Fic: A Good Education (Hockey, Danny Briere/Claude Giroux, 73000 words, Explicit) 1/7

[rsadelle]

Master Post

Claude calls from the road. Danny knows it's from the road, because even though he's not playing anymore, he's still in the habit of knowing the schedule. Given the time, Claude has to be in the hotel, post-nap, pre-dinner, that time when everyone tries to figure out what they're going to do with themselves.

"Caelan says you're filling out college applications too," Claude says.

Danny looks at his laptop screen, where the blinking cursor in the middle of what he's pretty sure is a terrible application essay seems to be taunting him. "Yes."

"Why?"

Danny sighs. "I need something to do."

There's a very long silence that Danny thinks probably means Claude is trying to decide whether or not to laugh at him.

"The boys are all busy," Danny says before Claude can make that decision. "Most of the time, it's just me and the dogs. I'm bored."

"Okay," Claude says, "but why school?"

"Why not? It'll give me a chance to do something else with my life."

Claude hmms. "This is your midlife crisis, isn't it? Are you going to college so you can pick up sorority girls?"

Danny laughs. "I'm not going to pick up anyone the same age as my boys." He looks at his essay. "I might not even get in. I have to write an essay. I haven't written anything like this since high school."

"You can do it," Claude says. "I've seen the Marcel Robert plaque on your wall. You don't win that by being stupid."

Danny makes a face at his essay. "I think I just have to start over."

"Well," Claude says, "it's a good thing you don't have anything else to do."

Danny laughs, and he feels better about opening a new document to start over when he hangs up.

*

"I thought you weren't going to school until next year," Claude says when Danny answers the phone.

"Hi, Claude," Danny says. "How are you?"

Claude ignores that. "Why are you taking classes now?"

Danny read over the admission requirements and the curriculum for every program he applied to, and what that made clear to him is that he needs to do a little catch-up work before he starts school. He tells Claude as much and, "It's only one class."

"That's not what Carson made it sound like."

"Carson doesn't even live here," Danny points out. "It's just one calculus class. I took it in high school, but I need the refresher so I'm not behind next year."

"I agree with the boys," Claude says. "I can't believe you're going to school for fun."

Danny shrugs even though Claude can't see him. "It's what I want to do."

"Are you having fun?"

Danny looks over at where his calculus book is sitting on the table. "Not fun like a party, but fun like working hard for hockey was fun."

"Do you miss it?" Claude asks after a moment.

"Yes," Danny says without needing to think about it. "Of course I do."

"Maybe you can join an intramural team when you're in school," Claude says.

Danny laughs. "I don't know that I want to try to keep up with college kids."

"They wouldn't be able to keep up with you," Claude says.

He might have a point. Danny hmms and then says, "I have to worry about getting in first."

"You'll get in," Claude says. He can't possibly know anything about college admissions, but Danny appreciates his easy confidence anyway.

"At least somewhere," Danny says.

"Everywhere," Claude predicts. "They'd be stupid not to want you."

Danny smiles and wishes Claude were there so he could hug him for that. He settles for saying, "Thank you."

*

Danny gets in everywhere he applies.

"Of course you did," Claude says, when he calls from the road to ask about it. "Do you know where you're going?"

"I have to wait for Caelan to decide first." That was the promise Danny made, that even if he and Caelan applied to the same schools (and they did, because in December Caelan's girlfriend thought she might want to go to Bryn Mawr and Caelan wasn't sure he wanted to go away to school if she stayed), Caelan would get first pick and Danny would go somewhere else.

"Congratulations anyway," Claude says. "We should go out for dinner to celebrate when I get back."

"Yeah," Danny says, "that sounds good."

*

When Claude gets back, he takes Danny, Caelan, and Cameron out to dinner, which is more of a feat than it seems with a pair of teenage boys who have conflicting schedules. They make time for Claude, though, more than they usually do for Danny.

"What about you, eh?" Claude asks Caelan. "Do you know where you're going?"

Caelan looks at Danny before he answers. "Alexis and I decided we're going to UCLA."

Danny wrote the checks for the application fees; he knew that was a possibility. It's still a surprise, the way his heart clenches at the thought of it. It shouldn't be that hard since Carson's also out of the house, but LA is a lot farther away than Kitchener.

"Do they even have hockey?" Cameron asks before anyone else can say anything.

"It's not NCAA," Caelan says, "but they have hockey. I talked to the coach." He shrugs. "I'm not going pro, so it doesn't matter."

"You get your pick of schools," Claude says to Danny. "Where are you going?"

"You're sure about UCLA?" Danny asks Caelan.

"Yes. Alexis already paid her registration deposit." Caelan shifts a little. "I was waiting to tell you and Mom."

Danny nods. "You have to tell your mom, and then we'll take care of all that stuff." Then he turns to Claude and says, "Wharton," and then when Claude doesn't look like he knows what Danny's talking about, "the business school at Penn."

"Ivy League," Claude says. "Impressive."

"I can't believe you're going to school for fun," Cameron says. "I don't want to go to school now."

"When you're seventeen," Danny says, "we can talk about whether or not your future involves school. For now, you don't have a choice."

*

Danny's at the kitchen table, dogs flopped at his feet, staring down an integral that just won't make sense, when Claude shows up unannounced. In the kitchen, because it was easier on everybody if he just kept a key.

"Wow, you're taking this seriously." Claude rubs his thumb over Danny's forehead where it's no doubt creased from frowning at his problem set.

Danny turns his scowl on Claude. "If I don't pass this class, I have to take it all over again when I start at Wharton."

Claude says, "You're the one who wanted to go back to school. This is what you get for it," and then, "Want to fuck?" without any transition.

Danny looks at him, and looks at his problem set. It's tempting.

"Come on," Claude says. "You can work on this later. A break might help."

Danny laughs. "You're only saying that because you want to fuck."

Claude grins at him and shrugs unrepentantly. "It might help anyway. Get your mind on something else."

"Your pick up lines are terrible."

Claude grabs at the front of his shirt, and Danny lets himself be pulled out of his chair. "They always work on you."

Claude doesn't let go until they get to the stairs, and even then he just herds Danny up the stairs in front of him.

"Are you looking at my ass, or are you trying to keep me from going back to my homework?"

"Both," Claude says. "Your ass is still great, even though you're retired."

"That's why you come over for sex. Aren't booty calls supposed to involve an actual call?" Danny closes his bedroom door behind them. They shouldn't get disturbed, but enough people have keys to his house that it's better to be safe than sorry.

"It's ten-thirty on Tuesday morning," Claude says. "You work out earlier, the boys are in school, and your class is Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I knew you wouldn't be busy."

"I might not have wanted to fuck."

Claude laughs, and his hands settle onto Danny's skin, sliding up under his shirt. "You always do when it's me." One of his hands leaves Danny's side to touch his lips. "I've been thinking about your mouth."

