Picks & Pucks (23 page)

Eli’s pissy mood toward me continued for a few days, but Taylor made him feel better by telling him they would go together another time. Taylor told him he couldn’t go without him because he wanted to be a tourist and kiss Eli in front of the Eiffel tower. He also gave Eli a tiny Eiffel tower charm to wear on a necklace. Eli swooned and floated around the house for a few days, but started to pout when I brought out my bags. I poked his chest and the tiny charm dug into his skin.

“He’s a great guy, Eli,” I said. “Enjoy him. Love him.”

“You should take your own advice.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I said. Of course, just then CJ walked into the kitchen wearing his apron and I swooned.

“Right,” Eli laughed, grabbing his sides. “No idea. None whatsoever.” He continued to laugh until I tossed a wet dishrag in his face. CJ shouted at both of us to get out of his kitchen if we wanted any dinner.

“You leave,” I said to Eli.

He winked at me and sashayed out of the kitchen, calling for Taylor. I rolled my eyes.

“He’s got it bad,” I said.

“Apparently he’s not upset about Paris anymore?”

“He’s still pissed, but Taylor smoothed things out by giving him jewelry.”

CJ pressed his side against mine, and the heat from his skin soaked into me. I stood on my toes, wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him into a bruising kiss.

“Don’t start something you won’t finish,” CJ said.

“Who said anything about not finishing?”

I winked and wiggled my ass as I walked out of the kitchen.

“Dinner’s going to be late,” CJ shouted as he chased me up the stairs. He grabbed me around the waist and had my pants stripped from my body before we got inside my room.

We never made it to the bed. He shoved me against the wall, making me brace myself with fingers splayed out and legs spread wide as he pressed a lubed finger into me. It didn’t take long for me to start pleading with him to fill me. He fucked me so hard my knees buckled when I came, and I ended up kneeling on the floor with my cheek plastered against the wall.

He chuckled and lifted me off the ground, then tossed me onto the bed like a sack of potatoes. Shortly after, the smell of pizza baking filled the air.

“You owe me!” Eli shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

“I can’t move,” I said to CJ. “You should go downstairs and bring me a slice or two.”

He surprised me by climbing out of bed and then slipping into a pair of my sweatpants that showed off all his bits. “Be right back.”

“Oh my God,” I said. “They’ll know if you go down like that.”

“Pretty sure they know already. You’re really noisy.”

“I am not,” I said, scowling at him.

I grabbed a pair of jeans and shoved him back into the room. I realized when I got back upstairs, carrying a plate of pizza, drinks, and napkins, that CJ had played me.

“I shouldn’t share any of this,” I grumbled.

He stretched and ran his fingers through his dark hair. What could I do? The guy was fucking hot, and I was pretty sure I would do just about anything for him. The demons materialized and sang that stupid k-i-s-s-i-n-g song in my ear.

This was another perfect opportunity to ask about the argument with Spock, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

T
WO
DAYS
later, I was on a miserable flight to Paris. The plane was crowded, and several people brought children who were not thrilled with the length of the trip. No one was happy being stuck in a flying tin can, but add a couple of rambunctious toddlers to the mix, and the flight stretched on forever.

Janae muttered about wanting a parachute to jump out of the plane. I stared at the exit row door and wondered how many people would take the opportunity if given it. I didn’t know if I had the balls to jump, but with an hour left of the flight and one kid shrieking at the top of his little lungs, I decided I would jump.

I shoved my headphones into my ears and turned the music up loud enough to drown out the screams. Unfamiliar music drifted into my head. I looked at my iPod and smiled. CJ had made a mix for me, calling it “ville de l’amour.” The butterflies managed a small flip when I Googled the translation. I was pretty sure it meant city of love, and I was correct.

It was a wide mix of music, from popular tunes to obscure indie band music. I wondered if any of the songs held any hidden meaning. I wanted to ask him, but I was too afraid to venture into unknown territory. We still hadn’t put any definition on what was going on between us and right now, I didn’t need the pressure of calling him my boyfriend.

