Fabian nodded, his lips pressed tight together.
“I’m sorry if—”
“No. I cry easily,” Fabian said. “That was just really sweet. I didn’t know.” He exhaled loudly. “I had never kissed anyone when I’d met you. I told you that already, I guess. But I’d had crushes on friends who...couldn’t return them. And it made it hard to keep being friends with some of them. But I never expected to have those kinds of feelings for a hockey player. For theenemy.” He rolled his eyes. “I was such a judgmental prick.”
“I understand. Believe me. I’ve never really fit in with my teammates.”
“I’ll admit, even now, I’m surprised that I—” He sighed, then looked at the floor.
Ryan could guess the rest of that sentence.I’m surprised I’m attracted to someone like you. He wasn’t offended because he couldn’t believe it either.
“Your clothes must be ready to go in the dryer,” Ryan said. “Canthey go in the dryer?”
Fabian laughed, then sniffled. “My clothes are extremely cheap. They can go in the dryer.”
After that was taken care of, Ryan suggested they have more coffee in the living room. Fabian curled up on one end of the sofa, his flannel-clad legs tucked under him. Ryan sat at the other end, but turned toward him.
“I’m sorry about your parents,” he said. It was something he had wanted to say when they’d been teenagers.
Fabian traced one of the Guardians logos on his pants with a fingertip. “About what? It’s not their fault they didn’t get the son they wanted.”
“Itistheir fault.” Ryan considered what he’d just said, then corrected himself. “I don’t mean—I’m just trying to say that they’re stupid for not appreciating you the way that you are.”
“Well, as I like to say, their loss. But it never feels good to be so disappointing that your parents take to adopting replacement sons. Better ones.” Fabian snorted. “Year after year I was introduced to some version of their ideal son. My parents would just beburstingwith pride whenever their big, jock-y wards would score a goal or be interviewed on TV. I couldn’t possibly expect to compete withthat.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said.
“What on earth for?”
“For being part of the problem.”
Fabian crawled across the sofa, then placed a hand on each side of Ryan’s face and forced him to hold his gaze. “It hasnothingto do with you. You arewonderful.”
Ryan lost himself for a moment in Fabian’s dark, beautiful eyes. He resurfaced when Fabian released him with a laugh. “God, listen to me. I’m thirty-one. Why am I still whining about my parents? I’m doing great, they seem to be happy, everything worked out fine.”
Ryan wanted to argue, but decided instead to pull Fabian into his lap and kiss him.
“How long until the dryer is done?” Fabian said breathlessly when Ryan finally broke their kiss.
“Thirty minutes, maybe?”
“I have an idea for how to pass the time.”
“Oh?”
“Mm. And the good news is it involves you stripping me out of all this fleece.”
Chapter Eighteen
“There’s something different about Fabian,” Marcus mused.
“Hmm, new haircut?” Tarek suggested.
“No. Oh! I know! He’s just had a mind-blowing sex marathon with an NHL player.”
Fabian stuck his tongue out at Marcus. “I didnot. We talked more than anything. Is there more coffee?”
“I’ll make some,” Tarek offered. “But then I want to heareverything.”
