by Amy Aislin
It was reminiscent of only two other times in his life: when he’d signed his contract with the organization four years ago, and when Dakota told him he loved him.
He was a lucky son of a bitch.
Tay lifted his beer in Xappa’s direction in thanks, to a chorus of “To that motherfucker!” from the rest of his teammates. And then the rest of the bar, at least those in hearing range.
The guys started heading out soon after. First Collet headed home to his wife and kids; Cherny was right behind him, van Kooten next. Dean and Grey followed them out after checking with Tay if he was coming back with them. Slowly, the herd thinned until only a handful of them were left—the single guys looking for some action.
Tay wasn’t looking for action. Okay, not true, but he only wanted it from one person, and that person was fast asleep a fifteen-minute Uber ride away.
“I’m heading out too,” Stanton said, finishing off his one and only beer of the night.
Xappa’s head snapped up. Okay, for real? He wasn’t fooling anybody with his I’m-just-performing-best-friend-duties schtick. Except Stanton. But to Tay, Xappa’s moony eyes were so obvious it was amazing Stanton remained oblivious to the fact that Xappa wanted him to kiss him again—while sober this time.
“Want to share an Uber?” Stanton asked. They lived in the same building, on different floors.
“Nah.” Tay stood with him and pulled on his coat. “I haven’t moved back into my place yet.” He’d do so in the short break between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. “I’m heading to Kota’s. I’ll walk out with you, though.”
Xappa didn’t follow them; he was too mired in a conversation he was having. But he tracked them out, his gaze following them until Tay smirked at him over his shoulder. Scowling, Xappa made a show of turning his back.
Yeah. Not fooling anyone who didn’t know what to look for.
Tay stood on the sidewalk with Stanton after ordering their individual Ubers, hands shoved in his pockets. Fuck, it was cold. Damp too, the sharpness burrowing through his scarf and into his bones. Hiking his shoulders up to his ears, he nudged Stanton’s foot with his own. “I want to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“I’ve been thinking for a while that I want to come out publicly.”
Stanton glanced up from his phone, where he was tracking his Uber’s progress. “Oh. Cool. We can be the resident LGBTQ contingent.” He paused, cocking his head. “Guess we have to let Dean, Grey, and Desie into the club too. And Xappa, although he’s still keeping his sexuality on the DL, even with the team.” A grimace crossed his face. “Maybe not Xappa. He’s still giving me weird looks. I don’t think I shoulda kissed him. That’s why I stuck to one beer tonight. Drunk Stanton wants to kiss Xappa too badly to rein it in.”
“So you do like him!”
“Um.” Stanton blinked. “No?” Clearing his throat, he went back to his phone. “What’d you want to ask me?”
Leaving Stanton’s crush alone for now, Tay leaned back against the building. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted your take on coming out. Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s not up to me, Tay. If you feel like it’s the right move, I’m not the one who’s going to talk you out of it. Conversely, if you feel like it’s the wrong move, I’ve got your back there too. We both know coming out is intensely personal, and it’s different for everyone.” Stanton settled in next to Tay, wedging their shoulders together. “You do you, man.”
“So you don’t regret it? Even though they’re still calling you ‘Toronto’s gay hockey player’?”
“Eh.” He waved a hand. “They can call me whatever. At least people notice me when I play. And no, I don’t regret it. Means I can kiss Xappa again if I want to. Uh.” Jolting, he straightened, wide eyes on Tay. “I mean, kiss other guys. In public. All I want. To the end of time. With cameras around and everything.”
“Why would you want to?” a voice grumbled behind him.
Stanton squeaked, a wheezed “Eep!” and whirled around to face their third party.
Xappa. Of course. How much had he heard?
“It’s nobody’s business who you’re kissing,” he tacked on.
“Maybe not,” Stanton argued, back ramrod straight. “But at least I can kiss boys in front of Uber drivers and not have a conniption about it.”
“I didn’t have a conniption—”
“Oh, look! My Uber’s here. How coincidental.” Stanton waved at the driver, taking a couple steps in the Jeep’s direction. He shot Xappa a coy smile over his shoulder. “Don’t suppose you want to buckle me in again?”
