CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
As the temperatures dropped and the days ticked by in early November, the team headed out on the road for a short trip.
Graham managed a short phone call to his parents to congratulate his mom on her win as district attorney of Allegheny County, and she congratulated him on how the team was doing.
Things were going really well with Thad too, though he didn’t tell her that.
It really was easier now that everyone in the Harriers Organization knew he and Thad were dating.
They still had separate rooms at the hotels, but no one blinked when Thad gave Graham a quick, hard kiss after a good game, or held him close and whispered in his ear for a while after a bad one.
Thankfully, the good games were far more frequent than the bad.
Despite the strange start to the season, the team was gelling now. All four of their lines were producing points and Erik was turning out to be a hell of a lot better of a player than anyone had anticipated.
Everyone had expected the rookie to get sent back to his major Juniors team quickly, but he’d made a case for sticking around during training camp, then performed far better than expected in the pre-season and early games.
He wasn’t playing every game—Hoyt was keeping him out of the lineup as a healthy scratch periodically—to give him more time with the team.
Due to the collective bargaining agreement, NHL teams were allowed nine regular season games to test a Juniors player out, then could either keep him for longer—which would trigger the start of his entry level contract or ELC—or send him down to Juniors again.
There was no option to send eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds to the AHL.
Honestly, Graham had always felt it was a weird rule, but that was the way it had been for years and, at least for now, that was what they had to work with.
While Gavin and Coach Hoyt had been the ones with the ultimate say in whether the kid did stay up at the NHL level or went back down after nine games, they’d met with Graham, Connor, and Mickey to hear their thoughts on it.
All of them had agreed that despite his young age, Erik was playing like a genuine NHL player. Not perfectly. It was clear he still had a lot to learn. But he was holding his own with the physicality and the speed of the league, and no one could argue about what he was contributing to the team.
They’d also considered whether it was appropriate to give him the opportunity, given how drunk he’d gotten at the beginning of the season. To Graham’s surprise, it was Gavin who had argued most passionately about giving the kid a second chance.
“Look,” he’d said. “I get it. Playing in the NHL is a privilege. And we’ve all seen what happens in places like Evanston when head offices look the other way about problematic player behavior.
But Erik didn’t harm anyone. He’s been contrite and has behaved in an exemplary way since.
Don’t you think it’s worth giving him the opportunity to learn from his mistake and grow? ”
So, in the end, they’d been unanimous in agreeing Erik should stay. Sending him down wouldn’t improve his play and off-ice behavior as much as learning from the veteran players on the team and getting NHL ice time.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Connor had said gruffly. “Make sure he’s sticking to what he promised.”
“And if he doesn’t,” Gavin had said, “I’m willing to burn a year of his ELC if necessary. It wouldn’t be my choice, but I’ll do it if I have to. I want guys to see that actions do have consequences, but redemption is possible under the right circumstances.”
Gavin had also suggested strategically resting him throughout the season, even when perfectly healthy. Load management to avoid long-term fatigue and injuries wasn’t common in hockey, despite the exceptionally long season, but it made a lot of sense to Graham.
The team had some cap space, they had talented guys they could call up from Concord to fill in, and it would help both the Harriers’ and Erik’s development.
Especially because the Harriers were working hard to put themselves in a position to compete for the Cup this season.
The parity in the league was frustrating, because there were so many excellent teams out there, but as the Harriers settled into some nice long stretches of wins interspersed with the occasional loss, they slowly climbed the rankings.
Currently, they were in the second playoff spot for their division.
It was theirs to lose if they got complacent, but as the team settled into a solid rhythm in mid-November, Graham had a good feeling in his gut.
He was on pace to have a point-per-game season and personally, things were going well too.
They’d even gone to Gavin and Dakota’s condo for dinner recently.
Graham had been nervous when he arrived with a bottle of white wine in hand and Thad had seemed off too, cracking too many jokes that didn’t quite land.
The conversation between the four of them had been somewhat stilted at first.
It was odd, meshing together the personal and professional. Gavin was the boss but he was also Thad’s twin brother, and it was weird and awkward as they carefully navigated various topics.