When the plane finally landed, it took forever to collect our bags, get through customs, and get out of the fucking airport. The long cab ride to our hotel only made my mood worsen. Janae tried to talk to me, but I snarled at her and she scooted to the other side of the cab. Marina frowned at both of us, telling us to behave.

I resisted the temptation to poke Janae in the side to get a fight going. Car rides had been an adventure when we were young. My mom usually ended up drawing several imaginary lines down the back of the car that no one was allowed to cross. Instead, I rested my cheek against the window and stared at the lights of Paris.

I figured I should be feeling excited and tingly because I was in this great city, but halfway across the world, a dark-haired guy was sleeping in my bed.

Marina shuttled me into the hotel and steered me directly to my room, ordering me to get some sleep. We had a busy day tomorrow.

She wasn’t kidding when she said we had a million things to do. I started to wonder if she was doing all this shit on purpose. When I was practicing or interviewing or eating, I didn’t have time to brood over CJ. Although, the moment the door to my room closed, I turned into a sad, lost little puppy.

The bed was lumpy, just like the last hotel. I spent most of the night staring out the window. It was rainy, so everything was out of focus. The demons whispered it was a reflection of my life at the moment and told me dark things were just over the horizon.

When Janae came to pick me up for breakfast, she poked at the purple rings under my eyes.

“I’m going to get you a boy,” she said.

“I have one already,” I said before I could censor my mouth.

“You do?”

“Shut up,” I snapped. I tried to shove her back into the hall, but she clung to me like a broken glue bottle. Every time I got one body part loose, two more would get stuck to something.

Food didn’t sit well, but Janae and Marina forced me to eat before they dragged me to the arena. All eyes were on me when I walked down the tunnel to take my warm-up for the short program.

“New costume?” Jeremy Millar asked.

The only thing that saved him from a scathing comment from me about asking dumb questions was his British accent. It made anything he said sound cool. I nodded and brushed past him.

Marina gave me the usual pep talk while Janae hung back and watched the other competitors. I didn’t care what anyone else was doing. My job was to nail my program, not hope the other guys spent their programs sitting on the ice.

The audience quieted when I took my place in the center of the ice. A collective gasp could be heard when the first notes of my new music filled the arena. I felt light as air and pulled off the jumps and spins with no glitches.

A buzz filled the arena when the music stopped. Marina and Janae were glowing as I came off the ice. The other competitors stared slack-jawed at me. The judges rewarded the program with the highest marks I’d received all season. I managed to smile, but my heart wasn’t in it. My heart was back home, wrapped around a hockey boy.

“I miss you,” I whimpered at the computer screen. The picture kept freezing and irritating the shit out of me. I wanted to slap the screen, but I knew it wouldn’t help.

“Have you been able to sleep?” CJ asked.

“A little. I’ve been wearing your shirt and it helps.”

“Me too,” he said. I heard a door slam and loud voices in the background. “It’s just Kris and Spock,” he said. “Say hi to the guys.”

“Uh, hi.”

“Justin!” they both shouted. They squeezed CJ out of the screen, smiling and waving at me.

“How’s the ice?” Spock asked.

“It’s ice. Thankfully, I haven’t been on my ass, so it’s good. I skate my free program in a few hours.”

“Well, good luck. We have morning skate in a few minutes, so we need to cut this short,” Spock said. “Good luck.”

I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. People were going to figure out what was going on between us and things would go to hell.

They finally disappeared when I heard Danny’s voice shouting about leaving without them.

“Just give me one more minute,” CJ snapped.

“CJ, do you think it’s a good idea to tell those guys you talk to me all the time?”

“What difference does that make?” he asked.

The demons pranced in front of the screen, reminding me how cruel people could be if they found out we were more than friends.

“Never mind,” I said.

“Look, Justin, I think we should talk when you get back.”

A knock sounded on my door, and Janae poked her head inside. “It’s time to go over to the rink.”

I turned back to the screen. “I have to go, CJ. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good luck, Justin.”

