Page 30

CHAPTER 30

LATHAN

APRIL

“Bambi, we’re going to be late!” I checked the time on my phone and cursed under my breath. Miller strolled out of the walk-in closet on the right, and I swallowed my tongue. No matter how often I saw him in a suit, I still lost my ability to speak at first glance.

“No, we won’t. You purposefully build in an hour to avoid any complications.” He smirked at me when he realized I’d lost my ability to speak.

“Yeah, well…” I lost the rest of the sentence when he stepped closer, and the smell of his cologne invaded my senses. He nuzzled my neck and nipped at the sensitive flesh. My hands instinctively reached out for him and pulled him closer. “Maybe…”

“Nope. You’ll have to wait for your dessert until after we beat my former team. It’s the last game in round one, baby. Remember?” he teased. “Someone has a one-track mind.”

Laughing, I shook off the lust stupor and grabbed our bags off the bed before taking his hand. “That someone being you.”

“Nonsense. I’m all about hockey.” We exited our new bedroom and walked down the hallway toward the front of our apartment. The construction had finished earlier this month on the renovations. We were now the proud owners of the entire top floor. We’d doubled the space of our bedroom, closets, and bathroom in the primary room. Then, there was the gear room, workout space, and Miller’s craft room.

I’d surprised him with a custom room to store his beads for all of his friendship-making bracelet dreams. He’d also taken up crocheting, so now there was a space for all the yarn so Alaska couldn’t get into it. Miller had insisted that we build Alaska his own cat domain, so now the spoiled thing had his own room, complete with cat towers, tunnels, and a cat litter robot that Miller was obsessed with. He spent most of our away games checking on the cat through the cameras and giving him extra treats. I pretended to hate it, but secretly, I loved how much he loved my cat.

“Any word from your mom?”

“She’s going to meet us after the game. Your family make it in okay?”

“Yep. The whole brood is here. Are you sure you’re up for meeting them?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator that now opened directly into our apartment.

My relationship with my mom wasn’t the only change in the familial department, Miller’s had as well. I turned toward him and pulled him close. “They’re your family. I can’t wait to meet them.”

His cheeks turned pink, and I leaned in and kissed him. Over the past four months, I’d become more comfortable displaying affection to him regardless of where we were. After the dinner with my mom, a weight had been lifted, and I was free to be myself without worrying about her disappointment. I thought I was past needing my mother’s approval in my mid-twenties, but I hadn’t been. Now I knew it wasn’t based on the things I did for her career, but who I was. That was a freeing lesson to learn.

The door opened and we broke apart as we stepped into the lobby. I took his hand and held it as we headed toward James. A few people waved at Miller, but no one cared that we were holding hands. It took me longer than I wanted to admit to get comfortable holding his hand in public. Miller had been patient with me, never demanding more than I could give, and allowing me not only to acclimate to not caring what others thought, but realizing people didn’t give a flying fuck what I did. It was an eye-opening experience that had shifted my worldview.

“Good luck tonight, gentlemen. Go Aces!” the doorman said.

“Thanks, George. We’ve got this in the bag.” Miller fist-bumped him, and I nodded. The amount of people who fell in love with Miller Fahn never ceased to amaze me. He was just too likable not to. And now all of these people knew he was mine. Caveman kink unlocked.

We both fell into our pregame routines as we drove to the arena. The meditation app lulled my mind into a place of peace, and I repeated my affirmations.

I am strong. I am capable. I will do my best.

By the time we pulled up to the arena, I was ready to win this game, beat Miller’s former team, and advance to the playoffs. I was confident we would do all three tonight.

“Did you see that Chet’s new team got swept?” Miller asked as we entered the tunnel, swiping through news articles on his phone.

“I’m not surprised. His special brand of toxicity is a killer to a team. I’m just glad we’re rid of him.”

“Same. He creeped me out and constantly made comments. It was exhausting.”

“What did he say?” I asked but we were intercepted before he could respond.

