Page 85 of Cheap Shot

A corner of his apartment held a turntable and a shit ton of vintage records. One of his favorite things to do after work was to stretch out on the vintage Eames chair and ottoman he’d snagged from an estate sale a few years back, put on some music, close his eyes, and just let the sound wash over him.

He did that now, picking out something mellow and putting it on the turntable.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as he got comfortable on the chair and he ignored it for a moment as he lay back, closing his eyes and sinking into the sound.

Sometimes he smoked a little weed or ate an edible while he listened, and he was just contemplating if it was worth getting up and pulling out the locked box where he kept it on the shelf—safe from Harper’s curious fingers, of course—when his phone buzzed again.

He groaned and opened his eyes, checking to be sure it wasn’t anything urgent, like an emergency message from Brie about Harper. He was less worried about his employees. He knew they could handle themselves and if they really needed him, they’d come upstairs and pound on his door.

Thankfully, it was none of those things. Merely the hookup app, notifying him he had two new messages.

He half-considered not answering but a part of him was curious to see if they were from Crawford. Sebastian doubted they were but maybe his cock stirred a little at the thought anyway.

To his surprise, the messages were indeed from Crawford.

The first one said,Fuck I’m bored today.And then the second.You wanna give me your phone number? Sick of messaging on this stupid app.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, then typed out his number.

A moment later, his phone buzzed with a text message.It’s Crawford.

No shit?Sebastian fired back. He added the number as a contact, but labeled itAsshole. He wondered how Crawford had labeledhisnumber.

Fuck off. You want to come over?Crawford sent.

I don’t wonder you’re single. Youreallydon’t know how to charm a guy.

Hey, we both know what this is, right?

Yeah, we do,Sebastian agreed.Fine. When?

Now? Whenever, really. Not doing anything today. I was thinking about watching the Nordic vs. USA game later. I dunno if you can leave work but I thought you might want to check it out too.

Oh, the North Atlantic Tournament?Sebastian asked, surprised by the invite. Hadn’t Crawford just said that they knew what this was? To Sebastian’s mind, that meant sex and nothing more. He and Crawford didn’t usually hang out and watch hockey. Then again, there were Crawford’s regular trips to the penalty box during games …

Where was the harm in a bit of hockey on TV before or maybe after a blowjob?

Sebastian’s phone buzzed with an answer from Crawford.Yeah. Tanner’s playing for Team USA. I wanna make fun of him when he gets back for all the shit he fucks up.

Sebastian laughed.Hmm, yeah, that could be entertaining. I know Leif Rasmussen’s playing for the Nordic team. Should be a good matchup. Those two are always going at it on the ice.

Fuck. Rasmussen’s such a prick out there.

Takes one to know one,Sebastian shot back.

You coming over or not?

Yeah. When’s puck drop?he asked, getting up and lifting the needle from the record.

Just get your ass over here.

With a huff, Sebastian stood and tucked his phone in his pocket.Whywas he sleeping with such an asshole again? Oh right, he had a nice dick.

And, sometimes, he made Sebastian laugh.

Sebastian hadn’t gotten around to having lunch today, so he heated up a container of lentil stew and tossed in some wilting spinach that he’d optimistically—or maybe foolishly—planned to make into salads to eat. He wolfed down the halfway-decent concoction, eating out of the pan as he stood in in his kitchen, wincing as he imagined the look Brie would give him if she saw …

Okay, maybe after hockey and a blowjob with Crawford, he’d go out for dinner. Find a fun new restaurant and have a sit-down meal. Maybe he’d find a gay bar after and see about meeting people too.