Page 145 of Goaltender Interference

Jesse stared up at the ceiling while he held the stretch.Damn it, Connor, he thought.Get your ass home, you idiot.

When Jesse’s back and hips felt looser, he picked up his phone.

He found himself scrolling through social media, thumbing through conversations with friends and former teammates. He thought about reaching out to one of them—Dustin maybe, because he was good at listening—and talking about what happened.

Asking for advice.

But he couldn’t do that without outing Connor and Nolan and that was the last thing he wanted. Everyone in the league was too damn nosy. They’d figure out who he was involved with in two seconds flat.

Fuck!

Jesse landed on a text from his mom and hesitated. His parents wouldn’t tell anyone and while they might figure out who he was talking about, they might not. And if he didn’tnameConnor and Nolan, then it would be okay, right?

Jesse shot her a text.Hey, are you around? I need some advice.

He got a quick reply.I’ve got half an hour before I have to leave for an event. You want to call now?

Jesse dialed her number.

She answered immediately. “Hey, sweetheart. From the pictures you sent earlier today, it looked like you had a great day riding. Did something go wrong?”

“Umm, kind of,” he admitted with a sigh. “Okay, so I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I’m going to talk about some people and you can’t ask any questions about who they are, okay?”

“Okayyy.” She sounded amused. “I can do that.”

“So there’s this guy,” Jesse said. “And I like him a lot. Like … a lot. A lot. But it’s complicated because he’s divorced and has kids and has never been with a guy before and his son is gay and …”

The whole thing—minus the steamy details—came spilling out and when Jesse was done, his mom was silent for a moment.

“Well,” she finally said. “It sounds like this guy cares about you.”

“I know he does. I just don’t know if his religion is more important than me.”

“Oh, Jess …”

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I mean, like, I get it. But our family’s not religious so I don’tget itget it, you know?”

“Right.”

“I’m not saying I wish we were,” Jesse said hastily. “I don’t need Sky Daddy telling me to be a decent person.”

His mom laughed. “You’re more than a decent person.”

“Thanks. I try.” He smiled, lifting one leg straight in the air and wrapping his arm around it. He definitely did his best thinking when he was stretching. “But like, we both know I’m a creator of chaos.”

She laughed again. “Well, yes, sometimes it does seem to follow you around.”

“He—my guy—he calls me his chaos demon,” Jesse muttered. “Like … a cute little nickname.”

“Thatiscute,” she said.

“But like … what if it’s too much? My—mychaos. What if he blames me for what happened today? What if he … can’t handle that anymore?”

“I think you’re worrying about nothing,” his mom said. “But I suppose it’s possible.”

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