Page 176 of Game Changer
Before Kip knew what was happening, Carter enveloped him in a sweaty hug. “Kip, Kip, Kip. I love that fucking name, you know. So, what the fuck, right? Did you and Scott Hunter really just make out in front of the whole damn world?”
“We really did.” Kip was still buzzing about it.
“That’ll get a few tweets.”
Kip smiled. “I expect so.”
“Scott Hunter’s got a boyfriend.” Carter shook his head, grinning. “Man, I can’t even imagine what it’s like dating a dude that perfect.”
“It’s pretty great.”
Someone handed Carter a beer, and Carter said, “Hey, get one for my man Kip, all right?”
When whoever it was returned with a beer for Kip, Carter asked, “So what’s your story, Kip? Scott said you’re a student?”
“About to be again, yeah. Starting my master’s degree in September.”
“You play sports at all?” the beer guy—who was drinking a Coke himself—asked.
“Nah.”
“Sorry,” Carter said, “this rude asshole is Eric Bennett. You don’t recognize him because he usually has a mask over his face.”
“Hi,” Bennett said.
Kip nodded. “Nice to meet you. Congratulations.”
“You a hockey fan?” Carter asked.
“I am now, for sure. I’ve always liked watching hockey. Hadn’t been following too closely, until...”
“Until you started dating the biggest star in the game?”
“Right. Yeah.”
Carter looked at him with some curiosity. “So you’re not a Scott Hunter fanboy. You just happened to meet him?”
“Yeah. He didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. Is it cute?”
Kip shrugged. “It’s probably boring. One day he just came into the place I worked. It’s, uh...it’s a smoothie shop. Anyway. He got a smoothie, and then he came back the next day...and again...”
“That,” Carter said with a wide grin, “is fucking cute. He picked you up atwork? I didn’t think Hunter had any game!”
“He didn’t, really. Pick me up, I mean. He just kind of kept coming in. And I sort of...hinted...”
Carter shared a knowing look with Bennett. “Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. He was probably hoping you might just trip and fall on him or something if he kept showing up.”
“Maybe. It all worked out in the end, anyway.”
“You ready to be in the middle of a media storm when this gets out?” Bennett asked.
“No,” Kip said, straightening his spine. “But I’ll be there. Right by Scott’s side.”
Carter laughed. “All right, stand down, soldier. We’ve got your back. I like you, Kip. Almost as much as I like saying your name.”
“Thanks.”
