Chapter 5 #3
Gabriel had missed Aubrey dearly during his four years in college.
They’d grown up together, and sometimes she felt more like a sister than his actual siblings.
They were very close and had told each other everything growing up.
She had been the first person he came out to, his junior year of high school, and her response had been to shrug and to ask if he wanted to go get milkshakes.
She had gone to Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids and had moved to that city after she graduated.
Since college started, they only saw each other in the summers, and he cherished that time.
Now that Gabriel lived in Orion year-round, he had hoped he might see her more if she came home for holidays, but from what she told him, she had a good circle of friends in Grand Rapids and rarely came home, except for the summers.
Summers were sacred times and were meant to be spent in the mystical corner of the world called Orion, Michigan.
He would always be thankful for the summer months they shared together.
They had promised long ago that if they ever had children, they would bring their children to Orion in the summers so they could have the same magical childhood as their parents.
“Where should I sit?” Gabriel asked Aubrey.
She suggested a tall table against one wall, beneath a series of photographs of semi-famous celebrities who had visited Orion through the years and gotten photos with Mr. and Mrs. Wozniak.
The irony of the choice wasn’t lost on Gabriel—Aubrey had no idea that his date was a semi-famous celebrity, too.
“Do I get to know who you’re on a date with?” Aubrey asked, shifting the weight of the tray in her hands.
“No,” Gabriel said with a smile.
“Is he local?”
“No. He’s visiting.”
“That’s good, at least. But don’t get your heart broken by a tourist.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
He went to the table she’d suggested and waited to order. It was almost 9:00 p.m., and he figured that Drew would be there soon.
Gabriel was fiddling with the laminated drink menu, but not reading it, when he saw Drew enter through the Biergarten’s garage-style doors.
He immediately felt an internal stirring at the sight of the handsome man.
Drew walked with an easy, athletic confidence.
His shoulders were wide and muscular, his skin smooth and clean, his dark curls well-styled.
He wore a different outfit from earlier: a light beige shirt, white pants, and leather sandals.
There was a gold chain around his neck. It was a simple outfit, but very stylish and chic.
The hockey player smiled widely when he saw Gabriel and crossed the Biergarten to get to him.
Gabriel stood. He hadn’t thought about how they would greet each other, but he was saved the indignity of an awkward handshake by Drew opening his arms for a casual hug.
Gabriel was an inch or two taller than Drew, who was easily six feet, but Drew was the larger man.
Drew’s cologne was subtle but attractive, and there were notes of a more natural, masculine smell beneath it.
It was deeply erotic, and Gabriel tried to ignore the effect it had on him.
“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Drew said. “I don’t know anyone here in Orion, and I need to make friends.” He instantly added, “I’m not saying this is just to get to know you as a friend—it’s…Oh, fuck. Am I already messing this up?”
Gabriel could tell that Drew was nervous, and it was, in a way, endearing.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “You’re not messing anything up. Let’s get a drink, and then we can talk. How does that sound?”
“Good,” Drew said.
Gabriel slid him the drinks menu. “What looks good? You can save the table, and I’ll order for us.”
“That’s fine. But I’m paying.”
Drew picked a local lager. While he waited at the table, Gabriel went up to the bar and ordered the lager for Drew and a hard cider for himself. Aubrey was rinsing glasses behind the bar as another bartender took his order. She slid over to him.
“That’s your date?” she said sotto voce. For a moment, Gabriel felt a nervous thrill. Did she recognize Drew as an NHL player? It seemed unlikely. Aubrey wasn’t much of a hockey fan, from what he knew. “He’s hot as fuck,” Aubrey continued.
Gabriel was relieved. Evidently, Aubrey didn’t know Drew’s identity. That was good. Gabriel didn’t want to be responsible for sharing Drew’s secret.
“I know,” Gabriel said smugly. The other bartender brought him two pint glasses, and Gabriel opened a tab. “I’ll be back up in a bit to order food.”
“You’ve got a whole meal waiting for you at your table,” Aubrey said slyly.
“Gross.”
She chortled as he walked away.
“Thanks,” Drew said when Gabriel returned to the table. “Remember, I’m paying.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Gabriel said.
