Page 94 of Two for Holding
Jax was such an idiot.
All this, and he still hadn’t learned to control his idiot impulses.Now, half the team knew the captain had a gift waiting for him in the locker room, meaning Jax couldn’t take it back.At least Kayleigh pulled him for media before Tom got there, a small mercy.
The usual reporters crowded around the area set aside for pre- and postgame interviews, waiting for him.The Sea Lions played Seattle tonight, who were about as close as they had to a rival since the LA teams had their own thing going and Vegas couldn’t care less about a divisional rival when half the Eastern Conference wanted their heads on platters.Most of the rivalry consisted of bored interns shooting one another vaguely catty mentions online in an attempt to gear up interest in hockey in football towns.Beat reporters who actually cared about the sport ignored it.
All of which made media before the game an excellent time to advertise the shelter.
Jax took the first opportunity when Olivia Starling, wearing an SF Bobcats hat—which seemed out of place given she was at an ice hockey rink and not a football stadium—asked how he felt after the team’s up and down week.
“Yeah, um, we had a few bad days down in Los Angeles for sure, but we really turned up on Friday, and I think we will today too.And the week’s been awesome.Thanks for asking.”
“What have you been up to?”someone called from the back.
Jax grinned, making sure to show off as many teeth as possible.“I’msoglad you asked.”He outlined the project, making sure to mention Mara and where people could donate to the shelter as many times as possible in about three sentences.
He spent a good ten minutes after answering questions about the shelter and what the team’s sponsorship entailed.At that point, Breezy wandered past, shirtless and with his hair all over the place, his novelty boxer briefs (Christmas trees this time) peeking out over the waistband of his athletic leggings.
He slid onto the bench next to Jax, threw an arm over his shoulder, and said, “We’re playing hockey with them.It’s kind of all we’re good at.”
The ensuing laughter sounded a little too mean for Jax’s taste.
He let the questions go on, time ticking by while he weighed his options.Coach Trout eyed him vengefully from the corner in a way that screamed, “Are you not done yapping yet?”
Finally, Olivia Starling in her stupid football hat asked, “Jax, is working with the gay community an important message to you, personally?”
This was what he’d been waiting for, the moment he could come out neatly and instantly and have it all out in the open.Ever since the first idea for the shelter project had come up on the flight home from Toronto, he’d known he wanted this, needed it even.But as soon as someone actually asked him, something in Jax stalled out.
He didn’t owe her anything.She’d shown up to Cyberian wearing merch for the wrong fucking sport.Jax wanted to live authentically, but he didn’t want to do this lady, in particular, any favors.He also found, now that he had the chance, he didn’t want to make this about him.The shelter needed donors, and the kids needed to be seen and helped a lot more than Jax needed to have everyone all up in his business.He was a fucking millionaire; he’d be fine.
“Yes,” he said.“It’s very important to me.”
He left it at that.
In the locker room, Tom had moved the box from the bench to the floor in front of his feet so he could sit and tie his laces.
“Jax!”Howie bounded over.“Crow won’t open the gift from his secret admirer!”
Jax hoped the heat in his face would be attributed to the twenty cameras he’d just had in it.“Secret admirer, huh?”
“Who else would send him something from Prada?”
Even Hayes and Vanderbilt had left the comfort of their corner to peer at Tom curiously.Jax wanted to apologize, wanted to tell Tom he didn’t have to open it in front of everyone, wanted to saysomethingto defuse the situation.But everyone had stopped, listening and watching, and all he could do was shoot Tom the most apologetic look he could muster.
“Comeon, Cap!”Howie wheedled.
Tom glanced around the room.“We have a game in ten minutes.Surely—”
“If we spend all game wondering what is in the box, we will play much worse.”Betrayed by the Italian.Jax frowned at Luca.
“Wait, do you know who it’s from?”Betrayed by the French-Canadian Italian too.Jax wanted to shut them all up, but Breezy seemed so honestly excited it would have been heartbreaking.
Tom didn’t meet anyone’s eye.“I have an idea, yeah.”
Wolf-whistles and cheers sounded around the locker room.Jax had to turn away and start pulling on his pads or someone would catch on to whatever his face was doing.
“Damn, Crow, I thought you were a monk all this time.Turns out you’ve got some crazy rich mistress!”Hayes sounded far more enthused by this development than Jax would have thought.Maybe he wanted to see Tom being human and fallible.Maybe he hoped he wouldn’t be the only guy in the locker room with something to be ashamed of.Maybe Jax was reading too much into it.
“Ooh,” at least three guys went.
