by Toni Aleo
It was Vaughn, and as Wells laughed, shaking his head while pulling his shorts up in the back, Brie said, “No, they’re just kissing. Oh no, I see Matty’s dick. Run!”
“Ah! Abort, Brie! Abort!” Vaughn yelled, and when Wells heard Brie laughing really hard, he rolled his eyes. Vaughn continued, “Not that it offends me. I love you guys and your choices, but ew.”
“I can’t get up!”
Looking back since it was Brie, Wells found her on her back, rocking back and forth as she laughed. Soon Matty was laughing, and when Vaughn saw what was going on, he cackled even louder himself. “Ha! Look, she’s like a turtle.”
Snorting with laughter, Wells looked back to Matty. “Can I just apologize in advance for my family for the rest of our lives?”
Matty laughed as Vaughn rushed to help Brie. “Nope, I feel that’s something you have to apologize for in the moment.”
“You’re probably right,” Wells agreed.
“I am.”
“Whoa, don’t let that go to your head,” he advised, wrapping his arm around Matty’s neck, kissing his mouth again. “And also, ha.”
“Ha?”
“I was supposed to suck you off on the beach, but I got it instead.”
Matty rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha.”
Wells’s brows came in. “Yeah, ha!”
“No, dude, I’m saying ha because this trip isn’t over, and we will find ourselves back on this beach with my cock down your throat before it is.”
Desire burned in Wells’s eyes as he nodded. “I doubt I’ll complain.”
He wouldn’t.
He’d love it.
Just like Matty loved him.
Eighteen
Matty wished like hell he was back on the beach with Wells.
Hell, he wished he was just with him, but he guessed that he had to get used to the long-distance thing again. After a fucking great week in Cancun, they went back to Wells’s apartment for five days before Wells flew out to Nashville to help Wren and Jensen move. Wells hadn’t planned on leaving so soon, but Wren and Jensen needed him, which left Matty to stay and wait for the plumber to come fix the shower, not that he minded.
It had been only three days, and soon it was time for Matty to fly out to New York to see his brothers and take care of some things. It was an impromptu trip, but he figured it was a good time since Wells had already left for Nashville. Hopefully, if everything worked out, Matty would be able to fly to Nashville for Wren’s baby shower, not that he had said anything to Wells yet.
“I miss you.”
Matty smiled as he grabbed his bag from the baggage claim, readjusting his phone as he tried to pull up the damn handle on the bag. It wouldn’t budge. “You do not. It’s been three days since you left, maybe you can miss me after five.”
Wells scoffed. “I do, and I won’t stop missing you until I’m with you.”
“Because you’re a romantic.” He yanked on the handle again, and it finally gave. But of course, Matty wasn’t ready, which resulted in him punching himself in the jaw.
Awesome.
“Fuck.”
“What?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, frustration running deep, he bit out, “I just punched myself in the face trying to get the damn handle up on my suitcase.”
The asshole laughed. “That’s what you get for making fun of me.”
Matty rolled his eyes. “Hardly. I said you were a romantic. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s hot.”
“You’d better.”
“I do.”
He could hear Wells’s smile through the phone. “You should have come to Nashville with me.”
Taking ahold of the handle of his bag since he was pretty sure he was able to do it without breaking the damn thing, he headed toward the exit. “I would rather have done that. But since I’d feel awful leaving you home while I went to do this, I figured it was a good time to go while you were with Wren and Jensen.”
Wells thought that over for a moment, and Matty swore he could hear Vaughn and Jensen in the background, but surely they weren’t that loud…
Who was he kidding? Yes, they were.
“True, but still, the start of the season is looming over us. We’ll be apart more than together for the next eight months.”
Matty swallowed hard. “I know, but I need to do this.” He knew he did, he felt good about it, but when his suitcase wheel got caught on the door, he yanked it hard, and of course, the wheel popped off. “What the fuck?”
“What?”
“The fucking wheel came off!” he complained, kicking the damn wheel and then the bag for good measure. “Damn it.”
“Well, good thing my boyfriend is such a big strong man, and he can carry a suitcase to his car.”
Matty grumbled as he reached for the stupid bag, lifting it as his shoulders went back, taut and strained. “Piece of shit.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Next thing you know, my damn car will be towed.”
Wells went quiet. “You parked in the long-term parking, right?”
“Pretty sure I did.”
Thankfully, he had, but his irritation was still high as he got into the car after throwing his bag in the back. Turning it on, he heard the car purr as Wells went to the Bluetooth. Putting his phone in the holder, Matty sighed. “Man, I’m so pissed.”
“Or you’re nervous.”
“I think I’m pissed.”
“I think you’re nervous, and everything is just annoying you.”
Matty pressed his lips together. “Like you, right now?”
“Well, that’s rude.”
Matty chuckled a bit as he drove off. When he was sure he heard Vaughn’s voice yelling, his brows pulled together. “What is he bitching about?”
“A pissing contest between him and Jensen. They are seeing who can stack the most boxes on the dolly and get them to the moving truck without anything falling. News flash, they’ve dropped more than they’ve put on the truck. Wren is probably going to go into labor at any moment because she is yelling so much, and she is stressed the fuck out.”
