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“Buddy, I promise that the orca is not going to hurt the penguin.” I look at my son, whose eyes are brimming with unshed tears. They’ve been like that since the first intermission, when the two mascots went head-to-head with each other on the ice.

I brought Owen here to get away from the drama with his grandparents, not give him emotional trauma over a penguin.

“They were just pretending to fight. That’s what the mascots do for games like these. I bet you they are both in the locker room playing games together.”

Owen clutches his penguin stuffie to his chest but doesn’t say anything.

We’re close to the end of the second period now and it’s looking like it’s going to be a close game.

I’m learning more and more about hockey as the season goes by.

Gabe can go on his… speeches . He doesn’t like me calling them rants, but I find it funny to rile him up.

Sometimes it gets me some kisses and tickles or tossed onto the mattress if it’s around bedtime.

I tune back into the game and try to keep up. Our team is crossing the blue line, which I believe is a good thing for us. Someone gets pushed against the glass in front of us, making me jump but Owen cheers excitedly .

“Mason!” Owen shouts. I take a second look, and it is, in fact, Mason.

He lifts his hand to Owen before skating off quickly to continue playing.

The other team is aggressive and has bodychecked someone on our team every play it seems. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a penalty yet, because some of the checks seem unsportsmanlike.

The opposing team’s captain seems to be the ringleader of the aggression, which doesn’t help the situation.

As if I thought it into action, there’s a commotion on the other end of the rink.

One of our teammates is on the ice. The other four players crowd whoever they are.

I look up at the jumbotron for Gabe’s number and sigh when I see he’s standing.

I know this is an away game, but I have the urge to walk to the bench and offer my services. If I didn’t have Owen with me, I would.

The whistle blows and an announcement is made.

“Luke Hotchkiss, charging. Five-minute misconduct penalty. Power play to the Penguins.”

There are equal cheers and boos within the arena.

Obviously, we are cheering. Owen, for all his worry, starts bouncing in his seat and cheering with the rest of the crowd as well.

The camera zooms in on Luke, the captain of the other team, shouting something.

The referee looks done with the guy and appears close to issuing another penalty.

As Hotchkiss slides up to the Caldwell Orcas’ penalty box, I can’t help but notice the guy behind the box’s glass.

He looks younger and a bit timid, with his attention focused solely on Hotchkiss.

He’s also holding an orca stuffie, clutched to his chest like Owen has his penguin.

The interaction between Hotchkiss and the guy with the stuffie is brief because someone lays a hand on the guy’s shoulder and Luke sits down, a scowl on his face clear even from where I’m sitting.

I wonder what his issue is, but then I’m distracted by the game restarting.

The Phoenix Penguins take full advantage of their power play. We somehow score two goals, the guys on the ice moving in a way that seems almost synchronized. When we hit the second goal, putting us three ahead, the tension in the arena grows.

Our guys play smart. We avoid excessive body checking and the shift changes are flawless. By the time the third period starts, the win feels like a foregone conclusion.

Owen is sitting in my lap now. I wouldn’t let him stand in his seat for safety reasons, and also to not block the people behind us. I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket intermittently, but I ignore it.

This trip to Colorado for the away game was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Karen and Harold kicked up another fuss because I didn’t make Owen go to their house for a family event a couple of weeks ago, and since then I’ve been even less inclined to send him over there.

The words Owen said to me flash across my mind over and over again.

“Daddy, do I have to go? I don’t want Grandma to be mad at me again.”

No one in my son’s life is allowed to make him feel bad like that.

When I texted Karen to let her know that Owen wouldn’t be coming, she blew up my phone with messages declaring that I’m keeping him from them, that they have a right to see him, and so on.

There were words in those texts that no one should use to describe another person .

Those texts have slowed down in the last week, but there are still some others in the family that are texting me. Apparently, Karen gave my number to Lauren’s extended family to try and guilt trip me that they just want to get to know Owen.

“Yay!” My attention is brought back to the present when a buzzer sounds, and the Penguins supporters are all on their feet and cheering. It takes two whole seconds to react and realize we won. I stand on my feet, cheering with Owen and the other fans. “We won, Daddy! The Penguins beat the Oras!”