Xappa sputtered, incoherent and frantic, making Stanton laugh as he opened the back door. “Bye, Tay.”
“See ya.” Tay turned to Xappa once Stanton’s ride pulled away. Another car pulled in right behind it. Tay’s Uber, according to his app. “Good luck with that one, Xappa.” Tay had known there was a naughty boy under Stanton’s nerdy jock exterior. That flirtatious smile proved it.
“I don’t need luck,” Xappa denied, jerking back like Tay had tasered him. “I don’t need anything. ’Cause nothing’s going on.”
“Uh-huh.” Tay patted him on the shoulder, all sure, buddy. “Night, man.”
On the ride to Dakota’s, he sent his agent a short email, letting him know he was ready to come out in the off-season and that they should probably chat about how that would affect his sponsorships.
That done, he closed his eyes and rested his head back, already anticipating waking up in Dakota’s arms tomorrow morning.
It was late. Much too late for Andy to still be up. He kept rubbing his eyes around wide yawns as he sat at the breakfast nook in his pajamas, playing with a few of his Paw Patrol toys while Dakota sliced fresh vegetables at the counter. Andy’d been wired on the drive home after tonight’s game. Now, though, he was starting to crash.
But Andy was determined to stay up to see his uncles when they finally arrived. Toronto had played Vermont at home today, which meant Owen and Kas were in town. Since their team was flying to Montreal first thing tomorrow, tonight was their only chance for a visit until the season ended. For Vermont, that could be within the next two weeks, or longer if they nabbed a wild-card spot in the playoffs.
That was two games in a row he and Andy had attended in the span of three days, which was more than he’d been to in the last several years combined. Dating an NHL player certainly had its perks. Toronto had lost tonight, but two days ago, on Saturday, Tay had scored the winning goal in overtime, and Dakota had been able to see his grin from the stands.
Even better was when Tay sought him out on his way down the chute after the game, sending him and Andy and Calder a fist pump. And even better than that? When Tay snuck into Dakota’s bed at two in the morning after celebrations with his teammates, smelling like a mixture of cologne, beer, and sweat like he’d just come from a frat party. They hadn’t done anything—Tay had fallen into bed in an exhausted heap. Didn’t mean he didn’t love having Tay close whenever he could.
Though he’d have to say his favorite part of the night was when he’d taken Andy down to the glass during the pregame warm-up. Tay had spotted them right away, tapping his stick against the glass in hello with a wink at Dakota, and tossing a puck over for Andy.
Andy had Tay sign it yesterday, and it now sat in a prominent place on his night table.
“Where are they, Daddy?”
“I’m sure they’re on their way.” Dakota checked his phone and saw two missed texts—one from Owen and one from Tay. “They should be here any minute, actually. Hungry?” Placing the tray on the table, he slid onto the bench seat across from Andy.
Shaking his head, Andy went back to his made-up game. Yeah, his kid was tired if he wasn’t narrating tonight’s game to him.
While he waited, Dakota pulled up his email on his phone and opened the draft logos Tay had sent him earlier. They were all simple yet elegant. One was a three-tiered cake done
in flowing black lines, classic and timeless. A second was a cupcake done in pastels, with that same blurry quality that dominated Tay’s comic. And a third was a more old-fashioned feel, with bubble letters and bright colors.
He had a feeling he and Calder would have a tough time deciding. They were all perfect. Like Tay had snatched up the essence of what they did and put it to paper. He turned the phone toward Andy. “What do you think?”
Andy leaned forward to look, chin on the table. “Did Tay do it?”
“Yeah. It’s for our new logo.”
“It’s not chunky.”
“No,” Dakota said with a laugh. “They’re definitely not.”
Muted voices from outside reached them a moment before the door opened, and Andy was bolting for the foyer in the next second. Dakota followed more leisurely and found Andy fairly vibrating with energy. He appeared confused as to who he should hug first.
In the end, he went in order of how they’d entered the house. First Calder, who’d stayed behind after the game to drive Owen and Kas over once they were changed and finished with the press. Then Owen, then Kas, and finally Tay. It was a flurry of activity as four grown men removed coats and boots in a tiny foyer, Andy bouncing around their legs and urging them to hurry.
