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October 20: Dance + Tree House (Tyler/Jamie)

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When Tyler invites him during locker clean out to his lake house near Toronto during the summer sometime, Jamie figures it’s an empty gesture. He thinks Tyler is just being nice (although he doesn’t invite anyone else in the locker room) and doesn’t actually expect Jamie to take him up on the offer. It might be nice to meet up with Tyler, see his place now that he’s got it all set up how he wants, but he probably won’t end up going.

He’s imagined it before though. Tyler giving him the grand tour of his hometown, take him to the rink he first learned to skate, where he first played hockey, take him to his favorite restaurant. He’s thought about Tyler taking him fishing on his private lake, spending the day just the two of them on a boat, talking or not talking as the sun rises above them, reflecting on the water. He’s pictured Tyler taking him home, both of them curled together on the couch as they watch some other teams play the Stanley Cup finals and discuss how that’ll be them the next year.

They’re all nice thoughts, but he doesn’t think they’ll ever become reality. Even if he did go to Tyler’s house over the summer, he doesn’t think Tyler would have time to do any of that with him. Tyler’s always got his summers packed with vacations and friends and family, going to concerts, traveling overseas, hanging out with “his boys.” Jamie wouldn’t get special treatment, he’s sure. He’d come over, and there’d already be 15 other guys there, maybe girls too, crashed on the various mattresses Tyler keeps just for these occasions. Tyler would say hi, point him to where the beer was and the grill and then mingle with everyone else, maybe be able to have a ten minute conversation with him alone before Tyler’s attention got pulled elsewhere by someone else.

It makes him want to visit less, so he doesn’t bother to text Tyler to ask if he was serious about Jamie coming, or ask when would be a good time for him to visit. In fact, he doesn’t even really text Tyler at all.

These days he mostly stays in Dallas in the off-season or goes on a few vacations with his family or friends. He does go back home and visits for a few weeks, sometimes more if there’s some family event going on. This summer Jenny’s due with her third kid, and this time he can actually be there (instead of playing hockey). Jordie also has some boys trip planned for a week in some cabin for him and some of their childhood friends. So unusually, he’s going to be in Canada for about a month or so, given the undetermined time of when Jenny will actually have the baby.

It’s while he’s in Victoria having dinner with his family, having just flown in that Monday morning, that he gets a text from Tyler asking if he’s going to make a trip to Toronto and when.

He’s surprised to say the least, but he decides if he’s going to actually see Tyler, now’s the perfect time. Jenny’s not due for several more weeks and Jordie wasn’t planning on going to the cabin until after Jenny had the baby anyway. He’s not doing anything but hanging out with his family and appearing at a jersey retirement ceremony that his junior hockey league is doing for his and Jordie’s jerseys, but that’s not for another two weeks.

He texts Tyler that he could probably come up that weekend or if it’s too soon sometime the following week.

Tyler responds with,

This weekend’s great! And if you have the time, you can definitely stay longer. ;)

Jamie’s not sure how to interpret that winky face, so he ignores it. He texts back.

I’ll look at flights after dinner and let you know.

“Awesome!” is all Tyler responds with, so Jamie goes back to eating, trying to catch up with what he missed from the conversation.

Later that night he looks at flights and debates on if he should actually stay longer than just a few days. He had talked to Jenny after dinner about what would happen if he left for a little bit, and she had seemed rather confident that the baby wasn’t going to come while he was away. Jamie’s not sure how she could really know for sure, but maybe it’s one of those motherly instincts she has.

He decides to stay for a week. If it gets to be too much and they (or he) gets tired of it, he can always change his flight and come back earlier. Maybe use Jenny as an excuse if Tyler is confused why he’s leaving sooner than he planned. He books the tickets and forwards the flight info to Tyler’s email, the texts him.

Booked my flight. Info’s in your email.

Got it!

Oh good you’re staying for the week. :) Now I can plan more things.

More things? Like what?

You’ll just have to wait and see Jameson! ;)

There’s that winky face again. Ugh. Jamie leaves the texts at that, not knowing how to respond. Tyler seems really excited to see him, which isn’t unusual; Tyler is usually excited to see his friends after time apart, but the texts seem… flirty? It’s that damn emoji’s fault. It’s confusing; what does it even mean?! Jamie hates it and all the likely false hope it’s giving him.

~

When Jamie lands and is past the terminal, he sees Tyler standing near baggage claim, head down staring at his phone. He’s in a backwards cap, T-shirt, and shorts, and even though it’s nothing Jamie hasn’t seen before, Jamie can’t help but find him a sight for sore eyes. It’s only been a month since he’d last seen Tyler, but apparently he’d been missing him more than he thought he had.

