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Dad’s favorite team . It figured. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Ethan’s only seventeen.” I had six years on him, and he was already getting an agent? But then, he excelled in every team he played on. Not like me…I sighed and paused the television. “Okay, tell me what you need and I’ll do it.”

“Dean is going to call you in the next couple of days. Just talk to him. Let him know what contract terms you’re willing to accept. Even if he can sign you with a minor league, you can continue working on your skills and?—”

“Yeah, Dad, I’ll think about it.” What if I was happy with a regular job and leaving hockey behind me? No way I could tell him that. Dad had always wanted a hockey career for me and my brother. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Hey, how’s Mom doing?” I owed her a call.

“She’s fine. She can’t wait to see you play this year.” He cleared his throat. “Look, son, I know all your friends have gone off to the NHL and maybe you’re feeling alone now. But maybe it’s time for new friends, you know, some that aren’t, uh…queer?”

Fuck. I fisted my hand over my thigh. I knew this would come up.

He’d always known about Tyler. Everyone did.

But with Mason and Archer coming out as queer in the NHL, my cover with my family had been strained at best. But they still believed I was straight.

Maybe they didn’t want to know any different.

It was easier for them to believe my lies and half-truths.

“Yeah, I’m getting along really well with Neuman and the new goalie, Sutton. ” Another half-truth.

“Good, well, work hard and I hope things pan out with Dean. He seems like a good man,” Dad said.

“Sure.” My throat tightened as if I was being strangled. My anxiety was about to start. Would I get any sleep? “I’ll let you know what he says after I talk with him.”

“Sounds good. Bye now,” he said.

“Bye, Dad.” I hung up the phone, tossed it on my bed and curled into a ball, wrapping my arms around my drawn-up legs.

I’d kept so many secrets all these years, from my family and even my friends.

Tyler didn’t even know the pressure I was under to play professional hockey and the fact that I wasn’t sure I could.

Which was probably why he’d told his agent about signing me.

“Fuck it.” It was time to get ready for bed.

The next day, after the morning skate, post workout, and shower, I hustled across campus to my social media class.

At least one thing in my life would be easy.

With my backpack bouncing on my shoulder, I strode across a concrete walkway under tall palm trees and between brick buildings the color of clay in the midday sunshine.

When I reached my building, I ducked inside a set of metal doors and down a hallway filled with students. As I found my room, I stepped inside and scanned the long rows of tables set up with chairs behind them. Most of the spots were already full.

I spied an open spot and strode to it, pulled the chair out, and dropped in.

The guy next to me turned, his athletic shirt pulling tightly across his muscled shoulders and chest and his straight brown hair on the longer side. “Myles?” He stared at me, his mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God.” He stood up.

“Holy fuck.” My heart lurched. Fucking Cooper Hayes. My big ass crush from high school. “Coop, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were at Northwestern?” I rose.

He wrapped his thick arms around me for a fierce hug.

“I transferred here for my last year.” Clapping me on the back, he let me go.

“You heard how good the Devils were in football last year, right?” His mega-watt smile reached his stunning hazel eyes, surrounded by thick black lashes and resting under full brows.

“Uh, yeah.” I looked him up and down. Damn, he’d filled out a lot. And he’d grown a few inches over my height of six-two. “You look, um, you look good, man.” I wetted my lips, and my cock twitched. He was even more fuckable than in high school. But he’s straight, Myles.

The professor approached the podium at the front of the class.

“Better sit down. Don’t want trouble on the first day.” He patted my shoulder and took his seat as I sat in the one next to him. Leaning in, he said, “I have to admit, I knew you were here. I guess you had a class with my buddy JJ last year?” He lifted his brows.

“JJ?” They were friends? How? “Yeah, we had a math class together. We also hung out down on Mill Ave…” I lowered my brows. “When did you get here?”

“About a month ago. I moved into an apartment with some guy that, oh hell. We need to talk.” He squeezed my forearm. “Are you free for lunch after this?”

“Uh, sure.” I set my backpack on the desk and slipped my laptop from it. How had this happened?

The professor started the class.

