“The only guy worse for it is that asshole.” Fisher’s finger jabbed Matty in the chest, jolting him out of his reverie.

Matty shoved his shoulder into Fisher’s, nearly knocking the guy off his bar stool. He laughed as Fisher scrambled back onto it. “What lies are you telling now?”

“Nothing!” Fisher retorted, leaning back so Matty could see the guy on his other side. “We’re telling Kevin to get out more.”

Matty had seen Kevin once or twice in the gym. They’d never really talked yet. Had he noticed him, though?

Oh, hell, yeah.

The guy had gorgeous long lashes and bright eyes, an as-yet-unbroken nose, and smile lines on either side of his full lips. He was broad, but not built like a tank. He looked lean and honed even under his t-shirt.

That was another thing: he was wearing a t-shirt and dark jeans, a little more casual than the guys who were obviously dressing up to get girls tonight. They all had cologne and collared shirts on, and they were casting their eyes around the bar now and then.

Kevin, though, was just leaning against the counter, a beer bottle in one hand. He raised it and nodded slightly. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Matty answered, hoping Kevin hadn’t noticed the once-over that he’d just given him. It was pretty normal for hockey players to size each other up, anyway. It was probably all the testosterone. He sipped his beer, then stood up and stepped around Fisher to shake hands. “How’s it goin’? You’re one of the new guys, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am,” Kevin laughed. “Been in town about a month.”

“Training with Glenn, too, huh? Smart move,” Matty told him. “I’ve been working with him for three years now and I get back way more than I put in.”

Kevin brightened up. “Yeah? Sweet, man. Thanks.”

“I’ve seen you working out, too. He’s pushing you pretty hard. You finish a season already?”

“Yeah, I transferred from Fredericton.”

Fredericton… it only took Matty a second to figure out who else he knew from there. “Oh, shit, really? Like Cam?”

Cameron had been one of his teammates before he’d been forced out of hockey from a medical condition right before being called up. In his stead, Matty had gotten the spot. Cam had been really fucking good about it, though — not jealous or snarky at all. Cam was great and low-drama. Matty missed the guy.

“Yeah, Cam Riley?” Kevin answered, grinning. “I know him. He’s a good buddy of mine.”

“No shit. He told me one of his friends was coming out.” Matty punched Kevin’s arm lightly, and… Kevin’s tongue darted across his lips. Just for the briefest of seconds, before Kevin raised his bottle for another quick sip and laughed.

That was a distinct tingle of interest down Matty’s spine.

Shit, however pretty the new guy was, he couldn’t get turned on by him. For so many reasons.

He tried to ignore that suspicion: if Cam’s gay, is Kevin? But no, they all had plenty of straight buddies — or buddies who said they were straight, anyway. No out gay players at the top level meant most guys were pretty quiet about it all the way down.

“Yeah?” Kevin grinned as he pushed his empty bottle across the counter and made eye contact with a bartender to ask for another. “That’s awesome. Dude. Small world.”

“It is, man.” When Matty glanced back at Fisher, he was chatting to a blonde woman on the other side of the bar. “Oh, of course he’s gone already.”

Kevin laughed. “Yeah, they invited me out to pick up girls and make friends here. Apparently I’m supposed to get out of the gym more. I’m always in there.”

“I know,” Matty grinned. “I’m always the last one in there.”

“Yeah, me too. Like I said.” Kevin’s chest swelled as he stood a little straighter, like he was challenging Matty.

Matty let it drop. He didn’t need a contest of Biggest Gym Addict right now. He just gave an easygoing smile to help Kevin relax. “So you knew Cam in school?”

“Yeah, most of the kids in that town know each other,” Kevin told him. “He was a bit older than me, but the hockey kids all know each other, believe me.”

Matty knew that feeling. “I’m from a small town too.” He clinked bottles with Kevin when he got his new beer and paid. “I’m sorry. I know that clique feeling.”

Kevin laughed. “Yeah. Anyway, Cam got signed here pronto. I finished up my degree in Fredericton first.” He said it almost apologetically.

“That’s cool,” Matty told him instantly. As far as Matty was concerned, he didn’t have anything to apologize for. It wasn’t like he was doing a PhD and still waiting to be picked, like the last kid up against the wall in dodgeball. Matty hadn’t seen the guy play yet, mind, but Coach Walker wouldn’t have wanted him if he didn’t have talent or grit, probably both.

Kevin relaxed when Matty didn’t judge him or anything, then nodded. “What about you?”

“Been here on your team a couple seasons now, and I got called up for this season.”

“Oh yeah? You play forward, right?”

“Yeah. You too?”

Kevin nodded.

That explained the weird bit of defensiveness. They could be competing for the same spot on the team someday, even though it didn’t really work that way. “Right, left…?” Matty asked.

“Left,” Kevin told him.

Phew. Future linemates, maybe. “Centre,” Matty countered with a nod. “For now, anyway. We’ll see what happens after camp.”

Prospects camp: their chance to prove themselves. They could get sent home, or they could get a spot on the first line. The latter was a lot less likely, but the whiz kids could earn their place at the head of the team by showing off their talents.

Matty wished he had that kind of natural spark. His hockey had always been about grinding through, not showing up with a few flashy moves and a combative attitude and expecting that to open doors. He didn’t kid himself: there was a lot more competition out there than there were spots on this team, and a guy who was easy to get along with was more valuable than a princess talent.

“Ugh,” Kevin shivered. “I don’t know what to expect.”

“It’s intense, but it’s good,” Matty reassured him. “It’s awesome. The coach is there, he doesn’t take bullshit. Everyone works his ass off and the best guys stay. Good old-fashioned grit.”

Whenever Kevin smiled, his face lit up; when he talked hockey, there was passion in his eyes and he leaned forward a little. His t-shirt clung to his body, moving with him rather than giving Matty a peek down at his chest.

Shit, no. Don’t be a creep, Matty told himself. He had this odd feeling that Kevin wouldn’t mind it, but he couldn’t be sure… and he couldn’t be wrong.

Kevin’s energy alone was magnetic. He refused to lean in towards Kevin no matter how much as he wanted to.

“Yeah. That’s why I’m training so hard this summer,” Kevin admitted. “Cam told me the first season’s the big one. You gotta show your potential, even if you’re not there yet.” His eyes were filled with that nervous energy.

“Yeah,” Matty told him. “Just take it easy. It seems scary the first time, but everyone wants you to do well.” Matty remembered those feelings: the nervous excitement about being given a shot to go further than he ever had, the terror that somehow he was an impostor and he’d be kicked off the team for being a shitty player, and worst of all, the sucker punch that was reading message board speculation about his potential. “And you’ve got the trainer of a lifetime on your side right now.”

“Right,” Kevin agreed. “Man, we should hang out sometime. Any friend of Cam’s…”

Matty knew exactly why that idea sent a thrill of excitement down his body, straight to his cock.

But no, this wasn’t a hookup in a dark bar near Church and Wellesley. Kevin was a new guy in town and probably a little lonely, especially moving here from his hometown. This was gonna be his first time playing away from home. He needed buddies.

Just buddies, Matty told himself firmly. You can do buddies. He prayed Kevin wasn’t angling for a wingman at the bars.

“Yeah!” Matty answered and clinked bottles again. “A friend of Cam’s is a friend of mine, too. Go for drinks sometime?”

“That’d be great,” Kevin agreed, and the grin on his face made Matty smile.

If nothing else, having a young, green player around who was just starting to see the world open up for him would be a change. With his own transition to the major leagues this fall, Matty felt exactly the same, only one step up.

Maybe they had even more in common than Cam.