Page 103 of The New Guy
Maybe it’s the feeling of his warm grip on my lonely body, or the fact that he’s right. But all the fight seeps out of me. “Hell. She’ll love it. Thank you.”
Still, his face falls. “I didn’t do it to make you feel bad, Gav. I just wanted to ease your mind about August. I wanted you to be able to tell your monster-in-law that Jordyn was going to the best summer program in Brooklyn.”
“Oh, I will definitely be mentioning that.” Just the idea cheers me up a little bit. “I hate that you had to bail me out, though. I moved Jordyn here without a plan.”
“I didn’t bail you out.” He releases my shoulders and slaps me on the back. Then he pushes the door to Henry’s office all the way closed, and wraps me into a hug. “Look, I’ve never been a parent,” he says as I take a deep, comforting breath against his shoulder. “But isn’t parenting just, like, constructing a parachute on the way down? If it were easy, there wouldn’t be so many experts.”
That sounds eerily close to something Eddie might say. But I don’t tell him that, I just tighten my arms around him instead. “Thank you. It’s still a lot of money.”
“I have a lot of money,” he points out. “And a lack of ways to show you that I’m serious about us. So just let me have this one.”
“Okay, but rein it in from here on out,” I mumble, trying to convince myself to let go of him.
“Does that mean I can’t send you tickets to game five?”
I think about it for a half second as I finally step back. “No way. I want to watch you win.”
He smiles, and starts to say something else, but the doorknob turns suddenly.
I guess it’s true what they say about professional hockey players—they have excellent reflexes. In that split second, Hudson leaps back from me like I’m on fire. By the time Henry’s face clears the doorway, Hudson is a healthy distance away.
“Hey, gents,” Henry says with a frown. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” Hudson says tightly. He looks rattled. “Just having a chat. Later, guys.” Then he leaves so fast there’s practically a vapor trail behind him.
“Anything up with him?” Henry asks, hooking a thumb in the direction of Hudson’s departure.
“No,” I say, even as my heart quakes.
Even though I understand why Hudson’s been hiding for years, it still sucks to see him go cold like that.
And now I have to think fast. “His, uh, dad is pushing him to pick a nutritionist to work with this summer, and so I googled a few of them for him.”
“Oh, interesting,” Henry says, putting his coffee cup down on his desk. “I’ve heard that his dad is pushy as fuck. Some players like that style of high-energy hustle. But I’m not sure Hudson ever had a choice. What does your afternoon look like?”
“Um…” I’ve got whiplash again, which happens so often when I’m dealing with Hudson. “Working with rookies in the weight room. Taking inventory of our supplies.”
“Sounds good,” Henry says, shaking the mouse of his computer. “If we’re short of anything, rush the order to Heidi Jo.”
“Will do.”
* * *
That night I’m just getting into bed when my phone rings. And it’s Hudson calling.
“Hey,” I answer, glancing instinctively to my right. “Are you just on the other side of this wall?” My room is so small that I can put one foot on the floor and knock my knuckles three times against the plaster.
A moment passes with nothing but a creak of floorboards. And then I hear the same tap tap tap against the bedroom wall. “So close, and yet so far.” He sighs. “My fault, of course.”
“Oh come on. The universe deserves some blame for this one. Not your fault that we stumbled into each other in a bar four months ago.”
“Still.” He clears his throat. “I called because I’m not happy with the way I reacted today. When Henry came in.”
“Oh.” I try to think of what else to add, but I can’t. It hurt me to see him leap away from me like that. But I’m not going to say so, because he already knows.
“I told you that I wasn’t conflicted about my sexuality,” he says quietly. “That I’m not ashamed. But I’ve been trying to hide myself for so long. I don’t know how to stop.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “I’m sure.”
