Dating Him: The Series

by Michelle MacQueen

  “It’s not a problem,” Will said. “We’ll have fun this semester, roomie.”

  “And I might have some peace and quiet for once in my life.” Kenny clapped Will on the back. “Let’s go get you packed up, buddy.” He steered Will across the crowded quad, leaving Diego alone with Killian.

  “It’s not what we wanted, but it’s not a bad deal either.” Killian stepped in front of Diego. “We might not get to live together, but at least now, I can do this.” Killian captured Diego’s lips, tugging on his belt loops to bring him closer.

  Diego was vaguely aware of the whispers.

  “Killer and Diego?”

  “When did that happen?”

  But Diego didn’t care. Let them talk. He was going to enjoy kissing his boyfriend.

  Epilogue

  Killian

  Eight months later:

  A year ago, Killian never thought he’d be excited to return to Defiance Academy. In fact, he’d dreaded saying goodbye to his mom and sisters to go back to a place that never felt like home.

  The academy never changed. Students came and went. Some graduated and others started anew. Teachers assigned lessons and gave tests.

  A secret society tended their flowers as they’d apparently done since the school’s inception.

  But the students… They changed. They never stepped foot back on campus the same people who’d left.

  The summer was amazing. It started with a trip to Venezuela, but that couldn’t last. After two weeks in a village where everyone doted on him and Diego, he flew home for two months of work on the ranch and on the ice.

  He’d never felt better about his game. This was his year. Kenny had graduated and put the spotlight on the Knights hockey program when he was taken in the first round of the NHL draft. Now, it was up to Killian to show the hockey world just what Defiance Academy had to offer.

  This was his team now.

  “Killer!” The shout came from across the quad. Killian trekked across the brick walkways after dropping his belongings at his senior dorm room. He looked up to find Will with a few other guys from the team. Joining them, Killian fist bumped Will.

  “We winning the tourney this year, Killer?” Will asked.

  Killian shrugged. “Why not? Got nothing better to do.”

  His teammates laughed.

  “Any of you seen Diego yet?” His plane was supposed to get in an hour ago. Killian looked at his phone, but there still wasn’t a response to his last text.

  Will shook his head. “Sorry, man.”

  “All right, I’ll see you fools later.” He waved goodbye. Maybe Diego went to the dorms, but why wouldn’t he text Killian?

  They hadn’t seen each other in seven weeks. Forty-eight days to be exact, but who was counting?

  Killian would never claim to be a confident guy. He second-guessed everything. Had Diego reconsidered their relationship in their time apart? Did he still have feelings for Killian? Was that the reason he wasn’t responding to his message saying he’d arrived back on campus?

  Unable to wait any longer, Killian ran back to Thomas Hall and found the room Diego would be sharing with Will. He knocked, but no one came.

  Releasing a breath, Killian turned to head back to his room. He pushed open the door to his senior suite and froze. A guy he’d never seen before sat on the couch with a cookie raised halfway to his mouth—more specifically, a cookie Killian’s mom baked for him to take back to school.

  “Hello.” Crumbs fell out of the boy’s mouth onto his navy-blue polo. Brushing them away, he stood and stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth. He offered Killian a closed-mouth grin and ran a hand through his perfectly styled inky hair.

  The guy looked like he’d just fallen out of a Gap ad.

  Killian glanced down at his worn cowboy boots and faded jeans that fit a bit snuggly. “You my new roommate?”

  The guy swallowed his food and nodded. “I’m Logan.” He grinned. Charm oozed from him, and Killian couldn’t decide if it was fake or endearing. A dimple appeared as Logan’s smile widened. “You’re Killian, right?”

  “Lucky guess?” He smirked as he looked to where their names had been written on a whiteboard attached to the door.

  Logan walked to the fridge and pulled out a soda—that Killian had bought. “Good cookies, by the way. My compliments to the chef.”

  Some part of Killian knew this would be a long year.

  Logan scrunched his brow. “Why is there a weird guy standing in our doorway?”

  Killian turned so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. Diego, looking even more adorable than Killian remembered, stood with his suitcases in the hall behind him. He’d come there before even going to his own room.

  As if trying to play it cool, Diego moved to lean against the door frame, missing it entirely and falling to the side.

  A laugh burst out of Logan. Killian ran into the hall where Diego hadn’t been able to catch himself and lay crumpled on the ground. “You okay?” Killian checked him over, concern etched into his face.

  Diego released a heavy breath and sat up. “So much for not being an idiot this year.”

  A smile spread across Killian’s face. “You could never be an idiot, Diego Jackson.”

  The tension between them slipped away, and it felt like they’d never been apart at all.

  “I missed you,” Diego whispered.

  Killian pulled him into a crushing hug. “I missed you so much, Diego.”

  “Can’t. Breathe.”

  Killian laughed and released him, cupping his cheek. “Can I…kiss you?”

  Diego’s only answer was to rise up on his knees and press his lips to Killian’s. Every bit of doubt melted away as they reminded each other why they’d taken the risk the year before, why they’d chosen each other.

  Because there was no one else.

