Jeremy waited patiently, simply looking at them. His patience was one of the things she loved about him the most. He would work on the Sunday crossword puzzle for hours. He could tinker away a free afternoon with whatever video game he was working on and then spend untold amounts of time teaching her how to play, never raising his voice no matter how many times he had to explain something. She knew he would wait indefinitely for them to explain.
Rachel threw her hands up in the air and gave in to the urge she’d been feeling all day, stomping over to the scattered newspaper pages and grinding them under her bare feet. She slid her feet over the delicate newsprint until it shredded and the black ink coated her soles. Stopping, she sneered down at the paper and blew a few errant curls out of her eyes.
She looked up at her two men and glared, daring them to comment on her childish display of temper. She caught Nathan hiding an amused smile behind his cup and stuck her tongue out at him. Jeremy simply walked over and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. It felt so good to be in his arms, but she tapped him lightly on the shoulder in protest. “I can walk, you know.”
Jeremy sat her down in her usual chair at the table and knelt between her legs, placing her bare feet lightly on his thighs even as Nathan dampened a rag at the kitchen sink and brought it over. Jeremy grabbed it and seized her right foot, wiping the sole free of ink before moving on to give the left foot the same treatment. “I know you can walk, sweetie,” he said, wiggling the rag between her toes a little and causing her to giggle. “But you would have tracked ink through the entire kitchen.”
Nathan brought over her cup and handed it to her. “And then you would have yelled at us for letting you walk on the clean tile.”
Tossing the cloth toward the sink, Jeremy gazed up at her gravely. “Feel better?”
She pouted for a few seconds and then nodded. As childish as her actions may have seemed, they had made her feel better. But the knowledge that she and Nathan still had to tell Jeremy the news of the gossip column had her anger boiling over again. She slapped her palm against the table, infuriated beyond belief.
“Whoa, Rach. Wanna tell me what’s going on? Who did they accuse Nathan of cheating on you with?”
Boy, for a smart man, Jeremy could be very dumb. “You.”
He blinked at her, and she waited for the comprehension to set in. She watched his expression as understanding seeped through him. “Me?”
“Yeah, buddy,” Nathan said, placing his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. She watched as his fingers tightened on the flesh slightly, as if he were desperate for some sort of physical contact.
Jeremy’s expression tightened, but he didn’t move away from the touch. Instead, he looked up at her husband and gave him a strained smile. “Well. That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.” He rose to his feet and stared blankly at his cup of coffee for a few minutes. “How likely is it that anyone actually reads those gossip columns?”
Rachel shrugged, pursing her lips contemplatively. “I’m not really sure, Jer. But I don’t think anyone will actually believe it.”
The younger man offered another edgy smile but looked like he wanted a hole to appear in the floor and suck him in. “Well, at least my dad died last year and won’t be around to hear this latest rumor. He was the most homophobic bastard I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”
Rachel was stuck for something to say. It was the first time he’d actually mentioned his father’s passing. Until now she hadn’t been sure if the man had been dead or simply out of the picture. Should she offer her condolences for his loss or should she commiserate with him about having a bigoted parent? She felt like there was no appropriate response.
Jeremy stared at the table for a few more minutes before finally looking at them fully. His face was solemn, and his eyes were sad. “Rachel, can I use your office to work on one of my games for a few hours?”
Again, she nodded mutely. Both she and Nathan had quickly learned that Jeremy lost himself in his work when he needed time to absorb information or to decompress. When he locked himself in the office, they knew he needed to be completely alone for a while. He didn’t say anything else. He just turned on his heel, walked into the office, and closed the door behind him.
Rachel stopped fighting her tears and let them fall freely. “Nathan…”
Nathan pulled her into his arms, and Rachel went willingly, resting her head on his chest. “I know, honey. I know. Let’s just give him some time.”
She paced for an hour, staring a hole in the office door. Finally, she had enough. “Nathan, we’re going to go get him and make him forget all about that damn column.”
Marching over to the office, she opened the door without knocking and stomped over to Jeremy.
He was staring morosely at the screen, a long string of code stretched out before him. “This isn’t really a good time, Rach.”
