Page 6

SILAS

I t suits you?

God, how lame was that line I’d spewed out? And to my coach?

Think before you speak.

Banning, of course, ignored my comment. Like I’d tried to ignore the way he looked when he peeled off that suit jacket.

The guy hadn’t played hockey for years, but his body was prime; his biceps nearly ripping through those white, now transparent, shirtsleeves.

In my mind, there were all sorts of dirty jokes to be made about me showering him in sticky fluids, the least of which was champagne.

Thank fuck I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut.

It was the adrenaline rush from the win, pure and simple. Okay, not pure. Not at all. And not simple.

But to be honest, Coach was hot. There, I’d said it.

Hot and straight. At least, I assumed he was straight.

I’d done a bit of digging around online and spotted pictures of him and his wife.

Ex-wife. According to the hockey gossip, she’d cleaned him out of almost everything in the divorce and took up with another player only a few months after they split. Talk about a kick to the injured balls.

No relationships for me. No thanks.

And what did I care about him anyway? I needed to erase any thoughts about Banning from my mind forever.

Done. Phew.

Winning always made me horny, so I’d blame my inane wanderings on that.

We had a championship to celebrate and everything in my body was primed to fuck or fight.

Given that we were in Chicago, and had an overnight, I’d decided that a hookup was the best way to reward myself.

In a city this big, there had to be plenty of gay bars, and I’d be ready to do some googling when I got back to my room.

A sports bar would be ideal, but at this point, I wasn’t picky.

“You got Coach so good,” Finn teased me as we posed for pictures. “That suit is done.”

I shrugged and smiled. “He knew it was coming.”

And he did. I didn’t feel bad. This was the way athletes celebrated.

The photographer motioned for us to squeeze in closer, and of course, instructing us to smile. Like we needed anyone to tell us to do that given this historic moment in our lives. We’d probably be grinning in our sleep from now on.

“There’s gonna be a shitload of partying tonight!” Ethan yelled out.

“Fuck yes!” everyone shouted in return.

Then I remembered my plans. It was still doable. I could always go out with the team and then sneak off on my own afterwards. Our flight didn’t leave until eleven tomorrow so there’d be plenty of time for slumber on the plane ride back.

“Damien!” someone called out, and my head shot up.

No one ever called Banning by his first name. Not students, not players, not even his colleagues. I’d done it during our last practice to get under his skin. But the minute I’d said it, I regretted it. It sounded too… personal.

And there wasn’t anything personal about me and Coach.

Still, the fact that someone else called him by his first name had me strangely unsettled.

I followed the sound of the voice, and it belonged to a familiar-looking guy, headed in Banning’s directing.

But there was so much champagne in my eyes that everything was kind of blurry.

What I could see was that the guy in motion was also wearing a fancy suit, and he had a nose that’d been broken a time or two.

The stranger was a hockey player for sure.

“Who’s that?” I nudged Finn. “I know him, but I can’t put a name to the face.”

Finn squinted and then his eyes widened comically.

“Are you kidding me? That’s Selwin Kirkland, Chicago’s best defenseman,” he whispered.

I blinked again, not sure I believed what Finn was saying.

“Holy mother of hockey,” Finn gasped. “He’s going to speak at Sutton’s firehall fundraiser next week. But he’s also here. Now. Oh my God, he watched our game.”

The chatter amongst the team turned from joking around to whispers of incredulity as more people recognized Kirkland. There were murmurs along the lines of Finn’s and a lot of “fuck me’s” in there too.

Kirkland and Banning hugged briefly, then headed back in our direction. Of course. They’d played together at one point and were obviously friends.

Both men strutted towards the team, and it was impressive to watch. Kirkland had a cool mullet and an easy smile.

But Damien—I mean, Banning—in that suit that molded to his body like a second skin, with those ocean blue eyes and that intense expression on his face? Fuck, there was no doubt I had to go out tonight and get laid.

Hearing Coach’s praise earlier didn’t help matters. It did funny things to my insides, or maybe I’d drunk too much of that sickeningly sweet champagne? Yeah, that was probably it.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet one of the league’s finest, and my friend, Selwin Kirkland,” Banning announced.

One by one, we lined up to shake Kirkland’s hand. This day was getting better and better.

“You and Melnyk in the last period was something else,” Kirkland stated when it was my turn to meet him. “Congrats on the title. I’ll be keeping a lookout for you guys.”

I was certain that I’d died and gone to hockey heaven.

“Thank you, sir,” I replied. “I’m looking forward to your speech next week at the fundraiser.”

He nodded and leaned forward.

“Call me Sel. Or Win. ‘Sir’ is for hard-asses like Damien.” Kirkland chuckled and motioned over his shoulder.

“I heard that,” Banning hit back.

“You were meant to,” Selwin replied with an eye roll. “He’s uptight, eh? So freaking intense.”

“He wants the best out of us,” I admitted, surprising myself. “We wouldn’t have made it this far without his guidance.”

“There’s no one better,” Selwin agreed with a grin.

The photographer snapped more photos of our team with Kirkland, and then we had interviews with several local media. It was completely overwhelming, but in a great way.

Finally, an hour later, done with the press and pictures, we cleared off the ice and headed to the locker room.

The first person I called was Josiah.