Owen met Dakota’s gaze around Calder and jerked a thumb at Tay. “This one followed us here.”
“Hey! Considering I arrived first, technically you followed me.”
“Doesn’t explain why the enemy’s in my brother’s house.”
Tay snorted a laugh. “Says the guy whose team won tonight.”
There was a question in Owen’s eyes when he stepped up to Dakota and drew him into a hug. Dakota ignored it and held his baby brother close. “It’s been too long.” Three months wasn’t overly long, but it felt like forever since they’d seen each other at Christmas.
“Way too long.” Owen pulled back and raked him up and down. “You look good.”
“Me? You look like you could bench press me.”
“We should try it!”
“Maybe in the off-season, huh?” Kas’s thick arm came around Owen’s shoulders. “When you have time to recover if you hurt yourself. Hey, Dakota.”
“Uncle Owen, look.” Andy held up his signed jersey for his uncles.
Leaving him to it, Dakota turned to Tay. “Hey, you.”
The smile Tay gave him was pure happiness. “Hi.”
Cupping his face, Dakota kissed him, soft and sure, uncaring of their audience. “Do you know how sexy it is watching you play live?”
“Really?” Tay moved in a step closer. “Tell me more.”
“Almost as sexy as you in this suit.”
“Do you know how badly I wanted to peel you out of yours at the Foundation’s celebration party?”
Smirking, Dakota kissed him again. “You weren’t subtle about it.”
“Kas,” Owen muttered behind him. “Now he’s kissing the enemy.”
“Guys,” Dakota said, turning to Owen and Kas. Calder and Andy’s voices came from the kitchen. “This is my boyfriend, Tay.”
Owen shook his head, mock dismay on his face. “Sleeping with the enemy. I feel betrayed.” He turned to Kas. “Don’t you feel betrayed?”
Kas sniffed the air. “I smell food.” He followed his nose to the kitchen.
“Check the chicken pot pie while you’re in there,” Dakota called after him.
“Ooh, chicken pot pie.” Tay followed in Kas’s footsteps.
Chuckling, Dakota nudged Owen in the kitchen’s direction.
“I’m guessing that’s the guy you told me about a few weeks ago?” Owen bumped their shoulders. “How come you didn’t tell me it had gotten serious? Or that you were dating the enemy?”
Dakota ignored that last bit, knowing Owen was kidding. “Time sort of got away from me, to be honest.” They paused outside of the kitchen, where laughter and Andy’s chatter drifted out to them. “Should I even ask if you’ve—”
“No,” Owen grumbled. Sighing, he leaned his head back against the doorjamb. “I keep freaking out about messing up the status quo. What if he doesn’t actually want to—” With a glance into the kitchen, he mouthed get married in Dakota’s direction. “And what if that causes a rift between us that we can’t come back from?”
“If you’re really that worried about it, Owen, maybe you shouldn’t ask him.”
Blowing out a breath, Owen shook his head, a downward cast to his lips. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dakota squeezed his shoulder. “Chicken pot pie?”
“Chicken pot pie.”
It was chaos in the kitchen. The cheese tray had been half demolished already and someone had dished out the pie. Instead of grabbing chairs at the dining room table, they all leaned back against the counter, holding plates as they chatted and caught up while Andy ran between them all to tell this or that story or show off this or that item.
Dakota got caught up in a conversation with Calder and Kas, but he kept an eye on Owen and Tay on the other side of the kitchen. Whatever they were talking about, Owen was doing a lot of talking and Tay was doing a lot of listening with his serious face on.
Andy barreled into his legs. “Daddy, can I have a cookie?”
“Just one, okay?” Running his hand over Andy’s head, he took in his son’s drooping eyelids. “And then it’s bedtime.”
“But I still need to help Uncle Owen ask Uncle Kas to marry him.”
Instant silence settled over the kitchen. The color drained from Owen’s face and his eyes went huge.
Dakota fumbled. “Uh . . .”
Oblivious to the awkward tension in the room, Andy opened the pantry and grabbed the container of homemade cookies on the bottom shelf. “Uncle Kas, you wanna marry Uncle Owen, don’t you?”