Danny pulls him farther into the room. "I'm not getting on my knees. I'm too old for that."

Claude laughs, but doesn't try to stop Danny from pulling him all the way to the bed.

Danny sits on the edge of the bed, legs apart so Claude can step between them. Claude undoes his own fly, but Danny helps him push his jeans and boxer briefs down. Claude's already hard, and Danny tilts his head up to look at him.

"I told you I've been thinking about your mouth." Claude rests his fingers against Danny's lips.

Danny takes that as a cue and opens his mouth to suck on them for the few seconds before Claude makes a strangled noise and pulls them away. Danny smirks at Claude before he opens his mouth for Claude's cock.

He knows how good he is at this, but he still likes hearing Claude moan and say, "Danny, your mouth."

Danny doesn't try to drag it out, because if Claude's been thinking about his mouth, he's not going to last long anyway, and he doesn't, chokes on Danny's name as he comes, and pets Danny's hair when he swallows.

"Why are you still dressed?" Claude pushes Danny back, hands twisting a little in Danny's hair when Danny licks his cock the whole way.

"I was busy."

Claude pulls up on the hem of Danny's shirt. Danny lifts his arms to let Claude get it off him, and winces when Claude tosses it across the room.

"We're having sex," Claude says. "You can complain about me making a mess later. Take your cock out."

Danny does, not bothering to get all the way out of his clothes, and strokes himself.

"Yeah," Claude says, "that's it."

Danny stops, hand still curled around his cock, and looks at Claude. "Are you going to make me do all the work here?"

Claude bends over and kisses him. "I like to watch." But then he pushes at Danny's shoulder. "Scoot up and lie down. I'm not getting on my knees either."

Danny frowns, even as he moves so he's lying on the bed. "Problems with them?"

Claude rolls his eyes. "You really don't know how to do this, do you?" He kisses Danny again. "I'm just getting old."

Then it's Danny's turn to roll his eyes. "You're not even thirty."

"Not sexy." Claude kisses him, and again and again, and he puts his hand on Danny's cock, stroking it in a loose grip that's not enough to get Danny off but more than enough to make him forget anything but sex.

Danny doesn't realize how much it's turning him on until he asks, "Are you going to get me off or are you just teasing?" and it comes out in gasps.

"I'm trying to make you only think about this."

"I am," Danny promises. "I really am." He puts his hand over Claude's, tightens their shared grip on his cock.

"I thought you didn't want to do all the work." Claude sounds maddeningly composed, and he looks down between them at their hands on Danny's cock, moving to Danny's rhythm now.

"If you're not going to-"

Claude kisses him, deep enough to leave him breathless, and then pulls their hands away and replaces them with his mouth.

Danny groans and does his best not to thrust up into Claude's mouth. He does put his hands in Claude's hair and rub at his scalp, not quite holding Claude to his cock, but encouraging him to stay there.

It's been a while since the last time they did this, but Claude still knows how he likes it. His cheeks hollow around Danny's cock, his tongue playing over it, his hands alternately running over Danny's thighs and cupping his balls.

Danny tugs on Claude's hair when he gets close, as a warning more than anything else. Claude only sucks harder, rolls Danny's balls in one hand with the other spread out over his thigh.

Danny comes with a low moan, and runs his hands down to Claude's cheeks to feel them around him.

Claude pulls of him with a slight pop. "Good enough, old man?"

Danny's too wrung out to do more than flip him off.

Claude chuckles. "I guess so." He flops down next to Danny. It's nice.

"What happened to Kristen?" Danny asks when it's been long enough that he can think again and remember there was a reason they hadn't done this in a while.

"She broke up with me." Claude sighs. "She didn't like that I was traveling all the time."

Danny pats his hip, the easiest part to reach without moving. He knows about that one.

"And," Claude leans up on an elbow so he's looking down at Danny, "she said she didn't want someone with so much emotional baggage. Do I even have emotional baggage?"

Danny hmms. "I always thought your long-time affair with plaid suits left some damage."

"Oh, shut up." Claude flops back down. "I don't have any baggage. I think that was just an excuse. At least you got laid out of it."

Danny snorts. "Did you really come over here just for sex?"

"Sex, lunch, and a nap," Claude says through a yawn.

"I still don't cook," Danny reminds him.

"So we'll order in or go out." Claude turns onto his side, scrunches into the pillow so his nose is against Danny's cheek. "Now be quiet. Naps are very important for NHL superstars."

"I still have homework to finish."

Claude's arm drapes across Danny before he even finishes the sentence. "You can do that later. The nap is an important part of your break."

Danny says, "You just hate to sleep alone after sex," but he doesn't get up. Maybe a nap will give his brain time to work out the integrals from his problem set.

*

Claude goes home to Ottawa when his season is over and Carson comes home when his school year is over. Danny's summer means he has a house full of boys when they aren't with Sylvie, and he talks to Claude in texts and phone calls.

"Best golf game of my summer," Claude says.

"Can you really say that when it's only June?" Danny asks.

"At least I'm doing something. When was the last time you went golfing?"

"Yesterday." Danny grins into the phone when Claude doesn't have an answer for that. "It's not all boredom and lying around here."

"Plenty of time to do that when you're a college student."

"I'm not sure that's exactly how it works."

"What do I know? I got good at hockey so I wouldn't have to go to college."

Danny laughs. "What are you going to do when you retire?"

"Golf," Claude says without hesitation.

Danny laughs again. "You can't golf all the time."

"Watch me." There's background noise, like Claude's moving around or opening cabinets or something. "What are you doing if you're not golfing?"

"Trying to pick out my classes for the fall."

"I thought your program had a bunch of assigned things."

"It does, but I still have to take general ed, and a writing seminar."

Claude laughs and something makes a crashing noise. "A writing seminar?"

"Required. I have to pick one, and there are a lot. What are you doing?"

"Putting away groceries. Just pick one."

"What did you even buy? You don't cook. And I can't just pick one. I have to write about something for a whole semester. It's not going to be something boring."

"Fuck you," Claude says without heat. "I cook more than you do. Send me the list, I'll help you pick one."

Danny switches tabs to his email and sends the link to Claude. "I just emailed it to you. Finish putting away your groceries first."

"Eh, all the cold stuff is put away."

"You're going to have groceries on your counter for months."

"They'll be put away by the time you come to visit." There's the sound of clicking from Claude's laptop. "You weren't lying about there being a lot of them."

"Of course I wasn't. I still have to pick just one of them."

"Mmm." Claude's quiet for a moment, and then he laughs. "You should take this one. Drinking and Cultural Difference. You could write about drinking all semester."

"You're only choosing that because it's on the first page."

