by Jeff Adams
“Totally.” He lit up. “It’s all hands on deck for the holidays. Sometimes, I don’t get as many days as Mom and Bobby get, but I manage to be home on Christmas Day. The league’s good about that, even around prep for the Winter Classic for teams that play in that. Last year, we celebrated here because Bobby and Seb wanted to host at their new place. I expect will be there again soon enough because they want to start a family.”
I didn’t miss the extra inflection in his voice, and I caught a twinkle “You’re looking forward to being an uncle?”
“For sure. Between me and Mom, the kid will be wildly spoiled.” Something ran through his mind that I couldn’t decipher, but I caught his expression out of the corner of my eye. “They’ll be awesome parents too. Sebastian was a perfect match for Bobby.”
“Can I ask, did your mom freak out at all when both sons turned out to be gay? Sometimes I think my parents try to forget about it.”
Out of nowhere, I realized skating and talking wasn’t quite so hard. It became more like driving a car and occasionally glancing at the passenger.
“Mom was always super great. I got outed at thirteen.” He laughed even though that sounded horrible. “I got caught at hockey camp with Garrett Howell.”
“Whoa!” That was too loud. I darted my eyes around to make sure we were still alone. “Wait. Same guy from the auction and who’s on the ESPN cover?”
“The same.” The smirk on his face said everything. “G billeted with us when we played juniors. We were horny teenagers who were out to each other. We messed around a lot. We got caught at camp by another kid who decided to freak out.”
Kyle told this with amusement in his voice.
“Parents were called. Things were said. We didn’t get thrown out, but we were no longer allowed to be in the same bunkhouse. Garrett’s my bestie. And Mom was great. She was happy Garrett and I were safely experimenting with each other instead of random people.”
Kyle related all this with exaggerated hand gestures, and until he finished, I didn’t realize he’d let go of me.
“I would’ve died if I ever got caught. It stressed me out just hearing the story. Did you and Garrett ever date?”
“Nah. We’re too close for that. We even stopped fooling around not too much after we got caught because it started to feel a little weird.” He didn’t move to retake my hand, and I skated on my own—which I had to not fixate on. “What about you? How’d you come out?”
“For all the time that my parents wanted me to focus on things to earn money, they also wanted me to start dating. I finally came out at sixteen to get them to stop asking about girls. They said all the right things, but there was an undertone of disappointment. I’ve still never brought anyone home. The few people in college I dated never really clicked anyway.”
He nodded and looked a little sad.
“Sorry,” I said, anxiousness exploding in my chest. “Too much serious talk.” I tried to laugh it off, but even to my ears, it sounded fake and even sadder.
“We’ve got about twenty minutes before they’re gonna kick us out of here. Let’s see if we can add to your speed and get you to move to the music.” Kyle allowed me to put my discomfort aside by focusing on what we were really here to do. As he’d done earlier, he relaxed me. “What do you think?”
“I trust you to not let me fall on my ass. Let’s do it.”
Eleven
Kyle
“Let me get this straight. You want to see Austin again, even though he was late to the first date and he as much as said he had trouble not being completely work focused?”
I misread how Bobby would take the news. Maybe I should have kept the flaws to myself, but I wanted his full opinion.
“I get that he’s handsome and totally your type. But I know you. You’re not going to tolerate anyone who’s so focused on work, especially since you historically have had worries over your own relationship commitments.”
Bobby’s voice boomed through my car, and I hit the volume on the steering wheel to bring it down. I’d held back calling him immediately after our skate date yesterday because I wanted to think through what I might be signing myself up for. So I’d churned it over on the flight home this morning and through practice. Now, as I drove to Mom’s to sign some things she had for a charity auction, it had seemed like a good time to talk.
“He seemed to know it was not good to be late or be on the phone. Our skate outing went perfectly.”
“Much as I want you to find someone, this guy hasn’t exactly started off on the best foot.”
“I’m going to give him a chance, especially now that we’re back home. See what happens.”
“Where are you guys going?”
Thankfully, he stopped trying to talk me out of having another date. Although if this went south, there’d be an I told you so followed by an extensive analysis—the hazard of a brother who’d become a therapist.
“Kennedy’s wife is opening her first gallery show next week. The entire team is going.” Kennedy captained the team. Adriana, his wife, was a talented artist, and I loved seeing her get the recognition of this show because her work was gorgeous.
“That’s good. At least you’re doing something a little different from dinner and a movie.”
“Exactly. Hang out, maybe talk about art, and who knows what else. Besides, we’ve already had dinner, so we know what that’s like.”
“Just make sure to take care of yourself, bro. Don’t give this guy your heart until you know he’s right for you.”
“I don’t think anybody’s making long-term commitments. But good advice as always.”
I might have lied to him.
During the skate, as we talked about our families and childhoods, I saw the possibilities of a relationship. Not only that, I genuinely liked being around him. The opening would allow us to see more of how we meshed, how we did around others, and if he could be on time and attentive.
