Page 35 of Tough Call

“I’m…” He quirked his lips. “I’m not, but—I mean, it’s not like I’m repulsed by them, you know? And I was kind of curious what it would be like with a woman. It was his first time with a man, my first time with a woman, and everybody had a good time.”

“And you enjoyed it?”

Madars nodded. “Oh, yeah. Like I don’t think I’ll ever hook up with a woman again, but it was fun that one time.” He laughed almost soundlessly as he brought up his drink again. “I don’t think it’ll be their last threesome.”

Grinning, I asked, “Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. He was seriously into it. He said afterward he had no more doubts—he was definitely bi. And she loved watching us, having two guys get her off—all of it.”

“So, no regrets.”

He laughed softly and shook his head. “No regrets.”

“Was that your only little encounter at the Olympics?”

It wasn’t, and after our dinner came, he regaled me with his spicy adventures in Olympic villages. There was a twinge of jealousy and possessiveness, but I was mostly intrigued. And… maybe a bit turned on. Because the boy I’d been infatuated with had grown into a man who was self-assured, sexy, and open-minded. He liked to try new things. Approached sex like some people approached food—“I’ve never thought of trying that, but maybe I’ll like it, so why not?”

By the time we were down to our desserts, I was seriously wishing we could disappear back to my hotel and burn up the sheets.

Not tonight, though. We were both worn out from the Games. Plus we’d just eaten, and we’d each had a couple of glasses of wine. We weren’t drunk, but I wasn’t a big fan of tipsy sex unless I’d been with someone for a while.

“We’re still on for after the Games, right?” he asked as he gazed at me over our empty plates. “Last night in town?”

I fought the urge to fidget in my chair. “We’re definitely on.”

Fuck me, the heat in this man’s eyes…

Was I sure we couldn’t do anything tonight?

I did fidget then, and a few muscles protested. Oh, right. I’d been skating a lot this week. Officiating two games per day was ridiculous. I was lucky I could walk, and if I was going to sleep with Madars again, I wanted to be able to do more than just lie there. He’d been doing practices, workouts, and a game a day, too, so… yeah. We wouldn’t push it.

But I suspected I’d be rubbing one out in the shower again because Jesus, I wanted him.

Madars fidgeted too, and he swallowed, turning his glass between his fingers. The crevices between his eyebrows deepened with an unspoken thought.

I studied him, wondering if I should ask what was on his mind or let him say it.

Before I came to a decision, he blurted out, “Let’s go somewhere this summer.”

I blinked. “Go some—like, together?” I cringed. “I mean, obviously, but—where did you have in mind?”

Madars shook his head. “I don’t know. Anywhere. I can come see you in Canada. You can come to Genève. Or we can…” He gestured like something flying away. “Anywhere.” If he said anything after that, I missed it because when he brought his hand down, it landed gently on my forearm.

Swallowing hard, I gazed at his hand. Then I met his eyes. “You… want us to spend the summer together.” It was less of a question and more of a statement. A need to say it out loud and see if it was real.

From the shy smile curving his lips—oh God, it was real.

My mouth had suddenly gone dry, so I grabbed my water and took a quick sip. After I put the glass down, I decided to go for broke, and I put my hand over his. The warmth of his skin beneath my palm made my heart race. The way his fingers twitched and the corners of his mouth rose—fuck, could we start our vacation right now?

I held on to my dignity, though, and I cleared my throat. “I’d love to. And there are a lot of places we could go.”

His lips quirked in a way that had no business being that cute. “Well, I sometimes go to Spain for a few weeks. One of my teammates has a house there. I rent a villa nearby and spend part of the summer there.”

I cocked a brow. “Don’t you have to stay in condition during the off season?”

Madars laughed, squeezing my arm. “I do. There’s a rink near where we stay. We always get ice time.”

“Oh. So I should bring my skates?”