LOGINPOV: GunnerHe knew what that was about. He was just wound up. Because he hadn't gone out and gotten laid last night like he'd planned.He'd gone over to his ma's, helped her with the chores she'd called him about at the theater, then sat for dinner. Then he'd dropped by Kensei's, but his friend was out. So instead Gunner had ended up chatting with his wife, Sarah, who was seeking relief in a small glass of wine while their baby was, for once, asleep. And adult conversation. Gunner's specialty.But Sarah had been the one to do most of the talking. And Gunner was forced to sit back, arms folded, and just lend an ear. He could do that well enough.Apparently she needed it. The girl was all over the place, venting briefly about the trials of parenting and dealing with Kensei's unique fathering skills, before going into the details about the parties Gunner had missed, then showing him her ideas to renovate their kitchen. Gunner had pointed out some ideas of his own that she'd loved, which
POV: GunnerGunner exhaled hard underneath the water. He had to fight for it, but as he breached the surface, he took another quick breath and plunged back down, body turning in a tight somersault before he pushed off like a mule against the concrete wall and propelled himself back the way he'd come.It was his last lap and he was feeling it now, his butterfly strokes not as strong and orderly as they had been a half hour ago.In his defense, he'd done a full workout already, going through some of his usual hockey routines, working the muscles he'd need to rely on the most while on the ice.This was just an extra bit of punishment. But his reward was the sauna. Cold and heat. Polar opposites, but a great way to relax.And he needed to.He was feeling an indescribable flux of emotions this morning, nervous and tense, yet excited and hungry to get at the day, as if his body were driving him to get up for something extremely important.Well, of course it was. He was almost back to the ga
POV: KhyleKhyle shut the door to his apartment, hot, bothered, and relieved to be home. He had just under an hour before he needed to head over to his dad's for a late family dinner.He rid himself of his shirt as he crossed the living room, heading straight for the shower. He could feel his orange hair reorganize itself into staticky spikes from the quick disrobe in the dry air, an irritating feeling that seemed perfectly within its rights to be there at the moment.He pulled down the zipper of his faded jeans and shucked them off in the hallway, too frustrated to care where he'd dropped them.It had been a long, strange day.Khyle reached past the curtain and twisted the tap to full, stepping into the spray even before it had fully warmed.And he did not feel one bit sorry for Gunner for whatever turmoil he might be in. Not one bit. Not after what he'd done to him in the movie theater. The asshole had taken his teasing just one step short of a tidy little harassment suit.He grabbe
POV: GunnerGunner didn't remember much about the movie they'd watched. He couldn't really.Oh, it was packed plenty full of action and witty Hollywood banter alright, and he'd watched the damn thing. But compared to the man next to him, it was largely uninteresting.What did get his attention was that Khyle had managed to get him to help decimate a large bag of overly buttered popcorn. Because Gunner didn't eat that stuff as a rule. Just like he didn't eat poutine as a rule.He never would have thought that Santos Khyle could be a bad influence on him. The other way around, sure. But on him? No way. But it seemed Khyle had a way of breaking his rules, a way of pawning his bad habits off on Gunner.At first, he had deemed it a bad thing, another strike on Gunner's mental list against the orangette, a habit he hadn't actually relinquished yet, from a time that felt like forever ago, even though it had only been a week and a half since they'd made their agreement back in that hospital r
POV: Dual, Khyle and Gunner"Not unless that thing reaches all the way up."Gunner followed his brief gaze toward the sky in confusion, expecting to see something there, before realization struck."What are. Oh." Gunner blinked. After a moment of staring at the cloud-filled sky, the motion had sunk in. And he'd found enough sense to look mildly contrite. "Hell."Khyle decided to take hell to mean sorry, and shrugged one shoulder lightly."It's fine." He explained without prompting. "It happened when I was a kid." His expression shifted to one of fondness laced with lingering traces of regret. "I still miss her," he added softly, "but she'll always be right here, you know." Fingertips met the fabric of his shirt beneath his partially open jacket, then fell away to his side again.Gunner automatically tracked the movement of the younger man's slender fingers, then risked a longer look into Khyle's eyes, inspired by the tone of his voice. His eyes drew him in too. Though they pissed him
POV: KhyleGunner's threat had been pretty convincing, and Khyle had jumped into the passenger seat instead of the driver's seat, guessing that might be one step too much for the embattled enforcer. He'd only been a second or two behind, but it had been just enough time for Khyle to lock the doors and roll the window down. And he'd made Gunner promise to behave before he opened the door. Khyle wasn't actually scared. It was a game. And all in all, his impromptu plan had worked. Gunner's mood, though murderous on the surface, had improved remarkably.They were just reaching the steps of the theater's covered entrance when the bluenet's phone rang, the distinct ringtone set to alert him when it was one special person."Gotta take this," he stated, before putting a few steps between them and turning his body slightly away from the other man."Hey beautiful," he chimed, grinning his bad boy grin.Even though the bluenet had given Khyle part of his shoulder and moved away for privacy, he d







