Page 69 of Body Check

Gavin cleared his throat. “I’m interested in Rafael Moon.”

He resumed pacing his office at HCI, vaguely aware of his head throbbing. The building was dark and quiet, and other than some night security, he was probably the last one there.

“Okay,” Wade said slowly.

“Look, I already spoke to Asa Jackson,” he said, referring to the general manager of the Minnesota Acorns. “He should have messaged you to let you know?—”

“No, he did,” Wade said. “He told me he’d granted you permission to speak to me and Rafe directly. Honestly, I’ve been expecting your call. I wasn’t expecting ittonight.”

“Surprise!”

Wade laughed. “So you want Rafe to waive his no-trade clause.”

“I do.”

“And you’re assuming the reason he didn’t want to come to Boston was because it wasn’t queer enough.”

“I hoped,” Gavin admitted.

“And you think because O’Shea and Webber are dating, that’ll make him more interested?”

“Again, Ihoped,” Gavin said, humor lacing his voice. “I mean, having a gay GM, captain, defenseman, and netminder can’t hurt, right?”

“No, it can’t.”

“Besides,” Gavin said, “he’s gotta want to get away from his ex.”

Using a guy’s personal life as trade leverage was maybe a little bit of a cheap shot, but Gavin knew Wade well enough to get awaywith it. Besides, he was getting desperate and wasn’t afraid to use whatever he could to get what he wanted.

Mickeyneededthis guy; he was sure of it. And the team needed to beef up their defense.

Gavin didn’t have to be talking to Wade on a video call to know that he’d probably winced at the comment about Rafael’s breakup, although his tone was neutral enough when he said, “It would be an incentive, yes.”

Because while Rafael Moon and Logan Walker had told the press they’d dated and had broken up amicably, rumor was things were a bit messier behind the scenes. Although many of the recent queer romances in the NHL between teammates had worked out, there were a handful that had turned sour, leading to awkward tension in the locker room. Asa Jackson wasn’t happy about it and he was motivated to move at least one of the guys off Minnesota’s roster.

Gavin had his eye on Rafael for the Harriers, and he’d be damned if he let him get away.

“So, talk to Rafael,” Gavin urged. “Float the idea out there at least.”

“I will. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll let him know your interest and that circumstances in Boston have changed.”

“Perfect. So now that we’ve got business out of the way, how’ve you been?” Gavin asked, his shoulders lowering with relief now that he’d gotten this far.

Oops, Dakota would probably yell at him for being so tense in the first place.

“Good.” It sounded like Wade was smiling. “Things have been great with Trevor, and Brayden’s really doing well in school this year.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Gavin stopped pacing, shifted into a balanced stance, then began lifting his toes in slow, rhythmic pumps like Dakota had taught him, feeling the stretch in his calves, hamstrings, and all the way up to his lower back. “Brayden must be getting big.”

“Yeah. Hard to believe we’re going to be thinking about colleges soon.”

“Wild. And he has no interest in hockey?”

“Playing? Hell no. He’s actually hoping to go into graphic design and work on video games.”

“Huh. Very cool.”

“So what about you? Are you seeing anyone?”

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