Chapter 9 Hudson
HUDSON
Martin takes advantage of the shift change chaos and gets possession as I jump back onto the ice.
I wait until he crosses the blue line into the offensive zone, and then I’m flying toward the net.
I’m not nearly as fast as Ollie, though, and he’s ahead of me to accept Martin’s pass before LA’s defense can get anywhere near him.
He takes a shot, but at the last second, their goalie is able to block it from going in.
Luckily, my “old” ass has caught up by now, and I’m in the perfect spot to snag the puck on the deflection. Their goalie anticipates my shot, so I line up like I’m going to go for it but pass it back to Ollie who just circled the net instead. He snaps it in behind the goalie who was focused on me.
The lamp lights up and everyone crowds around Ollie, who just earned his second goal of the night, and we’re only five minutes into the second. We all know there’s about to be a mad rush for the fans to buy hats, but none of us will say anything and risk jinxing his chance of getting a hat trick.
Our line returns to the bench, and I try to focus on the face-off while I rehydrate.
We’re only five games into the season, but it’s been our strongest start in years.
We’ve won our two home games and two away so far.
We lost to Pittsburgh in overtime, but we still got the point for the tie there.
Ollie’s goal brought us up to three points; meanwhile, Anderson, our goalie, hasn’t let LA get anything in.
It’s way too early in the season to even be thinking about our standings.
But team morale is high, and I know I’m not the only one strictly sticking to their routine, afraid to fuck something up when things seem to be going so well.
I’ve certainly wondered if my new roommate might be a good luck charm with how many points I’ve already gotten in our other games.
Our line has a few more shifts before the end of the period, but it isn’t until the third that Ollie is able to take advantage of the empty net and earn his first hat trick of the season.
A shutout and a hat trick at home, on a Saturday? This city, or at least the part surrounding the Caldwell Center, is about to be crazy.
“Congrats, man.” I bump Ollie’s helmet with mine, getting out of the way for everyone else to do the same.
Coach tells us both to hang back for the stars of the game to be announced, and I quickly wave when my three stars are announced for my assists, getting out of the way for Anderson and Bell to be awarded their two and one stars, respectively.
The next hour is a blur of the quick post-game team meeting, media, and showering.
Unlike most of the guys, I’m not in any hurry to get out of here to go party.
I’ll go out with them if anyone really wants me to, especially on the road or after a big win, but I’m doing that to support my teammates, not because I really want to go drink in a crowded bar after giving it my all during the game.
Ollie is the last one in the locker room with me since he was stuck in even more interviews than normal. “You going out?” he asks, looking over at me where I’m sitting on the bench next to him.
“Do you want me to?”
He shrugs. “I don’t particularly want to go, but I was told it wasn’t optional. So, yeah, I think you should be forced to come with me.”
I laugh before letting out a dramatic sigh. “Fine, I’ll go.”
He laughs too. “You don’t really need to if you have plans or something.”
“Hot date with myself, actually. I was hoping to be asleep in the next hour.” I should be scheduling real dates, but this morning when I was telling myself to go through other profiles on the dating app to try to get matches, it sounded way too overwhelming to do on my own.
Adrian was so helpful with setting it all up, maybe he’ll help me with this part too?
“Come on, you’re not that old,” Ollie teases, lightly shoving my shoulder. “You should be going on a real date.”
“Oh yeah, and what about you?”
His expression falls, and his face pales. “Me?”
Shit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look like that before. Almost like he’s scared? I hold my hands up in surrender. “Whoa, whatever I just said to make you that upset after a hat trick, I’m sorry.”
“Fuck,” he mutters, burying his face in his hands. “Why am I so awkward?”
“Hey, man, you’re not awkward.” I shift closer to him on the bench so I can put a comforting hand on his back. “What is it?”
He looks back up at me, and then glances around the empty locker room. “It’s nothing. Sorry, I misunderstood.”
“You seemed pretty upset for a second, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” He glances at the door again, so I try a different approach. “Maybe I could drive you to the bar? If you change your mind, we can chat on the way.”
He takes a deep breath before finally nodding. “Yeah, okay. I probably should have told you by now anyway.”
Well, that sounds ominous.
“Perfect. You ready to go?” He nods so I grab my stuff and head toward the exit. After walking in silence for a bit, I decide to change the topic, hoping small talk will get him to relax before whatever it is he wants to tell me. “Any idea if staff are coming?” I ask.
“Not sure. Is there someone specific you’re hoping is there?”
“Just wondering if I should text Adrian that I’ll be home late or if he’ll also be out.”
He stops walking. “You’re still living with Adrian?” Ollie sounds shocked, but I have no idea why.
“Uh, yeah, I would have mentioned it if I moved,” I say with a short laugh as we start walking again. “What’s that look for?” He doesn’t say anything, staring at me like he has no idea what I’m talking about, but when we get to my car, he shakes his head and gets in.