"No, come on, this sounds great: 'in some contexts, drinking is condemned, while in others it is celebrated,' 'the role of drinking in social interactions,' 'how intoxication is exhibited in different societies.' You know a lot about drinking."

"Not as much as you."

"Funny," Claude deadpans. "It sounds interesting. I'm all the way through the second page, and that one sounds the best."

Danny clicks through to the second page. "I could take Investment Philosophies. That would actually be useful."

"Boring," Claude declares. "You're going to take a lot of classes like that. You should take something else too. Like Drinking and Cultural Difference."

"My other general ed classes are going to be something different."

"But will they be about drinking?"

Danny laughs. "Maybe. There might be some kind of literature class about books with a lot of drinking."

"Chemistry classes about alcohol," Claude says. "Do you think there's a whole school where all the classes are about drinking?"

"I don't know," Danny says.

"There should be. Million-dollar idea right there."

"You don't need another million."

"And you don't need to go to school," Claude says. "These are all really boring."

Danny sighs. "I know. And whatever I pick is something I'm going to have to write about for a semester."

"Drinking and Cultural Difference," Claude says. "It's the best one. What else are you taking, besides your business classes?"

"Architect and History," Danny says. "It's supposed to have something about how people's experience is shaped by buildings." When Claude is silent for a very long moment, he adds, "It sounded interesting, and it seems like the kind of thing you should think about in business."

"If you say so," Claude says. "It sounds boring to me."

"All of this sounds boring to you."

"Not Drinking and Cultural Difference."

Danny laughs. "You're not going to change your mind about that one, are you?"

"Nope," Claude says. "You should take it and tell me all about it."

Danny says, "I'm not choosing my classes to amuse you," but he also looks it up in the schedule to see if it will fit in with the other classes he's chosen.

*

Summer passes in its usual haze of long days, weeks in Canada, and trips to the shore. About halfway through the summer, when they're headed over to Guylaine's for a last family dinner before they drive back to Haddonfield, Cameron leans forward from the back seat to poke Caelan's shoulder and says, "This is the last time we're going to all be in Canada for the summer."

Caelan says, "We could come back next summer."

Cameron says, "It won't be the same," and settles down, but it sets off a round of "last times" that lasts the rest of the summer.

*

Danny hosts an end of summer/going away party at the house at the end of August. He lets the boys invite all their friends, invites a few of his own, and happily lets Sylvie take over the food.

It's a lot like parties they used to throw, only instead of small children shouting and running in and out of the house, it's teenagers letting the back door slam and laughing as they crowd around someone's phone.

"Two of them out of the house," Kim says, and it's at least the twentieth conversation Danny's had with either her or Eric about Caelan and Alexis moving away. It probably won't be the last; it's still two weeks until they move to LA, and there are probably even more details Alexis's parents will want to work out before then.

Danny smiles at her and nods, and turns away when his phone vibrates in his pocket. "Excuse me," he says, even though the display says it's only Claude, "I should get this."

"Of course," she says with a smile that's just on the verge of being watery; maybe serving drinks wasn't the best idea for the party. "Wouldn't want anyone not to make it because they got lost."

Danny keeps smiling and answers as he walks past her into the house. "You just saved me from hearing again how lucky I am that one of my children will still be living here."

Claude laughs. "I'm sure you planned it that way. How's the party?"

"Good, as long as I stay away from weepy parents." Danny keeps moving, heading up the stairs so no one's likely to listen in on his conversation.

"Sorry I'm missing it."

"You could have come down for it." Danny goes into his room; he knows how sound can echo down the stairs.

Claude groans. "I should have. This is the most boring wedding I've ever been to."

"Aren't you supposed to be the life of the party? Get on the dance floor or hit on one of the bridesmaids."

"They're all married."

Danny laughs. "Hit on one of the groomsmen."

"They're all here with someone else."

Danny keeps laughing. "And you thought that would be more fun than hanging out with a house full of teenagers."

"No," Claude says, "I thought this would get me a lot less guilt from my mom." He sighs, and then says, brighter, "It is at a hotel. My room's right upstairs. Want to have phone sex?"

"No," Danny manages through bursts of laughter. "Not when I have a house full of teenagers and their parents. I have to be the responsible host."

"I bet if I was there I could talk you into a blowjob," Claude grumbles.

"No, you couldn't. The sex isn't that good."

"Yes it is. The best sex you've ever had."

"I've had better." Danny has to work to keep the smile out of his voice.

"You have not," Claude protests, and then he says, "but you should tell me about it."

Danny laughs. "You're not going to trick me into having phone sex with you. I should get back to the party."

Claude heaves a sigh. "I'm sorry I didn't come. Tell the boys I said hi."

"I will. Do you know when you're going to be back in town?"

"Probably the eighth, but I don't know for sure."

"Call me when you get in," Danny says. "We'll get dinner."

"Sure," Claude says. "I know you're going to be lonely with the kids out of the house."

Danny hangs up laughing and goes back to the party, just in time for Carson to drag him over to the cake. "Mom won't let us have cake until we take pictures."

"Claude says hi," Danny tells the boys as they gather behind the cake. "He's sorry he's not here."

"I'll bet he is," Cameron says. "This is way better than some boring wedding."

Danny laughs, and they get a couple of good pictures of him with the boys, Sylvie with the boys, and he and Sylvie on either side of the boys. Carson makes sure he's first in line for cake, but Cameron hangs back and scrolls through the pictures with Danny.

"You should send that one to Claude," he says of one of the ones where Danny and all three boys are grinning at the camera.

Danny sends it with, This is what you're missing, and gets back :( :( :( thirty seconds later. He laughs and shows it to Cameron, who grins at it before he gets pulled away by one of his friends to get cake.

*

Claude does get back in town on the eighth, which means Danny gets home from his third day of classes to find Claude at one end of the couch in the living room and Cameron at the other, both of them looking extremely pleased to be there.

"You were supposed to call," Danny says.

Claude grins and gets up to hug him. "This is better."

Claude's filled out a bit, bigger like he always is at the end of a summer of training. It is better than a phone call, and Danny only lets go reluctantly.

"Are we going out for dinner or ordering in?"

Claude makes a face. "I can't tonight. Hartsy's doing a thing." He makes a gesture that doesn't clear up anything about that. "You guys have homework anyway." The smirk that accompanies that is crystal clear. "Tomorrow?"

Cameron shakes his head. "I'm staying over at Jake's."

Claude shrugs and says, "We're still going," to Danny. "And Caelan."

"Caelan has a standing Friday night date with Alexis," Danny says, and then, just to hassle him, "I could have plans."

"You don't have plans," Claude says.

Cameron rolls his eyes and taps Claude's shoulder. "Glad you're back, dude," he says on his way out of the room.

"Homework," Danny calls after him.

Claude squeezes Danny's arm. "I do have to get to Hartsy's, but dinner tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." Danny hugs him again. "Call me and let me know what you want to do."

