23. Theo

Theo

"I have a question." Grekov peered at me across the small table in the café where we'd stopped for lunch.

"Okay, sure." I dragged a fry through some ketchup. "What's on your mind?"

He stared at his plate for a moment, and I studied him waiting for him to ask. He seemed vaguely uncomfortable, which had me worried.

All morning, he'd been fine. We'd had practice, and then he and I had gone for a light run around Green Lake. Now we were chilling and having a late lunch. He'd been joking and talking hockey, but now he was suddenly… off.

After a moment, he finally spoke. "So, Jack…" Grekov jabbed his straw at the ice in his Coke. "He is not… He doesn't like gay men."

I scowled. "No, he does not." Rolling my eyes, I added, "So of course he has a gay son."

Grekov raised an eyebrow. "He's a dick to his son about it?"

"Yep. He's a dick to all of us, but especially to his own son." I took a drink, not that it did much to rinse the bitterness out of my mouth. "Christian deserves so much better."

Grekov eyed me, and my stomach knotted. Shit. Had I tipped my hand too far? Let it show that I gave more of a damn about Christian than I should?

Then he lowered his gaze to his barely touched lunch. "I was worried, coming to Seattle. The rumors…" He thumbed the edge of the table and gnawed his lip. "Doesn't seem safe to come out here."

I studied him. Then the piece clicked, and I sat up straighter. "No, it is. The guys—everyone is great about it." I half-shrugged. "No one in a Rainiers sweater has ever given me grief about it, and they've known since day one that I'm gay."

His brow pinched. "But the GM…"

"Yeah. I know." I sighed. "It's… I don't want to tell anyone to stay in the closet. But I get why someone wouldn't want to be out." I studied him, then cautiously asked, "Are you…?"

The way he dropped his gaze and blushed, squirming uncomfortably in his seat, screamed yes.

"Hey." I gave his forearm a quick squeeze before withdrawing my hand. "I won't say a word to anyone. Promise."

He looked at me through his lashes, blue eyes full of fear that I wasn't used to seeing in a ballsy defenseman like him. "You'll tell no one?"

"No one. It's not my secret to tell." I paused. "And if you want to know where all the good clubs are within a hundred miles of here…"

His blush deepened, but he laughed, shaking his head. "No, no. I don't think—I don't like clubs."

"Eh, I don't blame you." I reached for my drink. "They fucking suck. The apps, too."

Grekov laughed with a little more feeling. "I don't need the apps. Or the clubs. I would just…" He half-shrugged. "I'm not ready to come out. It… I can't. Not yet. But I want to be able to when I'm ready, you know?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah. I totally get it. And trust me, man—the team will have your back. I'm not the first queer guy on the team. And like, you've seen them go to bat for Christian."

"True." He sipped his drink. "I was… That was a surprise, you know?"

"The longer you're around these guys, the less surprising it'll be. Trust me." I picked up another fry. "But don't feel like you have to come out, either. If you're not comfortable with Jack knowing, or you're just not ready to be out…" I half-shrugged. "It's your prerogative, you know? It's all good."

He studied me, then managed a faint smile. "I'll remember that. Thanks."

After we'd finished lunch,we left and went back to our cars. Grekov seemed to be in a better headspace now, so that was a relief. I'd had my suspicions that he was queer, mostly because he was so secretive about his personal life, and I was glad he'd felt safe enough to tell me. Whether he'd come out to the team or not was up to him, but at least he knew he wasn't alone.

Man, that had to be rough, too. The language barrier was already a struggle for him. Then on top of that, he was gay and not sure about coming out. Thank God he hadn't ended up on a team with no Russian players (though most teams had at least one, if not more) and he'd landed someplace with openly queer players and staff members.

Shame there wasn't much any of us could do about our homophobic GM. Ugh.

But at least for today, Grekov seemed to be feeling better about things as we got into our respective cars. He was going out to Snohomish to play golf with Rusanov this afternoon, which would be good for him too.

As for me, I drove away from Green Lake, but I didn't head home. I didn't go to Christian's condo, either.

Instead, I followed my GPS's instructions to a movie theater up on Capitol Hill. I'd bought a ticket online earlier today, which I showed to the usher on my phone, and then I headed inside.

This was one of those small indie theaters with about fifty seats in each auditorium where obscure, usually foreign films played. I wasn't even sure what this movie was about. It was in French, that much I knew, and it had a run time of like three hours, but beyond that… nada.

I didn't care either, because I hadn't come here to pay much attention to what was on the screen.

The auditorium was mostly empty. A few college kids occupied the middle rows, munching on popcorn as their phones bathed their faces in bright light.

And there in the center seat of the back row was the reason I'd come here in the first place.

"Hey." Christian grinned up at me as I took the seat beside him. "How was your run?"

"Not bad." I slung my arm around his shoulders. The armrest was up, so he leaned against me without anything jabbing into either of our ribs. Trailing my fingers up and down his arm, I said, "There were a lot of people out, though. Jesus H."

He chuckled, sliding a hand over my thigh. "It's Saturday, baby. People come out on Saturdays."

I tsked. "But then the jogging path is crowded. Rude."

Christian laughed and lifted his chin for a light kiss. "So sorry, sweetheart. I'm sure if you wait until it's nasty and raining, you'll have the path all to yourselves."

"But then I'll get cold and wet."

"But it won't be crowded."

I grunted unhappily.

He nudged me with his elbow and leaned against me.

I kissed the top of his head. "What did you do this morning?"

He groaned. "Paperwork. So much paperwork."

"Really? For what?"

"Ordering parts. Inventorying parts. Getting bids from a new supplier on some parts and tools that another manufacturer is discontinuing." He sighed theatrically. "Such bullshit."

Laughing, I pressed my lips to the top of his head again. "So much hard work. I don't know how you manage it."

"Keep it up and I'll start delegating it to the players."

"Pretty sure there's a rookie and a couple of PHL guys who are lower in the hierarchy than me."

"Ooh, this isn't about seniority, darling." He patted my thigh. "It's about who I decide is the right person for the job."

"I don't think that's allowed under the CBA."

"Ugh. You assholes and your union."

I cackled triumphantly, which earned me an elbow to the ribs. "Oof. Fuck you."

He looked up at me and grinned. "Promise?"

"Of course." I drew him in and kissed him. God, I could not get enough of kissing him. Even when it was neither the time nor the place for sex, I loved the way he kissed. Yeah, it turned me on, but that could wait until later. Right now, in this moment, his soft, insistent lips against mine were more than enough.

Some music started, and when I opened my eyes, I realized the auditorium had gone dark. On the screen, the previews began.

"Oh, I guess it's starting." Christian shifted around again, leaning against me with my arm still around his shoulders. "Do you need me to read the subtitles out loud?"

I snorted. "Shut up."

He vibrated with laughter beside me, and I chuckled as I kissed his temple.

All through the previews and into the beginning of the movie, I barely noticed what was happening on the screen. The subtitles weren't a problem; I was just way too caught up in how nice it was to hang out like this in public. We'd watched plenty of movies in bed, but there was something amazing about going out together. Even if it was in the dark where no one was liable to stumble across us, we were together. In public. On an actual date.

I wish we could do this all the time.

Maybe after this season, we'll find a way.