chapter
eight
jay
I think about Loren the entire time I'm home for Christmas. I want him to feel comfortable with my family but I also want to avoid anything that may trigger him. Since I don't know what that is, every picture is carefully scrutinized before sending. No Christmas ornaments, no tree, no group photos.
I haven't told my family about Loren but they know there is someone. We suck at hiding stuff.
"I promise to fill you in soon enough." It's not much but it's all they get, for now.
The mess of presents aren't even cleaned up before I'm rushing out of the house and catching my flight back to Seattle.
"Hey," I say into the phone as I deboard the plane. "I just landed."
"I'm thirty minutes from your house. See you soon," Loren says over the road noise and the rain. His van is cool looking but not quiet.
It's pouring buckets so I hike my bag up and run to the waiting car. Seattle doesn't get white Christmases; it gets wet Christmases.
I look at the time when I get home, I have just enough time to shower and change. I finish getting dressed and rush down stairs; dripping hair and all.
Loren stands there in expensive grey joggers and a matching zip hoodie damp from the rain. The way it hugs his body is worth every penny he didn't pay because I'm positive they were gifted. I went with him to his post office once and ended up picking up twice as many packages as we dropped off. '
People want me to show their stuff
,' he'd said.
I quickly pull him in for a long, hard kiss.
"It's only been three days," he says, his eyes alight with humor. He's so beautiful and he knows it.
"A long three days," I tell him as I pull him to the living room and set him on the couch. I push him back and lay next to him. "Can we please just do nothing tonight? I'm tired."
Loren wraps his arms around me. We spend the rest of the evening just like that. I feel guilty that I'm not more entertaining, but Loren doesn't complain. He's sneaky though. His hand drifts south, grazing my junk a half dozen times.
"Get your mind out of the gutter," he chastises. "It was an accident."
Accident or not, his subtle touching has me horned up and I can't stop myself from kissing him. Again, he doesn't complain. He also doesn't let me get as far as I want. When I try to get in his pants, he shakes his finger at me, teasing me. "I don't want to compromise your virtue."
Two can play this game.
"I'd hate to put you in an uncomfortable position," I say as I push my pants down a few inches. Once I have my dick out, I start stroking it. "I'll just take care of this real quick. Gimme a minute."
Loren can't stay away. He quickly pushes his pants down and rolls on top of me. Loren hot as he ribs against me. It's over embarrassingly fast for both of us. I'd like to say we last twenty minutes but...
Once we catch our breath, I reach out like I'm trying to grab a fly.
"What are you doing?"
"My virtue, it's getting away."
He laughs harder than he should. I love the sound of it. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze. It's getting late and he'll be heading home soon.
"I really missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"Are you coming to the game day after tomorrow? You know you have tickets in willcall."
"Oh, I don't know. We'll see."
"I know you don't enjoy watching football but you can still go and cheer for me."
"But there's parking and crowds, and people--"
"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't have to go."
Loren moves until his hugging me from under my shirt. He does this a lot. I don't think he realizes how desperate he is for skin-to-skin. I don't say anything because I love it and, if I bring it up, he'll stop.
Once he's snuggled in, he mumbles, "I'll try."
****
Loren doesn't make it to the game, which is fine because we lose. The loss hurts more now because we're so close to the playoffs. Luckily, we're still having a good season and I'm hopeful we'll go the distance.
I opt to fly commercial since Denver is so close. Any time I fly like this, I give myself an extra hour for photos and autographs. I make it to security before the crowd forms.
It starts with a few whispers and discrete pictures but once the first person approaches me, it's chaos. I love it.
I have an incredible fan base who are kind and respectful. I get to do a lot of stuff in my day-to-day without people in my face, so moments like these are fine. I've had a fair ride considering what other players go through.
I give Will a heads up. He's parked on the curb when I make it outside. A few more autographs and pictures and then I'm a free man.
"You always do this to yourself. Why didn't you fly private?" He asks as we pull away from the curb. Will is another one of my homies from college. When Seamus got married to Kelly and moved out, Scott and Will moved in. I loved living with them but it wasn't nearly as easy as it was with Seamus.
"It's only a few times a year and people love it."
"
You
love it."
"I do. All these years and it's still bizarre to know all those people are going home and sharing their story, how they saw Jay Petermeyer at the airport or that we shared a flight. It's not much, but it's a cool feeling to know I made their day."
"More like their year, but yeah, I know what you're saying."
****
The trip is quick but packed. I spend every minute I can with my buddies. I even babysit little Aidan one night so Seamus and Matt can go out.
