Page 14 of Tough Call

The chocolate museum was amazing, as were the churches we checked out, though none were quite as interesting as the Sedlec Ossuary. A church full of artistically arranged bones was bound to be a tough act to follow.

After a light dinner at a small café, we headed back toward Prague.

This morning’s drive to Kutná Hora had been fun because it was an hour of chirping with my teammates. Even before we’d gotten in the car, I was laughing my ass off, and that had continued all the way to the church. All the way through the gates, while Jean-Pierre was still insisting that the church wouldn’t really be full of bones. No matter how many photos we’d shown him, he’d insisted they were all AI or Photoshopped. It was more than a little satisfying the way he shut the fuck up when he saw the first bones with his own eyes. He wasn’t going to hear the end of that any time soon, that was for sure.

So yeah, that trip was a blast.

The journey back to Prague, however, was a million times better. Quieter, sure, but I didn’t mind at all. We talked hockey, because of course we did. Mostly, though, we reminisced about the time I’d lived with his family.

“I don’t know how we didn’t drive your mom crazy,” I said with a laugh as Connor drove us through the countryside.

He chuckled. “Eh, she married a hockey player, and her son’s a hockey player.” He shrugged. “She knew what she was getting into, letting another one in the house. And it wasn’t like you were the first or last to billet with us.”

“Okay, true,” I said, even as the most ridiculous spike of jealousy tried to cut through my good mood. Had the player who’d come after me found out what Connor’s kiss tasted like?

Probably not, since the odds of the next player being gay were slim to none. And also Connor had left for university not long after I’d been drafted.

Did that stop me from being a complete dumbass who was jealous of ghosts? No, it did not.

I cleared my throat, hoping the heat in my face wasn’t giving me away. “Oh, remember that time we convinced your brother that Final Destination 2 was a comedy?”

His laughter did nothing to bring my body temperature down. He smacked his palm on the wheel. “Oh, man. Michael was so fucking pissed about that. And he still hasn’t completely forgiven me for it, either.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Every time we’re on the road and he sees a logging truck, he just starts muttering, ‘You’re such a dick, you know that?’”

I snorted. “So he has the same generational trauma we all do about logging trucks.”

“Yeah, but he blames me specifically. And probably you, too.”

“Eh, we just taught him to leave a safe distance between himself and a logging truck. That’s important information to have. Lifesaving, even!”

“Uh-huh.” Connor shot me a look. “I’ll let you tell him that and we’ll see how it goes. Then maybe he can send you toy logging trucks covered in fake blood for your birthday every year.”

I just laughed as we continued toward Prague. Those were some great times in my life, both playing in major juniors and living with the Ellis family, not to mention behind closed doors with Connor. Reminiscing about it now while I sat beside him was doing nothing to quell my restlessness. Or the impulse to reach across the console and touch him. Not grope him or anything—just touch him. Feel him. Feel the man I’d spent half of last night fantasizing about.

We danced around the steamier moments as we talked. As we laughed about playing hockey with his dad and brother, or the times we’d watched each other’s games, or some of the pranks we’d pulled, we didn’t mention making out in the rec room when no one else was home. Or helping each other “study.” Or how we’d both greased our bedroom door hinges to keep them silent, and how we knew exactly where to step so the floorboards in the hall didn’t squeak. Or how it all started that night in the hot tub when he’d finally worked up the courage to break the weekslong standoff and kiss me.

I hadn’t thought about any of that in a long time, but I was sure thinking about it now. It was all innocent kid stuff, but…

God, now that I was sitting beside the grownup version of him…

I really hoped my roommate was out when I got back to the hotel, because I was definitely going to need a few minutes alone. Good thing the weather was cold enough to warrant a zipped-up jacket. The last thing I needed was a camera catching me and my rogue hard-on.

As Connor wound through Prague toward our hotels, traffic was a little more dense than before, which brought me back into reality.

“You know, there was a ton of traffic in front of my hotel this morning,” I said. “And it’s probably going to get worse because a lot of teams are arriving today. So it might be stacked when we get there.”

Connor pursed his lips. “Well, I can park in the garage at my hotel and just walk over with you.”

I studied him in the afternoon light. “You don’t have to walk me back,” I said, even as I chastised myself because, hello, why wouldn’t I want to spend more time with him?

“I don’t have to.” He glanced at me and smiled. “But I don’t get to see you often. It’s been almost a decade, and now… I mean, we won’t get to see much of each other after the Games start up.” He half-shrugged. “I don’t mind walking if it means a little more time.” He winced. “Does that sound stupid?”

Shaking my head, I whispered, “No. Not at all.”

He exhaled, the relief unmistakable.