Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I furrowed my brow. “Hmm. That’s nice and all, but let’s get back to the part where you casually dropped the ‘I’m bi’ bombshell, shall we?”
Court snickered. “It’s not a bombshell. Look, I never waltzed into locker rooms and announced my sexuality, but I never denied it if it came up in conversation. And it rarely did. A couple of guys on my teams knew, and my coach and a few trainers, but no one talked about it.”
“So…you weren’t out in public.”
“I wasn’t important enough for anyone to care, Ivan. That’s the point. And since that’s probably your other question…that’s why I got cut from the Sea Snappers. I’ve under-performed for too many seasons in a row, and they want to make room on the roster for young blood. I’m expendable and old. Management knew I was bi for seven years, so I’m fairly certain my sexuality wasn’t the issue.”
“Oh, well…that’s good. Not the getting cut part. I’m sorry about that,” I clarified, raking my teeth over my bottom lip.
I was flustered, and I was having a hard time keeping my thoughts straight. Compassionate hockey platitudes first and then…the bi stuff.
“Thanks. It’ll be all right. I’ll do some time with the kids at the rink here and…hopefully, sign with a new team by Christmas.” He smiled wanly and told me about Vinnie’s offer to introduce him to his agent in exchange for coaching duties. “Vin also thinks I should volunteer around town, and—”
“And that’s how you ended up at Bingo tonight,” I finished matter-of-factly.
He raised his glass and winked. “Bingo.”
“Hmph.”
“It was fun. I don’t think Bingo is my volunteer jam, though,” Court said softly, as if he were talking to himself. He snapped his head up and fixed me with an intense look. “If you have any ideas, let me know. I don’t want to ask my mom and make a production of volunteering. I want this to be as low key as possible.”
“Right.”
“Assuming I have time. I think I’ll be pretty busy at the rink, and I’m sure I’ll get roped in to help at the bakery. Plus, I need to stay in shape and—why are you looking at me like that?”
I polished off the last of my cocktail and tilted my chin. “Like what?”
“Like you’re mad or something. What did I say?”
“Nothing. I’m just…” I smacked my palm on the table and faux growled at him. “How long have you known you’re attracted to men?”
“We’re back to that?”
“Yeah, I know I’m being so uncool about this, but I’m curious.”
He frowned. “Okay, well…since high school, I think.”
“High school!”
“Maybe sooner. Probably junior high,” he amended with an absent shrug. “Max Kruger’s older cousin was visiting from Ohio. He was fifteen, we were thirteen, and I remember being attracted to him. I assumed it was just basic admiration for someone who was already doing things I wanted to do. He played hockey, he was fit, he was funny. He was probably cute too, but I didn’t think that was what drew me to him, you know? It wasn’t until senior year in high school that I realized I got the same butterflies in my stomach, dizzy feeling around certain guys as well as girls. And it wasn’t just admiration. It was definitely lust.”
“Did it freak you out?”
“Not really. I had a girlfriend and—”
“Jenna Adams.”
Court smiled. “Yeah, you remember her?”
“Mmhmm.”
“She was cool. We went out junior and senior year, and…I liked her. I wouldn’t have wanted to hurt her by talking about being attracted to guys too. I needed time to process that.” His lips curled mischievously, and lit his eyes to perfection. “In college, though, all bets were off.”
“Huh. And that was never a problem as an athlete?” I asked, still clearly not grasping this news flash.
“Nah, I was careful in the beginning. There were definitely times I walked away from guys I was interested in, but after a while, it didn’t seem to matter. No one was watching me that closely. I came out to my roommate and my parents my freshman year and a teammate on the first team that drafted me, the Blue Devils. After that, it was a need-to-know basis, I guess. The people that mattered knew…a few coaches and close friends. That was it. It might have come up more often if I’d had a boyfriend, but I haven’t had one of those in geez…” He scratched his temple and shrugged. “Maybe five years?”
I was reeling. No joke. It was a good thing I’d sworn off Court Henderson years ago because damn it, this was news and double damn it, I liked him.
But I had that disoriented, twisty feeling you get from roller coaster rides with particularly perilous inclines and death-defying loops. And if that sounded a tad extreme, sue me.
See, teenage me had been very invested in this guy, and I’d thought I had Court Henderson figured out. He’d been a nice kid, a good student, a talented athlete. He’d dated a cheerleader, gone to college, and gone on to play professional hockey. I’d assumed Court would have been married and had a kid or two like everyone else our age from this town. I most certainly hadn’t counted on him being…sort of like me.