“I do.” Kas shot Owen the kind of smile that spoke of love and unity. “I’ve just been waiting for him to ask me.”
“You—What?” Straightening, Owen blinked at his boyfriend.
“You think I didn’t figure out what’s been bugging you the last few weeks? Especially when you not so subtly mentioned that the Maldives would make a great honeymoon spot?”
Dakota shared a glance with Calder that had them both swallowing a laugh.
Shuffling on his feet, Owen muttered, “I was just gauging your reaction.”
Kas extended a leg and nudged Owen’s foot. “And did I say or do something to make you think I didn’t want to marry you?”
“I . . .” Trailing off, a shy smile lifted Owen’s lips. “You actually do?”
Kas left his plate on the counter and stepped up to Owen, arms going around his waist. Dakota’s heart was racing so fast. He could only imagine what Owen’s was like. The way he clutched the front of Kas’s shirt said a lot.
“Ask me,” Kas whispered, eyes only for Owen.
A grin nearly split Owen’s face. “Marry me?”
“Yes, baby.” Large hands came up to gently cage Owen’s cheeks. “Yes.”
“Well, damn,” Dakota mumbled as Owen kissed the crap out of Kas, and Calder stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly. “We need cake and champagne, not chicken pot pie.”
Andy held up his box. “I have cookies. But you said only one, so everyone else gets only one too.” He proceeded to hand everybody exactly one cookie each. Once he’d put the box away, he hugged Dakota’s leg. “Did I help, Daddy?”
“You most certainly did.” Surprisingly. That could’ve gone either way.
As the newly engaged couple made heart eyes at each other and brushed cookie crumbs off the other’s shirts, Dakota’s gaze strayed to Tay, only to find Tay’s already on him. The wink Tay shot him was camaraderie and affection so deep it made Dakota’s heart leap in his chest.
It was much too soon to be thinking of marriage to Tay, but given tonight’s events, it was only natural that his mind wandered there. The both of them in tuxes, surrounded by friends and family, Andy greeting everyone with his trademark energy.
Yes, much too soon, but maybe in a year or two if they were still on the same page.
Later, much later, after Andy was in bed, Dakota hugged Owen by the door and his brother tucked his face in his neck. “He said yes.”
“Of course he did.” Dakota kissed Owen’s messy brown hair, his heart full to bursting with happiness for him.
Owen, Kas, and Calder were gone within the next minute, with Dakota’s promises to visit Owen and Kas in Vermont with Andy this summer trailing after them.
Maybe Tay would like to come too.
Speaking of Tay, the man had found the cookie container and was currently sitting on the couch in the living room with it in his lap.
“What are you doing?”
Tay sat sideways, legs crossed, and placed the container in front of him. “Sit.”
Dakota glanced longingly up the stairs where his very comfortable bed was waiting, then back at Tay, who’d dug a cookie out and devoured the entire thing in two bites. “Cookies at two in the morning?”
“Why not?” Tay waggled his eyebrows like cookies was a euphemism for something else. If it was, Tay was going to be sorely disappointed—Dakota was dead on his feet.
Except the way Tay kept popping cookies in his mouth, it appeared he didn’t mean anything other than what he was doing.
Snorting a laugh, Dakota sat facing him, the cookies between them. As he selected a chocolate chip and bit into it, he had to admit that Tay might’ve had the right idea. Cookies at two in the morning. Why not?
“I didn’t see that coming,” Tay said. “How long have your brother and Kas been together?”
“Four years. Since Kas got traded to Vermont from Vancouver.”
“Man. Go Andy.”
“Sometimes I wish I had his ability to say whatever’s on my mind, but . . .” Dakota shook his head. “At the same time, that could’ve ended a lot differently.”
Nodding, Tay selected another cookie. “True.”
“What were you and my brother talking about so seriously?”
“Art, actually.” Tay swiped his hands together, getting crumbs everywhere. Dakota resigned himself to vacuuming the couch cushions tomorrow. “He says he’s working on illustrating another children’s book. He’s so . . . I don’t know. Confident in his art. The way he talks about it, it’s like he knows how good he is and isn’t afraid to show people who he is through it. Makes me wish I could be more like him with my own art.”
