CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
A few days later, Connor shifted restlessly in his chair outside of Gavin’s office while he waited for their meeting.
“He’ll be out in a moment,” Amelia assured him.
“Sure. No problem.” Connor smiled at Gavin’s executive assistant.
It was kind of a problem, because if Connor got any more nervous, he was gonna walk out of here and never come back.
But, thankfully, a few moments later, Gavin’s door opened and he popped his head out. “Hey there. Sorry to keep you waiting. Some GMs in this league are a little chatty.”
“No problem.” Connor rose to his feet and followed Gavin into his office, closing the door behind him.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Gavin asked with a frown. “Am I putting on my GM hat or my friend hat?”
Connor shrugged. “A little bit of both?”
“Okay. I’ll do my best to walk that line.”
“Thanks.”
“So what’s going on?”
“Uhh, well …” Connor said, his heart beating a little too fast. Fuck it, he needed to rip the bandage off in one go. “I’m bisexual and dating Jesse.”
The words tumbled out of his mouth a little too fast and Gavin blinked like he was trying to fit them all together.
“ Webber ?” Gavin asked.
“That’s the one.”
Laughing, Gavin shook his head.
“Huh. Well, I guess I did ask you to keep an eye on him,” Gavin said with a rueful look. “This wasn’t quite what I meant but he’s stayed off the gossip sites and he’s playing great, so … keep up the good work, I suppose?”
“You’re not upset about it then?” Connor asked, because he’d expected some pushback after how worried Gavin had been about their jobs before the season started.
“No,” Gavin said slowly. “I mean, I need a minute to digest it because I really didn’t see this coming but …”
“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t see it coming either,” Connor admitted.
Gavin shot him a grin. “Late in life bisexual awakening?”
Internally, Connor bristled. He was only thirty-five for fuck’s sake. This wasn’t late in life, even if he was old in hockey years. But mostly, it felt a little weird to have this conversation with his GM even if Gavin was more relaxed than most.
But … this was the friend hat part of the conversation, right?
“Not exactly. I—I sorta suspected. There was a crush on my college hockey captain that probably should’ve clued me in earlier. But Jesse was the first guy I—uh, yeah.” He cleared his throat.
Gavin smirked. “Gotcha. And was this before or after I suggested he move in with you?”
“Uh, so this part of the conversation is definitely not me talking to my GM. It was before. We hooked up at my brother’s wedding,” Connor admitted, face a little warm.
“Ahh. No wonder you were freaking out at him moving in with you.”
“I wasn’t—okay, I was freaking out a little ,” Connor admitted.
“You could have told me then,” Gavin said, his tone gentler now. “I would have understood.”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything though, would it? In terms of ownership’s expectations?”
Gavin sighed. “Maybe not. And it all turned out well in the end, right?”
“Yeah, it did,” Connor agreed. But he still had a few questions. “We’re good though? There won’t be any issues with me dating my goalie?”
“Not on my end. Now, I do have to be honest with you and I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. Trades happen and it’s a volatile business, but you know that.”
Connor felt vaguely queasy at the reminder Jesse could get traded. With his own no trade, no move clause it wasn’t likely to happen to him—though nothing was impossible—but Jesse was still on a bridge deal.
He was only twenty-four. He hadn’t hit free agent status yet. Fuck .
Connor nodded. “Well, if Jesse got traded, I’d retire then.”
Gavin let out a surprised laugh. “I’m not sure that would be necessary.”
Connor straightened, squaring his shoulders. “I’m just saying, you know I love this team, this city, but Jesse … this time around, I’ve gotta do better by the person I love.”
And really, he was thirty-five. At best, he probably only had a few more seasons in him.
“Hey, I hear you,” Gavin said, suddenly looking weary. “I don’t have any reason to believe it’ll come to that. Jesse is playing well and we’re looking to build a roster around him being in net for the Harriers.”
“Even if we keep losing games?”
Gavin sighed, rubbing his forehead. “He’s doing all he can with the defense we currently have. I’m working on some trades but it’s early in the season and no one is really looking to move pieces yet, unfortunately.”
