Page 14 of Offensive Edge
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
Felix drained his coffee cup and poured a second, taking the black coffee back to Rowan’s room. Sharing a fucking coffee mug bothered Theo more than them sharing a bed, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.
Theo tossed his smoothie cup in the sink and grabbed a pan for eggs. He was eating at the breakfast bar and scrolling on his phone when Rowan and Felix emerged from Rowan’s room. Felix was fully clothed, duffel over his shoulder. Rowan walked him to the front door, and Felix hugged him like he would never see him again.
Okay.
Theo dropped his gaze when Rowan headed into the kitchen. He was going to leave it alone. He really was. He wanted to. Unfortunately, Theo was not the kind of person who could leave anything alone. Rowan pulled some bread out of the pantry with a little smile on his face, and Theo snapped.
“You shouldn’t bring guys from other teams here.”
Rowan looked confused. “This isn’t international politics. Felix is my friend.”
“Sure.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what you think it means. It means maybe don’t fuck guys on different teams is what it means.”
“Felix and I don’t fuck,” Rowan said. He said it with such absolute certainty that it threw Theo.
“Clearly you do.”
“You only think we do because the only time you pay attention to me is to collect a million little reasons it still makes sense to hate me.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“You look like you’re ready to push me off a cliff at any moment.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Theo grumbled.
“Is this because you’re jealous of Felix?” Rowan asked.
“It’s about how I’m fucking sick of the entire world being the Rowan Foley Show,” Theo hissed. The attention Rowan always got wherever he went was the least of Theo’s annoyances, but the real reason he was upset was harder to articulate. The buzz of anger once again was easier to carry with him than the weight of hurt, embarrassment, rejection.
“Whoa, whoa, boys, what is going on here?” Vic asked, walking into the kitchen from the garage. Theo had forgotten he was even gone.
“The stick up Theo’s ass is acting up,” Rowan said. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, holding himself tightly.
“What’s your problem, dude?” Vic said, exasperated. Theo felt like he was in the principal’s office. He probably shouldn’t do this in front of his captain.
“I’m sorry,” Theo grumbled, more for Vic than for Rowan.
“Neat,” Rowan said as he left the kitchen to go back to his room.
“You need to figure your shit out,” Vic said. “Do I need to put you two in the Get Along shirt?”
Theo imagined being crammed into one t-shirt with Rowan. Hell. “No.”
“Alright. Get your stuff ready. We have to head to the airport soon. And you’re driving yourself.”
CHAPTER10
ROWAN
This many yearsinto Rowan’s career, the feeling of home that Calgary radiated was dwindling. He was more at home in Dallas these days (where his house was still languishing on the market), but Calgary was still infinitely more comfortable than San Jose was.
Plus, he was a bit of a mama’s boy, and having his parents at his games always made him happy.