“Hey!” Tyler says when he spots Jamie approaching and he pulls him into a big hug. “I missed you,” he says as he gives Jamie a squeeze before letting go.

“You, too,” Jamie blurts out, hoping it sounds more casual than he feels.

It must be because Tyler pulls back with a grin. “Come on, I parked out this way. Did you have any bags?” he asks pointing to the rotating carousel. Jamie shakes his head, and Tyler turns, expecting Jamie to follow him out to his car, which he does.

“So, I was thinking,” Tyler says when they get to his car and Jamie’s tossed his carry-on in the backseat. “Since we’re in town, I could give you the locals only tour of Toronto.”

Jamie rolls his eyes, doing his best to hide the flutter in his chest. “I’ve been to Toronto plenty of times, Ty.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t been with me on a tour! Games don’t count.”

Jamie sighs, though he’s smiling. “What does this tour entail?”

Tyler wiggles his eyebrows and starts his car, pulling out of his spot and heading towards the exit. “Prepare yourself, Benny.”

~

The tour ends up being more of a drive-by penny tour, Tyler pointing out popular sites and buildings. They do stop at Tyler’s favorite restaurants to eat, and then Tyler takes Jamie to Brampton, pointing out what’s changed since he was a kid, where he was when he decided he wanted to play hockey forever.

It’s absolutely perfect, and Jamie can’t believe one of the things he had hoped to do with Tyler is actually happening. He tries not to get his hopes up when they finally head towards Tyler’s house. It’s late afternoon/evening when they pull up the drive, the whole time as they got closer Jamie tried to psych himself out and keep his hopes down by expecting several cars parked in front.

So when they arrive and there’s none, Jamie is too surprised to keep it to himself.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asks as they exit the car.

Tyler looks at him, brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I… Don’t you usually have a ton of people over all the time? I guess I was expecting a party or something?”

“Did you want a party?” Tyler asks with a frown.

“No.”

“I knew you were coming. Why would I have a bunch of other people you don’t really know here?” Tyler says it like it’s obvious and Jamie’s being dumb. And really, Jamie kind of is. Tyler knows him well enough to know Jamie wouldn’t have appreciated mingling with strangers; he’s not sure why he assumed so much when he came to visit. Perhaps it was his own way to convince himself that this trip was nothing, just a friendly visit, that should mean nothing. Maybe he’s heart wouldn’t hurt as bad when his assumptions were accurate.

Now, though, he’s not sure what to think as he follows Tyler into the house, his dogs rushing up to meet them at the door. After the dogs are sufficiently satisfied with pats and attention, Tyler takes Jamie through a tour of the house, directing him to the guest room that’s directly across from his bedroom (as opposed to the several others they pass down the hall). Jamie’s choosing not to read anything into it as he sets his stuff down on the bed and continuing to follow Tyler through the house and into the backyard.

“Wow,” Jamie says when they come out, the giant fire pit and barbeque in front of them.

“Pretty awesome right?” Tyler grins. “After dinner when it’s darker, we can totally turn it on. Oh, and speaking of dinner. I got some steaks and veggies in the fridge we can grill. Sound good?”

“Definitely.”

“I’ll go get them ready, if you want to start up the grill? It’s pretty similar to yours.”

“Okay,” Jamie says, watching as Tyler disappears back into the house.

He approaches the grill, seeing a lighter and cleaner sitting off to the side. He gets it lit and started, cleaning it off as it heats up, and notices music filtering in from… somewhere. He looks around and sees some outdoor speakers near the grill and more on the patio by the house.

While he looks around he sees something further off to the side of the house, and though the sun’s starting to go down, he’s pretty sure what he’s looking at is a tree house.

It seems out of place given everything else, and while Tyler is kind of a big kid with a big bank account, the tree house looks fairly simple. Definitely not anything fancy like the house and fire pit and grill. Jamie wants to ask him about it and he puts the question in the back of his mind to ask later.

~

Later turns out to be after dinner, the fire pit on as they sit on Tyler’s custom chairs both nursing beers as their food settles. The air is cool around them, the small fire a comfort in front of them. As it gets darker, the patio lights and a few scattered lights on the property automatically turn on. There’s one above the tree house that turns on, and it reminds Jamie about his question.

“Is that a tree house?” Jamie gestures to it with the beer in his hand.

Tyler’s cheeks flush, and he nods, almost sheepishly.