“I’m so proud of you, Si. I texted all my friends. Do you get to bring the trophy back home?” Josiah asked.

My brother sounded as excited as me.

“Yep, we all get our turn. Not sure when mine will be, but it’ll happen.”

“When you get here, we’re heading to see Dad first thing.”

“Definitely. I’m going to call the home now to tell him.”

My father still had trouble speaking, but he was able to read and write a bit, and I got him a phone so he could text.

He still needed someone to assist him, but it was better than before.

But a text right now wouldn’t do. I called the home and had them put me on speakerphone so he could hear my voice.

“We did it, Dad! We won the college championship!”

I could hear shouts in the background, and what sounded like a muffled cry.

“Your dad is so excited for you, Silas, we all are,” I could hear Mandy, one of his nurses, call out. “He’s crying.”

I blinked away tears myself. Fuck, I hadn’t cried in so long—not since my mom’s funeral—that I wasn’t sure I remembered how. Swallowing past the gigantic lump in my throat, I took a deep breath and swiped a hand over my eyes. It’d been a rocky road to get here, so I guess tears were in order.

“I’ll see you on Sunday to show you all the pics,” I finally replied when I got my emotions under control. “Love you, Dad.”

“Congratulations, Silas,” Mandy replied. “We’ll see you then.”

I hung up and sat on one of the benches for a moment, taking a few deep breaths to settle myself.

It was unusual for me to show that kind of emotion and I needed a moment to gather myself together.

When I glanced around, though, I realized that the rest of the guys were the same, calling their family and friends, laughing and crying at the same time.

For the first time in six years, I allowed myself to feel joy. And I embraced it.

Calmer, cleaned up, and dressed up, the team headed back to the hotel for our post-game dinner celebration. I wore grey dress pants, a white button down, and tied up my hair in a bun. But as soon as the dinner was done, I was heading back upstairs to change into my jeans and leather jacket.

Dinner was raucous as usual, with the bonus of Kirkland’s easy charm and ability to make everyone laugh. Finn got to sit beside his idol, but he hardly said a word all evening, which wasn’t like him. Then again, if I was sitting in his place, I’d be starstruck too.

Once dinner was done, and dessert ordered, Coach paid the bill, and he and Kirkland said their goodbyes.

I was relieved that Banning was headed out early, even though I was curious about where they were going.

I’d overheard Kirkland mention a place called Moonbeam.

I figured it was a VIP-only club filled with pro athletes and thirty-dollar drinks and turned my attention back to my teammates.

We finished up dessert, and I sat back and glanced around the table.

“So, where are we going?” I asked. “Ethan?”

“My frat has a chapter nearby. I texted their President and they’ve got a party going on tonight. Everyone’s welcome.”

“Do we need to rideshare?” Dane asked.

Ethan shook his head. “It’s a ten-minute walk.”

“I think that’s a better idea than partying in our hotel rooms,” Dane replied. “Or trying to find a bar that will let everyone in.”

Then I remembered that not all the guys on the team were twenty-one plus like me. Back home, everyone drank at frat parties and the like, but bars and clubs were a no go, unless you had fake ID.

“Cool.” I nodded. “I’ll stick around for a while but then I’m heading for a club.”

“Oh man, don’t tell me that,” Ethan whined. “I’m not twenty-one for another four months.”

“Poor baby Walrus, afraid to sneak in?” I teased him.

“Not afraid,” Ethan scoffed. “I’ve done it before. Not on a hockey trip, because if Coach finds out?—”

I gave Ethan a playful shove.

“Hockey season is done. Relax.”

“I want to be sure I’ve got a spot next year. Last thing I need is to be on Banning’s shit list.”

“Let’s not even mention him, all right?” I countered. “Are we done here?”

“A little eager to get going?” Finn quipped.

“Damn right.”

I wanted a couple of drinks to loosen up and then I’d find my distraction for the night. Or, for an hour. Hell, given how excited I was from that win, I’d probably come in record time. Hopefully, more than once.

Everyone headed back to their rooms to change into casual clothes and then we hit the street, the frat house, and the real celebration finally got underway.

The chapter in Chicago was massive, with twenty-five brothers and a house that was more like a mansion than a college hangout.

And the party? I lost track of how many students packed into the place; it was well over a hundred.

We played drinking games and pool, then smoked on their rooftop deck overlooking the city.

But the longer the night wore on, the more frustrated I got.

Plenty of my teammates were hooking up, and now it was my turn. It was time to head on out. I scanned the room for Finn and found him and Kayden and Maddox talking with Ethan and several frat brothers.

Downing a last shot of vodka, I made my way over to my teammates.

“Hey, I’m taking off,” I told Finn.

“Already?”

“It’s after midnight, Finn, and I want to hit at least one bar before they close.”

“Okay, you want company?”

I shook my head.

“Nah, but thanks. I need to be alone for a bit.”

I’m sure some of the guys would be down for a gay bar, but I wasn’t prepared for that conversation. Not tonight. Not even with Finn. The focus was our win, and I wanted to leave it that way.

“Be safe,” Finn offered. “And text me when you’re heading back to the hotel.”

I nodded, gave my friend a hug, and said my goodbyes to everyone else.

Heading outside, I started googling local gay bars, trying to find one that wasn’t too far or too expensive.

When the name Moonbeam popped up, I dropped my phone.