*

Claude doesn't call. He lets himself in while Danny is lying on the couch half watching ESPN and half trying not to fall asleep.

Danny props himself up on his elbows. "You were going to call."

Claude puts the plastic bag he's carrying on the floor. "You wanted me to call." He leans down, one hand on the back of the couch, the other on the cushions, and kisses Danny.

Danny slides his hand into Claude's hair - he's let it get long - and kisses back, slow and easy and just the kind of thing he wants on a Friday night.

"I brought dinner," Claude says.

Danny pushes at his shoulders. "Get off me then so we can eat."

Claude gets up from where he'd all but lain down on top of Danny - not a bad thought, but maybe after dinner.

They sit at the table for dinner, Thai food divvied up between them and chairs close enough that their legs rest against each other.

"I guess this means you're not dating anyone," Danny says.

"No." Claude frowns. "You're not either, are you?"

"I wouldn't have let you kiss me if I were." Danny steals half a spring roll off of Claude's plate. "How happy were you that the boys couldn't have dinner with us?"

Claude shrugs. "What's the point of having busy teenagers if you don't take advantage of it?"

Danny laughs and tugs him close enough to kiss.

"Dinner," Claude says. "I'm not that kind of girl."

Danny laughs again. "You're exactly that kind of girl." He stops trying to interrupt dinner and lets Claude tell him about training and Ottawa in the summer and what sort of things Hartsy has planned for this season.

After dinner, Danny puts their dishes in the dishwasher while Claude writes the date on all the boxes of leftovers with the Sharpie on the counter - a rule they instated after a particularly bad incident involving leftover enchiladas - and puts them in the fridge.

Danny turns away from the dishwasher to find Claude already in his space. Claude puts his hands on Danny's hips and backs him all the way into the counter.

Danny doesn't wait for Claude's next move; he puts his hand in Claude's hair and pulls him in for a kiss. Claude steps in even closer while they kiss, his whole body pressing Danny's into the counter. Danny shifts his feet apart, making more room for Claude, so their hips line up.

Claude pulls back for a second, with a look Danny recognizes on his face.

"No," Danny says. "We are not having sex in the kitchen."

"Why not?" Claude nuzzles into Danny's neck, nips at the skin just below his ear. "Cameron's not coming home and Caelan will be out late."

Danny turns his head to capture Claude's mouth in a real kiss and uses the distraction to push him back. "Upstairs. I have a bed."

"I know. I like your bed. But we could-"

Danny intercepts Claude's hand before Claude can grope him and uses his hold to pull Claude across the kitchen. "We could go upstairs and be comfortable."

"Comfort is overrated." Claude lets himself be pulled anyway - Danny wouldn't be able to move him if he didn't go along with it - and twists his hand in Danny's grip so they're holding hands.

He lets go in the bedroom so they can strip off their clothes, which they do in a tangled flurry of cloth and limbs when they can't stop touching each other.

Claude pushes Danny down onto the bed and crawls over him. He settles over Danny, his whole weight pressing Danny into the bed. Everything slows down while they make out for long minutes full of nothing more than deep kisses and the steady press of skin on skin.

"I want," Claude says.

"Yes." Danny pulls Claude down to kiss him again, and again. "Whatever you want."

Claude stretches away from him to get into the nightstand before he starts kissing his way down Danny's body. He stops and licks around each of Danny's nipples, nibbles at the skin covering his rib cage, runs the flat of his tongue across Danny's hip. He takes his time, and Danny is already hard and ready for more than just that when Claude licks a line up the underside of his cock.

"Don't stop," Danny says when Claude does just that.

"Just wait." Claude snaps open the lube and a moment later he touches Danny with slick fingers, just rubbing over him for way too long before he pushes one of them into him. Then he slides his mouth down over Danny's cock, taking him in so perfectly that it's a struggle to keep from thrusting into his mouth.

Claude keeps sucking him perfectly, wet heat and slight rasp of his tongue, and he pushes a second finger into Danny. He's not stretching Danny, just keeping the perfect press of his fingers inside him, finding the place that makes Danny groan.

Danny's close, so close that it won't take much more, when Claude stops, pulls his mouth all the way off Danny's cock, stills his fingers.

By the time Danny can pull himself together enough to protest, Claude is already pressing kisses to the crease of his thigh. He's still not stretching Danny any more than needed to make the fingers already inside him comfortable, and he's avoiding Danny's cock.

"Claude."

Claude looks up at him.

"Please."

"You said I could do what I wanted."

Danny pushes his hand into Claude's hair, trying to nudge him back toward his cock. "I thought you were going to do something that was going to get me off."

Claude chuckles into his hip, then bites it gently. "I will." He kisses and licks his way back across Danny's skin until he gets to Danny's cock. He breathes on it for just a second, long enough that Danny involuntarily tightens his hand in Claude's hair, then releases it with an apologetic murmur.

It can't have hurt too much, because Claude takes Danny's cock in, deeper than before, and finds the perfect rhythm with his fingers. He doesn't stop when Danny gets close this time, and coming is like a crackle of lightning shooting down his spine.

Danny pushes Claude away when his mouth becomes too much to bear on his oversensitive cock. Claude puts a steadying hand on Danny's hip when he draws his fingers out, and Danny puts his hand over Claude's to hold it there, grounding himself against the sudden feeling of emptiness.

Claude doesn't move away until Danny lets him go. Then he kneels over Danny, squeezes lube onto his hand, and starts stroking his cock.

"Do you want me to?" Danny gestures at Claude's cock.

"No." Claude puts his other hand on Danny's chest. "I just want to look at you."

"Me?" Danny puts his hands on Claude, one at his thigh, one on his forearm where he can feel the flex of muscle as Claude jerks himself off. "Look at you. Look at how you look after a summer of working out." He really bulked up over the summer, and Danny can feel it even more than he can see it. He squeezes Claude's arm, and watches Claude's hand stutter and pick up speed again.

"Tell me more." Claude leans over Danny, close enough for them to kiss, even if it's more like Claude licking into Danny's mouth and Danny just letting him. "Talk dirty to me, baby."

Danny laughs, and they're still so close he catches Claude's bottom lip between his teeth for a moment. "That was terrible." He rubs his hand up and down Claude's arm, elbow to wrist. "You do look good. And I like your hair like this." He takes his other hand off Claude's thigh and threads it into his hair. It's a little long, long enough to be soft without being so long as to descend into chaos.

"My hair," Claude says with half a laugh. He kisses Danny again, lets Danny hold him close.

Danny stops moving his hands, just keeps one in Claude's hair and the other still just above his wrist until Claude comes all over Danny's stomach.

Claude breathes harshly against Danny's cheek for a couple of seconds before he flops over onto the bed next to him. "How is this not the hottest sex you've ever had?"

