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I didn’t thinkI’d been this squirrely while I’d been waiting for my name to hopefully be called during the draft.
One text from Isaiah, though, and I couldn’t sit still. He was on his way over, and I wandered my condo in search of something to hold my attention for a little while. Shame he didn’t live here in Cranberry. His place was somewhere in the South Hills, which meant he was a good twenty-five minutes away.Minimum.
Pacing the hall and trying to occupy myself, I prayed to anyone who’d listen that the roads were clear. No accidents or construction or goddamned portals opening up to other dimensions (hey, with the potholes in Pittsburgh, anything was possible).
And maybe if he gets delayed, I’ll have time to pull myself together, because oh my God, I’m going to be a mess when he gets here.
That thought pushed a frustrated groan from my lips along with some curses. Yes, I wanted to see him. I wanted to be in the same room with him whether I could touch him or not.
But not gonna lie—the thought of keeping my hands off him was killing me. The thought of keeping mymouthoff him? Fuuuck.
Somewhere in the middle of my flailing thoughts, there was a note of worry that maybe I was being reckless. Aside from all those times we’d crossed paths without realizing it, I’d met this guy precisely once—twice if you counted tossing him a puck last night—and I’d given him my address without a second thought. I was always reluctant to bring hookups home or let anyone know where I lived until I was absolutely sure they were on the up and up.
Iwasabsolutely sure Isaiah was on the up and up.
Wasn’t I?
Of course I was. We’d known each other since forever.
Online. We’d known each otheronline.
And nothing about him had telegraphed anything I should be concerned about. Yeah, I had to be a little extra paranoid because I was a public figure now—something thatneverstopped being weird—but Isaiah…
He was fine. Maybe I was being unusually reckless with him, but I really didn’t think that was going to blow up in my face. I’d no doubt find some way to mess this thing up with him, but I didn’t think I’d end up scammed out of money or buried under his house. Because even when we’d hidden behind names and avatars, we’d still been real and even vulnerable with each other. Like last year when I’d been worried about getting re-signed. I hadn’t come right out and told him that I was a hockey player creeping up on free agency, that a trade was possible, or that another team might not want me. But I’d still been able to talk to him, and he’d still been able to talk me down.
Tanner:I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am, you know? I’m worried I’ll lose that.
Isaiah:Do you really think they’re going to lay you off?
Tanner:Maybe? One minute they’re acting like they want me here until I retire. The next? I just don’t know.
Isaiah:That’s rough. I hope they keep you. It sounds like you work hard for that place. They’re lucky to have you.
Tanner:Guess we’ll see?
Isaiah:If they let you go, how tough do you think it’ll be to get hired on someplace else?
Tanner:Depends on budgets and job openings. I think I’m pretty competitive, but so are other people in my field, you know?
Isaiah:I’ll definitely keep my fingers crossed for you.
Tanner:Thanks. I appreciate it.
Even back then,it hadn’t felt like lip service. Like he was just giving me canned answers and platitudes. I’d never gotten that impression from him, and now that I’d met him, everything he said—past and present—seemed more genuine. Because he was a real person instead of a faceless avatar? Because he was… him? I didn’t know. I just felt to my core that Isaiah was the real deal.
Now if traffic would just cooperate and he couldget herealready…
The road gods must’ve been listening. Either that or Isaiah had found some wormhole of a shortcut or broken every traffic law imaginable between the South Hills and Cranberry. Whatever—all I knew was that barely twenty-five minutes after he’d sent his text, he messaged again to let me know he was on his way up.
I had a moment to imagine myself sprinting down the stairs to meet him in the parking garage, but I collected enough dignity and patience to wait for him.
Out in the hall, the elevator dinged.
I closed my eyes and pushed out a breath. Then I opened the front door, and—
Oh. God. There you are.
