CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Tanner was glad when they finally got back from the road trip. It had been fun and they’d played well, but the time zone difference made it way harder to talk to Leif.
The good news was, they’d have another game against each other when the Rockets headed back to Boston for the final game of the regular season.
Tanner felt like he was going to explode just knowing that he and Leif could finally video chat again and today he couldn’t get through practice quick enough, even though they wouldn’t do their call until later tonight.
He started stripping out of his gear when Connor called out, “Hey, guys! Listen up!”
Tanner paused, looking up.
“Jesse got a text from my ma this morning. You all remember Harper from the Make-A-Wish Day, yeah?”
Tanner called out a “yes” and so did the rest of the team. She was the sweetest little girl. Even if she did like Crawford best.
“Well, she was taken to the hospital last night.”
“Oh no,” Tanner muttered, other guys echoing that.
“She’s okay!” Connor assured them. “But she had to have her pacemaker replaced.”
“Oh shit. That’s scary,” Tanner said and a couple of guys around him, Luke included, nodded.
“There’s gonna be a meeting at O’Neill’s Pub this evening about it. The SAPs are organizing it.”
“I guess Brie and Krista were hanging out last night,” Jesse added. “They were having dinner when Brie got the call about Harper. Krista and Mandy, along with Mrs. O, are organizing something to help Brie and Harper out.”
“Is it like a fundraiser?” Graham asked. “Because I’d be happy to donate.”
Jesse shrugged. “Not sure yet. I think it’s also about getting them help with, like … meals after they’re home from the hospital and then babysitting and stuff.”
“I’ll be there!” Tanner promised and a bunch of other guys said the same.
Connor wandered over a few minutes later. “Think you can make it tonight?”
Tanner looked up, confused, wondering why Connor was asking him. He’d already said yes, hadn’t he? But he realized Connor was staring at Crawford.
“Yeah, of course,” Crawford said. He was down to base layers now too.
“Good.” Connor slapped his shoulder, then frowned. “Shit, I wonder if we should invite Sebastian too. I know you’re not a big fan, but …”
“He should be there,” Crawford agreed.
“Hopefully Krista can pass that message along to him.”
“I’ll tell him when I see him at the hospital later,” Crawford offered.
Connor’s frown deepened. “Oh, you’re going to go to see Harper? That’s nice of you. Do you need the info about where they are? I could probably get it from—”
“I was at the hospital with them last night,” Crawford said, his voice all gruff.
“Wait, what?” Connor asked.
Tanner frowned too, confused.
“I was at the hospital with Sebastian and Harper and Brie last night. I was with Sebastian yesterday when Harper collapsed,” he explained.
Tanner gaped at his D-partner and the locker room went suspiciously quiet.
“Yeah, Luke and Sebastian are a thing,” Jesse said as he walked by. “Right?”
Tanner’s mind went on the fritz, the hamster in his head coming to a complete stop, and Connor made a weird sputtering noise. “I’m sorry. What?”
Jesse shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong but …”
“Nah, you’re right.” Crawford reached up to rub his neck. “We’re, uh, dating.”
“What the fuck??” Tanner said. Because what the absolute fuck? “No fucking way. I thought you were dating Brie!”
“Nope.” Crawford smiled. “Her brother.”
Jesse gave him a long look. “Huh. I thought you two were just fucking. I didn’t know you were dating. Guess I read that one wrong.”
“You and Sebastian?” Connor sputtered. “But you hate that guy.”
“I did at first,” Luke agreed.
Tanner reached for the first thing he could grab and whacked Luke on the shoulder with it. It turned out to be a glove, so it landed with a pretty solid thwack. He shouted, “You’re gay?” and hit him again. Because what the fuck?
“No,” Crawford said, scowling.
“Bi then?” Tanner asked, raining blows on his shoulder. How could Luke have kept this from him the whole fucking time?
“I guess?” Crawford had a weird, disgruntled look on his face as he batted the glove away.
Tanner smacked him again. “How could you not tell me, you assbag?” The betrayal!
Crawford grabbed for the glove, trying to yank it out of Tanner’s hand.
“What do you mean you guess?” Tanner sputtered, planting his feet and refusing to let go. “Like you’re pan and don’t like the bi label or—”
“I don’t like any labels,” Crawford grumbled.
Tanner was being dragged slowly across the carpet because he didn’t have the bodyweight or strength advantage. He let go, allowing Crawford to grab the glove from him.
He tossed it across the room and glowered at Tanner. “But if you must know, I’ve fucked more men than women and I don’t usually date anyone.”