It takes Danny a moment before he can place the conversation, and then he snorts. "Are you still upset about that?"

"That was some pretty awesome sex. I think it deserves a place in the best."

"Top twenty," Danny concedes.

"Top twenty," Claude grumbles. "Top ten."

"I'm older," Danny says. "I've had more sex than you."

"You were married. I thought married sex was supposed to be boring."

Danny shoves at Claude's shoulder. "I'm not telling you about my sex life with Sylvie."

"I can't decide," Claude says after a moment, "if that's a good thing or a bad thing." He kisses Danny's cheek and gets out of bed.

Danny closes his eyes and stays where he is while he listens to the water in the bathroom come on. He opens them again at the wet smack of a washcloth landing on his chest.

"You're not going to do it for me?" Danny half-heartedly cleans himself up, enough that he can sleep comfortably. "This is dropping to top thirty."

Claude laughs and takes the washcloth back to the bathroom. "You already said top twenty. You can't take it back now." He lies down next to Danny, shoulder and arm pressed to Danny's. "I missed you."

Danny chuckles. "You sound so surprised."

"We usually don't see each other much over the summer," Claude says with a shrug Danny can feel against his own shoulder. "I don't usually miss you."

"You're getting older."

"I'm not that old." Claude nudges Danny with an elbow. "Did you miss me?"

Danny nudges him back. "I missed the sex."

Claude huffs. "Even though it's only top twenty?"

Danny shrugs. "I'm not having sex with anyone else. I miss it."

Claude pats Danny's thigh. "I'm going to make it to top ten."

Danny laughs. "That might have to wait until next summer. Neither of us is going to have time for that."

"I get days off. How busy is school going to keep you?"

"Very. I have class every day, and tons of homework." Danny scrubs his hands over his face. "I understand how the boys feel now."

Claude props himself up and looks down at Danny for a moment before he lies down again. "You love it. You were bored, and you like working hard."

It's true, and while Danny still feels out of practice when it comes to the whole school part of it, he knows it's going to be familiar soon enough. "I don't hate it."

"You love it," Claude says again. "How are your classes?"

"Good. Mostly intro stuff, but good. The writing seminar is hard," Danny elbows Claude, "and writing about drinking isn't as much fun as it sounds."

Claude laughs. "You actually picked that one?"

"Yes." Danny elbows him again. "And you're going to help me talk out some of my essays."

"No way. I didn't sign up for more school."

"It was your idea. You're going to help."

"I'm going to be busy," Claude says, "playing a full season of hockey."

"If you have enough time to try to make it into my top ten of sex, you have enough time to talk about my essays."

Claude sighs. "I was going to make time for sex."

"No sex without helping with my work. I'll come run drills with you."

Claude's silent for a moment, and then he says, "I thought you weren't going to tell me about your married sex life."

Danny bursts into laughter.

"Come on," Claude says, and Danny can hear the grin in his voice, "trading chores for sex? That's definitely a married people trick."

"I like to think of it as rewarding you for good behavior," Danny says, "like you do when training dogs."

There's a moment where he has to wait for Claude's reaction, but then Claude starts laughing, and Danny barely stopped for the conversation.

"I did miss you," Danny says.

"Good," Claude says. "Have you been making friends so you're not lonely?"

Danny pokes Claude in the side. "I have friends who aren't you."

"Uh-huh. Are you making friends with the kids in your classes?"

"It's only been four days."

Claude nudges him. "You always knew who was going to make it four days into training camp."

"It's not exactly the same thing."

"Predictions, Briere. Who's going to make it? Who are the captains?"

"It's a business school. They're all captains." Danny pats the easiest patch of Claude's skin to reach. "My management class small group meets on Monday. I might know more about them after that."

"I expect a full report."

"Sure." Danny sits up. "I should take the dogs out."

Claude sits up and puts a restraining hand on Danny's shoulder. "I'll do it." He gets out of bed and stretches. It's a good look for him.

"Your ass looks great."

Claude turns his head and smirks over his shoulder as he bends over to get his pants.

*

The TA for Danny's management class small group starts out the class by introducing herself as Andrea and giving them the same overview they got from the main lecture about what the purpose of the small group is. Then she says, "You're going to be spending a lot of time together this semester, so we're going to start with introductions. We'll go around the room. Tell us your name, where you're from, and why you're at Wharton."

She gestures at the boy next to her to start.

"Aaron," he says with a drawl. He's wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt, and has light brown hair curling out from under his hat. "I'm from Dallas. I'm planning to join my family's sporting goods business."

The boy next to him, in jeans and a plain black v-neck, his body language also more pared down than Aaron's, says, "Caleb, Monroeville. I've always been interested in the working of organizations."

"Kayla," is the next person, a girl who leans forward and speaks with the calm certainty of a person who knows who she is. "I'm from Pittsburgh. I've done a lot of volunteer work, and I want to work in nonprofit development."

The girl next to her smiles at the room, everything about her, from her clothes to her smile, more casual than Kayla. "I'm Sarah. I'm from San Rafael. California. I'm part of a group of women gamers, and we want to start our own video game company. I wasn't interested in development, so I'm going to business school and everyone else is doing computer science."

"Hunter," says the boy next to her, expensive haircut and designer jeans. "I'm from New Haven, Connecticut. I'm planning to get my MBA at Wharton, so undergrad here makes sense."

"Zack," is next to him, similar look but less polished. "I grew up here in Philly. I'm planning to go into banking."

"Danny," Danny says when it's his turn. "I'm from Gatineau, Quebec, but I've been here in Philly for ten years. I used to play hockey" - a couple of the kids look at him with more attention - "but I've always been interested in finance. My youngest son is still in high school here, so I didn't want to leave to go to school."

The boy on his other side says, "I'm Connor from Portland," with a lazy smile that fits with Portland's reputation. "I love baking, and I want to learn enough about business to open my own vegan bakery."

The next person, a tan girl with freckles, says, "Caitlin. I'm from Australia. I've always wanted to study in the States, and this was a good choice."

The last person is a girl in perfectly fitting, expensive clothes who says, "Hi, I'm Taylor. I'm from Philly too, and I have what it takes to make other people money. I just need the structured learning and connections Wharton can provide."

Once Taylor's done, Andrea continues on with their discussion topic for the day.

It is a lot like training camp, although Danny might not have made that comparison if Claude hadn't brought it up. They're getting to know each other, see how they fit together as a group. Danny judges his participation against how he would approach training camp, and watches the others to see if he can answer Claude's question about who the captains are. Leaders tend to emerge even from a group of leaders.

*

Danny's idly flipping through takeout menus when his phone rings. He glances at the screen and then asks Claude, "How was camp?" when he answers it.

Claude groans. "I don't remember being this tired during camp."

