Chapter 4 First Road Trip #2
"I'm guessing there isn't another room available?"
The young woman looked genuinely apologetic.
"I wish there were. We've checked every floor, including our partner properties nearby. A youth basketball tournament extended their reservations unexpectedly, and several conference guests couldn't be relocated."
Coach Morrison folded his arms.
"Can we get a rollaway bed?"
"I'm afraid all of those have already been assigned."
Silence settled over the small group.
The suite itself was beautiful.
A spacious sitting area overlooked the city skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a dining table, a small kitchenette, and enough space to comfortably hold an entire line meeting.
There was also only one bedroom.
With one king-sized bed.
Mason rubbed the back of his neck.
"So..."
Noah looked at him.
"So."
"We could ask Coach to switch us."
Coach Morrison answered before Noah could.
"Every available room is already assigned. Someone would still end up sharing."
Tyler walked past carrying his own room key.
"I'll switch."
Hope briefly crossed Mason's face.
Tyler grinned.
"...For five hundred dollars."
Mason sighed.
"I knew there was a catch."
"There always is."
Coach Morrison shook his head.
"It's one night."
"We'll survive," Noah said.
Mason looked toward him.
"You sure?"
"It's a bed."
"I know."
"We're adults."
"I know."
"We've survived playoff overtime."
"I know."
Noah smiled.
"I think we can survive sleeping."
Mason laughed quietly.
"When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous."
"Because it is."
Coach Morrison nodded approvingly.
"Good. Be downstairs at seven tomorrow."
The players gradually disappeared toward the elevators.
As Noah picked up his overnight bag, Mason walked beside him in thoughtful silence.
Inside the elevator, neither mentioned the bed again.
Not because they were avoiding it.
Because there wasn't much left to say.
The situation simply was what it was.
After settling into the suite, they changed quickly for the evening game.
The Thunderhawks opened the road trip against Minneapolis in front of a loud preseason crowd eager to welcome hockey back.
From the opening faceoff, the pace felt relentless.
The opposing team forechecked aggressively, forcing quick decisions every shift. Noah spent much of the first period blocking passing lanes while Mason battled through constant physical pressure around the net.
Late in the second period, Noah intercepted a cross-ice pass near his own blue line.
Without hesitation, he fired the puck toward center ice.
He never needed to look.
He already knew where Mason would be.
Mason collected the pass in full stride before driving through the neutral zone.
One defender.
Then another.
A quick move to the backhand.
The puck slipped beneath the goaltender's blocker.
The red goal light flashed.
The Thunderhawks' bench erupted.
As teammates crowded around the goal scorer, Mason immediately reached for Noah, tapping helmets before anyone else arrived.
"Perfect pass," Mason said over the noise.
"You did the hard part."
"Couldn't have scored without you."
Coach Morrison simply nodded from behind the bench.
Exactly the play they'd practiced all week.
The Thunderhawks carried that momentum through the third period, finishing with a convincing victory.
By the time the locker room celebrations ended and media interviews concluded, it was nearly eleven o'clock.
Everyone looked exhausted.
Mason loosened his tie while walking beside Noah toward the hotel entrance.
"I forgot how much winning on the road wears you out."
"It's all the extra interviews."
"And Tyler making everyone watch his saves."
"He did stop thirty-eight shots."
"He also replayed every single one."
Noah laughed.
"He's proud."
"He should be."
Back inside the suite, both men quietly settled into familiar postgame routines.
Noah placed his suit jacket neatly inside the closet before changing into soft sweatpants and a faded college T-shirt.
Mason emerged from the bathroom several minutes later wearing loose athletic shorts and an old Thunderhawks hoodie.
His hair remained damp from a quick shower.
For a moment they both looked toward the bedroom.
One bed.
Still there.
Still enormous.
Still slightly awkward.
Mason cleared his throat.
"I'll take the couch."
Noah immediately shook his head.
"That thing's barely six feet long."
"I've slept on worse."
"You've also got another game tomorrow."
"So do you."
"It's a king bed."
Mason hesitated.
"It is."
"We'll never even know the other person's there."
"You underestimate how much I move."
"I've seen you on flights."
"I thought I stayed still."
"You nearly kicked Tyler once."
"He deserved it."
"For snoring?"
"He knew what he did."
Noah laughed.