He sat across from Drew, who shifted nervously in his seat.
“I’m nervous, too,” he admitted, and Drew seemed to relax.
“And I’ll just be up-front about it. I think you’re very attractive and interesting, and I’d like to get to know you more if you’re here for the summer. ”
“I’m planning on being here for the full summer,” Drew said. “I’m renting a house on Beachside Drive, and have no plans to go anywhere else. I wanted to get away from Boston for a few months.”
“This is a good place to do that. We’re very far from Boston. Why’d you pick this place?”
“It was my manager’s idea. She knew about Orion’s Belt because she helps manage my foundation, which donated to the camp.
She thought it would be a good place to visit, and thought that maybe I could generate some good PR by showing up at the camp.
But, I don’t think I want it to be public knowledge that I’m here. ”
“Why’s that?” Gabriel figured he knew—who would want their moves so publicly tracked like that?
“Privacy,” Drew said with a simple shrug. “I came here to get away from fame and from being recognized. I’d like to keep it that way,” he added, and Gabriel nodded, understanding.
“I haven’t told anyone who you are,” Gabriel said. He nodded in the direction of Aubrey, who was watching them and trying to make it look like she wasn’t. “Even her. That’s Aubrey, my best friend. She just knows that I’m on a date, but not who you are.”
“She seems kind,” Drew said, after glancing Aubrey’s way.
“Oh, she’s a menace,” Gabriel said, but he smiled affectionately. He really did love Aubrey. He turned back to Drew. “I do have some questions. Do you mind if I ask them?”
“Go for it. I’ll try to be an open book.”
“This is a date,” Gabriel began, and then didn’t know where to go from there.
Drew picked up on his hesitation. “Are you trying to figure out a polite way to ask if I’m gay?” he said.
“I am. Is that bad?”
“No. Yes, I’m gay. But I’m not publicly out. Well, I’m not out at all,” Drew said. He was fidgeting in his seat, turning his pint glass in a ring of condensation on the table. “No one knows, not my friends or my managers, just the guys that I’ve been with secretly, and they don’t know my identity.”
Gabriel was unsurprised by some of this, but shocked by the implication that Drew had one, told his identity to Gabriel, and two, come out to him. If Gabriel understood what Drew was saying, this was a first for Drew.
“Well,” he said. “Thank you for trusting me with all that. I’ll protect that trust.”
“I had a feeling you would,” Drew said. “You seem like an honest person, and I’m interested in you.”
He was forward and direct, but not in a way that was overwhelming. It was refreshing to talk to someone who was so clear.
“Thank you,” Gabriel said. “I hope I live up to your interest.” He had more questions.
For instance, if Drew wasn’t out, what were his intentions in going on a date with Gabriel?
He decided not to pursue that line of questioning.
He sensed it would lead to another unhelpful spiral.
Right now, it didn’t matter. This was one night of drinks, and it might not need to be any more than that.
If they continued seeing each other, maybe he would raise questions about goals and intentions, but they didn’t seem important right now.
They drank their beers and talked for a while.
Drew was easy to talk to. He asked good questions and genuinely listened when Gabriel responded.
He wanted to know about Gabriel’s childhood in Orion and shared a bit about his own childhood in New Hampshire.
They learned that there were some similarities between how they’d been raised.
Both had grown up in athletic, hockey-loving families, though Gabriel remained far closer with his parents than Drew did.
He said he rarely saw his family anymore, not even on holidays.
He spent most of his holidays with his teammates and their families, or with other friends in Boston.
They had both grown up in rather small towns, close to water and to nature, and there were certain similarities between New England and northern Michigan that made Gabriel feel like he was talking to someone who naturally understood what it had been like to grow up here.
They ordered food, and their conversation lulled for a bit while they attacked their meals.
Both had large appetites. Gabriel had been working outside all day, and he was famished.
He wasn’t precious or self-conscious about how he ate, and he devoured his burger and fries in only a few minutes, while Drew tucked into a massive plate of nachos and a brisket sandwich.
“I love food,” Drew said dreamily, licking his fingers when he’d finished. It was a simple, silly thing to say, but Gabriel found it endearing.
“Do you cook?” he asked.
