Chapter 4 #3
“No offense taken. It’s one of the perks of being a hockey player—fans might know my name, but very few know my face.”
“Anonymous fame, I guess.”
“That’s right.”
Don’s radio crackled—someone named Hank was asking about an equipment delivery. “Looks like I’m needed elsewhere,” Don said. “Need me to walk you out?”
“I can find my way,” Drew said. “Thanks again for showing me around.”
“My pleasure.”
They shook hands, and Don walked off, talking into his radio.
Drew stared at the rink for a moment, thinking about Orion’s Belt Hockey camp, and wondering if there was an appropriate way he could help, before exiting the building and walking slowly across the property back to the parking lot.
The camp was well-wooded and had some outside activities beyond the hockey rink.
He saw a ropes course and a sign that pointed the way to a rock climbing wall in the woods.
A long grassy hill led down into some brush, before opening into a lake—not Lake Michigan, but a smaller landlocked lake—where he could see a rack of kayaks and canoes, and a red boat house.
He smiled. The place seemed nice.
He was almost back to his car when he heard, “Should I be worried that you’re stalking me?”
Gabriel was leaning against the porch of the camp’s main building, wearing the same clothes as earlier, his arms crossed and a wry smile on his face that told Drew he was joking. Somehow, he looked more handsome now than he had earlier that morning.
Drew swallowed his chagrin at being caught, though it hadn’t been his intention to run into Gabriel—he hadn’t even known that Gabriel worked here.
“Would you believe me if I said it was a coincidence?” he said, smiling at Gabriel.
“Damn,” said Gabriel. “I was hoping you missed me so much you went and found out where I worked.”
He was definitely flirting, Drew decided. Or at least testing the waters to see if flirting was appropriate.
“Maybe so,” Drew said, letting a little flirtatiousness slip into his voice, “but would I ever admit that?”
“I don’t know you well enough to say,” Gabriel said, hopping off the porch. “You still haven’t asked me to dinner or lunch yet, officially.” He paused. “Why are you here, by the way?”
“I guess I can tell you, because I told your father.”
“Oh, god. You met him?”
“He seems nice.”
“He is. I love him a lot.” Gabriel had crossed the gravel parking lot and was now casually standing close to Drew. If Drew reached out, he’d be able to touch the other man.
“I donated some money to the camp a few years ago,” Drew admitted. “But I’d prefer if most people didn’t know that.”
Gabriel’s eyebrows rose. “Donated money, huh? Who are you, Mr. Drew?”
Drew was embarrassed. “I play in the NHL. I have a charitable foundation that supports small hockey businesses.”
Gabriel’s mouth dropped open. “You’re in the NHL? Holy shit. What team?”
“Boston.”
“Ah. Your team just beat Detroit for the Crawford Cup. We watched it. Wait…” He squinted at Drew and then looked down at his leg. “Are you the guy who got injured?”
“That’s me.”
“Oh, shit. Are you okay?”
“It was just a minor sprain.”
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have made you walk so much today.”
“I don’t mind. Walking is good for me. I have some PT to do, but I’m mostly recovered.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Drew appreciated that, after his initial shock, Gabriel didn’t seem too starstruck.
It made Drew uncomfortable when people treated him differently just because he was a professional athlete.
Some people, when they learned that about him, suddenly acted like he was a completely different person, and they couldn’t interact normally with him.
It seemed like Gabriel wouldn’t be like that.
“Well,” Gabriel continued, “I’d still be down to grab a drink or something, if you’re interested.
” His tone was slightly less flirtatious this time, as if he was worried he’d misread and that Drew would be offended by his flirting.
Drew’s suspicions about this were confirmed when Gabriel continued, saying, “I hope I wasn’t overstepping when I asked you to get a meal.
I hope it didn’t sound like I was asking you out on a date. I—”
Drew grinned, suddenly feeling a confidence in romance he didn’t usually feel. “Let me clear up any confusion, then. Gabriel Ackermann, would you like to go out for a drink with me? As a date.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened, and then he smiled, his cheeks flushed. “I’d love that.”
“I’ll text you,” Drew said. “And we can figure something out.”
They said a somewhat awkward goodbye, and Drew slipped into his car, his heart knocking in his ribs, his cheeks warming with excitement and nervousness.
Whether it was a good idea or not, he’d just asked Gabriel out on a date.
A real date. He was in his thirties, and he’d never been on a real date with another man—he didn’t count hooking up in a resort suite as a date, and that was the extent of most of his relationships in the past. He started the car, took a deep breath, and resisted every impulse to glance over his shoulder and look at Gabriel as he drove away.