Matty’s grin grew. “I’m jealous. That sounds like way more fun than I’m having.”
“It’s something. These people are crazy.”
“They are,” he agreed just as his phone started to beep with another call. “Hey, let me call you back. It’s Avery.”
“Oh! Call me back.”
“Will do.”
Wells sighed, “Bye.”
With a grin on his face, he switched over to Avery’s call. “Hello?”
“Hey, you back from your vacation yet?”
“Yeah, got back on Monday.”
“Awesome, did you have a nice trip?”
“We did, it was great. You and Jace should take a trip.”
She scoffed. “Like we’ll ever have time! We’re so busy, and I’m soon to be a mom of two.”
“Which is nuts.”
“It is!” she agreed with a laugh. “But I’m excited, even if I only got a year to drink legally.”
Matty grinned. “Yeah, that is kinda depressing.”
“Right?” She paused, and he could just see her smiling, shaking her head. They had texted some while he was gone, but nothing really worth talking about. Mostly pictures, but it was great. “So the reason I’m calling—”
“You don’t need a reason.”
She paused and then said, “I know, but this time, it is for a reason. I wanted to see if you’d be in town in the next couple days? I think we’re gonna try to fly up there just after the NHL Awards. Are you going? We’re not going since they moved the date back twice.”
“Probably not. I’m not nominated for anything, and I don’t care.”
She laughed. “Okay, is Wells nominated?”
He scoffed. “I love the dude, but he’s getting old. Not saying he sucks, but he’s slower than the people they honor. He plays maybe sixteen minutes a game. But again, he’s awesome, and I
think he’s great.”
“You don’t have to defend your answer.”
He shrugged. “I think I sounded like an asshole.”
“Kinda.”
“Shit, I need to work on that. I guess he could be recognized for doing good community service, but he hasn’t said anything.”
“Oh, so you guys aren’t going, then?”
“No, I’m not, and I don’t think he is. We’re trying to spend as much time together before the season starts.”
“Oh, that’s right, he plays for Colorado.”
“Yeah. So, as of now, no, we are not going. But yes, I can be in New York when you come so I can get to New Jersey to see you guys.”
“Cool. I think we’ll stay with Mom and Dad, so I know they’ll probably put some big ole dinner together for us. Seth and Laurence are gonna make sure to be there.”
His heart fluttered a bit. “Awesome, yeah, I’ll be there—” Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. “And Wells, of course.”
“Great, I really do like him.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said, laughing with absolutely no humor in his voice. “Let’s hope that it goes well with Mom and Dad since I plan on telling them soon.”
“Awesome, and I’m sure it will go fine.”
“I don’t know. I’m off to tell Seth and Laur right now. Well, tonight.”
“You sound nervous.”
“I’m terrified,” he admitted, and then he let his shoulders fall. “I need that to go smoothly, so that when it’s time to get to Mom and Dad, it will be easy for me. I had Wells when I told you, but now I’m going alone.”
“You’re going to do great, Matty. Don’t worry. We all love you. We don’t care who you love as long as you’re happy.”
His lips quirked at the side as he nodded. “I need Seth and Laur to say that.”
She laughed. “They won’t. They’ll give you shit, you know they will, but they love you.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He laughed along with her, until his phone started to beep once more. “Shit, I’m popular today. Can I call you back? It’s my agent.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s cool. Talk to you soon.”
“Yeah, I’ll call back.”
“Okay!”
Hanging up, he was really cheerful as he clicked over. Of course, he was nervous because the end result, his whole family around a dinner table, was probably really farfetched, but he was excited that Avery wanted him there. That she wanted Wells too. His stomach clenched with nervousness at the thought of telling Seth and Laurence, but when the voice of Brendan Propose, his agent, came over the line, he was nervous about telling him too.
He would be coming out to the world.
Not just to his family, but to everyone.
That’s what Wells wanted. But damn it, Matty didn’t want people in his business. Why couldn’t he just love and be who he wanted? He knew he couldn’t, not in this day and age where social media basically ran the world. Everyone was in everyone’s private life, and he hated that. He just wanted to be left alone.
Taking a calming breath, he said, “Hey, Brend, what’s up?”
“So, hey, I know you’re traveling. Where are you right now? I need to come to you.”
Alarms went off like crazy. Brendan didn’t make visits like that unless something was going on. “Why? Everything okay? Am I being traded?”
“No, not that. We have an issue. It’s not something we can discuss over the phone.”
Matty’s stomach dropped. What the hell could be wrong? “I actually just landed at LaGuardia.”
“Oh, wow, that was lucky. Can you swing by my office? Like, now?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way,” he said just as the line went dead. He redirected his car down the busy streets of New York to Brendan’s office, but he considered calling Wells. He didn’t want to worry him, though. It might not even be anything that bad. No reason to get him all riled up like Matty was. It was probably not a big deal, maybe a money issue or something with his contract, but even Matty knew it couldn’t be that. His shit was sound, which was why Brendan was his agent.
