Rebound (Seattle Steelheads #1)(68)

And my personal favorite:

Daddy Issues? Gay Steelhead Center trades longtime boyfriend for older cop with kids.

“What’s wrong?” Geoff molded himself to me and kissed my shoulder. God, his hot, naked body felt good against mine, and it might have melted away all my tension if not for the image on my screen—the two of us sharing a quick kiss beside my car.

I knew the instant he saw it, too. His breath hitched and his body went rigid.

Sighing, I handed him my phone. Silently, we both sat up, and he frowned at the screen as he slowly scrolled.

After a moment, he handed it back and muttered, “Well, at least they blurred out my kids’ faces.”

“Yeah.” My shoulders sagged and I tossed my phone on to the nightstand. “Ugh. Is it too much to ask to not be defined as the ‘gay Steelhead’?”

“Hey, at least you’re not the ‘much older’ Seattle police officer.” Geoff tsked. “Much older. What the fuck? I’m not that gray.”

I chuckled and slid closer to him. Oh, he was that gray, but he rocked the silver fox look. “They’re going to think anyone over thirty is ‘much older.’” I sobered. “Except they’re basically outing you. Shit. Does that—”

“Relax.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “I lived with another guy for five years. Pretty sure anyone whose opinion matters already knows I date men.”

“Oh. Still, it’s such bullshit that people even care.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “One of the defensemen cheated on his wife two seasons ago and knocked up his girlfriend.” Throwing up my hand, I sighed. “I swear the only people who noticed were the fans who were pissed off he’d slept with her and not them. But someone sees me out on a date with a man, and suddenly it’s fucking news.”

“People like to gossip.” He put his hand on my side and kissed me. “Let them gossip.” He craned his neck a little and swore. “Damn it. I should get up and get to work.”

“Ugh. Yeah. I still need to pack before I head to the airport.”

Geoff grinned. “Procrastinate much?”

“Hey. Don’t judge me.”

He laughed and nuzzled my cheek. “Come on, then.” He patted my leg and sat up. “Let’s get moving before we stay here all day and both get fired.”

“You’re no fun.”

He was right, though, and we dragged ourselves upright. While he showered, I went downstairs to make coffee.

While I waited for him, I debated how much to bring up once he joined me. I desperately wanted to ask him if we were good after last night. Had things gone down the way I’d hoped—quiet morning with lots of coffee—I would have. But now we had the press coverage on top of everything else, and I was terrified that if I asked if we were good, he’d realize we weren’t and figure out that I wasn’t worth the hassle.

So I let the subject go.

When Geoff came downstairs, freshly shaven, with his salt and pepper hair dark from being wet, we kept conversation light while we drank our coffee. Entirely too soon, he had to take off, and after he’d rinsed his coffee cup, he put his hands on my waist and kissed me.

“I’ll see you when you’re back in town?”

“Definitely.” I lifted my chin for another quick kiss. “I’ll be back on Thursday.”

Geoff’s smile was tired but still as sweet as it ever was. Wrapping his arms around me, he said, “I’m looking forward to it. I might even get to watch the game too.”

“So no pressure to win, right?”

“Nah.” He winked. “As long as I get to ogle you, I’m happy.”

I could feel myself blushing and laughed. Geoff chuckled too, and he pressed his lips to mine, letting it linger for a long moment before he drew back and whispered, “I should get going.”

Disappointment and fresh nerves made me queasy, but I refused to let it show. “Okay. I’ll see you when I’m back in town.”

“Definitely.”

One more kiss, and then he headed for the door. He was halfway there before I realized we hadn’t even touched on last night’s conversation. By the time his car disappeared down the driveway, I was already kicking myself for not asking where I stood with him.

Damn it. There went my concentration until I saw him again.

I glared into my coffee, decided it wasn’t worth drinking more and making myself sick, and started rinsing out the cup. It would only be a few days before we saw each other in person. Seventy-two hours or so wasn’t really that long. It was plenty of time to work myself up and freak myself out, though, and I was pretty damned sure that was what I’d be doing.

It wasn’t like one of us was leaving the planet, though. We could FaceTime or text. Still, I hated this feeling. I hated when things were unresolved and loose ends were untied. Where did I stand with Geoff? Was he upset about last night? How did he feel about us being out in the press like that? Especially with the press taking some thinly veiled potshots at him for being older and not “good enough” for me?

Jesus, you fucking reporters. Shut the hell up. I don’t need any help giving him reasons to decide this relationship is too much trouble.

I closed my eyes and took some slow, deep breaths. I was overreacting. I knew I was overreacting. But I’d been through this too many times with Nathan to calm down. We’d had too many “discussions” that had felt resolved but then festered until Nathan lost his shit and blew up at me. Whenever we’d walked away from a tense conversation, I’d had no way of knowing if that was the end or if there was broken glass in my future.