"I'll risk it."
Mason studied the oversized mattress through the open bedroom door.
It looked big enough to fit three people comfortably.
"Fine," he said at last.
"But if I accidentally elbow you—"
"I'll survive."
"Or steal the blankets."
"I'll survive that too."
"And if I talk in my sleep?"
"I promise not to judge."
"You might change your mind."
"I doubt it."
Relief settled over Mason's face.
"I appreciate you making this less weird."
"I don't think it has to be."
Mason nodded slowly.
"You're probably right."
They climbed into opposite sides of the bed, leaving almost comical amounts of empty space between them.
The silence lasted only a few minutes before Mason spoke into the darkness.
"You awake?"
"No."
"Liar."
"I thought you might stop talking."
"I was considering it."
"What changed your mind?"
"My brain."
"I understand."
Another comfortable silence settled.
Outside, distant traffic hummed softly beyond the hotel windows.
Eventually Mason spoke again.
"What did you want to be when you were a kid?"
Noah smiled into the darkness.
"Besides a hockey player?"
"Yeah."
"A firefighter."
"Really?"
"My grandfather was one."
"What changed?"
"I realized I couldn't imagine life without hockey."
Mason nodded although Noah couldn't see him.
"I wanted to play in the NHL from the time I could walk."
"You never had another dream?"
"No."
"That's rare."
"My dad flooded the backyard every winter so I could skate before school."
Noah chuckled.
"I think that qualifies as encouragement."
"He'd wake me up before sunrise."
"You hated mornings even then?"
"I've hated mornings my entire life."
"What about now?"
"I tolerate them because hockey pays well."
Noah laughed quietly.
"What about you?"
Mason asked.
"You ever think about life after hockey?"
"Sometimes."
"What would you do?"
"I'd probably coach kids."
"I can see that."
"What about you?"
Mason was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"I've spent my whole life chasing one dream."
"The Cup?"
"Yeah."
"And after that..."
His voice grew softer.
"I've never really planned beyond it."
Noah understood that feeling.
Professional athletes often lived season by season.
The future always seemed distant until suddenly it wasn't.
After another pause, Mason spoke again.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"You don't have to answer."
"I know."
"Have you ever..."
He hesitated.
"...been in love?"
Noah stared toward the dark ceiling.
"I thought I had."
"What happened?"
"We wanted different lives."
"You and...?"
"A woman."
Mason seemed surprised.
"I didn't know."
"I don't talk about past relationships much."
"Were you together long?"
"Almost three years."
"What ended it?"
"We cared about each other."
Noah smiled faintly.
"Sometimes caring isn't enough."
Mason was silent.
After a moment he admitted quietly, "That sounds familiar."
Noah suspected he wasn't only talking about Emily.
"There was someone else later," Noah continued.
"A man."
Mason didn't interrupt.
"We met during an offseason training program."
"What was he like?"
"Funny."
"Genuine."
"We lasted about a year."
"What happened?"
"He wanted to settle down."
"And you?"
"I wasn't ready."
Mason thought about that.
"So..."
His voice remained careful.
"You've dated both."
Noah nodded instinctively before remembering Mason couldn't see him.
"Yeah."
"It never felt strange?"
"No."
"You always knew?"
"I did."
The room fell quiet again.
Noah wondered if Mason had fallen asleep.
Instead, several moments later, another question drifted through the darkness.
"What was it like?"
Noah turned slightly toward the voice.
"What?"
"Knowing."
There was no judgment in Mason's question.
Only honest curiosity.
Noah answered just as honestly.
"It felt like understanding myself."
Nothing more was said for several minutes.
The city lights continued glowing faintly through the curtains while the hotel settled deeper into the night.
Eventually Noah closed his eyes.
Just before sleep finally claimed him, he heard Mason's quiet voice one last time.
"So...you've really dated both women and men."
There was something thoughtful about the way he asked it.
Not shocked.
Not uncomfortable.
Simply interested.
Noah smiled to himself in the darkness.
"Yeah," he answered softly.
"I have."
Long after the conversation ended and the room fell silent once more, Noah could still sense Mason lying awake on the opposite side of the bed.
Not restless.
Not uneasy.
Just thinking.
And somehow Noah had the feeling that tonight's conversation would stay with him far longer than either of them yet realized.
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