“Then let’s try again. For real this time.”
I look at his hand on the table. At the choice in front of me.
I reach across the table and lace my fingers with his.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Let’s try again.” I squeeze his hand. “But we do it differently. We talk. We don’t make decisions without each other. We don’t run when things get hard. And we figure out how to go public in a way that doesn’t destroy what’s left of our careers.”
“Agreed.” He smiles. Actually smiles. “So what happens now?”
“Now we figure it out. One step at a time.”
“Starting with?”
“Starting with you finishing your suspension. Getting back on the ice. Helping the team make the playoffs.”
“And you?”
“I’m taking the contract work with Play It Forward. Sam offered me a position. Project-based. It’s not what I had before, but it’s something. And it matters.”
“That’s good. Really good.”
We sit there, hands linked across the table, and for the first time in weeks, I feel like I can breathe.
“I missed you,” Danny says quietly.
“I missed you too.”
“Can I take you to dinner? Somewhere quiet where we won’t get photographed?” he asks.
“You mean like we’re hiding?”
“I mean like we’re easing back into this. We can go public when we’re ready. But right now, I just want to have dinner with you without worrying about cameras or commentary.” He shakes his head. “I’ve had enough of that shit.”
“Okay. Dinner sounds great.”
We leave the coffee shop together. Not touching in public, not yet, but walking side by side, and it feels good. Actually, it feels amazing.
In the parking lot, Danny stops by his truck.
“Thank you for showing up today,” he says.
“Thank you for asking me to.”
“I was scared you’d say no.”
“I was scared too. But my dad reminded me that being scared isn’t a good reason not to try.”
“Your dad’s pretty smart.”
“Don’t tell him that. His ego’s already big enough.” I lean against his truck. “We’re going to have to talk to him. To Marshall. To your teammates. Figure out how to navigate this without making everything worse.”
“I know. But not today. Today let’s just... be.”
“Be?”
