Chapter 94 94

Chapter 94 94
He gets out of the car without giving Dylan a chance to respond.
Dylan who laughs hysterically, rushing to the trunk and grabbing Andre’s bag with one hand and skates with the other. 
Skipping ahead when Andre tries to yank them.
 “You can not seriously think that I’m the one that’s out of your league?”
“Have you fucking seen yourself?” Andre halts when they reach the door, hands gesturing up and down Dylan’s body as he groans, “and then you’ve got the sexiest most brilliant brain that’s ever brained and all of that heart to go with it. Like damn .”
“Coming from the guy who is the number one rookie draft pick for the NHL—I know you love gassing me up, but when you over do it, it doesn’t feel as genuine.” Dylan is mostly teasing. 
Even if he really does struggle to see whatever the hell made Andre fall for him in the first place. Despite his own self deprecating thoughts, Dylan really does feel like they bring a good balance to each other or maybe he just hates the thought of Andre with someone else.
But when they reach the bench and he places Andre’s things there before sitting down, he’s not prepared for the way Andre’s arms brace on either side of his head. 
Leaning in until their noses brush, “not genuine…you think I was terrified to tell you how I felt for no reason?”
“No. You were terrified because of Daniel.”
Andre rolls his eyes, “obviously that was a part of it, but the bigger part was of me being terrified to strike out. I was content pretending I only wanted to be your best friend if it meant having any part of you.”
Dylan finds himself struggling to breathe, “what exactly is the point of this conversation?”
“The point is that I’ve always thought you were way too good for me—so telling you how I feel is not me over-doing it. It actually kind of pisses me off that you’d even say that… especially now.”
“I wasn’t…” he stops, Evan places a warm hand on Andre’s shoulder. “guessing you’re here to keep him in line?” he sends a playful wink in Dylan's direction. "Don't worry. It’s all cardio and low intensity puck control drills today.” Evan skates off and Dylan tries not to feel upset by the way Andre frowns before following behind him.
He wasn’t trying to piss him off… at all.
He—they were just talking, they were being playful—they weren’t…oh fuck. 
He blinks repeatedly, anything to will these stupid fucking tears away. It’s fine. 
Couples get annoyed with each other from time to time. 
And Andre does tell Dylan how much he loves him a lot. It must be frustrating to be doubted—even if Dylan was only joking.
Dylan grabs the extra shirt out of Andre’s bag. Mostly just needing something to busy his hands with, anything to distract from all of this regret he feels. 
If he could just erase the last ten minutes and they go back to how they were this morning…or in the car even…is better than Andre being pissed off.
He folds and unfolds the shirt countless times before Andre is standing at the wall and leaning over it. “Evan is tired of seeing the stuff dripping from my stitches.” Silently, Dylan reaches for the cloth and spray bottle he prepared in order to clean them if necessary while here. He didn’t realize his hand was shaking until Andre's fingers curl around his wrist right before he reaches his face, “what’s wrong?”
“I'm sorry.” Dylan says softly "I wasn’t…i wasn’t trying to downplay your feelings. I’m sorry.”
"I know” with limited options, Andre kisses the inside of his wrist, "I am too. Thank you for coming here with me and for taking care of this mess.” Dylan wiggles his wrist free and starts cleaning around the stitches.
Each day the amount gets less and less, which is good. He probably won’t really have to clean them at all here soon. 
Then they’ll just be waiting for them to dissolve. 
Once he’s finished. Dylan takes a single step back, “all done.” But Andre shakes his head, only able to reach the pocket of Dylan’s sweatshirt to tug him forward again so that he can leave a gentle kiss on his nose, “love you” 
Dylan’s lips pout as he tries to fight off the ridiculous smile he feels coming on, “love you too.”