“Hey, Miller, did you get my message about the Rainbow Lounge?” Toby asked. Miller’s head lifted from his phone, and he paused briefly to answer him. He didn’t let go of my hand the entire time, the only thing keeping me from humping his leg in clear view of Toby. Turned out, once I let myself be free, I went all in. I wanted everyone to know Miller was mine.

I glanced around the tunnel as they chatted. Personnel and teammates moved around me, nodding when they caught my stare. I’d come out to the team as asexual. It was the closest label that fit right. Really, I was just Millersexual. Could that be a thing?

It hadn’t been the ordeal I’d made it in my head, either. The owners told us to keep our relationship off the ice, and that was it. A few of our teammates were initially skeptical, but they let it go once we kept winning games. It helped that we weren’t the only couple on the team now, either. Another couple had also revealed their relationship, and the team rolled with it. Chet had been the only one who made comments, and he was now gone. Coincidence? I didn’t believe in those.

“All right, I’ll touch base with Lexi and get back to you.”

“Later,” Toby said and nodded to me. I still didn’t like the dude, but I tolerated him for Miller’s sake.

“It’s cute you still get possessive around him,” Miller said, tugging me toward the locker room.

“He wanted you.”

“Nah. We never had any chemistry. We’ve always only been friends, especially once we realized we both worked for the Aces organization. Queer people just find each other and stick together.”

“Is there a secret handshake for this club?”

“Yep. I’ll teach you after we win.” He winked.

Chuckling, I shook my head and stepped into the locker room. We were early, so there weren’t that many people here yet. We separated our hands and went to our lockers to change into our gear. I smiled at the three bracelets I wore on my wrist—MINE, YOUAREbrAVE, and ILOVEYOU—before carefully securing them in my locker.

The closer it got to game time, the more the vibe in the locker room became electric. We were going to win this game. I could feel it in my blood.

* * *

“Don’t look at the time. Focus on the puck and only the puck!” Coach yelled.

Chicago was not going out easy. The former Stanley Cup winners had something to prove, but so did we. Miller glanced over at me, and I nodded. It was go time.

Miller deked around the Ice Foxes’ defense and stole the puck. He flew down the ice, touched the puck once, and sent it soaring to me. I instinctively knew where to be, that force that connected us like a taut string between us. The biscuit slid right onto my blade, and I spun around and smacked it toward the goal. The crowd held their breath as the buzzer sounded to end the game, and the puck slid right through the five-hole. The cherry on top of the goalie net lit up, giving us the win.

Noise erupted all at once. The crowd cheered, the canons exploded confetti, and every single Ace poured onto the ice. I was wrapped in arms from behind and sank into his embrace.

“You did it, baby!”

I spun around and kissed him without thought. I didn’t care that a million cameras were on us. That I’d just outed myself on live TV. This moment with him was worth more than anything else. Our teammates surrounded us, breaking the kiss and jumping on us as they celebrated.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Believe it, Mills. I fucking love you, and I don’t care who knows it.”

He smiled, which was ten times more potent than winning that goal. He was my everything.

Coach gave me a look, shook his head, and laughed as we skated off the ice. He smacked my back and picked someone else to do media tonight. Miller and I showered, changed into our suits, and avoided the reporters the best we could as we made our way to meet our families. Due to my mom’s security needs, the Aces had set up a separate room for us. A guard nodded as we approached and opened the door for us.

“Ready?” Miller asked.

Smiling, I took his hand in mine. “Let’s do this.”

The sight we encountered wasn’t what I’d expected. Miller’s family was loud and chaotic—I had known this. What surprised me was my mom, right in the center of it, holding a baby, chatting like she’d known these people forever.

Reese was the first to notice us. “Great game, guys!”

Everyone turned, the sound decreasing to only the children chasing each other around the room. Landon swooped in for a dual hug, followed by Braden, Reese, and Cam. Once they were clear, I broke free and kissed my mother on the cheek.