Danny laughs. "Time blurs your memory. And you're getting older."

"Fuck you," Claude shoots back. "Even my rookie is tired."

"Eh," Danny says with a shrug, "he's not used to it yet."

"If I'm any measure of it, he won't ever be used to it," Claude says. "I think I'm even too tired to eat."

Danny laughs again. "I haven't eaten and the boys are with Sylvie. Want me to bring you dinner?"

"Yes, please." Claude pauses. "For both of us?"

"Yes," Danny says. "I'll feed your rookie too."

They figure out what they want, and then Danny calls it in, picks it up, and takes it over to Claude's. The door is unlocked, so he just lets himself in and goes up the stairs to find Claude and his rookie sprawled out on the couches watching TV.

"Hi," Claude says, tipping his head over the back of the couch. He waves at the rookie. "Danny, rookie. Rookie, Danny."

Danny holds out his hand to the rookie. "Danny Briere."

"Yeah." The rookie shakes his hand. "I know. I mean-"

Danny ignores Claude's laughter.

The rookie takes a deep breath and says, "John-Michael Di Gregorio."

"Nice to meet you," Danny says. He cuffs Claude lightly across the back of the head for continuing to laugh. "Don't get up." He brings them plates and forks from the kitchen and nudges Claude over to make room on the couch.

Claude kicks at his ankle once they all have food. "It's Monday. Did you figure out who's going to make it?"

"I'm in business school," Danny explains to John-Michael. "I think they're all going to make it. They all got into Wharton, and they have solid reasons for being there." He takes a bite of his pasta.

Claude says, "Tell me who the captains are."

"I told you," Danny says, "they're all captains." He knows what Claude means, though, so he also tells him, "Kayla's going to be the leader of our group. She has the personality for it. Some of the other ones are going to have to grow into it a little." He tells Claude and John-Michael about the rest of his class while they eat, and then asks them about training camp and gets the rundown of who the captains in their group are.

John-Michael gets up when they're done and takes plates, forks, and containers to the kitchen. Then he picks up his phone off the coffee table and says, "I'm going to crash. Nice to meet you."

"You too," Danny says, and turns to Claude to find him laughing.

"I think he's giving us some privacy," Claude says after they hear the click of John-Michael's door closing. Claude pushes into Danny's space and kisses him. "Want to take advantage of it?"

Danny kisses back for a couple of minutes before he has to pull away and laugh. "I'm in college and you're in training camp and we're making out on the couch," he explains, and then he has Claude chuckling too.

"We could go to my room," Claude suggests.

"I have class tomorrow," Danny says with real regret. "And I have a writing assignment I still need to go over."

Claude makes a face, but then leans in to kiss Danny gently. "Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome." Danny stands and pats down his pockets to make sure he has his wallet, phone, and keys. "Next time it's your turn." He leaves with Claude still grinning after him.

*

Danny's on his way into econ on Wednesday morning when someone calls his name. He turns, and a hand waves at him.

"Sarah," he says when the girl attached to the hand reaches him.

She grins at him. "Right. I was hoping someone from our section would also be in this. This class is going to be a killer without a study group, and since we're going to spend time together anyway, it makes sense." She looks past him and calls, "Caleb!"

Danny turns to smile at Caleb, who nods at both of them.

"Awesome," Sarah says. "I was just telling Danny we should be a study group."

"Sure," Caleb says, and he gestures them through the door. "Where are we sitting?"

"Fourth row?" Sarah suggests, and barely waits for their nods before she leads them down to a span of empty seats in the fourth row.

They've barely sat down before Hunter jostles his way into their row and sits down next to Danny.

"Oh, good," Sarah says. "You can be in our study group too."

Hunter takes off his sunglasses and squints at her. "You're too cheerful for a nine a.m. class." Then, to Danny, he says, "You played hockey? That's seriously how you're going to introduce yourself?"

Danny's not sure where this is going so, "It's true," seems like the best answer.

Hunter snorts. "You played hockey. You," and here he points at Danny, "scored with a minute to to go in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final to tie the game so Claude Giroux could win it in overtime." He looks past Danny at Sarah and Caleb. "You have no idea what we're talking about, do you?"

"Hockey," Sarah deadpans.

Caleb shrugs. "It was good?"

Hunter sighs. "Yes, it was good. I can't believe you're going to business school now."

"I was bored," Danny says with a slight smile. "And I really am interested in all of this."

Sarah leans over to catch their attention. "That means you're good under pressure, right? That's good. We'll need you in our study group. You too," she says to Hunter, "if you want."

Hunter looks the three of them over. "I suppose," he says. "You can't be complete idiots if you got into Wharton."

Sarah stares at him for a second before she says, dryly, "Thanks for the endorsement," and then everyone quiets down for the lecture.

*

The whole idea of the management class is that they do a project for a local nonprofit, so the lecture section the second week of school is taken up with representatives from local organizations presenting their case for why each group should choose them. Their job in recitation the next Monday is to work as a group to rank the projects in the order they want to work on them.

"Put CHOP at the top of our list," Zack says. "The Children's Hospital," he explains to the people looking confused. "They do good work."

"No way," Taylor says. "We have to think strategically. Everyone's going to want CHOP. We're not just choosing the organizations; we're also competing against the other sections."

"The clinic," Hunter says. There's a pause, and he looks around the room and shrugs. "A couple of you are gay or bi, right? Personal interest should push that up the list, and it might not for the other groups." When there's another moment of silence, he sighs and says, "I'm not stereotyping. My best friend's gay; I know how to be an ally."

"I think we're going about this the wrong way," Kayla says when no one else picks up the topic. "Taylor's right that we have to think strategically, but let's think strategically about what we can do. We should match our skills with what they need from us."

"Like if none of us has ever actually created an educational program," Connor says, "maybe we don't want to choose CHOP."

"Exactly." Kayla looks around the room. "I've done fundraising before. Anyone else have experience that matches what any of these groups need?"

"I've been involved in a lot of small business marketing conversations," Aaron says.

Kayla gets up and writes "Aaron - marketing" and "Kayla - fundraising" on the board at the front of the room.

"Does cooking for bake sales count?" Connor asks, and Kayla writes it on the board.

"I've been part of a lot of charity events," Danny says.

Before anyone else can contribute, Hunter says, "We have Danny," and everyone either looks at Danny or Hunter, who rolls his eyes. "Does no one else pay attention to sports? Danny's a Philadelphia celebrity. We put him on a fundraising event, and we get press coverage and a lot of money for the organization."

"Does that count as cheating?" Caitlin asks.

"Wouldn't it be worse to have an advantage and not use it?"

"Maybe," Caleb says, "we should ask Danny how he feels about that."

Everyone else quiets, and they all look at Danny.

"This is our project," Danny says, "and we should all have a part in it, but, yes, if you want to use my name, we can do that."