“Orcas, buddy.” I correct him with a smile. “But yes, we did win! How about we head to the hotel and we’ll meet Gabe and all of them there?”

“Yes! Yes!” Owen rocks his body back and forth with excitement in my arms. “I go swimming?”

“We’ll see if the pool is still open.” I know the guys will be a while before they come back to the hotel. Some will probably go out for a bit, but they have another game tomorrow so they can’t afford to get drunk.

I’m looking forward to sharing a hotel room with Gabe. Having Owen means he’ll get one of the beds while we’ll get the other. Mason has already agreed to share a room with two of the other guys so we can have the room to ourselves.

***

“We’re taking the kid!” One of the other players shouts from the doorway.

Honestly, there are four of them in this room, including Mason and Vince, so I’m not sure who shouted it.

They’ve all been around for Owen’s skating lessons with Gabe, so it isn’t like he’s being taken by strangers.

“We’ll be in room ten-twenty-four watching Happy Feet! He’s cool to sleep over if needed.”

“I’ll check in in a bit,” I call back out. “Owen, listen to the guys okay?”

“Yes, Daddy!” Owen’s voice calls out and I can hear the excitement in his voice at being able to hang out with the cool hockey players. It seems that most of them decided to come straight to the hotel after changing and everything else they had to do.

As such, they caught up with Owen and me in the pool.

We all swam until thirty minutes past the time the pool was supposed to close, courtesy of the hotel staff.

I kept my eyes on Gabe, hoping that the way he stuck to the shallow end and not being as wild as the others was just because he was tired after the game and not because he’s still not eating enough.

Arms wrap around me when the door closes behind my son and his herd of unexpected babysitters. I smile, leaning my head back against Daddy’s shoulder. I can smell his shampoo and take a deep breath, letting it relax me. This weekend is for me as much as it is for Owen.

“How are you?” Daddy asks. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you before the game. We stepped right off the bus and went straight into warmups.”

“It’s okay.” I turn in his arms and smile at him. “We’re here now and we’re alone. And I brought things.”

“You brought things , huh?” Gabe’s smile turns to a smirk. “What kind of things? Because I know we ditched the condoms a while ago, baby.”

That we did. It was the best decision ever once I got tested.

Gabe had to get tested at the beginning of the season, and I hadn’t been with anyone in a while, but it had still been over a year since my last test, and we’d wanted to be sure.

Plus, I used the whole thing as an excuse to put on my big boy pants and get Owen and myself set up with a Primary Care doctor in the city.

“I brought some toys,” I tell him, shaking off my distracted thoughts. When I realize how that sounds, I clear my throat and continue talking. “Actual toys. Not sex toys. I thought maybe I could have a bit of time being Little? But if it’s too late or you’re ti-”

“You can have some Little time, baby.” He presses his lips to mine softly. “We don’t have to be on the team bus until ten tomorrow.”

It’s only eleven, so we have a good two hours before we need to go to sleep. I move to my bag and pull out the stuffie he bought me, a blanket, and then the monster truck cars.

“You really came prepared, didn’t you, baby? Did you bring any clothes to change into?”

“Yes.” I did come prepared. With our schedules and everything going on this week with Owen’s family, I’ve been looking forward to our next time alone. I packed my favorite penguin shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts. I pull out the training pants as well.

“Let’s get you in a quick shower, okay? I can still smell the chlorine on you.” I smile and take Daddy’s hand into the bathroom. He undresses me slowly, his hands exploring as each piece of clothing drops to the floor.

I did get Owen in a shower before all the guys showed up at our door, but I didn’t have enough time for my own.

But that’s a good thing, I decide as I let Daddy guide me into the warm stream of water a minute later.

I know he’s already taken a shower, but he strips out of his clothes as well and joins me .

“Feels good,” I say with my eyes closed. Daddy massages the shampoo into my hair. “So good, Daddy. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, baby.” His lips press against the back of my neck. The rest of the shower is mostly quiet, with a little giggle here and there when Daddy washes my sensitive and ticklish areas. When Daddy finishes drying me off, he turns me to face the toilet.

“Let’s go potty and I’ll get you dressed, okay?”

He stands behind me and helps me aim into the toilet. I love it when Daddy helps me potty. We haven’t talked more about doing a wetting scene, but I know it will come with time. Life has just been too busy to do it the way we talked about.

