Page 62 of Cheap Shot

He had to grit his teeth through the pain as he got his clothes on and was grateful when Sebastian disappeared to put away their dishes, like he knew Luke didn’t want him staring as he moved as slowly and awkwardly as a ninety-year-old man with arthritis.

By the time Luke was upright and dressed with shoes on, he was sweating and the throb of pain in his hamstring made him want to puke his burrito right back up.

Sebastian threw on a coat and slid on his shoes, then nodded toward the door. “You head down. I’ll lock up behind you.”

Luke wasreallysweating by the time he made it to the first floor, and he had to hold on to the wall and gulp down air. Fuck, this was bad. He’d really fucking irritated the injury tonight.

Probably shouldn’t have come over.Definitelyshouldn’t have gone balls to the wall fucking Sebastian.

Christ, it had been good though. It had been a long time since he’d fucked anyone that thoroughly. Or come as hard. How he was going to explain it to the trainers tomorrow though … that was a problem for another time.

Sebastian appeared a moment later and Luke managed to make it out to his car, then tossed over the keys to Sebastian. Getting in the car was a bitch and a half, but he did it, leaning his head against the cool glass of the passenger window as the shaky, stomach-churning pain finally settled.

Despite what Sebastian had said earlier, Luke was surprised when he started the car and pulled away from the curb without any grinding of gears or lurching. He drove carefully too. Not granny-slow but careful yet confident as he took corners and changed lanes.

Huh. He was actually a pretty damn good driver.

Luke directed Sebastian to his house, the antsy uneasiness of having someone knowing where he lived creeping over him as they got closer. Not that he really thought Sebastian was going todoanything with that info, but he still hated it.

Still hated that he’d been backed into a corner this way.

By the time they pulled up into the small alley behind Luke’s house and into the tiny single-car garage, the pain was better but the dizziness from the Toradol was hitting hard. Luke had to hold on to the car after he got out, his head swimming. He groaned under his breath as he thought about the trek through the backyard to his house.

God fucking damn it. There was no way in hell he’d make it alone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sebastian looked up from his phone after Crawford let out a small groan.

He didn’t look good. He had a grim, gray look to his face, even in the sickly yellow light of the single bulb in the ceiling of the old garage. Crawford didn’t reply after Sebastian lifted his eyebrows. He didn’t say anything either, his gaze quickly sliding away from Sebastian’s when their eyes met.

“You get your ride lined up?” he asked gruffly.

“Yeah.” Sebastian tucked his phone in his pocket, his breath steaming in the cold. “It’ll be about twenty-five minutes. Just trying to figure out how to get to the front of the house.”

“We can cut through the yard,” Crawford said. “It’s gonna be a bitch of a walk though. Snow’s been melting and re-freezing and it’s probably icy.”

Sebastian nodded. Shit, if Crawford got injured worse, he was going to feel terrible. During the game he’d thought that he didn’t care if Crawford got injured on the ice. And he still feltthat way. With the way Crawford played, he deserved whatever he got.

But the fact that he’d clearly donefurtherdamage during their hookup? Yeah, that didn’t sit well with Sebastian.

“You sure we shouldn’t just take the long way around on the sidewalk?”

“Trouble is, it’s a lot longer and it melts and refreezes too,” Luke said gruffly. “There’s a bit of a hill and water runs down onto the sidewalk for a good long stretch …”

Sebastian nodded. Okay, so somehow, they had to make it through the icy backyard with Crawford injured and probably unwilling to accept help. Sure. What could possibly go wrong?

“Okay,” Sebastian said with a sigh. “Let’s do this.”

There was a small path from the garage that led to a fenced-in backyard.

Sebastian chewed his lip as he carefully followed Crawford across the slippery ground. It was worse once they were through the gate and in the yard. The packed snow that Crawford had clearly trodden down on multiple trips back and forth had turned into a sheet of ice.

And although the slope was fairly gentle from the house to where they stood, they’d be going uphill on a slippery surface. In the dark. While Crawford was injured.

But what worried Sebastian most was the way he swayed as he stood there surveying the path ahead of them. Was it the pain? The medication he’d taken?

Sebastian had no idea and he didn’t think Crawford was likely to tell him. And if Sebastian pointed out that he needed help, he’d probably just lash out and do something stupid and macho.