Page 151 of Goaltender Interference

Connor found the clicker and turned on the TV, bringing up a game while Jesse and Nolan dug through the bags for their meals.

They all went after it like they hadn’t been fed in weeks. Jesse made appreciative noises over his lobster roll and Connor happily put himself in a rich, carb-y coma.

He’d probably feel like crap at practice tomorrow morning, but for now, it was worth it.

Later, when Connor was stuffed and half-asleep, the sounds of the game a soothing noise in the background, he let out a contented sigh. Jesse had been idly rubbing his back and the pressure and soft drag of his blunt nails was nice.

“Hey. How’d you two start dating anyway?” Nolan blurted out.

Connor blinked, suddenly awake. “Uhh.”

Shit. He hadn’t really thought about what to tell Nolan. Then again, Nolan knew Jesse’s history with other people. He wasn’t going to be shocked by the idea they’d started out by hooking up.

“Well, we met at your Uncle Kelly’s wedding,” Connor said slowly. “And we, uh, hooked up after.”

Nolan wrinkled his nose. “Not very romantic.”

“No,” Connor agreed. “But I got lucky. Gavin told me Jesse needed to move in with us.”

“Because he was in trouble?”

“Pretty much,” Jesse said with a laugh.

“It didn’t seem like you liked Jesse very much at first, Dad,” Nolan continued. “When he first moved in.”

“I didn’t. But he grew on me,” Connor admitted. “I got to know him and I realized there was a lot more than what’s on the surface.”

“And you fell in love with him.”

“I did.”

“And you love Dad too?” Nolan asked.

“Yeah.” Jesse pressed his palm to Connor’s back. “I do.”

“So what now? Are you gonna get married?”

Jesse froze and Connor covered his surprise with a small, dry cough. “Uhh. I think maybe we’ll try dating first,” he said.

Nolan looked confused. “Aren’t youalreadydating?”

“Well …” Connor lifted up on one elbow and scratched his neck. “I’m not sure. Your Uncle Kelly said sometimes dating can be a little different when you’re both guys and on the same team.”

“Huh. So like, maybe Kyler and I were dating even before we made it official?”

“Exactly,” Connor said.

“Cool.”

Connor smiled. “Glad we cleared that up. And we’re gonna talk about safe sex soon.”

“Ugh,notcool,” Nolan said with a dramatic flop back against the cushions of the chair.

“Important though,” Connor reminded him.

“It’s not like we’re gonna getpregnant!”

“No,” Connor agreed and privately, he had to admit that might be one upside about his son being gay. At least Connor wasn’t gonna end up a grandfather any time soon. “But I still want you to be safe. And you care about Kyler, right?”

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