“Son, you played wonderfully.”

“Thanks, Mom. Not going to say anything about the kiss?”

“What kiss?” she teased. True to her word, she hadn’t used my relationship with Miller to her advantage. It seemed she was going to stick with it. “It’s lovely to see you again, Miller.”

Miller kissed her other cheek and gave her a big hug. Evangeline Silver was no match for the loveable man and had fallen under his spell.

“Lovely as ever, Evangeline.” My mother preened under his praise before turning to his parents. “Mom, Dad, so glad you could make it. Have you met Lathan’s mother?”

Miller introduced everyone, though it seemed they had bonded in the box during the game. I loved that hockey had the power to do that.

“Hell of a shot,” a deep voice said behind me. I turned and almost choked on my tongue.

“Reed Cole. Um, thanks.”

Reese snorted at my reaction and smacked the brute in the stomach. “Stop scaring my friends.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he protested.

“Daddy!” a little girl squealed as she ran into him. He scooped her up into his arms, and his whole demeanor changed. Henley Henshaw, Reese’s sister, strolled over with the baby my mom had been holding in her arms.

“Sorry to dip out, but this one needs to be fed and then put to bed,” she said, motioning toward the baby boy.

“Thanks for coming,” Miller said, hugging Henley, Reed Cole, and Fletcher Cromwell. Another blond guy walked out with them, laden down with more bags than two kids seemed to need, but what did I know?

“We’re going to head out, too. Braden has to be in Seattle for tomorrow.”

“Good luck,” I said, clapping him on the back. Cam and Landon hadn’t made the playoffs this year, but Braden’s team was still in it. The room became quieter after a round of goodbyes to my brother and his family.

Miller and I stood together, chatting with everyone until the yawns caught up with us.

“We should let you both go. We’ll see you in the morning for brunch.”

“Thanks for coming,” Miller said to his parents.

“Of course, honey. We don’t know much about what is going on, but we love watching you play,” his mom said.

“Reese was teaching us the rules. They have a way of making it make sense,” his dad added.

“And I traded bracelets with them,” Lottie said, showing off her arm.

“Oh! I got one for you,” I said, remembering the one Miller had helped me make.

I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to her. In block letters, it read “LILSIS.” She squealed when she read it and threw her arms around me.

“Yay! Another brother.”

Miller chuckled and tugged on her braids. “Hey! He’s mine first.”

“We can share,” she said, not backing down.

“Not happening,” he teased, wrapping his arms around my middle so I was bound by two Fahns.

I turned my head and kissed his cheek. “I’ve never had a little sister,” I said. Miller smiled and relented.

“All right, you can share mine.”

“Yay,” she cheered.

As a group, we headed out of the arena. Thankfully, most of the crowd had died down, and no reporters were lurking around waiting for us.

The next morning, we opened our doors to the Fahn clan and my mother. Miller made a feast worthy of any chef, and our home was full of laughter and family.

I wrapped my arms around him and rested my chin on his shoulder. Together, we stood there and watched our two families interact. Despite their differences, our parents seemed to have endless topics to discuss, and my mom was enamored with Miller’s nieces and nephews.

“Why do I feel like your mom will start asking when we’ll give her grandchildren?”

I chuckled. “Is that something you want?”

“Maybe someday. What about you?”

“I never thought I’d have even this,” I admitted honestly. “But I’d do any adventure with you, Bambi. You changed my life with one touch, so I’m here for it all.”

He tilted his head back and kissed me deeply. If we had been alone, I would have bent him over the counter and shown him exactly how much I loved him, but I had some decorum.

We entered round two of the playoffs with high hopes, but it wasn’t meant to be, and we lost to the Richland Renegades in game seven, kicking us out of the playoffs. And just like that, the hockey season was over.

At the beginning of the year, I'd hoped this season would be the one. And while it didn’t end with a cup, I did win the heart of the best man I knew.

That was the year's true win.

The End