Page 62 of Over the Line

“That’s all right.” His own smile seemed about as fake as mine felt. “Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Have a good night.”

He left, and the bartender returned with my credit card. After I’d signed the receipt, I glanced around the bar one more time. My teammates were still carrying on at their table, and had in fact drawn a small crowd of young women who were definitely flirting with them. The man who’d offered to buy me a drink—I couldn’t see him now, but he was probably here somewhere.

I had a momentary impulse to look for him and rescind my rejection, but… no. I wasn’t in the mood for it tonight. I was horny as hell and wanted to get laid, but not here. Not like this.

Not with him.

All the way back to the hotel, I argued with myself about it, and I paused twice as I weighed going back.

Ultimately, though, I made it back to my room. I was too restless to lounge around, so I stripped everything off and got in the shower, hoping that would clear my damn head. It would give me something to do for a few minutes, anyway.

God, I wished I wasn’t here alone. That guy in the bar—he and I could’ve been in bed by now. I could’ve been sucking his dick right the hell now. He could’ve been sucking mine. Especially since I was quickly getting hard as I stood under the hot water.

Oh, yeah, he could’ve been blowing me right here in this shower, but I didn’t want his mouth on me. I wanted Garrett’s. I wanted him kneeling at my feet, lips stretched tight around my cock as he licked and teased me right to the edge. Fuck, just thinking about that had my spine tingling. I braced an arm against the cold tile wall and started stroking myself, and my mind was immediately full of Garrett. Of that kiss in my kitchen devolving into one of us—either of us—going to the floor and sucking the other off. I didn’t even know what turned me on more—the thought of sliding between his gorgeous lips, or taking him in my mouth while he moaned and swore and growled my name.

“Jesus Christ,” I whispered over the shower noise, pumping myself furiously as I simultaneously tried to draw this out and get to my orgasm as fast as possible. I needed the release so bad it was almost painful, but I also wanted to enjoy these fantasies. These impossible fantasies of that talented mouth working my dick like his life depended on it. Of bending him over something—anything—and pounding into him until we both absolutely lost it. Of Garrett crying out with his release as⁠—

“Fuuuck!” I ground out, and I almost lost my footing as my hips jerked with the force of my orgasm. My thoughts were gone for a few blissful seconds, and nothing existed except ecstasy and relief.

Then I slumped against the wall, the shower still beating on my back as I trembled and tried to catch my breath.

That was when another fantasy crept in. One that involved us collapsing into bed together after the orgasms. The warmth of his body against mine. The softness of his fingertips on my skin. The long conversations about anything, everything, and nothing.

I closed my eyes and swallowed a sudden surge of emotion.

I wanted that so bad. All of it. The sex, the orgasms, the closeness afterward.

And fuck me, but I wanted it all with Garrett.

CHAPTER 17

GARRETT

Cheating on their mom had been a huge catalyst for the rift between my kids and me, but it hadn’t been the only one. My cowardice when it came to difficult conversations had played no small part the building disaster that had been my marriage and my kids being miserable throughout their youth, not to mention the struggle to reconnect with them. It had only been after I’d finally manned up and pushed past that cowardice that I’d been able to reconcile with three out of four.

These days, I was trying to do better, and tonight was going to be no exception. Chris had returned from the team’s brief road trip, and we had a little time before he had to leave for the game. I was going to man up and push past that cowardice. I wasn’t ready to tell Chris that I’d very briefly had a faint flicker of hope of something with Liam St. Clair, but that was fine. This conversation was about being open and honest with my son again. Fewer secrets. A step in the right direction.

“So.” Chris studied me as we sat on opposite ends of his couch. “You wanted to talk about something?”

I sipped the Coke he’d given me. “Yeah. It’s nothing bad—nothing you need to worry about. Just… something I wanted to be honest about.”

“Oh… kay.” His guard was up. Not that I could blame him.

And the best way past it was to lay down my cards so he knew what the hell this was about.

“Listen, um…” I stared down at my wringing hands because I was a coward. “Now that we’re in the same city… I, uh…” I swallowed, then forced myself to meet Chris’s gaze. “Well, I think I mentioned before that I’m thinking about dating again?”

Chris tensed, then relaxed. “Oh. Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “Like I said, I’m kind of surprised you haven’t. You know, since the divorce.”

“I have,” I admitted. “Nothing that’s really gone anywhere, but I’ve dipped my toes into the dating pool.”

He nodded slowly, some of the uncertainty creeping back in.

I went on. “The thing is, I wanted to give you a heads-up now…” I pushed my shoulders back and pretended my heart wasn’t going ninety miles an hour. “I don’t only date women.”

His eyebrows climbed. “You—so you’re bi?”