  “I love you,” Killian whispered against Diego’s lips. “I should have said it sooner. At the end of the school year or in Venezuela. At a place more perfect than the gross floor of the boys’ dorms at a boarding school in Riverpass, Ohio. I’m sorry.”

  Diego brushed a thumb over Killian’s cheek. “The words were perfect. It doesn’t matter where they were said.”

  Killian stood and pulled Diego up with him. “You love me too.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you wanted to.”

  Diego grinned. “You a mind reader now?”

  “Only a Diego reader.”

  He laughed. “I do, you know. But why say it now?”

  “I wanted this year to start differently. Last year, I came back to school and had no one, nothing other than hockey. Now, I have you.”

  “And I have you.”

  Killian wrapped an arm around Diego’s waist, pulling him into his sitting room and leaving his stuff in the hall.

  A gagging sound came from the kitchen. Logan shook his head. “I just spent the summer living with a brother who couldn’t keep his hands off his girlfriend. Let’s just say it was…uncomfortable. Don’t tell me this entire year will be like that.”

  Diego hid his face in Killian’s shoulder.

  Killian scowled. There was no way he’d live with a guy who made him feel like crap for being with Diego.

  As if sensing the direction of Killian’s thoughts, Logan threw his hands up. “Look, dude, I don’t care that you’re gay. Just don’t go at it in front of me. Same would be said if he was a girl.”

  Killian sighed. “Diego, this is Logan. He’s going to be around all year.”

  Diego stammered out a hello. “I’ll go drop my stuff at my room. Dinner tonight?”

  Killian nodded and pressed a kiss to his lips, ignoring Logan’s earlier demand. Diego gave him one last smile and left.

  A boyfriend he loved.

  A roommate he already didn’t like.

  And a hockey season that would determine his future.

  It was going to be an interesting year.

  Killian James lifted hi
s eyes to the thunderous crowd who’d come to Madison Square Garden for the NHL All Star game and wondered how he got there.

  He’d once been a poor ranch hand in Texas, playing on a local team with no hope of ever being seen by scouts. Back then, he’d assumed hockey would only be a part of life until he finished school and had to join the real world.

  Then Defiance Academy found him and changed the trajectory of his life. Somewhere in the crowd was his mom. She’d remarried and now lived on the ranch he bought for her with his first bonus. His sisters were out there too. His hockey career gave Zoey a chance to go to college, something Rory would one day get to do.

  Only five years ago he’d graduated from Defiance Academy. After being drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round, he went to Boston College for two years before joining the big club, skipping the minors altogether.

  And now, here he stood surrounded by the best hockey players in the world.

  Again, how did he get here?

  Someone jostled him from behind, and he turned to see Kenny joining him on the bench. “Do you remember the dream we had?”

  Killian nodded. He remembered every word.

  “I told you one day I’d be scoring the winning goal in an All Star game against you.”

  Killian laughed. “You better not score on me now.” As members of the metropolitan division, they were on the same team. “We made it here.”

  “Was there ever any doubt?”

  “Not for you.”

  Kenny looked sideways at him. “The only person who has ever doubted your ability, Killer, is you.”

  Killian marveled at how far they’d come, and how far they’d pushed the league. When Killian made it, the only other out LGBTQ person in the NHL was Kenny. Now, a few years later, there were more.

  The metro division beat the atlantic in the first game of the day and now would go on to play the winner of the second game between the Central division and the Pacific division for the all star bonus money. He wasn’t there for the bonus money though. Killian wanted to give back to the game in any way he could. It changed his life, taking him from a struggling boy to a man who loved his family, had amazing friends, and had spent the last seven years with the love of his life.

  “So.” Kenny leaned forward as they watched the stage set up for the center ice show. “A birdy told me you were going to propose.”

  “This birdy wouldn’t happen to be named Wylder, would she?” He didn’t know why he told that girl anything.

  “Is it true?”

  “Ken, Diego and I have been together for seven years. It’s about time, yeah?”

  “Why now?”

  Killian sighed. It was hard to explain Diego to people. He never seemed to feel the need to move forward and was happy where they were. The game he’d made at Defiance Academy was now a major company under the umbrella of Diego’s father’s tech firm. It kept Diego traveling between California and Columbus regularly. Killian still couldn’t believe how many people used it. His boyfriend really was saving the world.

  Even a lot of his teammates made greener choices to get points in the game.

  “I’m a patient man, Ken. I’ve waited until we were both out of school. I let some time pass so our careers could both take off. But, I’m done waiting. I go home to him each night when I’m not on the road and that’s great. It’s just not enough. I want to marry him.”

  Kenny grinned. “And you will.” He hesitated. “Just…”

  “Just what?”

  “You really shouldn’t have told Wylder.”

  Killian groaned. “What did she do?”

  “She told Becks.”

  It was like a game of telephone. Only, by the time anything reached Becks, he made it his own. The lights dimmed, and a roar wound through the crowd as someone appeared on stage.

  Coming off two Grammy wins and the rumors of a movie, Beckett Anderson was only getting more popular each year. And he knew it.

  But it was impossible not to like the guy.

