Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but if it were the other way around, I wouldn’t have called you an idiot for it.”
He sighs. “You’re not an idiot, but I hope your team accepts it better than mine have.”
I cock my head. “Your GM and coach seem to be handling it well.”
“Healy,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Oh.”
“I feel like the idiot. I heard this song—one stupid fucking song at some stupid charity benefit my sister made me be her date to—and it made me think I could have everything. I realized I don’t want to retire in a few years without having played as myself. A Stanley Cup win doesn’t count unless you win it as yourself, right? It’s not the same.”
“I’ve never thought about it like that. I’ve always hoped that coming out after I win one would prove I really belong here.”
Soren scrubs a hand over his tired face. “Yeah, that was another theory I was hiding behind too. Anyway, I came out to the team first, and most of the guys were great about it—or at least quiet. I don’t know what Healy’s problem is other than he’s a twatwaffle.”
“What did he say to make you snap?”
“The usual. But he’d been doing it all fucking night even before we hit the ice. All under his breath, of course. Even when we got reamed by coach about the fight, he tried to deny it. Said I was looking for attention after my announcement.”
“Ugh. What a dick.”
“At least he won’t be a problem next year.”
“How so?”
“He hasn’t been suspended like they said; he’s been released from his contract. He still gets all his money he doesn’t deserve, but he’s no longer gonna be playing. At least, not for us.”
It’s too early to determine how the fallout of all this will go, but the league taking appropriate steps with the Healy situation might mean it won’t be as bad as when Matt came out in the NFL.
“That’s promising at least,” I say.
“Yeah, it’s a start. We’ll see how the rest of the league handles it.”
“My coach said they’ve been waiting for this to happen, so maybe the transition will be smooth.”
The awkward silence that follows shows how much neither of us truly believe it even though we want to.
“So, what’s your deal?” Soren asks. “Closet full of exes back home who all left because of the whole hiding thing?”
I get the feeling Soren’s and my stories are similar.
“Uh, just one of those. You?”
“Only one that mattered,” he mutters.
The door behind us opens, and Lennon’s the first person I see as he, Damon, and Ava step through.
I must make a face or smile or something because Soren says, “I guess that answers my question about current relationship status.”
Here’s hoping anyway.
Chapter Twenty-Six
LENNON
“You two might want to stay out of the public eye for a while,” Damon says to Ollie and Soren. “Lay low for a few days, and maybe don’t go back to your apartments.”
Soren nods. “I can get a hotel room or something.”
“Not under your own name,” Damon says. “If you get stuck, you can come to Brooklyn and stay with me and my boyfriend.”
Surprise etches itself onto Soren’s face. “Are you taking on new clients? I’ve been trying to get a hold of my agent all day, and he’s not answering the damn phone, and here you are running your client around and offering your house to someone who isn’t even one of your players?”
Soren doesn’t know it, but that’s just the type of guy Damon is. Last year, I interviewed him, and it was easy to tell the world how great he is and how he’s an agent for all the right reasons, not for the ten percent of multimillion-dollar contracts. Sporting Health didn’t publish it because it wasn’t strictly sports related, but I was able to shop it around to other publications, and it was picked up by Sports Illustrated. It put Damon King on the map and was my first massive publication.
Damon breaks into a half grin. “Come stay with me, and we’ll talk.” He turns to us. “Ollie, you got a place to stay?”
“He can stay with me at Noah and Matt’s,” I say.
They’re back from Fiji now, but I’m sure they won’t mind Ollie crashing for a night or two until shit settles down.
Damon purses his lips. “As long as I don’t have to explain to the press tomorrow about Matt Jackson shacking up with his boyfriend and the newly outed hockey player—because we all know that’s how they’d spin that—I’m cool with it.”
“I think everyone’s under the impression Matt and Noah are still on vacation, and no journalists came around the house while I’ve been staying there,” I say.
Ollie leans in. “You say that as if you’re not one.”
“After this, I don’t know how long I will be one.” And that scares me more than anything else that’s happened today.