Oh to hell with that. She wasn’t going to let him sit and stew about this the whole day. Grabbing his arm, she used all of her strength and pulled him up. He went willingly but shoved his hands in his pockets.
For heaven’s sake. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a scorching kiss. It took some time but Jeremy finally responded, slipping his tongue between her lips and sliding it along her own.
He deepened the kiss, making love to her mouth. When he shivered and whimpered, she pulled back a little and what she saw nearly took her breath away. Nathan had stepped up behind Jeremy and was mouthing softly at a spot just below Jer’s ear. “Now that’s hot.”
She regretted her comment when Jeremy immediately stiffened.
“Relax, Jer,” Nathan murmured in his ear. “Let us make you feel good.”
All the fight drained out of the younger man and he let them lead him to the bedroom and strip him slowly. They stroked him all over, paying special attention to the responsive spots they’d found over the past couple of months.
Rachel’s breath caught at the sight of Jeremy surrendering himself to the pleasure she and Nathan were giving him. Straddling his hips, she searched out Nathan’s eyes. Actually having sex with Jeremy was a big step, one she wanted Nathan to agree with every step of the way.
Instead of saying anything, he produced a condom and rolled it over Jeremy’s straining erection.
Jeremy’s eyes, which had drifted closed, popped open when he worked through the significance of being covered by the thin latex. Up until now, she had only jacked him off or blown him.
“This okay, Jer?” Oh, god, please let him say yes. Her pussy was positively watering at the thought of Jer’s thick cock impaling her.
Jeremy gulped and sought out Nathan. She wasn’t sure what Nathan did but whatever it was, it convinced Jeremy to go ahead. “Yeah. It’s better than okay.”
Nathan’s hands wrapped around her hips and helped her settle onto Jeremy’s dick and she groaned at the feeling. He held her steady until she found her rhythm. “Oh, damn that’s good.”
A rich laugh sounded behind her and she shuddered as the sound slid down her spine. “It looks good from here, too.”
Jeremy simple moaned, his face going tight. “Not gonna last.”
She sped up, reaching between her legs and fingering her clit frantically. She could feel her muscles tightening in preparation for orgasm.
Nathan dropped his head so that it rested on her shoulder, his hot breath puffing against her skin. “You two are so damn sexy. Fuck, I’m not gonna last long either.”
Well, at least she knew what Nathan was doing. She could see his hand wrapped around his cock in her mind’s eye and it was enough to send her over the edge.
She came with a cry, her muscles milking Jeremy uncontrollably until he lost all control. He throbbed in her, his eyes and jaw clenched. A sudden splash of heat across her low back let her know that Nathan had come too.
She collapsed on to Jeremy’s chest, pressing damp kisses to the hollow of his throat. “Don’t let that newspaper column ruin this, Jer.”
Jeremy was silent for a long moment before sighing. “I’ll try, Rach. I promise.”
A warm cloth ran over her back, cleaning her gently and she burrowed closer into Jeremy’s chest.
Jeremy jerked under her, a laugh escaping his lips. “That tickles.”
She sat up quickly and glanced over her shoulder. Nathan was cleaning his own cum off Jeremy’s inner thighs and balls, inciting the other man to wiggle and laugh.
Laughing, Nathan tossed the cloth toward the laundry hamper and crawled into the bed with them. “Nap time?”
She rolled off Jeremy, groaning when he slipped from her, and nuzzled into his chest. “Nap time.”
Her head lifted as Jeremy hefted a huge sigh. “I guess I can try and catch a few winks.”
Rachel stroked his chest, desperate to soothe her man. “Don’t worry, Jer. It will all work out.”
She only hoped that what she said was true.
God, this sucked. They were down by three goals, and Jeremy had never played worse, not even right after his father had passed away. Sitting on the bench with the rest of his line, he did his best to drown out the jeers from the Ottawa Senators fan sitting right behind him. Truthfully, if the man had been razzing him about his playing he could have handled it. He certainly deserved it. He was playing particularly poorly today. But the man wouldn’t shut up about that damn gossip column from the week before. When he’d ignored the man, he’d been rewarded with a water bottle tossed at his head. It was empty, and it missed by a mile, considering he had to throw it over the glass separating the players from the crowd, but Jeremy swore he was about a breath away from jumping into the crowd and pummeling the man. Luckily, the coach had complained, and security had finally told the irate Sens fan to shut up and behave or be escorted off the premises.