“Seriously, what did I say wrong?” I push when we're settled and I’m pulling out of the lot.
“Nothing… I just—” His shoulders sink before he turns to look at me. “Can we be honest with each other? Like totally off the record? I feel like we’ve known each other for long enough, and we’re friends, not just teammates, right? You’re not going to say anything?”
“Of course I wouldn’t say anything.” I assure him, although I have no idea what he’s talking about, so hopefully I’m not agreeing to anything illegal.
“Are you dating him?”
“Dating who?” I ask. I thought he was about to tell me some big secret, so I’m surprised by the question, although as I say that, I immediately realize I know who he’s talking about. “Adrian?”
“Yes, Adrian! The gay man you’ve been living with for almost a month now.”
Why would he think we’re dating? Because he’s gay?
I thought we went over this… “No, we’re just friends,” I remind him.
I’d like to lecture him again about making those kinds of assumptions, but he already seems upset, so I’ll save that for a better time when he’ll be more likely to listen to my feedback.
Ollie hangs his head back against his seat with a groan. “And we’re being honest here. This isn’t a ‘just friends’ situation that’s hiding more?”
“Yeah, I’m being honest. Why are you even asking?” I’m focusing on the road, but in my periphery, I see him turn to look at me again.
He stares for a long moment, finally turning away to look out the window, crossing his arms over his chest before he answers. “Because I’ve had those types of friends, and it’s never ended well.”
“Oh,” I say before I can stop myself. That is not where I saw this conversation going. “Wait, are you coming out to me right now? Have you been hiding that this whole time? I’m so sorry if you felt like you had to, Ollie. I had no idea.”
He groans, turning back to look at me. “It wasn’t anything you did. It was my stupid agent. He’s convinced that I can’t be the next big name in hockey if everyone finds out I’m gay.”
“Well, that’s bullshit.” I huff. “You’re still you no matter who you want to date.
And you are the next big name in hockey.
The Werewolves have invested enough in you that you should know that.
Plus, the team’s owner is very publicly gay, they wouldn’t care if you came out.
Is that why you looked scared when I mentioned dating back there? ”
He laughs, shaking his head. “No, Hudson, that was because I’m painfully awkward.
” He laughs again. “I should probably quit while I’m ahead and never admit this, but when I said you should go on a date, and you asked ‘what about you?’ the secretly gay kid that used to have a huge crush on his idol had a freakout moment where I thought you were asking me on a date.
And then I was mortified when I realized that you obviously were not. ”
Holy shit, he had a crush on me? That’s flattering.
“Fuck, Ollie, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable—or disappoint you? I don’t really know what you were feeling, but I was just trying to joke around and give you shit for also being single. I had no idea… You said ‘used to’?”
“Oh god yes, definitely in the past, way before I met you.”
“Should I be offended that my personality was apparently so off-putting?” I joke, trying to keep the mood lighter so he doesn’t think I care about his confession.
“You’re way too nice. I don’t know if you’ll be offended by that, but when I found out you weren’t as tough as I’d pictured, the illusion was shattered,” he teases.
“Probably for the best. I’m sorry that your agent isn’t being more supportive though.”
“Yeah, I get their concern, I really do. But I’ve also accidentally almost let something slip that would give myself away so many times. I’m sick of always having to filter myself.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
“Well, maybe we can keep winning, and then you can announce that you’re into guys after your next hat trick or something, and no one can claim you aren’t the next hockey star.”
“God, I wish it was that easy.”
“We’ll figure something out,” I assure him. “You’ve got my support now. If it’s what will make you happy, we’ll find a way for you to do it, don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Cap.”
“Now that we talked, do we actually have to go out?” I joke.
“Probably.”
We get to the same crowded bar the players always go to after games, hurrying to the back private section they reserve for us and say hello to the rest of the team. After a few minutes, I give up looking around for Adrian and realize I should have just texted him before we even got here.
Hudson
Any chance you decided to come out with the team tonight, and I just haven’t seen you here yet?
Adrian
LOL no. I’m already in bed.
Hudson
Jealous! But also boo, wish you were here. I feel like we haven’t gotten to hang out much lately.
Adrian
We hung out last night…
Hudson
How dare I want to do it again.
Adrian
Hey, I’m not the one who went out, you could have come home.
Hudson
Should I leave? It wouldn’t take me long to get there. I can bring snacks
Adrian
I mean… I’m not going to turn down snacks… but shouldn’t you hang out with your teammates? Great game by the way! Amazing assist in the second!
Hudson
Thanks! Nah, I’ve already said hello to everyone, I should be good to go.
Adrian
If you’re sure…
Hudson
See you soon!
I confirm with Ollie that he’s got a sober ride home before I leave, stopping to pick up the promised snacks. Hopefully Adrian isn’t too tired. I’ll feel bad if he really was already in bed, and I’m demanding that he hang out with me.
But I’m also looking forward to spending time with him too much to consider changing our plans now.