, and Beck cracks up laughing. “Keep going, Cohen. We’ll believe you one day.”

  “So, Beck,” Grant says, cutting off Cohen’s reply. “I hear you’re staying another year at CU.”

  Beck turns a glare on me, and my hands shoot up. “I didn’t say a word.”

  “Then …”

  “I keep in touch with Coach Hogan. He said you’ll be helping out with the team after this season is over.”

  “I will.”

  Beck won’t be able to play next year because of NCAA rules, but when he told Coach his plans, Coach didn’t hesitate in offering him a volunteer coaching position.

  “And Zach tells me that you’re looking into some kind of training facility for kids looking to play at the collegiate level.”

  “Kids who don’t have money,” Beck says, fumbling for my hand under the table. “That part’s important to me.”

  I’m aching to kiss him stupid and show him how much that plan means to me.

  Grant laughs. “Saint Beck, eh? Looks like Jacobs has been a good influence on you.”

  “Eh.” Beck shrugs. “He’s okay.”

  “Let’s talk next year,” Grant says. “It sounds like an awesome idea, and I’ll have a few months off from the NHL to fill—”

  “What happened to spending that time with me?” Zach asks.

  Grant’s arms tighten around him. “We’ll be living together in a few months once you’ve got your master’s. You’ll be sick of me by then.”

  “I don’t know how he isn’t already,” Seth quips.

  Grant flips off his brother. “And are you in on this plan, Jacobs?”

  “I’m in on whatever Beck does.” I’ve been looking at apartments off campus for next year, and I’ve already touched base with an outpatient practice on getting some PT experience. If Beck’s idea goes ahead, we’ll stick close to Burlington because having division I colleges nearby will increase demand.

  There’s still a lot to plan. But if this year’s taught me anything, it’s that it will work out the way it’s supposed to.

  Me, Beck, and hockey.

  Beck and Grant talk out more details while Cohen and I rehash the game and Zach and Seth plan our day in Gay Village tomorrow. The energy around the table is high, and I’m so full of love for these guys—even Zach and Seth—that I don’t want the night to end.

  Midnight creeps closer, promising a new year and new things for Beck and me to face together.

  We’re going to New York in a few days to visit his parents. Then we’ll stop by the farm on the way back to school to see mine.

  Beck will be busier than ever the next few semesters at school, even with the lighter course load.

  The Frozen Four is coming up fast.

  And even though those things could fill me with anxiety, I’m ready for it.

  We start the countdown to midnight, and I grab Beck to pull him into my lap. His blue eyes are bright, his cheeks flushed with the alcohol we’ve been drinking, and I swear he’s never looked so beautiful.

  “Three … two … one …” he whispers.

  His mouth closes over mine, and I push every promise I can give him into the kiss. I love him so much it physically hurts sometimes, and together, we’re going to make this year our bitch.

  Because no matter what it throws at us, I know one thing for certain.

  I’ve already won.

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading Face Offs & Cheap Shots.

  Goal Lines & First Times (Cohen and Seth’s book) is up next. Coming February 10, 2021. Get it here: https://geni.us/OTzkA

  Jacobs and Beck started speaking to Eden and Saxon not long after they finished writing Power Plays & Straight A’s.

  The authors are enjoying collaborating, and more from the CU Hockey universe is coming soon.

  If you’d like to keep up to date with either author, here’s where you can find them:

  Saxon’s Facebook Group:

  www.facebook.com/groups/saxonssweethearts/

  Eden’s Facebook Group:

  www.facebook.com/groups/absolutelyeden/

  Alternatively, you can subscribe to our newsletters here:

  Saxon: www.subscribepage.com/saxonjames

  Eden: http://eepurl.com/bS1OFH

  About Saxon James

  Follow Saxon James on any of the platforms below.

  www.facebook.com/thesaxonjames/

  www.amazon.com/Saxon-James/e/B082TP7BR7

  www.bookbub.com/profile/saxon-james

  www.instagram.com/saxonjameswrites/

  OTHER BOOKS BY SAXON JAMES

  NEVER JUST FRIENDS SERIES

  Just Friends

  LOVE’S A GAMBLE SERIES

  Bet on Me

  Calling Your Bluff

  And if you’re after something a little sweeter, don’t forget my YA pen name

  S. M. James.

  These books are chock full of adorable, flawed characters with big hearts.

  www.amazon.com/S-M-James/e/B07DVH3TZQ

  About Eden Finley

  You can follow Eden on any of the following platforms:

  https://www.facebook.com/EdenFinleyAuthor/

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/absolutelyeden/

  https://amzn.to/2zUlM16

  https://www.edenfinley.com

  OTHER BOOKS BY EDEN FINLEY

  FAMOUS SERIES

  Pop Star

  Spotlight

  Novellas:

  Locked Heart

  FAKE BOYFRIEND SERIES

  Fake Out

  Trick Play

  Deke

  Blindsided

  Hat Trick

  Novellas:

  Fake Boyfriend Breakaways: A short story collection

  Final Play

  STEELE BROTHERS

  Unwritten Law

  Unspoken Vow

  ROYAL OBLIGATION

  Unprincely (M/M/F)

 

 

  Eden Finley, Face Offs & Cheap Shots (CU Hockey Book 2)

 

 

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