“Why do you have a tree house?” Jamie asks, genuinely curious and hoping Tyler doesn’t take it as judgmental.

“I, uh… I always wanted one when I was a kid, but mom thought they weren’t safe and we never lived anywhere where I could have one anyway. But, uh, now I do. So…” He shrugs, finishing off the last of his beer.

“Can I see it?”

Tyler’s head snaps to Jamie, his eyes wide. “Really? You don’t think it’s dumb?”

“Yes, really. And no, it’s not dumb. Makes sense to me, and to be honest, I always thought tree houses were cool growing up too.”

“They are cool,” Tyler says with a grin as he stands. “And mine is the coolest.”

Jamie laughs and stands, following Tyler through the backyard to the tree house. When they get closer, it’s definitely a little nicer than he thought it was. Tyler flips some switch nearby, and when he does a string of twinkle lights come on inside the house and the music that had been faint since it was coming from the patio a ways off is now louder, filtering inside the tree house now.

Tyler climbs up the rope ladder hanging above them, and after he’s several rungs up, Jamie climbs up too, doing his best not to stare at Tyler’s ass just above him. Tyler’s talking as they climb, voice getting more excited as he tells Jamie about the tree house.

“I was going to put in a staircase, but I don’t know, I like the ladder. Reminds me more of what I would’ve wanted when I was a kid.”

“Did you also want surround sound and custom lighting when you were a kid?” Jamie asks when they’re finally inside, and he sees the speakers in the ceiling and a couple of smaller Love Sacs in the corner, twinkle lights woven around all the beams of the ceiling.

Tyler laughs. “I’ve got more sophisticated tastes these days. I’m sure my eight year old self would’ve approved.”

“What does your mom think of it?”

Tyler shakes his head, smiling. “Oh, she hates it. She still thinks it’s unsafe, even though I had professionals put it up.” Jamie laughs at that. “She won’t even let me up here if she’s present.”

“You totally sneak up here anyway, don’t you?”

“Hell yes, I do!”

Jamie rolls his eyes because of course he does. He walks around the perimeter of the house. It’s not a big area, but it’s definitely bigger than it appears from the outside. Besides the lights, speakers, and Love Sacs, there’s a few shelves set up that hold some books, games and what look like puzzles. A few crates near the bean bags hold pillows and blankets. Jamie’s expecting a TV somewhere, but there doesn’t appear to be one. There is a mini-fridge though and another shelf filled with some snacks.

“So what you do up here?” Jamie asks, spinning to face Tyler who’s been just inside the doorway watching Jamie take everything in.

Tyler lifts a shoulder. “Sometimes I read, or take a nap. Sometimes I crank up the music and have a dance party to get out of my own head.”

Jamie bites back a smile as he pictures Tyler hopping around the tree house, music cranked as loud as it’ll go and Tyler singing along, mumbling the words he doesn’t know. “Dance party, huh?”

Tyler grins wide, eyebrows high on his face. He grabs a remote off the shelf that Jamie hadn’t noticed, and the music inside gets louder, some rap song that sounds familiar but Jamie can’t name.

When Tyler starts singing, badly Jamie might add, and moving his body, Jamie watches on amused. It’s not long before Tyler pulls on Jamie’s hands and arms and gets him to join in in the dancing, shaking their arms and bodies to some pop song now that both of them only know the chorus of.

They dance and dance, it’s honestly the most fun Jamie’s had in awhile. He can see why Tyler does it even if he’s alone. Tyler’s laughing, eyes closed as he jumps up and down, every now and then bumping into Jamie because he’s not watching where he is.

The impromptu dance party doesn’t go on long, both of them tiring out and breathless after some time. Tyler’s smiling at Jamie as he catches his breath, and Jamie returns it. They’re standing very close to each other, closer than Jamie had initially realized, as they stare at each other while their heart rates slowly return to normal.

And maybe it’s the alcohol from earlier, the adrenaline and energy from dancing, or the pure magnetism that he can’t resist when he stares at Tyler, but Jamie feels brave and leans forward, pleased when Tyler does the same.

“Ty?” he whispers, not sure what he’s asking.

“Yes, Jamie,” Tyler whispers back, and it’s an answer to Jamie’s unknown question.

He’s not sure who moves first, but they’re suddenly kissing and Tyler’s fingers are threaded through his hair, and his arms are wrapped around Tyler’s waist.

“I’m really glad you came,” Tyler says softly against Jamie’s lips when their lips part.

“Me, too.”

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