13. Mads #3
Coach called me over, inclining his head to where Ev stood talking to management.
What the hell he was even doing this close to the Railers was open for debate.
I’d seen him chatting to Ryker, but that didn’t last long, with Ryker’s body language screaming discomfort.
Don’t get me wrong, Ev was an okay grandpa as grandpas go, but he was also so focused on Ryker making the NHL at the earliest moment possible, and to the best team out there, that I think even Ryker was sick of it.
Ryker, in one of my Railers’ hoodies, was next to Ev at that moment, and he looked like he was going to explode. Ev was chatting away to half the management team, who in turn fawned over him like he was freaking Gretzky or something.
I caught the end of some impressive backpedaling.
“What I mean by that,” Ev was saying, with accompanying hand movements, “is that Ryker is certainly good enough for original six.”
“Grandpa,” Ryker hissed, scarlet with mortification.
“I see him back in Canada myself,” he added. “So, I wasn’t meaning to offend with my O6 comment.”
“No offense taken,” our marketing director lied. She exchanged looks with me—long-suffering and getting impatient type looks. “Anyway, please feel free to tour the rooms, and we’ll meet back for lunch at one. Will that suit?”
Ev nodded. “I don’t eat shellfish,” he pointed out.
Abruptly, I pictured accidentally-on-purpose pushing Ev’s head into a bucket of shrimp cocktail, and the image was so good I knew I would want to share it with Ten later.
“Ryker, you want to come with me?” I asked.
Ryker was at my side immediately, and I corralled him into the changing area, where I removed my skates.
We shared the area with the team, the only demarcation between coaching staff and players a small wall at waist height.
I loved this practice arena, just because I felt like I was inside the team, like there was no barrier.
Unfortunately, Ev followed us, looming over me.
“Patrick McNulty wants to talk to you. I gave him your number,” he announced, his voice loud enough that everyone could hear. McNulty had a lot of the big guys, but I knew from experience that most of them wanted out.
“McNasty?” I began patiently. “The agent? The one whose blackmailing tape of that Leafs kid went viral?”
Ev huffed. “He’s the best in the business, and I want him for Ryker.”
“Fuck, no.”
“Well I gave him your number.” Ev crossed his arms over his chest like this was a done deal. “You’ll talk to the man.”
“No.”
Ev turned to Ryker. “I’m trying my best for you, Ryker, but see what I have to put up with? Your father is like a brick wall here.”
I slipped on my shoes—funny how I felt more settled knowing I had them on and could safely kick Ev’s ass without breaking a toe—and stood up.
“For the last time, Ev. Ryker is too young for an agent. He is staying at school, he is finishing, he will join his eligible draft, and he will not burn out. At eighteen, his mother and I will go with him and interview as many goddamn agents as it takes to make sure he has the best representation, and it will be his decision.”
Ev turned a funny shade of purple, and I could see the headlines now—Hockey Player Stands Up To Pseudo-Father-In-Law And Kills Him—but it wasn’t a coronary, just a fit of temper, and fuck he’d been keeping it inside for a long time, because it hit me with the force of a tornado.
He leaned right into my space and he spat the words out like machine gun fire.
“You think I don’t see you pulling my grandson into your degenerate ways?
You think I don’t know about you and Rowe?
Ryker stays with you, and I know for sure you and Rowe are probably fucking right in front of my grandson. ”
“Jesus, Grandpa,” Ryker tried to interrupt, but Ev had a full head of steam and there was no stopping him.
“The moment you ruined my daughter I knew you were trash, and your deviancy is polluting everything that could be good about Ryker.”
The words slid over me because they meant nothing, but the reaction in the room was very different.
The whole room, I mean.
The coaching staff and the entire Railers team were in this space, and Ev was losing his shit in front of an audience and outing the fact that Ten and I were together at the same time. Jesus Christ, this wasn’t happening. I placed a calming hand on Ev’s arm.
“Let’s take this somewhere else.”
“Mr. Everett, could we ask that you leave the area.” This from Coach Benning, who moved closer.
Ev rounded on him and shook off my hand at the same time.
“Do you realize what kind of man you have working for you?” he asked Coach.
“A good man,” was all Coach said. I could have kissed him.
His words didn’t defuse the situation. Instead, Ev got louder. “He’s sleeping with one of your skaters. You understand that, right? He’s destroying your team like he’s destroying Ryker’s chances.”
Then everything went to shit. Shit of unimaginable proportions. Stan gripped Ev’s upper arms and bodily lifted him away from me as Ryker slipped in between us.
“Make Hulk,” The big goalie said, and deposited Ev behind him, blocking him. I looked at Ten, I looked at the team, then at the coaches.
“I can explain,” I said. I’d take the blame, resign, tell everyone this was nothing, that Ten was a good guy and they shouldn’t trade him or fucking lynch him or anything.
Ten ruined it all. He placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed me.
Nothing too X-rated, just a soft kiss, then he backed away and turned to face the team.
Some of the guys looked shocked. A couple were exchanging money.
I only saw one really unhappy face, a new guy just traded in.
Adler Lockhart, all mouth and attitude up in everyone’s faces. He didn’t seem happy at all.
“I’m in a committed relationship with Mads,” Ten announced.
Ryker stood the other side of me, and I felt like the strongest and luckiest man on Earth.
“So yeah,” I said a little late and with a whole lot of lame. “I’m with Ten.”
Ev let out a snort of disgust. Stan simply picked him up in a fireman’s carry and exited stage right. The coaching staff melted away, and Ryker went with them like he knew me and Ten needed to do this alone with the rest of the team.
“Guys?” Ten asked.
“Well, you sure like to make things hard for the team,” Adler Lockhart laughed. “Can’t we forget this happened? We don’t need the stress of who checks out whose cocks in the dressing room.”
“Fuck you Lockhart,” Arvy snapped.
“Got no problem with you and coach being a thing,” another voice said.
Even Adler finally murmured agreement after everyone stared at him.
Then Connor, who’d been watching practice from the bench and was now sat back in his stall, put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
“This doesn’t leave the room,” he said firmly.
I bristled. Hell, I could feel myself getting defensive.
“You want to talk to me alone?” Ten said from next to me, sounding more worried than I liked to hear. I clasped his hand; he wouldn’t be doing that alone.
“No.” Connor frowned. “Just, if you’re keeping it on the down-low, you don’t want the idiots in this room flapping their gums. We’ll back you when you make it public. Okay?”
He wasn’t asking us if that was okay, he was asking the team, and to a man they said yes.
Then he sighed noisily and hobbled over to us. “But seriously, guys, you might want to put a gag order on Everett.”
I nodded. That was a given.
Now more people knew about our being in love.
And it was a good feeling.