  “Hello, New York!” Becks strummed a chord on his guitar, and the sound reverberated in the rafters. “I’m excited to be here at the NHL All-Star game. You know, I was never much of a hockey fan until my husband turned me on to how good these guys look with helmet hair.”

  Killian and Kenny both groaned simultaneously.

  A cheer rose, having a distinctly female sound to it.

  “All right, they didn’t ask me here to talk to you guys, but I’m not done yet. Did you know two of my best friends are on the metropolitan team?” As if he knew exactly where they sat, Becks looked their way. “No one cares about Kenny.” People laughed. Kenny won the Rocket Richard as the leagues highest goal scorer the year before. He was a favorite among fans.

  Becks went on. “But who here loves my buddy, Killer James?”

  Killian gripped Kenny’s arm. “He’s not… no. He better not. I was waiting until after the game to propose. You know, in private.”

  Kenny grimaced. “The Anderson siblings… yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

  Becks leaned into the mic, speaking over the raucous cheers for Killian. “Do you all want him to come up here and sing with me?”

  The screaming grew louder.

  Killian froze. Sing? He’d never sang for anyone in his life. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Kenny gave him a shove. “The crowd wants you.”

  Other guys from the all star division teams patted him on the back and laughed, enjoying the show.

  They egged Killian on, forcing him to skate across the ice to the stage.

  Becks held a hand down to help him up the steps.

  “What are you doing?” Killian growled.

  He flashed him a smile. “My sister told me you wanted to propose at the game and that you needed my help. Go big or go home, right?”

  Wylder was dead. “Becks…” He tried to stop him, but Becks had already returned to the mic.

  “Okay, Killer isn’t exactly the best singer. That was a ruse to get him up here.” He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. It was a New York hockey crowd who’d come to see a game, not a show, yet only a few people called out protests.

  “Don’t do this.”

  Becks couldn’t hear him over the noise so he went on. “Killian James is one of the best people I know. He used to be a broody asshole, but then he met the person who changed everything for him.”

  “Stop,” Killian hissed. Becks wasn’t a bad friend. Killian fully believed he would have stopped the train wreck if he’d been able to hear his friend’s protests. Instead, he continued on as if he thought he was doing Killian and Diego a huge favor.

  Who else got the chance to propose in such a big fashion?

  But Becks didn’t know Diego well enough to see this wasn’t right.

  “Do we have a Diego Jackson in the house?” Becks grinned. “He’s in section 101.” Right now, Killian guessed every camera was zoomed in on Diego’s mortified face.

  Becks turned to Killian, yelling over the noise. “I got you your moment. Now, it’s up to you to bring it home.”

  There was nothing he could do to fix this, no way to turn back the clock.

  So, as Killian stepped up to the microphone, he only looked forward. His eyes met Kenny’s and his friend gave him an encouraging nod.

  “Hey, everyone. This… was not my idea. I didn’t want to hijack the All-Star performance. But now I don’t have a choice. Diego, this speech was meant for after the game when we didn’t have twenty thousand people staring at us, not to mention the millions watching on TV.” He swallowed thickly, sweat dripping down his face as the lights bore down on him.

  He’d played in big, high stakes games, given speeches at Hockey is For Everyone events, and become the face of a franchise. Still, nothing ever felt as earth-shifting as this moment.

  All the words he’d prepared flew out of his mind, and he closed his eyes, imagining Diego stood before him, appearing as he did when they first got to know each
other. Two lost kids looking for something they couldn’t define.

  Diego with his messy hair and never-ending babbling.

  “Diego, I wish I could see you right now. This isn’t how it was supposed to go, but I guess I need to run with it. I love you. More than anything. You weren’t the first person to believe in me, but you were the first person who made me believe in myself. You work every day trying to do good, but you save more than the planet. You’re my superhero, babe.”

  He paused to suck in a breath. His heart beat rapidly, and he could barely feel his feet. He shifted in his skates, hoping he didn’t damage the spongy stage.

  “Our friendship began with a million questions.” He smiled at the memories. “Let it end with one. I don’t want to be your friend anymore or your boyfriend. Marry me. Marry me, Diego and I can be all of that and more. Marry me and I will love you for the rest of my life.”

  Becks put a hand on his back. “Go.” He gestured to the section Diego was in, surrounded by Killian’s family.

  Becks started playing one of his songs, and Killian took off across the ice. As he climbed into the stands, a song called “Let it be Love” drifted through the arena. He didn’t care that he probably dulled his skates or that people reached out to touch him. It didn’t matter that he only had a short time before he had to go put his goalie pads back on.

  All he saw was Diego shrinking into his seat. Their eyes met, and relief flooded through Killian because there was never any doubt that they were forever.

  Bonus Chapter 2: Diego

  “Marry me and I will love you for the rest of my life.” Killian’s voice echoed across the ice, screaming NHL fans cheering him on.

  Diego just wanted to sink into his seat and let it swallow him whole. There was no way Killian would have made such a public proposal if it weren’t for Becks and likely his sister, Wylder orchestrating the whole thing.

  As Killian climbed into the stands, Diego forced a smile for the guy he loved. This wasn’t what he wanted—not by a long shot—but he couldn’t let Killian down in front of all these people.