Page 54 of Tough Call

“I tried, but…” He met my gaze, his expression a little sheepish with a hint of something spicier around the edges. “Couldn’t really sleep when I was thinking about everything I wanted to do once I got here.” He huffed and rolled his eyes. “So of course now I’m too tired to do those things.”

Laughing, I cupped his face, drew him in, and kissed his forehead. “We have nothing but time. Sleep now. We’ll catch up on everything else.”

“Okay.” He tugged at his shirt and made a face. “First things first, I desperately need a shower.”

“Well, lucky for you,” I said, gesturing grandly toward the bathroom door, “I got us a hotel room that includes one.”

He snorted. “Ooh, really springing for something high-end, eh?”

“Nothing but the best.”

He just laughed, pushed himself up, and dusted a quick kiss across my lips. “I want to do more than that, but…” He grimaced. “At least let me brush my teeth first.”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

He flashed me a smile. Then, after we’d arranged his suitcases by the wall, he dug out his toiletry kit and a change of clothes. As he disappeared into the bathroom, I debated joining him, but didn’t. The shower was very small, and anyway, I didn’t want him to feel pressure. If I got in there naked with him, I’d be hard. I wouldn’t want to keep my hands off him. As much as I wanted us to start making up for all the time we’d been apart, I wasn’t about to push him. And having made those long flights across oceans and multiple time zones before, I knew exactly how gross and miserable he was feeling. Sex was probably the last thing on his mind.

We’d get there.

Lying back on the bed we’d be sharing tonight, I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. Oh, we’d definitely get there. I didn’t even know where I wanted to start. If I wanted to make out while we jerked each other off. Maybe blow him until he came so hard he cried. Fuck him into the mattress. Have him fuck me into the mattress.

I shivered, squirming on the broad bed. So much to do. So much time. All with the man currently showering on the other side of this wall.

My phone pinged, jarring me out of my daydream. My first thought was that it was Connor, except—well, it obviously wasn’t.

When I looked at the screen—my agent.

Kirils

Hey Mads, Genève is working on their extension offer. Zurich is interested in you too. Any thoughts?

I pursed my lips as I stared at the message. Zurich was a solid team. They’d been contenders in the postseason for most of a decade, and one of my old teammates from Genève played for them. I needed to text him and ask him his thoughts before I signed anything, but for the moment…

Zurich is a good team. What about Lausanne?

I don’t know if they have the budget for you. Not after they re-signed their whole top six.

I’d take a pay cut to play for them.

I’ll keep that in mind, but we’re not going to lead with it.

Understood.

No noise from Vancouver?

Nothing. They’re all focused on the draft and re-signing right now. When free agency starts, I’ll keep you posted.

But, Mads, we have to be realistic about this.

My heart sank, and I sighed. I knew that. I did. But every reminder that I was losing hope of ever playing in the NAL again—it sucked, what could I say?

Thanks.

Maybe in a couple of years.

Maybe.

I wasn’t sure how non-committal that was. Kirils wasn’t one to blow smoke up my ass, and he could also be a pessimist in the name of not getting anyone’s hopes up. But I also didn’t imagine there was much happening here that could get my hopes up. The best I could hope for was to re-sign with Genève or get signed to another Swiss team. Some of the other European leagues might be interested in me, too, and I wasn’t opposed to playing for them.