“I get that.”
“Look, there’s only so much I can promise you, Connor. I don’t know what the future will hold. Obviously, trades could happen down the road but I can assure you that, as of right now, no one wants Jesse or you to go anywhere else. Nor do I expect that to change any time soon.”
“Thank you,” Connor said.
Gavin leaned back in his chair, giving him an assessing look. “How’s your ex-wife taking all this? Or have you not told her yet?”
Connor winced. “She knows. And she’s, uh, not taking it terribly well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s … complicated.”
“I’m sure it is. My divorce certainly was, and we didn’t even have kids.”
“Did you ever want any?” Connor asked, wondering if he was overstepping the line but Gavin had brought it up and considering their earlier conversation …
“No.”
Clearly that was something Gavin wasn’t interested in talking about so Connor nodded. “Well, anyway, I just wanted you to know about Jesse and I.”
“I appreciate that. Do you have an idea of how you’d like to handle it? Are you planning to come out publicly or inform the team or …”
“We discussed it and agreed to tell you, the coaching staff, and upper management.”
“Got it. And just so you know, I will go to bat for you with the ownership group if they make any fuss about it. I don’t anticipate they will, but it’s always a possibility of course. Hoyt and the rest of the coaching staff should be fine with it as well.”
Connor nodded.
“What about the team?” Gavin pressed.
“Honestly, we thought we’d let the guys figure it out based off the way we act.”
Gavin cracked a smile. “Seems like that might take a while. This team is …”
“Not full of the brightest bulbs?” Connor joked.
“Well, I wasn’t gonna say that.”
“No, but I will. Myself included.”
Gavin’s grin widened. “I appreciate the honesty.”
“Anyway, Jesse and I are not gonna make a public announcement. We’ll let people assume whatever they want when they see the two of us out together with the kids.”
“Works for me.” Gavin smiled. “Though I must admit, from a PR angle, it wouldn’t be bad if you went the public route. It would be a nice redemption story for Jesse.”
Connor nodded. Jesse had spoken to his agent, Mac Sanders, and he’d been lobbying for them to go that route. Connor wouldn’t be surprised if the team’s PR director quickly hopped on board.
“Jesse and I can discuss it more,” Connor said. “But it wouldn’t be the first choice for either of us. We’ve both seen what a circus it can be.”
Gavin nodded. “Not a problem. I’ll support whichever direction you decide to go.”
“Thank you.”
Connor hesitated, unsure if there was more they needed to discuss or not.
Gavin, who had been drumming his fingers on his desk, gave him a tense smile. “So, if you have a few more moments, I'd like to address the awkward situation you ended up in the middle of the other day. With my brother.”
“Oh.” Connor shifted awkwardly in his chair. “Already forgotten. It's none of my business.” Though again, considering everything they’d already talked about …
“I appreciate you saying that. But he will be around the team on a regular basis going forward and I don't want this lingering over us.”
“Okay.”
“Thad … uh, how much do you know about his past?” Gavin asked.
“Uhh. Very little. Just that he was a promising prospect, got himself in some trouble, and never made it beyond junior hockey because of it.”
“Right. Well that's the basics, I suppose. He—he got caught up in some stuff with people who weren't great influences, unfortunately.”
Connor nodded. “I've seen that happen to guys.”
“We have a—a complicated relationship, my brother and I.”
“I get it. If anyone knows that family is complicated …” Connor spread his hands, gesturing to himself.
Gavin cracked a smile. “Indeed. But Thad … well, this goes beyond the typical family dynamics.”
“Right, yeah. Of course.”
“He served his time and it’s taken him some time to get his life on track again but he seems to have done that recently. I'd like to—to give him a second chance. It can be difficult with his record, though, thank God it wasn’t a felony.”
“Of course.”
“When he came by and asked for the job, I thought about how well things were going with Jesse and, well, I thought I'd take a page out of your book and keep him close.” Gavin let out an awkward laugh. “Obviously, uh, now that I know you and Jesse are dating , that puts a different spin on things, but the general idea still works, I think.”
“Yeah, having your brother around the team could be good for him,” Connor agreed.
