Page 87 of Cheap Shot

“I like themfinealongside a sandwich,” Sebastian protested. “Just not as a flavoring on everything. There was a place near where I lived in New York that had dill pickle pizza and the thought made me want to hurl.”

“You probably wouldn’t be a fan of my pre-game peanut butter and pickle sandwiches then.”

Sebastian’s stomach actually lurched at the thought. “Nope. Sounds disgusting.”

“You’ve tasted worse.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to argue, then realized what Crawford was referring to and sighed. What an asshole.

“Thanks for the beer,” he said after he’d taken a sip. “This is good.”

“Sure.” Crawford turned up the volume on the TV a little and they watched the pre-game show in silence for a few minutes.

This wasweird, Sebastian decided.

Crawford had acted pissed when he’d been here the last time, then totally ignored Sebastian’s texts after. Sebastian might be able to chalk that up to him being in pain, but he’d glared the second he saw Sebastian at the children’s hospital. So what had happened between then and now?

“So, you were bored and decided to invite me over, huh?” Sebastian asked, figuring he might as well just go for it and see if he got a straight answer. “I thought you hated the idea of me being here.”

Crawford glanced over. “I didn’t hate youbeinghere. I just don’t invite a lot of people over to my house.”

“Why?”

“I dunno. They’re usually loud and stress me out. My home’s just the way I like it. I don’t like a bunch of people making it feel like it’s not mine.”

“Huh,” Sebastian said.

But somehow, the guy who relentlessly chirped him at games was fine, apparently. Where was the logic there?

“Besides,” Crawford added. “Theydon’t suck my dick.”

Sebastian laughed. “There’s that.”

“Could be the weed too. I made some brownies earlier. The fun kind.”

Sebastian gaped at him. “Seriously?”

He grinned. “Yeah? You want one?”

“Uhh, sure,” Sebastian said, both confused and surprised by the offer. He set down the beer. He’d only finished maybe a third of it. “Well, if I can leave my car here. I would have taken a rideshare if I’d known …”

“They’re not super strong,” Crawford said, rising to his feet. “But yeah, you should be good to leave it parked on the street overnight if you’re that worried. We’re not supposed to get any snow.”

“Whatyoucan handle and whatIcan handle might be different,” Sebastian pointed out, gesturing to the differences in their body type.

“Maybe. Although I usually only do this during the off-season. So, it’s been a while. I really didn’t make itthatstrong but it does depend on how often you partake.”

“Huh,” Sebastian said as Crawford disappeared through the door into the kitchen.

He returned a moment later with a brownie on a plate. He handed it over, along with a folded piece of paper towel.

“They’re good,” Sebastian said, after he’d taken a bite. “You are just full of surprises today.”

Crawford just grunted and turned his attention to the TV again.

Sebastian finished the brownie, wiped his fingers, then settled back to watch.

He’d seen some of the tournament games so far, although some were shown too early in the day for him to catch, because the league was trying to draw in the European markets. Since the Nordic team and Central European team were playing in the semi-finals today, along with Canada and the US, that made sense.