Page 9 of Scoring Slater
Celek gave him a thumbs up. "His actions were all screwed up, but in his head, they made sense."
"The artwork was awesome." Joseph lifted a forkful of lasagna. "I really liked it. I think I might need to buy the next issue when it comes out."
Slater's chest tightened. He'd never forget the first time comic book artwork had spoken to him. "You should come to the comic book store with me sometime."
Vince laid his hand over Joseph's and smiled when his fiancé's gaze lifted from their joined hands to his eyes. "We stopped there on the way here. He bought a stack of them."
"I gave my copy to Jacob after I finished. He loved it." Rod doted on his nephew, and had brought the kid to a few practices with the team. "He said that if being a goalie doesn't work out, he wants to be a superhero."
"I liked it too." Noah's voice was quiet. He placed his knife next to the upside-down fork lying across his plate before glancing at Slater. "You kind of remind me of the superhero, swooping in to defend us in a game."
Warmth spread through his chest. He'd defend Noah anywhere. "Speaking of that, I was talking to the store's owner about an idea I had this morning for a comic book series about a superhero who’s also a pro hockey player. He loved the idea. I can't draw, but maybe I can find an artist to work with me."
Bright approval brimmed in Leo's features. "That's a great idea. Something to think about too, for after your playing days. I've seen some of the drawings your fans have posted of you. Maybe reach out to them?"
Slater fiddled with his napkin. The drawings weren't only of him. Over the holidays, he'd found one of Noah and him in an embrace, kissing under some mistletoe. He had that one saved in his phone but had never told anyone about it. "I could do that."
Celek reached for more rice, nodding when Slater pushed the dish closer. "If this works out, you'd be an author. How cool would that be?"
"That's not something I ever saw happening." Certainly not, with all of the taunts he'd received as a kid for being a dumb jock. He still had nightmares about reading out loud in class, which took him three times as long as anyone else, and the embarrassment and frustration it had caused. Being the class clown or using his fists to shut up the bullies were defenses he'd developed early on.
Joseph spooned more salad onto his and Vince's plates. "I never asked you before, but when did you start reading comic books?"
Slater stiffened and his knee started bouncing. "I was a slow reader as a kid. Still am. The comic books were my mom's idea. They turned me from someone who hated and dreaded reading to loving it."
For the next hour, they discussed the plot and characters, and Slater answered questions about previous storylines and origin stories of various heroes.
After they finished eating, cleaned up the food and stacked the dish washer, he and Noah got everyone a drink refill. Then he reclaimed his seat and pulled out his phone. "What do you say, boys? A picture for the fans? I promised them."
Leo shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Vince, Joseph, Rod, and Celek all voiced their agreement. Noah's smile was stiff, but he nodded. Sympathy swelled and Slater glanced at the rest of the guys. They all knew about Noah's distaste for social media and always gave him the option to skip photos and videos. "It's okay if you don't want to be in the shot, Noah."
"No. It's fine."
He angled the phone until everyone leaned in and captured all seven of them in the photo. "Smile."
After uploading the picture, along with the one he'd taken earlier of the food, he switched over to live video mode. As soon as the recording began, he smiled and held up his copy of the comic book. "Hey guys. Hope your weekend's going good. Here's a live shot of our book club."
He slowly angled the phone, rotating the view around the table, pausing as each teammate waved to the camera. Noah had pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt, covering his hair and casting shadows over his face. He lifted his beer, obscuring half of his face with the bottle, while he waved. Slater quickly turned the phone back to himself. "I'm happy to report the guys loved the comic book. If you read it too, comment and let us know what you thought."
Hearts and other emojis rolled in as soon as the video started, and they kept coming. The fans cared and weren’t shy about telling him so. Each note, every heart and smiley face meant so much to him. They helped fill the lonely places in his soul.
Comments popped up too quickly for him to read before they disappeared, pushed away by the next one, and the next one, and the next one. "Wow, you guys are pretty active tonight. Thanks for being here. I'll read through all the comments over the next few days. And we'll share our next book tomorrow. It's Noah's turn to pick."
Noah's name immediately appeared in the comments, along with the usual hashtags ofbromanceand the speculations of them being boyfriends.
He wanted that, wanted what Vince and Joseph had, wanted it with Noah. The food he'd consumed suddenly felt like a lead weight in his gut. One comment about the auction caught his eye. "That's right. Guys, check out my feed. You'll see a post about the Hockey Allies bachelor auction in Chicago during All Star weekend. If you'll be near the city, please come out and support us. If you're too far, you can still donate to the charity. It's a great cause. And on that note, I'll sign off and get back to my guests. Good night, guys."
Noah pushed the hood off of his head. His brows drew together and the stiff expression he'd had during the video hadn't faded. "When did you post that thing about the auction?"
"Before dinner. They sent me a promo image to share."
Joseph picked up his drink and took a sip. "I saw your post while we were driving over here. That auction looks like it should be fun. You'll have a great time."
"Yeah. Hey, would you guys share it too so it reaches as many people as possible? I know they want to raise a lot of money."
Leo tapped his beer to Slater's. "You know I will. I’ll send them a donation too."