“Right. I’m hopeful. And I'm not asking you to keep tabs on him or anything. That's certainly not part of your role here. But if you could … generally keep an eye out for anything around here that seems amiss , I'd appreciate it.”
“Sure,” Connor said slowly.
“You don't have to, of course,” Gavin hastily added. “This isn't an order from your general manager. Just, maybe an ask from someone who has his eyes on everything going on in the organization and maybe can't focus too much on the details of what happens around here day to day …” Gavin looked suddenly weary.
“Yeah, no problem. If I see anything that appears to be off, I'll let you know,” Connor assured him.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” There was relief in Gavin's voice. “Just be aware. He's—he's quite charming.”
Connor nodded, not entirely sure what that meant. It wasn't like Connor was a single man and likely to fall into bed with him.
“I’m just saying, sometimes people get pulled in by the charm and miss that he’s also dragged them into something he shouldn’t.”
“Right.”
“Anyway. I think that's all unless you have anything else you want to discuss today.”
“No, I'm all set if you are,” Connor said truthfully. “Jesse is working with Dakota now so I’ll run downstairs and see if they're done. If not, I can wait there until he is.”
“Sounds good. I think I'll walk there with you, if that's alright. I need to speak to Dakota about something.”
“Sure.”
On the way down to the lower level, Gavin asked Connor about his upcoming holiday plans and they agreed it felt odd to have American Thanksgiving so late this year.
“It’s so nice of your family to arrange something for the whole team and staff,” Gavin said.
“Ma is a rockstar,” Connor agreed. She’d organized an upcoming Thanksgiving open house, where people with other family events could pop in whenever was convenient for them, and the guys who didn’t have family in the area could hang out at all day. “I don’t know where any of us would be without her.”
Gavin shot him a smile.
“What about you?” Connor asked. “Are you doing anything?”
“I don’t usually.”
“Your family’s not that far, right? Just in Pennsylvania.”
Gavin tensed. “That’s where Thad and I grew up, yes. Our parents, uh, moved after the arrest. It was uncomfortable for them to stay.”
“Gotcha. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.”
Gavin waved it off. “You’re fine.”
“So you’ll stop by on Thanksgiving then?” Connor asked. “You and Thad are both welcome.”
“I’m not sure what his plans are but we’ll see.”
Honestly that sounded like a brush-off to Connor but he nodded. “Sure. Sounds good.”
Thankfully, they’d arrived at the workout area of the facility and Connor stepped through the open door of the Pilates and yoga studio.
It was a long rectangular room with mirrored walls. Toward the back, rows of Pilates Reformer machines were set up. They always reminded Connor of a medieval torture device. To be honest, they kinda felt like a medieval torture device when he was on them.
He’d thought he was in shape the first time he’d used one and had been humbled by how challenging it was. Yoga he’d been doing for a lot longer, and while he was nowhere near as flexible as Jesse, he did enjoy it.
At the front of the room Jesse and Dakota were on their hands and knees on the mats, both in profile to the door.
“Okay,” Dakota instructed, “Keep your hips aligned over your knees and slowly walk your hands forward as far as you comfortably can. Good. Now relax the weight of your upper body down toward the floor.”
Jesse gracefully lowered his chest onto the mat, his back arched into a deep bend.
Connor gulped, suddenly reminded of the time he’d fucked Jesse in that exact position.
Dakota continued, his voice soft and soothing. “Take a moment to settle your mind, focusing on slow, steady breathing and let go of as much tension as you can.”
After a few heartbeats, Dakota said, “Now, on your next inhale, root firmly into your palms to lift the weight of your torso and walk your hands back until they are ahead of your shoulders. Yes, just like that.”
Connor watched Jesse and Dakota settle on their hands and knees again. “Now, spread your fingers wide and grip the mat gently with your fingers. Tuck all ten toes underneath, activate your core, check to make sure you’re not collapsing in on your shoulders, then lift up into downward facing dog.”
Shit .