I broke the connection and felt the demons climb on my shoulders. It was a heavy, slow walk down to the lobby.

My main competition for this event was Jeremy the Brit and Sergei the Russian. Eric the Canadian had taken a nasty spill during his short, so he was effectively out of the competition.

I was glad Brian Fonta wasn’t here. He chose to skate at the NHK in Tokyo. He blew the competition out of the water and walked away with the gold medal, meaning he qualified for the Grand Prix finals. All I needed was a top three finish, but I would not settle for anything less than gold. This was Paris and I owned Paris. Last year, it had been my first win on the senior circuit. It made everyone sit up and notice me. I wasn’t going to relinquish my title, and I had a comfortable lead from doing a clean short program.

Before I stepped on the ice, I listened to the music from
Braveheart.
It helped me give a little more in my tired long program. The judges swooned over the performance, and I started to get excited about debuting the new long program. If they liked the old one, they were going to flip over the new one.

With the gold medal in hand, I secured a trip to Japan for the finals. I was excited and nervous as hell. But it would be fun to freak Brian out when I blew him out of the water and took his gold medal from his neck. It belonged to me, and I was going to make sure he knew it.

“I guess I do not have to tell you that was a successful event,” Marina said as she fiddled with my medal.

“It was good,” I said. “But Japan will be better when I show off the new long program.”

“We have a lot of work to do,” Marina said. “But the new short was magnificent. Everyone is still talking about it. Eli did very well.”

“Could you tell him that? He values your opinion the most.”

“I will make sure to tell him when we get back home.”

This was turning out to be the craziest year of my life. Between skating and Danny and CJ, it was a wonder I was still able to walk and talk. I definitely needed to get my head on straight with this CJ stuff. This guy was wrapping himself around my heart, and it scared the crap out of me. I didn’t think my poor heart could handle another beating like it had taken from Danny.

The plane ride home was quiet and very long. The city was covered with a light dusting of snow, the chill of winter hanging in the air. I shivered and pulled my beanie over my ears.

The house was silent, and I didn’t know what to expect. Would CJ be in my bed or in his own? I slipped into my room, and he pounced on me, tackling me to the bed. His arms held me tightly as he plastered kisses all over my face and neck.

“CJ,” I gasped. He stretched the neck of my shirt, pulling it down to expose my collarbone and the fading mark he made before I left for Paris. He licked and started sucking, making my back arch off the bed.

“Missed you,” he whispered against my bruised skin.

The room heated, my heart pounded, and I tingled from my head to my toes with his words. The demons swarmed me, telling me I was a goner.

T
HE
DAYS
passed quickly, filled with skating and CJ. It was hard to keep my focus on anything other than him. I wanted to dive head first into the murky waters and drown in him. The only bad thing was that we didn’t talk, and I knew I couldn’t let myself totally fall until we discussed our pasts.

As the holiday season approached, the weather changed, and soon a thick blanket of snow covered the whole city. Since the team had a home series the day after Thanksgiving, most of the guys would be staying in town. Janae offered to host a party at our house, and CJ volunteered to cook the feast. Janae and my dad thought it was a wonderful idea. I wanted to stay in my room and have my meal slipped under the door.

“The entire house is going to be overrun with hockey players,” I whined to Eli. He rolled his eyes and continued typing on his laptop, ignoring me. “I don’t know if I can deal with it.”

“Get over it Justin,” he said.

“Is Danny coming?”

“Probably. I think I heard Spock say his parents are in Europe.”

“I’m staying in my room,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.

“Stop being a drama queen,” Eli said. “You’re involved with someone else. You shouldn’t even have Danny on the brain anymore.”

“I don’t, it’s just he….” I frowned. Eli was right. Why was I worried about Danny? We weren’t together and really, we never had been. Having sex in a bathroom didn’t count as a relationship. We barely shared a bed after we fucked.

CJ strolled into the living room, carrying a piece of paper. He sat down next to me and frowned, running his finger across my forehead.

“You look tense,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said, leaning into him. He immediately put his arm around my shoulders and the tension in my body drained away.