Page 141 of Cheap Shot

Sebastian chuckled. “Youarea cactus. All prickly on the outside.”

“Yeah,” Luke agreed, because fuck, he couldn’t argue with that one.

“Are we doing this then?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah,” Luke said and he was surprised by how thick his voice was. “I think we are.”

Sebastian was silent, and for a few moments they just sat there with only the sound of their breaths between them.

“You know, life’s a real bitch,” Luke said with a huff as he lay back, tucking his hand under his head and staring at the ceiling. The bed suddenly felt a little too big. A little too empty on the other side.

“How’s that?”

“Right now’s one time I’d really like to have you around.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” It sounded like Sebastian was smiling.

Luke smiled too. “You fuckin’ should, Flower Boy.”

Sebastian smiled at the sound of heavy feet on the steps leading up to his apartment.

Luke was back.

The team had gotten home from their western road trip late last night and Luke had needed to do some stuff around the house after practice today.

But he was here at Sebastian’s place now and Sebastian had even managed to throw together a halfway decent dinner for the two of them.

Okay, so it mostly consisted of tossing some things in his slow cooker and rice cooker, but he wastrying. He’d even made sure it fit pretty well with Luke’s nutrition plan. Because apparently, he was dating a pro hockey player now.

Sebastian took off his headphones and idly wondered what his teenage self would think ofthat.

The door opened to reveal Luke, who carried a plastic bag in one hand.

Sebastian sat up, intending to stand, but Luke strode over, dropped the bag in his lap, then bent over to give him a slow, lingering kiss.

Sebastian let out a sigh of disappointment when Luke pulled away. The man was a damn good kisser.

“I could have gotten up, you know,” Sebastian pointed out with a smile as he stared up at him.

“Nah, you look comfortable. It’s nice to see you relax.”

Sebastian stretched out again and Luke took a seat on the ottoman, lifting Sebastian’s legs to rest in his lap.

“How was the flight home?” Sebastian asked, because they’d both been too busy today to catch up much.

“Not too bad. Some turbulence from the storms but we didn’t run into any major issues.”

In the past month, Boston had gone from bitter cold to heavy snow, then to drenching rain and thunderstorms. All the snow had melted and everything was gray and soggy. It wasn’t Sebastian’s favorite time of year.

“Glad to hear it,” Sebastian said.

Luke nodded at the bag in Sebastian’s lap. “Open it.”

Amused, Sebastian glanced down. “Okay.”

Although it wasn’t prettily wrapped, Sebastian’s smile widened as he pulled out bags of treats. “You bought me candy?”

“Yeah. Hope you have a sweet tooth.”