The buzzer sounded the end of the second period, and Jeremy trudged into the locker room with the rest of his team.
“What the fuck is up with you guys?” the coach shouted, the vein pounding in his temple a testament to how pissed off the guy really was.
Jeremy wondered briefly if the man was about to have a stroke when he said something that caught his attention. “What?” Jeremy asked with confusion.
The coach practically growled at him. If he’d bared his teeth, Jeremy would have backed up. It really was a miracle the man hadn’t dropped dead from stress. “We need to switch things up, keep those bastards on their toes. Reiner, you are now on Vaughan’s line. Don’t fuck up.”
Jeremy stood as still as he could, stunned that he’d just been moved up to the first string. It would mean an increase in his ice time even though he was playing like shit. Worse than shit, actually.
The coach finished yelling at the rest of the team to man up before walking right up to him. Grabbing Jeremy’s chinstrap, the coach dragged him closer and got right in his face. “I know what’s fucking with your mind. It’s that damn gossip column. Leave it behind and keep your stick on the ice, Reiner. I know you can perform, and we’re about to show that to every one of those goddamn doubters. Now get out there and don’t make me look like a fucking idiot for moving you up.” Without another word, he turned and slammed his way out of the room.
The coach’s idea of a pep talk might have been riddled with curse words and somewhat convoluted, but it worked. The adrenaline that flowed through Jeremy had nothing to do with the nerves that had been plaguing him since the column had come out six days ago. Clean, pure energy flowed through him, and he found himself practically bouncing with the anticipation of getting back on the ice. This was their game. It didn’t matter how far back they were, things were about to turn around. He could just feel it.
His teammates swarmed around the room, stopping when Nathan stood up and raised his voice. “All right, men. I think what the coach meant was to get out there and just do our jobs. We’re the best at what we do. Let’s show them and all those Sens fans why we are so damn good.”
Jeremy watched as his roommate, the man he shared a woman with, bumped knuckles with the other guys as they made their way out of the locker room and back to the arena. Finally it was just the two of them left to bring up the rear. Nathan didn’t say anything about how shitty Jeremy had been playing. He didn’t say anything about the gossip column. He simply placed his gloved hands on Jeremy’s shoulders and pulled him forward until their foreheads were resting together. “I believe in you, Jer. Let’s go do this.”
Fifteen minutes and two goals later, they were halfway through the last period. His skates moved smoothly over the ice as he shot toward the opposite end of the rink on a breakaway, determined to score the goal they needed to tie things up. He could feel the body bearing down on his right side and braced himself for the impact even as he shot the puck toward the crease. He had just a moment to watch the puck fly past the goalie’s outstretched glove and into the net before an enormous weight plowed into him.
He dropped his stick and allowed himself to go limp as he fell, lessening the impact of landing on the hard ice. The whistle blew, and Jeremy glanced up to see the goal counted as good before whooping gleefully. The defenseman on top of him growled out a curse and shoved Jeremy’s head down with his hand, grinding his face into the ice as he pushed upright. A hot bubble of temper welled up inside of him, but he battled it down. In the scheme of things, it wasn’t worth the penalty he would take if he retaliated.
“Fucking queer,” the other player spat at him.
Jeremy rolled his eyes and picked up his stick as he got back to his feet. As if he hadn’t heard worse in the last few days. He had no idea if Nathan was getting the same flack, but he was sick of it. Even if he were gay, it shouldn’t matter. He was good enough to play in the NHL as a straight man. Why not as a gay man?
Whatever. He turned to skate back to his bench, where his teammates were cheering him. The Sens’ defenseman kept even with him, jeering the whole way. “What’s the matter, butt boy? Too queeny to stand up for yourself? Tell me, do you top or bottom?”
Jeremy did his best to ignore the ignorant jerk, but the words were really starting to get to him. He was here to do his job. If he worked anywhere else, this treatment would be considered harassment. He hitched his chin up a little higher, determined to be the better man. He caught the concerned look Nathan was throwing his way just before something made contact across his back. He spun around and threw his stick down. “What the fuck is your problem, Matheson?”