Page 47 of Game Misconduct

He’d just dragged his tongue along the length of Tanner’s shaft when he heard a knock on the door.

He froze, heart jack-rabbiting under his ribs. Fuck! Who was it? One of his teammates? A coach? Jesus this was bad. This was really fucking bad.

“Go answer it,” Tanner hissed.

“Should I?” Leif whispered. “I don’t know. Maybe they’ll go away?”

After a few agonizing seconds, the knock came again. It was fairly quiet and very polite so Leif reconsidered the idea of who might be on the other side. Maybe not one of his teammates then. More likely a coach. Anders, maybe?

Though Leif couldn’t imagine why he’d knock on his door at this hour. Maybe hotel staff? Yeah, that was probably it.

Tanner kneed him in the ribs. “Go!” he mouthed.

“Fuck!” Leif raked his damp hair off his forehead. “Don’t youdaremove or make a noise!”

“I’ll be so good,” Tanner promised, holding up his hands, palms out.

Leif snorted quietly. He’d believe that when he saw it. Tanner had never been good a single day in his life.

Leif scrambled off the bed and called out, “Coming!”

He grabbed for the first piece of clothing he could find, grimaced when he realized they were Tanner’s ratty pajama pants, then threw them on anyway. He and Tanner were close enough in size and whether it was someone from the hotel or one of his teammates or coaches, they wouldn’t know who they belonged to.

How could they?

He hurried over to the door, unlatched it, then opened it a crack.

“Uh, hi, Dad,” Leif said, a wave of dizziness washing through him. Oh fuck, he’d never even considered his dad. Why? Why of all people did it have to behim?

Aksel smiled. “Hi. Sorry. Did I disturb you?”

“No. No! Why would you have? I’m not doing anything,” Leif said. “I mean, what would I even be doing when I’m here alone in my room?”

“Right.” Aksel lifted an eyebrow. “I meant did I disturb your shower? Your hair is wet …”

“No! No, I’d already gotten off, I mean, um, gotten out. Of the shower.” Leif silently prayed for the end of the world. A giant meteor like the one that hit the Earth and wiped out thedinosaurs. A 9.5 earthquake. Cataclysmic nuclear Armageddon. Was that really too much to ask for right now?

His dad eyeballed him.

Oh shit, what if he’d seen the pajama pants before? What if he’d seen them on Tanner? Not that his father was probably ever in his players’ rooms, because that would be inappropriate, but Tanner was the kind of guy who’d run all over the hotel in them and maybe they’d met in the hallway or the lobby at some point or something.

Oh fuck, this was bad. This was so fucking bad.

Aksel cleared his throat. “Right. So, uh, sorry to intrude, but I just wanted to make sure you remembered your mother’s birthday is coming up. It’s kind of a big milestone. I know in the past she was really uncomfortable with the idea of turning fifty. Hopefully she’s feeling better about it now but I just wanted to make sure you remembered it was coming up.”

“When have I ever forgotten mom’s birthday?” Leif protested.

“You haven’t. You’re very conscientious. I just wanted to be sure since you’re so busy with the tournament and this year is a bigger deal than usual. That’s all.”

“Oh, well, uh, thanks,” Leif said. “I appreciate the reminder. It’s Friday, right?”

“No, Thursday.”

“Fuck! Right. Got it. I’ll get some flowers ordered and uh, call. And then figure out something else that’s special for her.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

A giant crash echoed through the room and Leif jumped.