“Okay, I’m at Mom’s. Hope you get home soon.”
“It ain’t looking good man; GPS just added ten minutes.”
“Yikes. Alright, I’ll let you get back to your audiobook.”
“Cool. Take care, bro.”
Mom still lived in the house Bobby and I grew up in. She’d done a fair bit of renovation after we moved out—part of which I’d helped pay off a couple of years ago. As she’d rightfully said, she no longer had two kids, so she might as well transform those rooms.
Mine became her home office. Bobby’s ended up as the guest room. She’s also made over the kitchen into the ultramodern style she’d always wanted. She loved cooking and had even talked about ditching her work in human resources to become a chef.
Walking in the backdoor to the kitchen, the smell of basil hit me. She had something going, maybe pesto. I called out a hello as I went to peek inside the pots on the stove.
“Kyle. Thanks so much for coming by. I know it’s out of your way, but I wanted to get this stuff delivered tomorrow to be photographed for the online catalog.”
I inhaled from one of the pots before I turned. It was pesto, one of my favorite things. “Of course.” I reached for a spoon, but she slapped away my hand—just like I knew she would.
“Nope. You know better than that.” I dropped the spoon back in its holder on the stovetop. I glanced at her with sad eyes. “You are welcome to stay for dinner though if you want.”
I smiled and embraced her petite frame. “Hi, Mom. And I’d love to.”
I took off my coat and hung it on one of the hooks where our coats had always gone.
As always, Mom looked wonderful. Her black hair, streaked with gray that she loved, was pulled back in a pony tail as was her preferred style. Her brown eyes carried so much joyful energy—so much so that anytime I was in a bad mood she could lift me right out of it with just a look. She’d been home long enough to not only get things cooking but to change out of her dressy work clothes and into jeans and an Arsenal sweatshirt. I don’t think anyone had more Arse
nal clothing than she did.
“That’s everything on the table. They sent some great stuff as usual. Kennedy’s jerseys are going to go for a lot, I think.”
She’d set a silver sharpie out, ready for me to get to work. Two sticks, some pucks, and two pairs of gloves waited for me.
“I wish I would be here for the auction to support it even more.”
Mom volunteered with a grief counseling organization for nearly twenty years now. They’d helped her when Dad died, and now she worked with others. I made sure to get her anything she needed for fundraisers—whether it was my stuff or other players.
“You’ve had your share of auctions recently. How was it with that young man? He was quite good-looking from the pictures Bobby shared.”
Bobby hadn’t mentioned sharing any auction stuff with Mom.
“He sent me the link from Hockey Allies site since you didn’t.” She threw me a smirk. “I saw the picture on the team Instagram, and you raised a nice amount of money too.”
I’d forgotten about David’s pictures. “It went pretty good. I think I’m going to ask him out next week. We kind of clicked, so I thought I’d see if he’d want to go out again.”
Might as well just put that out there in case Bobby said anything. I could count on him to keep my reservations quiet but not necessarily the date itself.
“That’s good; you need to get out more.” She busied herself chopping some vegetables she’d pulled from the fridge. “And now that Bobby’s all settled, we need to get you married off too.”
“Mom! Married off? Really?”
“What? Aren’t I allowed to hope for that?”
She was totally pulling my chain, and I loved it. I just shook my head and started signing things, pretending like she wasn’t still looking at me with her patented I know best grin.
Twelve
Austin
“Sounds like coming back Sunday night was the right choice.” Tamara looked pleased as we sat at the conference table in my office. We munched on our favorite club sandwiches from the deli across the street. A dinner meeting to top off the day.
“The weekend was great. The All-Star stuff was cool. And Kyle…” I took an extra breath as I remembered our time. “Dinner was good, but going skating with him was the best.” I thought twice before I spoke again but decided to go for it. “I think I might want to see him again.”
Her eyes bugged out, and I think she nearly spit soda as she covered her mouth. “Talk about burying the headline. You couldn’t have said that earlier today? That’s major. I can’t remember the last time you’ve come close to saying anything like that.”
I picked that moment to take a giant bite of sandwich.
I’ve been afraid to talk about it on the off chance I would jinx the entire idea. I hadn’t been this excited about even the potential of a date in a very long time.
“We had bigger things to deal with this morning,” I finally said. “You have no idea—actually, maybe you do—how difficult this is for me to consider. The news that Chevy, our longest and biggest client, now has a former employee running development at our rival makes me want to shelf any idea of having a date. Not to mention tomorrow’s presentation…” I sighed.
Tamara put her sandwich down and fixed me with her look of resolve, which she usually pulled out when I was overthinking. “With Chevy, we haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve got lunch tomorrow with some of our key contacts to get a true read on if we need to worry about Carlos in his new position. We’ve had no issues being in their vehicles, and we’ve always innovated beyond their expectations. And you said yourself, the team is more than ready for tomorrow based on what you reviewed on the plane last night.”
I nodded. I knew all of this. I obsessed anyway. You could never prepare enough. The team didn’t need to over prepare, that was a burden I tried to keep for myself whenever possible.
