Page 34 of Game Misconduct

Leif nodded and skated toward the boards where an empty bucket waited, feeling a little chastised.

Maybe Anders hadn’t thought that Leif wasn’t making enough of an effort. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t still true.

This was the trouble Leif had wherever he went. He worked hard at his hockey skills. But he would never get along with people the way Tanner did.

Unbidden, the memory of Tanner underneath him last night popped into his head and his cheeks felt a little warm as he helped Anders collect pucks. Well, that wasoneway to get to know people better at the tournament.

Not that Leif planned to get to know his teammates—or Tanner—that way, again, but he could certainly participate in the arranged activities. He’d had a decent time at the get-together for queer players last night and he’d do his level best to get to know the guys on his team for the next ten days. Tonight’s dinner would be a good start.

And at least he wouldn’t have Tanner there as a distraction.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tanner hummed to himself on the elevator ride up to his hotel room that evening.

He’d had a blast with practice and scrimmages today, then gone to Dustin Fowler’s house for a pool party he and his adorable husband, Charlie Monaghan, had hosted.

They had thesickesthouse, with an indoor pool on the lower level that overlooked a yard with a small ice-skating rink.

Tanner had asked Dustin if he practiced on it and Dustin had laughed and said that it was mostly Charlie’s, although they went out there together as often as they could when Dustin was home. Since Charlie was a former Olympic medalist figure skater, that made sense.

So for several hours, Tanner had enjoyed the gorgeous pool, the great food, and hanging out with his fellow Team USA teammates.

Charlie was at least as much of a flirt as Tanner was, and he had found himdelightful. Charlie was sort of … sparkly in every wayand Tanner’d had a blast lobbing flirty comments back and forth as quickly as the guys playing table tennis nearby.

Thankfully, Dustin had found it very funny.

Tanner’s mood was high now as he stepped off the hotel elevator and into the hall on his floor. Tanner patted his pockets, momentarily panicked when he couldn’t find a key card, then remembered he’d stuck them in his wallet for safekeeping.

He dugthatout of his backpack, which he’d nearly left at Dustin and Charlie’s, but Charlie had come trotting up in his super tall heels to hand it over just before the rideshare pulled away.

As Tanner pulled out his card, he suddenly remembered that he still had Leif’s key in his wallet too. He should probably drop it off while he was thinking about it or he’d forget that too. It was pretty late, so Leif should be back from whatever the Nordic team captains had organized.

Tanner walked over to Leif’s room and rapped on the door. He waited for a few moments, expecting to hear an annoyed huff and the sound of Leif stomping toward the door.

But there was no answer.

Unlike last night, he couldn’t hear anyone moving around inside at all.

Curious, Tanner tapped the card against the reader. The little green lights lit up and a split second later, the door unlocked.

Huh, so hehadstolen Leif’s card last night.Oops.

“Dude, you good? I’m coming in to return your key card!” Tanner warned as he twisted the handle and pushed the door open. But no one answered and the room was empty when hestepped inside. Dark too, so he flipped on the light switch by the door.

He’d planned to just set the card on the dresser and leave, but it hit him that maybe this was the perfect opportunity to get to know Leif a little better. He was the complete opposite of an open book. He was a book that was locked in a trunk with chains around it that had been dropped into the ocean.

Not that Tanner was planning to snoop or anything. He just wanted to see the way Leif lived when he was on the road.

So Tanner wandered around Leif’s room for a moment, laughing to himself that literally everything was neat and perfect. “Nerd,” he whispered.

The bed was made—which okay, maybe that was housekeeping’s work, but he’d bet Leif made his own bed every morning at home too—and absolutely nothing was out of place.

Tanner peeked into the closet to see all of Leif’s clothes hanging neatly, his shoes lined up on the floor and his suitcase tucked in one corner. A quick glance at the drawers showed he’d unpacked everything too. Meanwhile, Tanner was living out of his suitcase, just pulling shit out as he needed it.

He clicked on the light beside the bed and laughed that the few items on Leif’s nightstands and desk were lined up like little soldiers. When Tanner wandered into the bathroom, even that was spotless. Unlike in Tanner’s room, none of his toiletries were spread out on the counter or spilling into the sink.

“Oh my God,” Tanner muttered to himself as he turned out the light and stepped out of the bathroom. “How does he live like this?”