Chapter Twenty-Nine #3
“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 at work? 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.”
Scott joined their little circle, draping a heavy arm across Kip’s shoulders. “Are these guys bothering you?” he asked with a sloppy grin. It was possible he’d had a lot of champagne already.
“We’re just trying to figure out how a guy this great ended up with a mess like you, Hunter,” Carter joked.
“I don’t know either, but I’m sure glad he did,” Scott said, and he kissed Kip on the cheek. Kip turned bright red. He glanced at Carter and Bennett, expecting them to be looking away, but they were both just smiling at them.
Scott dipped his head to speak directly into Kip’s ear. “They’re kicking out everyone who isn’t on the team, but I’ll see you at home, right?”
“Definitely. But I don’t expect you anytime soon. It’s your night. Have fun, okay?”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you.”
And then Scott had kissed him quickly on the mouth. It was just a peck, but it was no small gesture, given where they were standing.
Kip practically floated all the way home, replaying the last couple of hours in his head and dreaming of the future.
* * *
Kip spent a few hours back at home staring at his phone.
He had received a lot of texts that night.
Maria: Aaaahhh!!! What the FUCK???!! That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen?????
Shawn: You. Fucking. Bitch. You lying fucking bitch. We’re getting lunch together. SOON.
Kyle: First of all, congratulations and I am happy for you. Secondly, holy fucking shit!
Megan: Um… WHAT?!
He’d also gotten texts from people he hadn’t talked to in months. There had been a couple of missed calls from his parents. He would return them tomorrow.
Elena had left the game at some point, but she had texted him. Congratulations. You boys just made history.
A second text said, Seriously, though, I almost cried.
Kip kept watching the same video over and over again. It was the interview Scott had done on the ice, immediately after they’d kissed. It, along with many photos and screengrabs of them kissing, had gone viral.
“Sure, yeah,” Scott had told the interviewer, who had asked him if he wanted to comment on what everyone had just witnessed. “I was just celebrating a little with my boyfriend.”
“I don’t think that the world was aware that you’re…”
“Gay? Yes, I’m gay. I was planning on making some sort of official announcement, but what the hell, right? Everyone is here now.”
The interviewer had been silent a moment, seemingly stunned, before she blinked and said, “And…are you… Is there anything you want to tell us about him?”
“Absolutely. He means the world to me and I love him.”
Kip grinned like an idiot every time he watched it. Scott’s voice was so steady. So confident, like he had no regret at all. No looking back.
Kip tried not to pay too much attention to what social media was saying about it, but a glance told him that there seemed to be more people who were thrilled than who were disgusted. Definitely a lot of shock on both sides, though.
“This is going to be fucking nuts,” Kip muttered to his phone. Starting tomorrow morning, his life was going to be very different.
But tonight he was at home, madly in love, and so fucking happy. He was proud of Scott for so many reasons.
He watched the interview again.
* * *
Scott was surprised, but not really, to find Kip sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, and not in bed, when he got home. It was almost three-thirty in the morning.
He was wearing sleep pants and a tank top, and he was everything Scott wanted to see at that moment.
“You’re awake,” Scott said stupidly.
“Of course. You seem less drunk than I was expecting.” Kip slid off the stool and crossed the floor to meet Scott.
“I stopped drinking a while ago.” Scott put his hands on Kip’s waist.
“I’m really fucking proud of you,” Kip said. “For everything tonight.”
Scott kissed him and it was exactly what he had been craving all night. Even while celebrating winning the goddamn Stanley Cup with his teammates, he’d been consumed with the need to kiss his boyfriend.
“Kinda jumped off the cliff there,” he said, after they broke apart. “Sorry. I should have talked to you first, maybe.”
“It’s fine,” Kip said. “Scott, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting it, but… I mean, that was romantic as hell!”
Scott laughed and buried his face in Kip’s neck, kissing just under his chin.
“I love you so much,” he said. His voice had gotten very raspy over the course of the night. He’d done a lot of yelling.
“Love you too, sweetheart. Now come on. Always wanted to take a Stanley Cup champion to bed.”