“Have we considered the ramifications if Chevy pulls out? I mean really look at the worst-case scenario to make sure we’re ready?” I dove right back in. If I had the data one way or another, it would help me. I ate more as I silently ticked off what I knew. We seemed pretty safe, but I didn’t know the ins and outs of every contract anymore because there were so many.
“Certainly the board will get skittish if we lose them because they’re the largest.” Tamara’s tone said she didn’t really want to do this, but she’d pacify me. “But we have two model years to make up the shortfall if they exit. I’ll get a more in-depth analysis together so we know all the what ifs.”
“Thanks. It might be more than we need but better to have it ready.” That was my attempt to acknowledge that I might just be asking for too much.
She nodded and finished taking notes before she met my gaze again. “You know, this won’t all go away overnight?” She gestured around, indicating the company as a whole.
“I know.” And I did. We had issues, but it also wouldn’t just collapse. “I just want us to be safe. Make sure everything is buttoned up and everybody’s loving what we do.”
My phone chirped with a text that I knew came from Kyle. He was only the fourth person to get their own tone on my phone—my parents and Tamara were the others.
The phone sat face down on the tabletop. I usually stole looks at alerts when the screen lit up, but I wanted to be more mindful and not always jump for the phone. It challenged me, especially since I knew Kyle had sent the message. But I needed to practice.
“You’re not going to check?” She eyed me suspiciously.
“An exercise in self-control.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it and then looked thoroughly confused. I held back a laugh. “Are you some kind of doppelgänger?” What I couldn’t keep down was a silly smile. “There’s more going on than you’ve told me isn’t there? Who knew you even had a dopey grin like that. I quite like it. Don’t let him get away. Check that message.”
“Only if you tell him that you made me look.”
Hey Austin. Hope it’s okay I’m texting. Just wanted to wish you good luck with the presentation tomorrow.
A giddy feeling washed over me. Should I even have that as an adult? Seemed like it should be more of a teenager thing. He’d only wished me good luck.
I typed: Thanks! We’re as ready as we’re going to be. How was practice today?
Practice was good. Already eager to play Thursday night.
I sent the text and then started another: And just so you know, when you texted I had my phone face down on the table. Tamara insisted that I turn it over to see what you said. So I am pouncing on every single message. I finished with a smiley face emoji.
“Your goofy smile has only gotten bigger. Spill.”
“All I told him was that me responding so quickly was on you.”
Before I could put the phone down, it pinged with his response.
He sent back a grinning emoji.
I was thinking… And you can totally say no. I’d love to see you again. Would you like to go out sometime?
“I just asked him out.”
She made a noise that sounded like something a grade schooler with a secret to tell might make. “You did not!”
“Stop.” Nothing like embarrassment caused by a friend. My face was crazy hot. I turned the phone to her, hoping he wouldn’t respond while she was looking.
Just as I turned it back, the three dots popped up.
Your timing is amazing. I was thinking about asking you the same thing.
My sharp intake of breath forced Tamara’s gaze back on me from her tablet.
Our captain’s wife has an art gallery opening next week. Most of the team is coming along with wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc. Come with me? Dinner after maybe?
I wasted no time with my response: I’d love to. Send me the details and we’ll make a plan.
“Holy crap. I’ve got a date for next week.” My heart beat like a drum, and I hoped it wouldn’t explode from excitement and nerves
Her mouth dropped o
pen. “You know I’m gonna want all the details if this happens. I’m booking a breakfast meeting for the next day.”
“We’re going to an event I suspect all of his teammates will be at. I don’t know what you think’s going to happen.”
My heart fluttered as I considered what could go on.
Did I even know how to make a move? Maybe he’d do it.
“Maybe I should connect you with Kyle’s brother, Bobby, so you two can trade notes from the sidelines.”
“Well if you don’t want to give me the dirt, hook me up.” She looked at her watch and started gathering up her trash and closing the cover on her tablet. “I gotta go take a call with Tokyo. See you bright and early for one last presentation rehearsal.”
“I’ll try not to change too much before I call it a night.”
She glared at me as she walked to the door. “Don’t you dare touch a thing.” Her tone was all business.
I wouldn’t do that to the team. But I might make some notes where I might say some different things along the way.
I opened the presentation, but Kyle was lodged in my thoughts.
It meant a lot that Kyle not only asked me out but decided to bring me to an event with his team. I hoped my nerves would behave so I wouldn’t get too closed off or trip over my tongue. At least I had a few days to get used to the idea of this coming up and do my best to not get too freaked out.
Thirteen
Kyle
Austin lived in a nice building on the perimeter of downtown. I had certain preconceived notions about how tech tycoons lived. Austin broke that. It wasn’t the newest building around to be sure. There were newer, taller buildings near the arena where the city had been trying to reinvigorate things. This building had a good, lived-in feeling while clearly being well maintained.
I pulled my SUV into the circular driveway and parked in a visitor space.