Chapter 19
Elliot
“Well, it’s done,” Silas said.
He carried his laptop with one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
Meanwhile, I still lay in bed. It was one of the rare days that I didn’t have a whole lot to do.
Later, I would hit the gym with my teammates, but we were between the final games and playoffs, and there wasn’t much for the team to do.
We had a meeting tomorrow, and that was it.
At this point, we knew our plays, we knew each other, so practice wasn’t going to do much besides keep us in shape.
“What did they say?” I asked. My stomach lurched. I knew Silas loved his job and the friends he had there. I hoped that his decision to quit didn’t affect those friendships.
He shook his head and laughed. “Quinn thought I was absolutely fucking insane, but I told him the truth.” Despite having quit his job, his smile was wide and his eyes bright. He climbed into bed with me.
“That you are absolutely fucking insane?”
“Yeah, and I’m insane for a certain hockey player. I didn’t give your name, though.”
“Oh, you could have.” Now that we had a plan and we could be together, I was more than ready for the whole world to know about us.
When we won that cup, I wanted Silas on the ice with me and in my arms. This was just as much his victory as it was mine.
I owed my career to him and his advice over the years.
I strove to be a better player because of him. This championship was ours.
“I know, but we hadn’t talked about it yet. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to tell your team or—”
I hated that he was so hesitant to be honest about us. It was new territory for the two of us to be together in public. I never knew that Silas didn’t know the extent of my feelings for him all the years we were together. Now I’d spend the rest of our years making it up to him.
I grabbed my phone, scrolled through my contacts, and hit call when I found Evan’s name. With my other hand, I grabbed Silas’s cup of tea and took a sip.
“That’s mine. Get your own.” He reached for it, but I pushed his hand away.
“Is that the kind of service I can expect with you not working? I thought I’d get breakfast in bed and all sorts of other perks. Silas, I expect better from you.”
“Silas?” Evan’s voice crackled in the background.
Oh shit, I forgot that I was actually on the phone.
I hit the speaker button. “Hi, Captain, I’ve got a situation we should talk about.”
“Oh, man, seriously, on our day off?”
“I promise it’s not bad.” I winked at Silas. A light blush spread across his cheeks, and he laced his fingers into mine.
“Lay it on me. What do you got?”
I leaned against Silas. He had set his laptop on the end table, so both his hands were free to hold me.
Being in his arms was my happy place. Just his touch gave me the courage I needed to give Evan the news.
“Well, I’ve got a player that’s been in a relationship with an official for a number of years.
It’s okay, though, the ref just retired. ”
“Who the hell is fucking Ethan? Doesn’t he have an omega? Dude’s old!” Evan shouted.
The two of us laughed. Of all the places for Evan to go, I hadn’t expected him to assume it was the ref that retired that gave Silas his spot in the league.
“Who the hell is that there with you? I swear to God, Elliot, what’s going on, man? Coming into the playoffs, I can’t take this kind of stress.”
I took pity on him. “It’s me. I’m in a relationship with an official. But it’s fine, because he is not an official anymore. Officially.”
There was a long pause, and I checked to make sure the call was still connected. Ater a moment, he said, “Explain.”
“I’m in love,” I said, “with Silas, also known as the greatest referee of all time.” Silas rolled his eyes. “He’s my alpha. We’re together.”
I told him about how Silas and I had been together for a number of years and broken up briefly while he was promoted to LIcK, but now he retired so that we could be together.
“Are you considered retired, even though you aren’t actually old enough to do that?” I asked.
Silas shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m unemployed as of twenty minutes ago.”
“Whoa. Man, that’s crazy. So, you two have been in a relationship for how many years? And you never told anyone?”
I looked at Silas. “Five years?” I loved him. And we’d been together for a long time, but anniversary dates and all the sentimental things were not my strong suit.
“About that long,” Silas said.
“Shit. That’s crazy. Welcome to the Badger family, Silas! Let’s get some of the guys together for dinner tonight. We can introduce them to Silas. I’ll have Rowan bring Coach,” Evan said.
“You sure that’s the best idea?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, there’s no conflict of interest now. You want to introduce Silas to your teammates, don’t you? He’ll be traveling with you for the playoffs, right? Or did you guys want to just live in the closet forever?”
“No, we’re together. Let’s do this.” I grabbed Silas’s hand and held it.
Several hours later, Silas and I walked hand-in-hand in public for the first time. I couldn’t even recall a time that we’d gone to a restaurant in public together, not since I had been playing professional hockey. The risk had been too high of us being recognized.
Now it didn’t matter.
As soon as we got out of the car, I laced my fingers into his, and we walked side by side through the parking lot and into the restaurant. Evan had reserved a private room for us. There were only a few of us, but if we were recognized, it could become chaotic.
The rest of the group was already there when we walked in. Coach Garrison, with his omega Rowan, who was also our mascot. Next to him was Evan and Nix. Nix was the only other omega on the team. At least until Charles Matthews had joined. He was another one at the table, along with Derek.
Silas stood beside me. “Hello, everyone,” I said. “This is Silas. Be nice.”
“He’s a zebra!” Derek said. “I’m questioning your judgment, Elliot!”
“You wouldn’t if you saw his dick,” I said without missing a beat.
Derek choked on his drink and turned bright red. Nix clapped him on the back as he had his coughing fit.
“You were part of Colin’s crew, right?” Charles asked. He eyed Silas with a curiosity I didn’t understand.
Silas nodded. “Yes.”
Charles looked away and grabbed for his daiquiri glass.
Coach stood and raised a glass. “Welcome, Silas. We’re happy to meet you, and we’re… well, we were shocked to hear that Elliot was in a relationship, but we’re glad that you’re here, and we look forward to getting to know you.”
I wasn’t a crier. I was usually pretty stoic. But I nearly cried having Silas in the room with my closest friends, my colleagues, the people I trusted most in the world besides him.
“Thank you,” Silas said. “I’m excited to be here.” He looked at me, his smile wide and shining like he was my own personal sun. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.
“All right, let’s get down to the real talk here, Silas,” Derek said.
I raised a brow, unsure of what he could possibly want to ask him.
“Why’s Elliot such a grumpy ass on Wednesdays? What’s up with that?”
Silas pinched his mouth closed and looked at me. I shook my head. He seemed to consider whether or not he was going to spill the beans.
“Tuesday night is when episodes of Mating Season Mansion airs. He watches every episode and then spends hours on forums talking to people.”
I groaned. “Okay, you could have stopped at watching the show. You didn’t have to tell them about the forums.”
“Well, I didn’t mention the podcast you were a guest on,” Silas said.
I looked around at the stunned gazes of all my teammates. Then Derek spoke up, “Dude! You watching MSM too? It’s awesome. I hope Octavius wins this season.”
And just like that, my relationship with Silas was not a big deal.