AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Forever, we’d be known as the gay players. No matter that you’re not actually gay. No matter what we do, how many Cups we win, that’s what people will remember,” Ishir pointed out.
“That’s fine by me. I get to play hockey and spend my time with the love of my fucking life. That’s whatmy lifewill be like. What it looks like to other people is irrelevant to me. I care more about my experience of life than how other people remember it.”
Ishir was gaping—he knew he was, jaw dropping, eyes incredulous.
That was just so…insanely well-adjusted, as oxymoronic as that was.
Ishir needed to sit down. He had no idea why he’d thought the kitchen was a good place to bring this up. “It’s blowing my mind how chill you are about this. I’ve literally been eating myself up inside thinking you couldn’t even accept you were bi, and now you’re just like, it’s whatever!”
“This is gonna sound cheesy as hell, but…as long as I’ve got you, I just don’t care about that shit. I get to show you off and enjoy everybody knowing you’re mine. That overshadows the whole ‘dealing with homophobes’ thing.”
Ishir flushed. Zee had always been like that—effusive with his praise, at least with Ishir—but now that they were in a romantic relationship, it had ratcheted up to eleven.
Ishir wasn’t mad about it.
“You’re crazy,” Ishir said in awe.
“Yeah, crazy aboutyou,” Zee teased, drawing him in for a kiss.
“Such a sap,” Ishir groaned happily.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult to be brave when he had Zee by his side.
**********
They went on a date. It was Zee’s idea, claiming they had to go on a proper one before their ruts hit.
“Gotta treat my guy,” Zee insisted, and who was going to argue with that?
Zee took him to the outdoor cinema to see some action blockbuster. He bought Ishir popcorn and did the whole yawn-and-stretch move on him, making Ishir choke with laughter.
They walked to a diner after, a good twenty-five minutes in the warm summer twilight. They didn’t hold hands—coming out would have to be a little more thought-out than that—but their arms and fingers constantly brushed, sending sparks through Ishir’s body.
Mac’s Diner was on the corner of a busy street, a favourite spot for both teenagers and seniors, already packed upon arrival. Zee gave his name and number and they waited outside for a table, Ishir leaning on a wall, Zee with a hand pressed against the brick above Ishir’s head, leaning in close.
Ishir felt closed off from the rest of the world, caught in a bubble that was all Zee, and his heart pounded with the pleasure of it. With having Zee so near, gaze tracing the broad lines of his chest, the obscene curve of his arms and shoulders.
Zee leaned in, his lips brushing Ishir’s ear. “I can smell you, you know.”
Ishir could hear his pulse, a thrumming like the rattle of a drum. He licked his lips, wetting his mouth, but he had no reply.
Zee went on anyway. “You smell like you wanna be taken.”
Ishir locked his knees and flattened his back so he wouldn’t fall.
“What’re you thinking about, huh?” Zee murmured.
“Nothing,” Ishir whispered, voice wobbling.
Zee snorted. “No?”
Ishir breathed. An idea flickered in his mind, and he grasped it with shaky fingers. “Just thinkin’ about how good that Alpha over there in the white shirt looks.” He nodded at some guy also waiting for a table. He wasn’t nearly as big or handsome as Zee, but he served a purpose.
Zee glanced behind him reflexively, eyes returning dark and hard. “Oh, yeah?”
Ishir’s chest was tight with nerves and excitement. He faked a casual shrug. “I can look, can’t I?”
Zee stared at him for a long beat and then, very suddenly, pulled away, a mean grin on his face. “Sure. Oh, I remember where I saw that actor before…”