“Not as much as I’d like, but it is one of the few things my mother taught me that I’m thankful for.”
Their age difference didn’t get in the way of their conversation.
They were from different generations, but only barely, and occasionally poked fun at each other when talking about the differences in their childhood, specifically with the technology they’d grown up with.
Drew was old enough that he still remembered having a “computer room” in his house, and hadn’t gotten a cell phone until he was in middle school, while Gabriel admitted that he had been an iPad kid, which Drew found very funny.
Drew had a great laugh, deep and quick, and he laughed easily at Gabriel’s stories. Each laugh was like a win for Gabriel, a prize he didn’t know he had been competing towards. He liked making Drew laugh and decided he would be very happy if he got the chance to keep doing it.
Overall, Gabriel felt very relaxed and at ease talking to Drew.
He was undeniably attracted to the hockey player, and he wanted to keep seeing him.
All signs pointed to Drew wanting the same thing.
They didn’t touch each other, but they both often leaned close against the table, as if they would reach for each other if they could.
Gabriel imagined what it would be like to feel Drew’s hands on him.
He imagined Drew would be strong but kind, maybe a little dominant in the bedroom.
Or perhaps he would be soft, not timid but definitely gentle, uncertain of each movement.
Either way, Gabriel would be eager to find out if he had the chance.
He got the sense that Drew wasn’t telling him everything, specifically about why he was in Orion for the summer.
From what he’d said, it seemed unusual that he was completely isolating himself for the summer.
He had friends back in Boston, besides just his team, and the stories he told about previous summers always involved other players, or friends, except for the solo trips he mentioned offhand.
Those trips, Gabriel deduced, were the times that Drew normally let himself loose and hooked up with other men.
If that was what he did on his solo vacations normally, why was he spending an entire summer alone in Orion?
There were better places, far better places, to go if he wanted a summer of gorgeous men.
But a hot boy summer didn’t appear to be Drew’s reason for coming to Orion.
No, it was almost like he had wanted to get away from something.
But what? Gabriel didn’t ask, and Drew didn’t volunteer the information.
At 10:30, the staff at the Biergarten did last call. Gabriel stood to go to the bar and pay the tab, but Drew reached for his arm. Gabriel’s skin pricked like with an electric shock when Drew’s fingers touched his bare forearm.
“Wait,” Drew said. “Let me get it.”
Gabriel started to argue, but Drew was firm.
“I really enjoyed tonight,” Drew said, “and I’d like to pay for your meal.” It sounded like courtesy, rather than control, so Gabriel relented.
When Drew returned to their table, he helped Gabriel stack their trays of food to make them easier to bus, a sign of social and professional awareness that Gabriel appreciated.
“I really did have a good time tonight,” Drew said as they walked out of the Biergarten together. The sky was dark gray, and the air was cool and refreshing. A perfect Michigan summer night.
Gabriel ignored Aubrey, who was behind the bar, craning her neck to watch them.
“I did, too,” he said, and didn’t bother to hide his smile. He was genuinely very happy. This had been one of the best nights he’d spent in Orion in a long time, and it was completely thanks to Drew’s company.
They were lingering outside the Biergarten. There weren’t many other customers around, and Gabriel was glad for it. He didn’t want other nosy locals watching him while he was on a date.
“I’d like to see you again,” Drew said, with what Gabriel now recognized as his characteristic directness. “If you’d like that.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
Drew grinned. “Good. Maybe you can show me some of the other wonderful things this area has to offer.”
“My schedule gets a bit busier next week with camp, but I’ll let you know when I’m free,” Gabriel said. He didn’t say that he would make damn sure he had plenty of free time to see Drew, even if it meant he had to work his ass off at camp to get his duties done early.
He didn’t know how to end the night. A hug? A kiss? A simple goodbye?
“I should probably get going,” he said. “I have an early morning tomorrow for camp stuff.”
“I’m sorry I kept you so late.”
“Not late at all. And I’m glad you did.”
They embraced for several seconds, and as they separated, Drew pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to Gabriel’s cheek. His stomach flipped at the soft contact.
When he got in his car moments later, his cheeks warm and his heart racing, he knew one thing for certain: he was falling, and falling hard, for Drew Moreau.