Once I’m dressed, Daddy sits on the floor with me, and we start playing pretend. I explain to Daddy that there’s a monster (my stuffie) preventing the prince from being rescued. We run the trucks into the stuffie over and over again until Daddy decides he’s finally been defeated.

“Oh no, Daddy.” My eyes go wide, and I look up at him. His hair is falling over his shoulders and I want so badly to pull the ends of his hair toward me and kiss him. I love tangling my fingers in Daddy’s hair. It’s so soft and pretty. I refrain though. “We don’t have a prince to rescue now.”

“How about you be the prince?” He says it quickly, like he’d been waiting for me to realize this plot hole myself. “Daddy can rescue you and make you feel all better.”

“Oh, yes please!” I hold my arms out and Daddy stands up, hooking his hands under my arms and pulling me to my feet. “Daddy is the best rescuer ever!”

“And what does Daddy get for rescuing you?” He moves us to the bed. I let out a small giggle as his lips trail down my neck.

“Um…” I pretend to think really hard about what Daddy gets. “A pickle?”

Daddy pulls back and looks completely confused. It makes me laugh harder. He rolls over and cuddles up next to me, holding me tightly in his arms. “How about you tell Daddy a bedtime story? I love listening to your stories, baby.”

I start with a random story, playing off our pretend play with the monsters and rescuing the prince. Daddy chimes in every minute or so to push the story forward.

I don’t know when either of us fall asleep. I’m sure it was in the middle of the story. I sit up in a panic, unsure for a second why. Then I remember. I fell asleep before checking on Owen. Gabe stirs beside me, but I barely register him. My entire mind is focused on making sure my son is okay.

There’s a knock on the door and I rush to tear off my clothes. I’m fully in my adult headspace and kind of panicking. My heart is racing, and blood is rushing through my ears. I throw on the first shirt and shorts I can find, keeping the training pants on because no one will see those.

I’m expecting Owen at the door with one of the players, but it’s not. It’s a total stranger. At least, I think it’s a stranger. “Are you Justin Anderson?”

“Yes.” I take a deep breath. “Is something wrong?”

“You’ve been served.” I’m handed a stack of papers paperclipped together.

The man is already walking away when I look back up.

Ignoring the papers for the moment, I head down the hallway to the room the guys said they’d be in.

I give three loud knocks, ensuring I wake whoever it is up.

I realize then that I didn’t check the time and I really hope it isn’t the middle of the night .

There’s a shout telling me to wait one second and then a round of laughter. When the door opens twenty seconds later, I’m greeted with a wild-haired little boy and two of the guys behind him.

“Daddy! We are watching the mouse movie!” Owen says excitedly. “And they ordered me pancakes that they brought to the room.”

“That’s awesome, buddy.” I fold the papers under my arms and squat down to give my son a hug. “I’m so happy you had fun. Are you ready to go back and we can get ready for the game today?”

“Bye stinky face!” Owen says with a laugh, turning to wave at Vince and Mason. They’re both sitting on the same bed and it looks like the other one was barely slept in.

“See you later Tater Tot.”

Owen giggles and takes my hand. I wave at them, thanking them once again for keeping him overnight. We walk back down to our hotel room and knock. I didn’t grab the hotel key in my panic.

Gabe opens the door, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry I rushed out. I woke up and there was someone at the door and then I went and got Owen. We fell asleep before calling to make sure he was okay.”

Gabe steps aside and Owen runs into the room.

I note that my clothes have been picked up after my haste to get out.

“You fell asleep, baby.” Gabe’s voice is quiet as he pulls me in for a hug.

“I made sure he was okay to stay the night before I fell asleep. I wanted you to have fun last night so I took care of everything.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. The ball in my stomach dissipates and I lean into my Daddy’s body. The papers still under my arm crunch, and I pull back to look at them.

“What’s that?” Gabe asks.

“Some guy was at the door when I woke up. He knew my name, so I’m not sure if it’s something to do with the college or not.”

I scan over the first page. It’s a legal document, that much I’m sure of. I flip through a couple more pages before I realize what I’m looking at. My hands start to shake, and I feel like I can’t breathe.

“It’s a document to take Owen away from me.”