Deke (Fake Boyfriend, #3)

by Eden Finley

“Right. Real men don’t like dicks,”

“What the fuck is taking so—” Vic spots the guy next to me. “Oh. Gotcha. Hurry up and do what you gotta do. I’ll stall.”

Hahaha! We love a supportive brother!

“Friends don’t let friends do stupid drunken things. You’d know this if you had any friends.” Touché.

Hooking up with a hockey player: bad idea. Closeted hockey player hooking up with a journalist in his hotel room where his entire team is staying: terrible idea. Running my hand down said hockey player’s hard chest and glorious muscles: fucking brilliant idea.

The sweet torture of being pretend boyfriends starts as soon as we arrive at Ollie’s surprisingly modest apartment.

“Sweet Neil Patrick Harris in a harness.”

“Hurry up. Some of us need coffee thanks to being awake half the night listening to your fuck session.”

Only, I run straight into Ollie’s dad. “Pfft. No need to run off. There’s really no secrets between us now.”

“I can’t handle being the one who got you outed when you’ve been able to keep it a secret for six fucking years. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your future.” Ollie looks confused. “That’s your issue? This is in no way your fault.” “You say that now, but—” His arms go to my shoulders, and he steps closer. “I will never see it that way.”

“This isn’t the way I wanted this to happen, but now that it is, we can only look forward, and when I see my future, I see you.”

“I don’t think I am ready, but after today, with this close call … I know I need to take control if I want this to come out the way I want it to. And I know if it was me being the one forced out today, I would kill for someone to stand behind me and say ‘me too.’ I can’t let Soren do it on his own. It’s lonely enough as it is in this industry.”