strand him here, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
Alexei’s furious expression made him wonder if he wouldn’t be better off in a taxi anyway.
No. He wasn’t going to let Alexei shut them down before they’d even had a chance to get started. That meant riding this out.
He climbed into the passenger seat and glared at his friend. “You want to tell me what crawled up your butt and died?”
Alexei’s scowl got blacker and he slammed his foot on the gas so hard, Mike’s head bounced off the headrest. He spent the first half of their high-velocity drive home trying to keep his ass in his seat long enough to get his seatbelt on.
Clearly, he needed to rethink his strategy. Maybe he should try a more diplomatic approach? He glanced at Alexei, skipping over his fierce frown and letting his eyes wander south.
Maybe he should offer to give Alexei a blow job?He’d never done that before, but after his experience this morning, he was eager to try it.
And it would cheer Alexei up, right?
His smile must have been as wicked as his thoughts, because Alexei appeared downright alarmed after glancing over at Mike. He drove faster, barely letting the warehouse doors open wide enough to admit the truck before he squealed into their makeshift garage.
Mike hadn’t released his seatbelt before Alexei flew out of the truck and slammed the door behind him.
Mike sighed and chased after him. “Will you slow the fuck down and tell me what’s wrong?”
Alexei stepped into the elevator and yanked down the door. Mike dove in after him.
“Jesus, Alexei. You almost took my head off. What the fuck is your problem?”
“You!” Alexei barked. “You’re my fucking problem.”
Mike swallowed and reminded himself he’d been expecting it. Sort of. It still didn’t feel very good. And the mixed signals, back-and-forth shit was killing him.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said honestly.
Alexei seemed to deflate. “No, I’m sorry.” Alexei rubbed a hand over his shoulder and Mike realized he’d been doing it off and on since they’d left the ice.
“Did that asshole Larsson hurt you?”
Alexei’s hand dropped. “It’s fine. Just a bruise.”
Mike resisted the urge to tug aside Alexei’s collar to look for himself. He watched Alexei as he lifted the massive door to reveal their hallway. He didn’t see any signs of pain.
“Why was that guy all over you?”
Alexei stepped into the hallway. “He’s my ex.”
Mike’s brain stuttered. “What?”
“Stupid fucker ended it years ago, then tried to come back a few months ago and I said no. At our last game he actually tried to flirt with me on the ice , and I made it very clear what I thought of that shit. Guess he’s not too happy about it.”
“Wait. How long did you two date?” Mike asked while he dogged Alexei’s heels to his apartment door.
Alexei stopped and Mike was alarmed to see his shoulders slump. “Almost two years.”
Another brain stutter. “Two years?” Shit, why was his voice so high?
“Yeah.”
“What happened?” Mike asked with a mix of curiosity and dread.
“He got traded.”
“So?”
Alexei stopped looking at something over Mike’s shoulder and met his eyes. “He figured that meant it was over.”
And you didn’t.
“Did you love him?” Mike asked quietly.
“I thought it was going that way,” Alexei answered, and for a moment his eyes narrowed on Mike before he looked away again. “Turns out it wasn’t.”
Two years seemed like an awful long time to Mike for two people to still be thinking about being in love. Mike had only had sex with Alexei two days ago, and already he was—well, he was feeling pretty strongly about the guy.
But he supposed the different timetables didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Larsson had hurt Alexei. Mike regretted, more than ever, not knocking out a few of the bastard’s teeth.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“That he ended up being an
Alexei’s furious expression made him wonder if he wouldn’t be better off in a taxi anyway.
No. He wasn’t going to let Alexei shut them down before they’d even had a chance to get started. That meant riding this out.
He climbed into the passenger seat and glared at his friend. “You want to tell me what crawled up your butt and died?”
Alexei’s scowl got blacker and he slammed his foot on the gas so hard, Mike’s head bounced off the headrest. He spent the first half of their high-velocity drive home trying to keep his ass in his seat long enough to get his seatbelt on.
Clearly, he needed to rethink his strategy. Maybe he should try a more diplomatic approach? He glanced at Alexei, skipping over his fierce frown and letting his eyes wander south.
Maybe he should offer to give Alexei a blow job?He’d never done that before, but after his experience this morning, he was eager to try it.
And it would cheer Alexei up, right?
His smile must have been as wicked as his thoughts, because Alexei appeared downright alarmed after glancing over at Mike. He drove faster, barely letting the warehouse doors open wide enough to admit the truck before he squealed into their makeshift garage.
Mike hadn’t released his seatbelt before Alexei flew out of the truck and slammed the door behind him.
Mike sighed and chased after him. “Will you slow the fuck down and tell me what’s wrong?”
Alexei stepped into the elevator and yanked down the door. Mike dove in after him.
“Jesus, Alexei. You almost took my head off. What the fuck is your problem?”
“You!” Alexei barked. “You’re my fucking problem.”
Mike swallowed and reminded himself he’d been expecting it. Sort of. It still didn’t feel very good. And the mixed signals, back-and-forth shit was killing him.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said honestly.
Alexei seemed to deflate. “No, I’m sorry.” Alexei rubbed a hand over his shoulder and Mike realized he’d been doing it off and on since they’d left the ice.
“Did that asshole Larsson hurt you?”
Alexei’s hand dropped. “It’s fine. Just a bruise.”
Mike resisted the urge to tug aside Alexei’s collar to look for himself. He watched Alexei as he lifted the massive door to reveal their hallway. He didn’t see any signs of pain.
“Why was that guy all over you?”
Alexei stepped into the hallway. “He’s my ex.”
Mike’s brain stuttered. “What?”
“Stupid fucker ended it years ago, then tried to come back a few months ago and I said no. At our last game he actually tried to flirt with me on the ice , and I made it very clear what I thought of that shit. Guess he’s not too happy about it.”
“Wait. How long did you two date?” Mike asked while he dogged Alexei’s heels to his apartment door.
Alexei stopped and Mike was alarmed to see his shoulders slump. “Almost two years.”
Another brain stutter. “Two years?” Shit, why was his voice so high?
“Yeah.”
“What happened?” Mike asked with a mix of curiosity and dread.
“He got traded.”
“So?”
Alexei stopped looking at something over Mike’s shoulder and met his eyes. “He figured that meant it was over.”
And you didn’t.
“Did you love him?” Mike asked quietly.
“I thought it was going that way,” Alexei answered, and for a moment his eyes narrowed on Mike before he looked away again. “Turns out it wasn’t.”
Two years seemed like an awful long time to Mike for two people to still be thinking about being in love. Mike had only had sex with Alexei two days ago, and already he was—well, he was feeling pretty strongly about the guy.
But he supposed the different timetables didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Larsson had hurt Alexei. Mike regretted, more than ever, not knocking out a few of the bastard’s teeth.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“That he ended up being an
Similar Books