Kayla writes "Danny - fundraising, name recognition" on the board. "Anyone else?" No one answers, and she taps the board and goes back to her seat. "So we're looking at fundraisers as our top choices."

"If we're talking about things other than interest in the cause," Caleb says, "let's talk about accessibility. I work, so long bus rides are going to be hard for me to schedule."

"I drive to campus," Danny says. "I can drive people to the client site."

"And I have a Zipcar membership," Hunter says. "If Danny can take five people," Danny nods, "that's ten of us and we don't have to worry about the bus."

"Then we're back to what we want while," Sarah says with a nod at Taylor, "thinking about what other groups are going to want."

"The fundraisers," Taylor says, "are the homeless shelter, the preschool, and the food program."

"Management 100 does a fundraiser for the food program every year," Zack says. He shrugs when everyone looks at him. "I'm from here. I've heard about it. I don't know if that makes it more or less attractive to other groups."

"The preschool still has the kid angle," Aaron says. "That'll probably put it higher on people's lists."

"Is anyone going to want to take on the homeless shelter?" Kayla asks. "It's important but not very glamorous."

"Anna's done volunteering at a homeless shelter," Caitlin says. "Her group might want it."

"I really want to do a bake sale," Connor says, "but if we do the food program, we're going to set a new standard for what they can get out of this class if Danny's name is really that big a draw. Do we want to do that to future groups?"

Hunter rolls his eyes, but it makes everyone else look thoughtful.

"What if we do homeless shelter, preschool, food program?" Sarah asks. "There's probably less competition for the shelter than for the preschool, and if we end up with the food program, it's still a fundraiser, and we'll just raise the bar for next year."

Nobody objects, and Sarah gets up to write it on the board.

"You'll want to rank all of them," Andrea says. "There's no guarantee you'll get one of your top three."

"The clinic's next," Caleb says. "Aaron has marketing experience, and the personal interest angle too." He nods at Hunter, and Sarah writes it on the board. "That just leaves the educational programs."

"CHOP next," Danny says. "I've worked with them before, and Zack wanted them higher on the list."

"And that's the mentoring program last," Sarah says, writing it down.

They all look at the list.

"Anything anyone would change?" Kayla asks.

"I think we're good," Connor says when everyone's silent. "That was easy. We're going to rock this thing. High-five!" He actually does high-five Caitlin, who's sitting next to him, and everyone relaxes into grins and laughter.

*

Danny's used to watching draft pick negotiations and lotteries; the selection process for which group ends up with which project doesn't seem all that complicated in comparison. Half the groups have CHOP at the top of their list and the preschool in their top two. One of the other groups has the clinic as their first choice. The group Caitlin leans over and says is Anna's group has the homeless shelter as their third choice. In the end, it's not that tough for Danny's group; the two groups with first choices no one else shared get their picks, and there's a combined negotiation and fairness formula to assign the others. They get the homeless shelter fundraiser first thing and sit back and watch the way the other teams get assigned.

The class discussion that follows is all about decision making, both how groups made their lists and how projects were divided out to groups. Danny's group gets called on first, since they were one of the groups that got their first choice without any hassle.

"Taylor suggested we think strategically," Connor says, "so we thought about what other groups would want."

"And Kayla suggested we think about our skills," Taylor says. "Our group has people who've worked in fundraising before, so that helped narrow down our top choices."

Someone from the other group - the one that ended up with the clinic - says, "We started with what we wanted. One of Mckenna's moms is a doctor and the other one's a nurse, and she convinced us helping out an lgbt health clinic would be a good thing to do."

The other groups either didn't think strategically the way Danny's group did, or they started with what they wanted and they just all wanted the child-related projects.

"High-five," Connor says at the end of class, and he does actually go around and high-five their whole group. It gets them all laughing, and almost everyone joins in to high-five each other.

"We definitely have the best group," Hunter says, just a little too loud for a classroom where the rest of the class hasn't all left yet.

"Modest too," Sarah says, which defuses the tension a little, and their group splits up with Taylor calling a reminder after them that they're meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Caleb and Sarah catch up to Danny in the hallway.

"Hunter's a jerk," Sarah says cheerfully. "Too bad he's probably going to be good at this."

"We're going to lunch," Caleb says, which means Danny doesn't have to step into that conversation. "Want to come with us?"

"Yes," Danny says. "Where are we going?"

"Away from campus," Sarah says. "If you both have time."

"I don't have class until two," Danny says, and Caleb says, "I work at three."

"Perfect." Sarah leads them out the door. "I love it here, but sometimes you just have to get away."

They wander off campus to a place Sarah promises has great burgers, and they get a booth near the back and a couple of menus. Their waiter does a double take that means he recognizes Danny, but he continues on with his welcoming spiel and takes their drink orders.

They take a couple of minutes to look at their menus, and when they've all decided and set them down, Sarah turns a sharp look on Danny. "Does that happen to you a lot?"

Caleb looks between them. "Does what happen?"

"Getting recognized by waiters."

Danny shrugs. "Sometimes."

"That must be so weird."

"It was at first," Danny admits. "But that was a long time ago, and I've been here for ten years, so I'm used to it now."

Their waiter comes back with sodas and water and takes their orders for burgers and fries.

"So," Sarah says. "I know we're all taking econ and management, but what else are you taking?"

They talk about their classes for a while - Caleb and Sarah both look unimpressed at Danny's choice of writing seminar, while Caleb's biology class sounds interesting enough that Danny notes it down in his phone as something he could use to fulfill his science requirement - before the subject changes to their social lives.

"It's kind of strange if you think about it," Sarah says. "You meet all these people in your classes, and you're supposed to become friends with them just because of that. You might not even have anything in common with them outside of that one, tiny shared experience."

"Isn't that how most friendships are formed?" Caleb asks.

"No." Sarah waves a fry to make her point. "Most of my friends are people I met through the gaming community. We have things in common because we like the same things." She turns to Danny. "That must have happened to you. Friends because you played hockey."

"Yes," Danny says, "sometimes. It's not automatic. There are plenty of people I didn't become friends with, even though we loved hockey and had the shared experience of playing together. And I've made friends other places. Other parents I met through my boys' school, or people I've worked on charity events with."

"Shared experiences," Caleb says.

"Shared interests," Sarah shoots back.

"A little of both," Danny says with a chuckle. "That seems to work with my boys and their friends too."

"How old are your boys?" Caleb asks.

"Eighteen, seventeen, and fifteen."

"Eighteen?" Sarah says. "When you said 'boys,' I was imagining little kids, not people our age. Can you take us seriously if we're the same age as your kids?"

"Yes." Danny smiles at them. "One of the ways hockey makes this easier. Rookies were always about your age, so I'm used to it."