At one point, Graham almost slipped up and revealed something about their sex life he didn’t want to share with his boss or his boyfriend’s brother, and he was so flustered he nearly choked on a glass of water trying to recover.
Dakota had patted him on the back, his eyes twinkling, clearly having caught onto Graham’s near slip-up and pathetic attempt at recovery. Dakota smoothly shifted the conversation away from that topic and once Graham stopped choking, he shared a smile with Dakota, grateful to have an ally here.
But, as the night wore on and they enjoyed a delicious chickpea spinach curry and naan bread Gavin had proudly declared he’d made—with a good deal of help from Dakota—Graham relaxed a little.
Dakota was also helpful when it came to making conversation.
He had a knack for skirting around the awkward topics, softening the mood when Thad and Gavin got prickly with each other, and smoothing out weird lulls in conversation.
He got them discussing date night activities in Boston and on the road, and by the time Graham and Thad left a few hours later, they agreed it had been an enjoyable evening.
It was even something Graham could see becoming a regular thing.
Even more, Thad and Gavin were making some progress on their relationship, which Graham thought could only be a positive thing.
Early one morning, Graham had gone in for some work with the trainers to deal with a tweaked hamstring and had a little time to kill before video review.
After, he passed one of the practice rinks where Gavin, Thad, and the O’Shea brothers were playing.
Graham had snuck in, watching unobtrusively in one of the shadowy corners as the four of them jostled and laughed, battling for a puck.
They played without goalies, so it wasn’t exactly a game-type scenario, but it was still amazing to watch as Gavin got a gorgeous little snipe in off a pretty pass from Thad. And watching their exuberant celly after made Graham achingly happy for them.
Things were finally, finally, falling into place for both of them.
The following week, Graham was in a great mood as he dressed in his uniform for practice.
When the doors swung open to let the last couple of guys into the locker room, Graham caught a glimpse of Thad in the hallway and smiled.
Connor nudged him with an elbow. “So, it’s like that, huh?”
Graham glanced over at his captain. “Like what?”
“Like love.”
“Yeah,” Graham admitted, throat suddenly thick. “I guess it is.”
“Good for you, man. And I don’t think I said this before, but lemme know if you get hassled at all. During games or in here or out in public or whatever, I’ve got your back no matter what.”
“Thanks,” Graham said, touched.
He’d known that instinctively.
Even before Connor had started dating Jesse, Graham had seen his staunch support since his brother Kelly came out a few years ago. He’d never doubted it, not for a second.
But it was still nice to hear. Still nice to know. Even though he hoped he’d never need it.
“So far it’s been good,” Graham admitted as he tugged on his base layer. “This team is great, no one has said shit on the ice and, well, we’re still being pretty quiet out in public.”
“Yeah?” There was no judgment in Connor’s look or tone.
Graham still felt a flash of defensiveness go through him.
“Well, yeah,” he said. “My family doesn’t know yet. I’m planning to come out to them soon though. Maybe Thanksgiving weekend?”
Connor nodded, taping his stick with sure, deft motions.
“I hate having to wait to do it and having to do it over a video chat but, you know, it’s hard with all our schedules.
I figured on Thanksgiving when my sister, Cory, and her fiancé, Brody, are there, I might as well rip off the bandage.
I’d like to take Thad as my date to their wedding In December and that’ll give everyone like a month to adjust to the idea of me bringing a guy, you know? ”
“How do you think it’ll go over?”
“Ehh, fine,” Graham said. “I mean, Cory will be happy I’m happy.
Brody will be supportive because he loves Cory and he’s generally a good dude.
And Mom and Dad … I think they’ll be fine too.
” He dropped his voice even though Thad was still in the hallway talking to a couple of the equipment managers and not paying him any attention.
“The only real friction I can see is maybe Thad being wary of my mom being a prosecutor, you know? He’s not super fond of them, understandably. ”
Connor snorted quietly. “Yeah, makes sense.”
“So … I’m thinking they’ll maybe take a while to find some common ground,” Graham finished. “I don’t know. I guess we won’t know until we do it.”
“Well, good luck. If you need anything, let me know.” Connor slapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks. I will.”