After class, I packed my things, stuffing them into my bag. Standing, I said, “So, where should we go?” I faced Cooper and my gaze settled on his generous lips. Fuck me. My attraction to him hadn’t faded at all since high school. I had to tone this down and just be nice.

“Where’s a good burger joint?” He slung his backpack strap over a muscled shoulder.

“Five Guys? I’d say they’re the best.” I strolled toward the door with my heart pattering and he followed me. Jesus, I’d be seeing him every day.

“Sounds good. Lead the way.” He came up beside me as we walked into the sunshine among all the other students.

“So, you know JJ?” I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my athletic shorts, my gaze raking over him. God, I couldn’t stop looking at him. But I had to.

“Yeah, when I got here and worked out with the team, he was the first guy to introduce himself.” He glanced at me and a grin crept over his lips. “I told him I was from Chicago, and he told me he met a hockey player from there last year.” He arched a brow. “What are the chances?”

“Yeah, what are the chances.” I gave a stuttered laugh. “I got a few texts from JJ over the summer, but then the texts stopped.”

“I’m surprised you two never hooked up.” He gave me a pointed look. “Have you come out to your family yet? ”

I stopped. “Wait, what did he tell you about me?” This was weird. Only a select few of my friends, Cooper among them, were aware of my sexuality in high school.

Furrowing his brows, he said, “Not much. He thought you were hot, but not interested in him.” He cocked his head. “I already know JJ can be a lot to handle, but…”

I started walking again. “He’s a good guy. We had some fun times with our study group.” JJ thought I was hot? That was news. I’d gotten no vibes from him that he was interested in me, either. But would I have done anything about it?

He followed me around the corner and onto Mill Avenue, the traffic at a constant crawl between all the streetlights on the corners. As we came to the brick building housing Five Guys, I stopped.

Cooper opened one of two glass doors for me and waved me in. “After you.”

“Thanks.” Just like old times. Cooper had always been a gentleman. It had been one of the many things I’d admired about him.

After ordering our food and grabbing some drinks, we brought our white paper bags filled with burgers and fries to a table in the corner.

I slid into a wooden chair by the wall while he dropped into the one across from me.

I scanned the white subway tiles with the red checkered swath running across the diner.

The place was clean and plenty of other students filled the tables scattered over the bare concrete floor.

“So you never answered me when I asked about your family.” He opened his bag and pulled out a burger.

I sipped my iced tea from a straw. “No, I haven’t told them yet. There’s been no reason to, eh.” Why upset the family dynamic unless I had to?

“Okay.” He bit into his burger and hummed. “Oh my God, so good.” He washed it down with his drink.

As I squirmed in my seat, I focused on his mouth as he chewed, my cock plumping in my shorts. What the hell? Why was my dick so interested in him?

With a grin, he said, “You’re not into my buddy, JJ, huh?” He dumped fries over his bag and squirted ketchup over them.

Why did he care so much? “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t know he was interested in me last year.” Unwrapping my burger, I ate a bite. Wait, was he trying to set me up with JJ? I arched a brow. “Should I text him and see if he wants to go out with me?”

He stared at me for a beat, wrinkled his nose, and said, “Uh, maybe, if you want to.” He set his burger down, his gaze falling. Wiping his hand on a napkin, he said, “Let’s talk about you. It’s been, what, almost five years since high school?”

“Yeah. I spent a year in juniors before starting school here. I lived with five other hockey players at one time, but they all graduated and got NHL contracts.” As an ache ghosted through my heart, I slid my fries out of the bag and poured a pool of ketchup to dunk them into.

“Wow, that sucks. What’s your living situation like now?” He sipped his drink, fixating on me.

“I’m still living with one of them, Ace.

He was our goalie last year and the year we won the championship, but he got picked up by the Coyotes.

” I slid a few fries through the ketchup and ate them.

“He has a boyfriend who’s still in college and does figure skating.

So, they stayed in the place we rented last year and I’m living with them. ”

“Wait, you’re living with an NHL goalie?” He leaned toward me, his brows snapping up.

“I am. And two of my other buddies are Coyote players too, eh.” My chest swelled with warmth. Yeah, I had some successful friends. “When they’re in town, we still party.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. So I guess you’ll be getting a sweet contract by the end of the year?” He drank some of his tea down.

