“About that long,” Silas said.
“Shit. That’s crazy. Welcome to the Badger family, Silas! Let’s get some of the guys together for dinner tonight. We can introduce them to Silas. I’ll have Rowan bring Coach,” Evan said.
“You sure that’s the best idea?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, there’s no conflict of interest now. You want to introduce Silas to your teammates, don’t you? He’ll be traveling with you for the playoffs, right? Or did you guys want to just live in the closet forever?”
“No, we’re together. Let’s do this.” I grabbed Silas’s hand and held it.
Several hours later, Silas and I walked hand-in-hand in public for the first time. I couldn’t even recall a time that we’d gone to a restaurant in public together, not since I had been playing professional hockey. The risk had been too high of us being recognized.
Now it didn’t matter.
As soon as we got out of the car, I laced my fingers into his, and we walked side by side through the parking lot and into the restaurant. Evan had reserved a private room for us. There were only a few of us, but if we were recognized, it could become chaotic.
The rest of the group was already there when we walked in. Coach Garrison, with his omega Rowan, who was also our mascot. Next to him was Evan and Nix. Nix was the only other omega on the team. At least until Charles Matthews had joined. He was another one at the table, along with Derek.
Silas stood beside me. “Hello, everyone,” I said. “This is Silas. Be nice.”
“He’s a zebra!” Derek said. “I’m questioning your judgment, Elliot!”
“You wouldn’t if you saw his dick,” I said without missing a beat.
Derek choked on his drink and turned bright red. Nix clapped him on the back as he had his coughing fit.
“You were part of Colin’s crew, right?” Charles asked. He eyed Silas with a curiosity I didn’t understand.
Silas nodded. “Yes.”
Charles looked away and grabbed for his daiquiri glass.
Coach stood and raised a glass. “Welcome, Silas. We’re happy to meet you, and we’re… well, we were shocked to hear that Elliot was in a relationship, but we’re glad that you’re here, and we look forward to getting to know you.”
I wasn’t a crier. I was usually pretty stoic. But I nearly cried having Silas in the room with my closest friends, my colleagues, the people I trusted most in the world besides him.
“Thank you,” Silas said. “I’m excited to be here.” He looked at me, his smile wide and shining like he was my own personal sun. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.
“All right, let’s get down to the real talk here, Silas,” Derek said.
I raised a brow, unsure of what he could possibly want to ask him.
“Why’s Elliot such a grumpy ass on Wednesdays? What’s up with that?”
Silas pinched his mouth closed and looked at me. I shook my head. He seemed to consider whether or not he was going to spill the beans.
“Tuesday night is when episodes of Mating Season Mansion airs. He watches every episode and then spends hours on forums talking to people.”
I groaned. “Okay, you could have stopped at watching the show. You didn’t have to tell them about the forums.”
“Well, I didn’t mention the podcast you were a guest on,” Silas said.
I looked around at the stunned gazes of all my teammates. Then Derek spoke up, “Dude! You watching MSM too? It’s awesome. I hope Octavius wins this season.”
And just like that, my relationship with Silas was not a big deal.
Chapter 20
Silas
