Deserted - Cara Dee Page 0,79
physically; he was far from ready, but he was ready to face Jackie’s buyer if things came to that.
“You wanna try?” Gray heard Gideon ask.
The question was for Jayden and Justin, who clearly wanted to try shooting pucks but hesitated.
“Come on, it’s fun,” Gabriel promised. “Gid will show you how.”
Gray nodded encouragingly when Jayden looked his way. It seemed to do the trick, and Jayden ushered Justin closer to the twins.
Gray brought out his phone and snapped a few photos of his brothers teaching the boys how to hold the stick and aim at the puck. As annoying as the twins could be, they were great brothers too, and they knew when to knock it off and get serious.
“I think we have an audience,” Darius noted.
Gray closed his eyes right away and didn’t bother following Darius’s stare. “Is he wearing a Trident windbreaker and a red baseball cap?”
“How did—”
“It’s Craig. My old coach.” Gray studiously ignored that half of the rink and focused on the guys. He didn’t know how he felt, only that he’d been hoping to avoid seeing the man ever again. It was embarrassing.
“Ah. Oh. You mean…”
“Yup. Him.” Gray wrung his hands and cracked his knuckles. His assertiveness took a nose dive, and he fucking hated it. He didn’t even know why. Craig meant nothing to him anymore. “I don’t know how to act. He doesn’t have a place in my life—I don’t care about him—but everything got so ugly back then.”
“He’s part of your past.”
“I wish he’d stay there,” Gray groused.
Darius snorted softly and slid in front of him, hands on Gray’s shoulders. “I know what you should do. Tell me to kiss you.”
Gray’s eyebrows flew up, and he let out a small laugh of confusion. “What? I don’t need a pretend boyfriend to get over someone I’m not even into.”
Darius inched closer, his eyes brimming with secrecy. Like he knew something no one else knew. “There’s nothing pretend about us, knucklehead.” He leaned in, and Gray’s breath hitched. Was he for real? With what he’d said? “Tell me to kiss you,” he murmured.
Gray swallowed dryly. “Kiss me.”
Darius shifted his hands to Gray’s hips and covered his mouth with his own, and a storm of emotions swirled around him. Gray didn’t know what to think or what to do, but one thing was for sure. The moment became perfect as they kissed each other slowly to the background sound of Jayden and Justin laughing at the twins’ theatrics. Justin scored a goal, Gabriel pretended to be mad, Gideon whooped, and Jayden shouted in triumph. All while Gray fucking melted in Darius’s arms.
“I’m losing my head over you, Darius,” Gray chuckled weakly. “Don’t fucking play with me.”
“I’m not playing. If anything, I’m sick of it. I’m so over pretending that I only wanna be near you during your recovery, when—fuck. When I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to let you go.”
Gray fisted the front of Darius’s hoodie and screwed his eyes shut, feeling months of tension rolling off him in waves. Then he kissed Darius deeply until he could form words like a normal being.
“No more pretending.” He spoke in between hard kisses. “And let me know if you’re a flight risk. I’ll tie you to a pole on the porch.”
Darius smiled into the kiss and cupped Gray’s cheek. “I’m not the runner, baby. I’m all in.”
Gray couldn’t describe what a rush it was to hear that. “For us, I can be a fighter.”
Darius’s gaze grew shiver-inducingly hot, and he gave Gray a swift, firm kiss. “Exactly what I needed to hear—”
“Coach!” Gideon yelled. “Come meet the next NHL generation!”
Gray groaned internally and dropped his forehead to Darius’s sternum.
Darius shook with silent laughter. “I guess he didn’t go away.”
Guess not…
“I’ll hold my possessiveness at bay,” he promised.
That made Gray feel much better, and he managed a wicked a smirk. “Unleash it on my ass tonight, Big Daddy.”
Darius narrowed his eyes at him, and Gray laughed as he skated toward the boys.
The roller coaster ride of emotions that was his life nowadays continued to wear him out, but God. Right this second, the happiness that fluttered in his system was a high he didn’t mind staying on for a while. Maybe it would even provide some cushion for his next drop.
When Jayden spotted him, he began making kissy faces in the air. “Are you done sucking face?”
Gray coughed around a laugh.
Craig was walking across the ice, and he’d reached the center line, making it easier for Gray