Epilogue
Quentin
Three months later
The modern news cycle works fast, and by the time the Playoffs came to a glorious end (Boston didn’t win that year, losing in the semi-finals, with the Seattle Killer Whales snagging the cup), everyone who’d been so concerned with talking about Quentin and Joel’s relationship had gone on to talking about other things.
Hockey news returned to hockey coverage, and the entertainment world was focused on various other scandalous events (like the fact that Troy Whitman, Ariadne Lake’s ex-producer, had leaked the story about Quentin and Joel to get the eyes of the media off his back, a decision which backfired when one of his assistants blew the whistle, and he was stuck with a massive lawsuit), or other news, like Joel’s announcement of his upcoming album, My Life and Love, which he had written and recorded while on tour.
“My First Love Song” was the lead single from that album.
Quentin had heard the album in full and loved it.
It was some of Joel’s simplest work, mostly acoustic songs with only a piano and a synthesizer for background music.
Joel provided all the vocals, melody, and harmony. It was beautiful.
Quentin was glad to be done with the season.
He had seriously thought about retiring after the season, because everything that had happened around his coming out had left a sour taste in his mouth.
However, after the Seattle Killer Whales had won the Cup, Sebastiaan Koning had tracked Quentin down and encouraged him to keep playing.
The Dutchman reminded Quentin that visibility in sports was important.
But Quentin needed something to change. His contract with Boston was up, and he was ready for something new.
He and Joel decided that they wanted to be in the same city—not Los Angeles, but New York.
The New York Monarchs were a good NHL team, and they needed some new players, with two of their star centers retiring.
They took Quentin, and they were also taking Sebastiaan Koning.
The owners and managers of the New York Monarchs said they were ready to push hockey forward with equality, progress, and diversity, and they were excited about having two incredibly talented, openly queer athletes joining the team for the next season.
Quentin was excited to play with Koning.
He was an incredible player and was known as the Basher.
Quentin had a feeling they would be good friends.
Quentin was moving into Joel’s apartment in New York City.
He was excited about the direction his life was taking.
He was sad to leave Boston, and sad to leave Henri and Cort, and the other guys on the team, but he knew it was time for a fresh start.
And Henri’s career with the NHL was still young.
There was always a chance he could trade teams and could maybe end up in New York someday.
With the aggressive way that the Monarchs were recruiting, Quentin wouldn’t be surprised.
On their first official night living together in New York that summer, Quentin and Joel went out for dinner at a fancy restaurant. They didn’t hide. They went out together, holding hands, and waved at and flipped off the paparazzi who tried to follow them.
“I love you so much,” Quentin said as they drank their wine. Joel would be leaving soon for the first international leg of his tour, and Quentin would join him before returning to New York for the start of the next NHL season. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
Joel smiled. “You have, but I always like hearing it.”
“Well, I love you.”
Joel winked. “I love you, too.”
It had been a crazy year. Less than a year ago, Quentin had thought he hated Joel. Joel had punched him in the face on live television. Quentin had thought Joel was ridiculous and shallow. He had been so very wrong. He had had no idea when he went on FCL that he was meeting the love of his life.
“What should we order?” Quentin asked, flipping open his menu.
“Everything looks good,” Joel said.
“Let’s try the first thing on the menu,” Quentin suggested. “And next time, we’ll get the second thing. Then the third. We have plenty of time.”
He planned on having all the time. Whatever happened next in his life, he would do it with Joel.
He’d been lucky to find Joel. They’d been lucky to find each other.
Not everything had gone right in their courtship, and their privacy had been grossly violated, but they were together, and they were happy.
Quentin had finally let himself choose his own happiness, and there was freedom in that.
He was free, and he was living his truth, and he would live that truth loudly and proudly in each moment of his life going forward.