It's my last day. I'm walking down the beverage aisle with honey-to-do-list from Seamus when I see a kid on his hands and knees reaching deep into the bottom shelf while his friends watch.
"Just get whatever's left," a pretty brunette says. "It's going to sell out if we don't."
"She's right. We barely got here in time for the coconut creamer."
The poor soul on his knees manages to secure three cases of soda. He stands up and brushes off his pants then hefts all three cases in his arms. "This can't taste good. There's just no way."
With three cases of Dr. Pepper, two giant containers of coconut creamer, and the largest bottle of lime juice I've ever seen, they leave. Honestly, I never would have given them a second glance except the ingredients looked awfully similar to a weekly special I saw at Seamus's café. Loelife's Drink of the Week.
Loe. My sweet Loren.
He posts a drink in the morning and the shelves are baren by the afternoon.
I toss a case of water in the cart and dial his number.
"
Hey you,"
I say after the beep.
"I just watched a group of kids clean Safeway of all their Dr. Pepper, coconut creamer, and lime juice. It made me think of you. The drink is surprising good, by the way. The baristo, as you call them, scammed me of sixty-dollars. Not sure it was worth that much,
" I laugh. Remembering how Matt made me tip him and his two friends twenty bones each. Pretty steep for a soda.
"Hope the trailer reno is going well. Call me when you're free."
I leave another message when I land in Seattle and one more when I get home. After practice, with no returned call, I drive straight to Puyallup.
I find Loren in the shop. He's bent over the trailer frame grinding it to an inch of its life. Sparks are flying everywhere. He's wearing a tight long sleeve shirt and a face shield. I don't know if it's the look or the confidence of a man who knows how to work power tools, but I find myself very attracted to him like this.
Corey elbows me. "Hey," he whispers. "Want a seat?"
I follow him to the side of the room where Ruby and Isaac are sitting on stools. I watch in silence as Loe does his thing. He's a natural in front of the camera. I'm continually amazed by him and his talent. There's not one thing he hasn't been able to master. Except for learning football, though I don't think he's really tried.
The funny blonde guy from before is standing behind the camera. He waves when he sees me. At least he stays on task this time.
Loren stands and takes off his protective gear. "The thing about any renovation is you need to be prepared. I thought the frame was in a lot better shape. In fact, I bought it thinking it was the only salvageable part. Clearly that's not the case, but I think I finally got the rust off. The next step is to paint it. You need to use a specialized paint that's made for this type of thing. You can find it at your local hardware store. I have a couple brands linked below if that's the route you want to go. I decided to reach out to my buddy at RazorLine auto. He's crazy talented and is going to powder coat this beast for me. I know not everyone can afford--" Loren glances my way and does a double take. He stands there, shocked. He glances between me and the camera a few times. "--Umm." He flounders. "Uh, not everyone can afford to powder coast the frame...the DYI paint is fine just follow all the directions and do your prep work. Always do the prep work."
Loren films for another thirty minutes before he wraps up.
"I've done all I can do. I'll take the frame to Cameron tomorrow and let him work his magic. But I'll be back, prepping a few things so we're ready to hit the ground running when the frame is finished. Have a good night and remember, it doesn't matter if you're living the low life or the high life, just make sure you're living your best life."
The second they're done the blonde guy is one me.
"Jay! What an awesome surprise. Did you just get back? I saw the pictures you posted of you and your friends. Who's that cutie the little boy? Omg I just about died when he was wearing your hat."
He just keeps going and going. I look at Loren for help but he grins and goes about organizing his tools. When he finishes cleaning up, he saves me.
"Sven, leave Jay alone. He needs both ears to play football."
Sven rolls his eyes. When Loren's out of ear shot, he leans in, "You know, he and I used to hook up all the time when we wrapped up filming. Now he's all
shouldn't you be working
and
leave Jay alone
."
"You two used to...?"
"Oh yeah, all the time."
"But not anymore?"
"No, not for a while. I'd like to think he started catching feelings and got scared off. He's never been much of a feely feely person, you know?"
Oh, I know.
I waggle my brows. "Maybe you should ask him if he wants you to stay and
edit
."
The answer to that question is written in the sky apparently. Sven won't go there anymore. Since Loren is off limits, the small blonde man looks at me with sultry intention. "What about you? Are you free tonight?"
Loren shows up out of nowhere. With a hand on Sven's shoulder, he shoves him towards the camera. "Time to pack up, Sven. This isn't a brothel."
Sven makes a face,
blah blah blah.
Before he leaves, he discreetly gives me another business card. "Good luck next week.
Last game of the regular season
!" he sings. Then raises the roof, "Woot woot! I'll be there!"