"I guess," Sarah says. "As long as you don't expect us to listen to you just because you're old enough to be our dad."

"No," Danny says. "When it comes to all of this," he gestures at them, and beyond, meaning the campus and the whole college experience, "I'm just as new to it as you are."

*

Their entire group makes the trip from campus to the homeless shelter for their first meeting with Joanna, the director. She takes them on a tour of the shelter, and notes what they're hoping to use the money from the fundraiser for.

"It's a little harder sell," she says, "because we don't have one specific project we're trying to fund. We're just trying to cover operating costs over the winter. Winter is the most dangerous time for the homeless, especially here where it gets so cold. Every year, people get sick or die because they don't have anywhere warm to go. The more money we can bring in, the more people we can help. Most of the money will go to food, blankets, coats. We also need to pay our utility bills and have enough staff on hand."

"I've been looking at your marketing materials," Kayla says. "Some of your staff used to be clients?"

"Yes," Joanna says with a smile. "We have a couple of programs in place to connect our guests with services to help them get off the street. There are chronically homeless who will never get there, and we do our best with them too, but some people can move on. Just about half of our staff members have been our guests, and fully three-quarters of our overnight staff are former guests."

Joanna leads them around the facility and into a room with a circle of chairs.

"This is one of our group meeting rooms. Most of our space is dedicated to guest services, so this is as close to a conference room as we've got." Joanna gestures them all into chairs. "We've done silent auction dinners for the last few years, but we're also open to any ideas you might have."

"A silent auction and dinner is just the kind of thing we were thinking about," Hunter says. "Danny is a local celebrity, and he's agreed to let us use his name to promote the fundraiser."

"Oh?" Joanna raises her eyebrows at Danny.

"I used to play for the Flyers. I've only been retired for a year and a half, so people should remember me."

"They will remember him," Hunter says, "and it's going to help us sell tickets and get auction donations."

"Well," Joanna says. "That's good." She passes around stapled packets of paper. "The top page is our budget for this project, and the rest of it is information about what we've done in previous years."

Kayla's the one with the most fundraising experience, so she takes care of asking most of the questions while the rest of them take notes.

*

They meet as a group to make a list of tasks, and then a list of potential donors for both support for the event itself and for the silent auction.

"One of your signed jerseys," Sarah says to Danny.

Hunter eyes them speculatively. "Or," he says, "maybe something more personal."

"Like what?" Sarah seems much more suspicious of it than Danny.

"I don't know," Hunter says. "Dinner with just him. A round of golf. A hockey game would be best, if we can get the tickets donated."

"I can probably manage the tickets," Danny says. If he can't get the team to donate them, he can always pay for them. "And I'm sure Claude would donate one of his jerseys. Claude Giroux," he clarifies when he gets a lot of blank looks. "He's the captain. People will pay for it."

"You should be on donations," Aaron says.

"Sure," Danny says, and when they divvy up tasks, he's the first name under acquiring auction donations.

"Make sure you find out what it's worth," Kayla says. "And keep track. We want to put that information in the descriptions."

"I know," Danny says. "I've been to a lot of silent auctions." He says it with a smile so she knows he's not upset about the direction, only that it's unneeded.

*

Claude's on the road, but Danny picks a time when he's probably not busy and calls anyway.

"Are you calling me for phone sex?" Claude asks. "Because I don't have to be anywhere for an hour."

"No," Danny says. "I need one of your jerseys."

There's a pause before Claude says, "So you can smell it and pretend I'm there while we have phone sex?"

Danny laughs. "We're not having phone sex. I'm working on donations for the silent auction portion of the fundraiser my group is putting on, and I need one of your jerseys."

Claude asks, "What fundraiser?" so Danny explains the entirety of their plan for the fundraising dinner and silent auction for the shelter, and then asks, "Can we have a jersey?"

"Yes, of course," Claude says. "Can we have phone sex now?"

"No," Danny says with a laugh. "How's the road trip?"

"It would be better with phone sex," Claude says. "But, no, it's good. Hartsy teamed up with half the rookies and stole the other half's shoes. They went looking for them, and they were all lined up just inside the video room. While they were all out of their rooms, the Schenners snuck in and stole the other rookies' shoes."

Danny puzzles through that for a moment, and then decides to ask. "You don't have that many rookies."

"Well, all the guys on ELCs," Claude says, which does bring the number up a little. "They might as well be rookies."

Danny laughs. "You're getting old."

"I am not," Claude says. "Playing with them keeps me young."

"The fact that you just said that means you really are."

"Do you really want to talk about age? You're almost forty."

"In another year," Danny says. "And I'm not old. I'm mature."

Claude laughs. "Is that why you won't have phone sex with me?"

"I don't think you grow out of phone sex," Danny says, "but Cameron's going to be home soon, and I need to figure out something for dinner."

"You mean you need to order something," Claude says.

"Maybe," Danny says. "Cameron has this idea that we need to cook more, so it might be pasta instead."

"I hope for both your sakes that he's in charge of that."

"I can make pasta," Danny says. "It's just boiling water."

"Uh-huh," Claude says. "I've seen what happens to pans you try to boil water in."

"That was once," Danny says, "and I got distracted."

Claude laughs at him. "Just admit you can't cook and let Cameron make dinner."

"Maybe," Danny allows. "Or maybe we'll get sandwiches or something."

"Hey," Claude says, like he's just thought of it, "your fundraiser's going to be catered, right?"

"Yes," Danny says, laughing, "it'll be catered. Our group might do dessert, though. Not me, but one of the guys in the group bakes."

"Baking business students?"

"He wants to open a bakery," Danny says.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Claude sounds like he doesn't quite understand it.

"I don't really get it either," Danny says. "But I guess it's his thing."

The front door opens, and there's the clatter of a teenager returning home.

"Cameron's home," Danny says. "Good thing we didn't have phone sex."

"We could've been fast," Claude says. "Say hi to Cameron for me."

Danny gets up and goes to find Cameron in the kitchen gulping down a bottle of Gatorade. "Claude says hi."

"Hi, Claude," Cameron calls, loud enough for Claude to hear it and start laughing in Danny's ear.

"I should go," Danny says. "Don't forget you owe me a jersey."

"I won't forget," Claude says. "Don't try to cook."

Danny hangs up on his laugh. "Claude thinks we shouldn't cook."

"Claude's not here," Cameron says. "He doesn't get a vote. We have pasta, right?"

Danny checks the cupboard to be sure. "Yes. And sauce." He gets them both out of the cabinet and lets Cameron be the one to fill a pot with water. "We can make pasta without burning it."

Cameron smirks at him. "I can."

"One time," Danny says.

Cameron laughs and puts the full pot of water on the stove. "I think I should be in charge of this."

Danny doesn't actually object to that, so he cedes control of the kitchen to Cameron.

Part 2