At the sight of two incredibly well-sculpted asses in snug leggings pointed high in the air, Gavin let out a soft strangled noise and Connor drew in a sharp breath. He glanced over at Gavin to see him staring wide-eyed at the guys. Thankfully, his gaze seemed locked on Dakota, not Jesse.
Connor would really hate having to duke it out with his GM.
Talk about getting traded …
After a moment, Gavin shook his head, glancing over at Connor with a rueful smile and shrug, as if to say he was only human and the sight in front of them was impossible to ignore.
At least Connor wasn’t the only one.
“Great form, huh?” someone purred and Connor looked over to see Thad Racine leaning against the wall next to the door, staring intently at the guys doing yoga.
Connor tried not to bristle when Thad looked them up and down appreciatively.
“What are you doing down here?” Gavin asked.
“Getting to know the team and staff, of course. I want to make a personal connection with everyone here before my job officially starts next week.”
The corners of Gavin's mouth tightened briefly before he nodded. “Right.”
“Gentlemen.” Dakota’s voice rose over the soft music in the background, though it never lost its smooth, rich tone. “This is a space for quiet, meditative focus with minimal distractions. Please, either join us as we finish this vinyasa flow or step outside the room to finish your conversation.”
Under his arm, Jesse winked at Connor.
“Apologies,” Gavin said, jerking his head toward the door. “We’ll step outside.”
When they were out in the hall, Gavin shut the door firmly behind him. He leaned against the wall, rubbing his temple.
“You okay?” Connor asked.
Gavin nodded. “Long day is all. And I still have a shitload more on my plate.”
“You take life so seriously, brother dearest,” Thad said. “It’s not healthy for you.”
“And you don’t take it seriously enough,” Gavin snapped.
Connor cleared his throat. “So, Thad, before I forget, I wanna let you know my family is hosting a big Thanksgiving open house next week.”
He explained what the plan was and that people were welcome to show up whenever was convenient for them.
“Sure, I’d love to spend more time with the team,” Thad said, his gaze raking over Connor, lips twisting up into a flirtatious smile. “Text me the address?”
“I’ll forward you the email, Thad,” Gavin said tightly.
Thad opened his mouth and Connor was morbidly curious to know what he was going to say next, when the studio door opened.
Jesse bounced out, his face pink and sweaty as he beamed at Connor, shorts pulled on over his leggings, and his hands tucked into his hoodie pockets. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Connor said, drinking in the sight of Jesse, tempted to pull him in for a long, lingering kiss to show Thad he and Jesse were both very much taken. “Ready to go home?”
“Definitely.”
Thank God. Connor couldn’t wait to get Jesse home and strip him down, touch and taste every single inch of him.
“Oh, you live together?” Thad asked, glancing between them.
“Yep,” Connor said, turning to go. “Have a great rest of your day.”
He wasn’t sure if he liked Thad Racine or not, but he certainly was gonna be interesting to have around.
“So what was all that about?” Jesse asked when they were leaving the building. It was a foul day, the clouds heavy and leaden above them and the rain steadily drizzling down. Connor hit the unlock button on his SUV and they glanced at each other, then took off across the open lot without another word, sprinting toward the vehicle.
Inside, Jesse laughed breathlessly, raking wet hair off his forehead. Connor cupped his cheek, pulling him in, tasting rainwater and salt from Jesse’s sweat when he kissed him. It turned hot immediately, Jesse sliding his tongue into Connor’s mouth and grabbing the front of his hoodie to keep him there when he might have pulled away.
Around them, the rain drummed against the window, coming down harder now. It wasn’t until Connor accidentally elbowed the steering wheel, making the horn honk, that Jesse drew away. “What were you saying a minute ago?”
“Nothing,” Connor murmured, breathless and happy. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Okay.” Jesse tangled their fingers together. “How’d the meeting go?”
“Good,” Connor said. “Gavin’s on board with our relationship and doesn’t anticipate any real trouble with upper management either.”
“Perfect. I think we should go home and celebrate.” Jesse gave him a slow smile.
“Sounds great to me,” Connor admitted, shifting back to put on his seat belt.
And if he drove home a little faster than usual? Well, he didn’t think anyone would blame him.