I shrugged. “We’ll see. My dad has an agent for me to talk to.” I shouldn’t talk myself up too much, especially with the way I’d played last year. “What about you? Are you living with JJ this year?”

“Naw…” With a smirk, he waved his hand at me. “I found a dude on a message board and he’s a douche.” He ate some fries. “I’m trying my best not to get into a pissing match with him, but he’s trying my patience.”

“Yeah? How?” I ate my burger. Living with the squad had been so easy. If anyone had a problem with someone, we’d always talked it out like adults.

“Get this.” He jabbed his finger at the table. “When the guy cooks, which is all the fucking time, he uses every pot and pan in the apartment and then leaves it. On the stovetop.” He scoffed. “The only way I can cook is to clean up his mess first.”

I widened my eyes. “Damn, that sucks. My roommate, Ace, likes to cook for us at home, but me and Zoma usually clean it up right after since he did the cooking. It’s a deal we made way back in the beginning.”

“That’s how it should be done. Sometimes this dude even eats my food and then tries to tell me he didn’t know it was mine.” Shaking his head, he pressed his lips together. “I put my fucking name on it. It doesn’t matter.” He ate more of his burger.

“What’s his name?” I sipped my tea. Thank God I’d never had to deal with bullshit like that.

“Tony.” He shook his head and smirked. “You know, Tony’s not a bad name, but I’m learning to hate it because of him.

” He twisted a fry on his bag. “I tried talking to him about it and he agreed to clean up after himself. But it got worse. It’s like he’s doing this shit on purpose to fuck with me.

” With a sigh, he threw some fries into his mouth.

“That sucks. How about the football players? Is there any extra room in their place?” Shit, we had an open bedroom at the squad house. My eyes popped open. No, I wouldn’t offer it.

“No, they’re all settled. You know how it is. They’ve all been bunking up since freshman year.” He rolled his lips. “It’s okay, it’ll work itself out.” With a wide smile, he slapped my shoulder. “ But let’s not dwell on that bullshit. It’s good to see you again. Tell me more about your life here.”

“I’ve just been focusing on school and hockey.” I raked my gaze over his wide shoulders. He’d filled out so nicely since high school.

“That’s it? No boyfriends anywhere?” He eyed me. “I’m sure you have guys all over you. I know JJ was surprised you weren’t dating anyone last year.”

There he went with JJ again. “No, there’s the random hookup, usually at the gay bar down the street, but nothing solid.” I ate some of my burger.

“There’s a gay bar? Down the street?” He swayed his head, looking toward the window.

“You can’t see it from here.” With a chuckle, I shook my head and drank my tea.

“How often do you go there?” His gaze found mine and dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes.

“We go there for cellys when we win.” My chest pricked. “Well, used to. When all the guys were here and we played a home game, we’d go there and have a Fuck U of A shot.”

“What? Are you serious? They have a shot named that?” He lifted the corner of his mouth. “That’s awesome, man. Maybe I’ll have to join you in there sometime.” His breath hitched and his lips parted.

“It’s a gay bar. Are you okay with that?” I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t queer, was he? Certainly not in high school. There was always a girlfriend hanging around.

“I’m cool with it. I’m sure JJ would be interested in it, too.” He twisted his lips. “Maybe some Saturday night after both our teams win, we can grab a shot together.”

With a nod, I said, “Yeah, that would be fun.” Shit, there might be a new group of friends I could hang out with.

Except they were football players. Why didn’t JJ know about The Club on Mill?

I thought back to last year. We were always hanging out in a mixed crowd together.

Maybe it wasn’t his scene. My gaze crept to Cooper, and I swiped a fry through my ketchup.

“I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking.

Tell me about you. What have you been up to? ”

“Well, my father wanted me to play at Northwestern, so I got a scholarship and played there the last three years.” He twisted his drink on the table. “You know my dad was a linebacker for the Bears, right?” His gaze met mine.

“Yeah, I think I remember something about that.” As I shifted in my seat, I ate the last bite of my burger. “Didn’t he coach our high school team?” The memories were flooding back.

“He did.” A smile spread over his kissable lips. “Still does.”