But something wasn’t right.
When Matty arrived at Brendan’s building, the receptionist got up as soon as she saw him, ushering him into Brendan’s office, opening the door for him.
Yeah, everything was just fucking fine, he thought as the door shut behind him. Brendan looked up at him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Matty said, slowly walking toward Brendan’s desk as he stood, buttoning his jacket. Brendan was a good-looking man, tall, broad shoulders—add in the fact that he was a retired Red Wing, and it was easy to say that Matty hired him for his smarts in the business.
“Have a seat,” Brendan said, which made Matty’s brow quirk. He wasn’t looking forward to a hug or anything, but usually, they embraced like the friends they were.
Yeah. Something was really wrong here.
With his heart in his throat, his stomach turning with uneasiness, Matty watched as Brendan shuffled files in silence before he glanced up, meeting Matty’s gaze.
“So, um…” Brendan struggled with his words, his edginess apparent, which made Matty even more uneasy.
“What the hell, Brend? Give it to me straight. What the fuck is going on?” he snapped. Looking back down, Brendan reached for a file that had Matty’s name on it before handing it over to him. Taking the folder, Matty asked, “What is this?”
“Just open it.”
Swallowing hard, he did as instructed, but when a picture of him and Wells embracing on the beach looked back up at him, his stomach dropped.
Oh. Fuck.
Nineteen
Matty could hardly breathe as he leafed through the pieces of paper containing the images on them. There were nine. Nine fucking pictures of him and Wells together, getting it on on the beach, holding each other, and looking every bit like the lovers they were.
“There are others, but they don’t show your face. Or Wells Lemiere’s. So, according to the guy who sent them to me, they mean nothing to him. But these do.”
Matty’s throat was dry. His heart, fuck, it was aching in his chest from beating so hard against his ribs. The images were beautiful, the two of them looked perfect, and hell, he loved Wells’s ass, but he couldn’t even admire that. He felt violated. Yeah, he was in the public eye, and shit like this happened sometimes, but when he was on a private beach? It obviously wasn’t that private if this fucker could have gotten a shot like this. Such an intimate moment.
Fuck.
Matty couldn’t even look at Brendan, he just kept flipping through the images, his heart in his throat. He couldn’t believe this. It wasn’t how he wanted anyone to find out, in the media. He could hear Brendan moving around, and when he cleared his throat, Matty closed the file, finally looking up. He went to say something, but Brendan started first.
“With your father being the commissioner, everyone would know if you were gay or bisexual since you would be involved with the gay pride events the NHL does. Since you’re not, and since no one ever sees your dad at those events and he’s gotten backlash for that, this guy is banking on the fact that no one knows. I didn’t know about your sexual orientation, and it’s none of my business anyway. And now, I don’t know how you want me to proceed.”
Matty swallowed, tapping his fingers against the edge of the file. “He’s banking on it?”
Brendan’s face changed, his brown eyes darkening. “That’s all you’re going to say?” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “Matt, I’ve known you for five years, and I never knew this about you. Never suspected it.”
Matty couldn’t look at him. “It’s no one’s business who I am with.”
“It’s about to be, and if I had known, I would have known how to handle this fucker instead of stammering and being completely shocked on the phone when he called. I could have told him to fuck off, I could have been prepared, but since I wasn’t, I basically gave him more ammunition.”
“And I apol
ogize for that, but again, I didn’t think anyone needed to know.”
“So your dad doesn’t know?”
He looked away. He didn’t want to do this, but then, he did trust Brendan. “No, he does not.”
Brendan exhaled loudly, shaking his head before running his fingers through his hair. “Wow. Wow. Okay.”
Matty waited, watching Brendan as his breath came out in spurts. Was Brendan going to let him go? Would he run for the hills and leave Matty to handle this himself? He hoped not because he sure as hell didn’t know what the hell to do. “So, what do we do?” he asked, and Brendan looked up, his eyes wide with shock.
“You gotta give me a damn second to wrap my brain around this,” he said, a little exasperated. “I was expecting you to come in here and tell me these were photoshopped!”
Matty shook his head, pressing his lips together. “They’re real. Lemiere is my boyfriend.”
Brendan blew out a breath. “I don’t even…” He paused, shaking his head. “I… Shit, Matt, no one knows?”
“No.”
“And I assume you don’t want them to know.”
Matty paused, holding Brendan’s gaze as he thought that over. “Not like this.”
Brendan nodded, running his hands down his face. “Well, he wants money, or he’s gonna leak them.”
His heart skipped a beat as his stomach twisted. Laying the file on Brendan’s desk, he asked, “How much?”
“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Matty grimaced. That would be a hit to his savings, but it was something he’d have to swallow. “Fine, that’s fine.”
Brendan bit his lip. “Each.”
“Each?”
“Each photo. Nine. So about six million.”
Matty almost threw up. There was no way. He didn’t have that kind of money yet. He made that a year, and he liked spending money. He had credit cards, but none of them had a limit to that amount. He could take out a loan, but did he want that interest? Fuck, did he have a choice?
“I don’t have that.”