“Yeah,” Connor said with a frown. “I thought you were aromantic! What the fuck?”
Tanner grabbed another glove and whacked Crawford again. “Seriously. What the fuck?” How was this even possible?? He would have known, right?
“Still am,” Crawford said with a grunt as he tried to wrestle the second glove from Tanner.
“Aromanticism is a spectrum,” Anker called out.
“That,” Crawford said, getting a good grip on the glove.
Tanner was too stunned to hang on.
Crawford chucked the second glove after the first. “Don’t usually date or want relationships. Sebastian and I work though.”
“Dude!” Tanner protested, slugging him with his fist this time. Oww. “What the actual fuck?”
“Would you fucking quit it?”
“No!” Tanner shook out his smarting hand, then slugged him again. “How could you keep this from me?”
“Because not everyone needs you up in their business, man,” Tom said with a laugh as he walked by them on the way to the shower. He was naked and Tanner got distracted for a second because talk about great asses …
While he was distracted, Crawford grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back, glaring. “See? I keep telling you. You’re too damn nosy,” he said.
“Wait, so you and Tanner aren’t dating?” Erik Wyatt said, glancing up and waving a hand at the two of them. “I thought you two were dating and all this shit was just foreplay.”
Crawford shuddered and let go of Tanner’s hand. “Me and Tanner? God no.”
Tanner gagged at the idea. “Dude, I have standards. No way am I fucking this guy, even if he is queer, apparently.”
“Standards?” Mickey said, looking amused. “What standards?”
“You have no standards,” Rafe added.
“I have enough to not fuck him!” Tanner protested.
Crawford shoved him. “Thanks, asshole.”
Tanner straightened, then shot him a disgusted look. “I’m just sayin’. Besides, fucking you would be like fucking my brother. And I don’t even have a brother.”
“Agreed.” Crawford said with a shudder.
“This is exciting though,” Tanner said, his mood shifting as he realized what it meant for the team. “We’ve got another convert to the rainbow side! Welcome to the club, bay-bee!”
He made a little whoop-whoop noise and Jesse winked at him from across the room. Oh yeah, this was gonna be fun.
“I’m not a convert,” Crawford grumbled. “I’ve always been this way. I just didn’t tell you about my private life until I had to.”
“Sorry about that,” Connor said with a sympathetic look. “Didn’t mean to …”
“It was gonna come out eventually anyway,” Crawford said with a sigh. “Everyone at the pediatric ER probably figured it out already anyway last night. It’s fine.”
“So,” Jesse said brightly. “The good news is, you’re gonna bring Sebastian to O’Neill’s tonight, yeah?”
Crawford looked around at his teammates. “I dunno. Are you all gonna make it weird?”
Tanner and Jesse glanced at each other again, then back at him.
Tanner grinned. “Abso-fucking-lutely,”
“I mean, probably,” Jesse said with a small laugh.
Connor scowled at his boyfriend. “Jesse …”
“What?” Jesse said, grinning too. “C’mon. This is going to be fun. Oh, that reminds me, I should add you to the Queer in the NHL group chat, Crawford.”
“No thank you,” he said, hooking his thumbs in his base layers and pushing them to the floor. “And will you all clear out and give me some space? I need to go shower. I’m sweating my balls off here.”
“Ugh, you’re gross and boring,” Tanner chirped as he stripped off too.
“I’m gonna get Sebastian’s number and send him a link to Charlie Monaghan’s app too!” Jesse called out as he walked away.
“What app?” Crawford asked, grabbing a towel off a nearby stack on his way to the showers. “What is he talking about?”
Connor followed him and Tanner was just a few steps behind.
“The SAPs app,” Connor explained. “It’s for spouses and partners of NHL players. Queer friendly and it includes a section for spouses of retired players. It’s pretty cool actually. Jesse and I are both members because … well …”
“Huh,” Luke said. “I dunno if Sebastian will be into that but …”
“Well, he’s welcome to join if he is.”
Tanner turned on the water and ducked under the stream.
He couldn’t wait to tell Leif all about this tonight …
although, no. He really couldn’t. Just because Crawford had told the team didn’t mean he was ready to tell everyone.
And look, maybe he wasn’t the best at keeping secrets but this was the one thing he’d always tried really hard to be good about.
It hit him then that if the Harriers were meeting at O’Neill’s tonight, he might not even have time to talk to Leif tonight.
Tanner sighed and squirted some bodywash into his hand and began scrubbing. Well, hopefully Leif would understand.