Page 163 of Hockey Bois
“What, you don’t think he knows he’s queer?”
“Knowing he’s bi or gay or whatever is completely different with being comfortable with it, Nick. What if he’s never had a boyfriend before?”
Nick didn’t know what to say. Brady clearly had experience with men, and maybe Nick had made one too many assumptions about the nature of that experience.
Jenna sighed. “This is why I wanted you two to talk in private so you could figure this shit out without all this mess.”
“Right.” A pause as his brain refused to cooperate. “Ugh, why am I so bad at dating?”
“Hey, you’re notterribleat dating—”
“I didn’tsayterrible. I saidbad.”
“You’re just scared because you like him more than I’ve seen you like most people. Except when you had that crush on what’s-his-face from Star Wars and then met him at a convention and acted like an idiot. That’s actually pretty similar.”
“I’m not sure how offended to be that you can’t remember Mark Hamill’s name. And you say you love movies.”
“Hey, who’s the one helping you out right now?”
“Thank you. Still offended.”
She snorted. “You want my help, or you want me to pass you off to Terry?” Terry who was happily dating Gail and whose happiness made Nick’s current misery that much harder to bear? No thanks. “Or Mykala and Jess, I’m sure they’d love to get the dirt on this whole—”
“Nope. No way. I’ve heard enough. You’re the best. I’m sorry. Please continue helping me.”
This time Jenna sighed. “I’m trying, I promise. But I’m honestly stumped. If he’s avoiding you, there’s not a whole lot you can do until he decides to change his mind. I thought for sure you’d still see him at your games, but if he’s not even going to those anymore…”
“He’s not.”
“Then yeah, I’ve got nothing.”
“Me neither,” he grumbled. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“You better. Good luck.”
*
It was obvious he was desperate when he started scoping out Facebook for news on Brady. He was fairly certain Bradyonlylogged on to check the team chat and certainly never posted anything himself. Still, Nick couldn’t help it. There was the inevitable disappointment when he found nothing new, but it gave him the excuse to thumb through what littlewasthere.
Brady as a kid, proud of his medal.
The team at a Caps game.
Pictures from the championship and their drunken celebration afterward.
A few shots from their Canada tournament.
A picture of Brady, looking miserable on a couch.
Wait, what?
Nick scrolled back to the image, and his eyes instantly flew to the timestamp. This was postedtoday.
Lucy J J Rhodes: Look who decided to show up out of the blue??looks likeBrady Derek Jensenis here for a surprise visit - hope he doesn’t mind the couch??(Pittsburgh, PA)
Nick read the caption a couple times before he clicked on the picture, zooming in on Brady’s face. Brady was wearing a navy-blue hat, backward but still clearly the one Nick had given him for his birthday, and a faded Pens shirt. He had a beer in hand, a brand Nick couldn’t recognize but assumed was from Pittsburgh. He looked like he’d fused with the couch a good day or two before the picture was taken. His beard was longer than usual and made him look like a lumberjack.
Brady really did look miserable; Nick hoped it wasn’t just his own wounded pride making the call.
