When McKenna tilted her head, confused, he explained. “A Nerf machine gun. Plus, Pip is still pretty young, so we were careful with her. Even though she was pummeling us.”
She laughed. “That sounds like so much fun.”
“It really was. We’ve already planned to do a rematch next Christmas, and we’ve talked about it so much, I swear some of the other guys on the team are ready to bail on their own family celebrations, just so they can come too. I’ve already started shopping for my gun for next year.”
He scrolled through his pictures, showing her a screenshot of a bright blue Nerf gun he’d saved. “Check this out. Mega barrel, seventy-two darts. I’m not going down without a fight next time.”
McKenna was suddenly jealous and wishing she could go. “I love this. Would you mind sharing that picture of you with Andrew and Rook, as well as the Nerf gun you want to buy? Even though it’s well past Christmas, I can still write a fun post telling that story, building on your camaraderie with the team, the strong friendships.”
She heard the swoop of his phone, hers pinging a second later as the photos hit her messages.
“Thanks. So I’m assuming since you were at Victor’s, you didn’t get to spend any time with your family?”
“I didn’t.”
“Not even around Thanksgiving?”
Tank shook his head. “Nope.”
For a man who never seemed at a loss for words, he was definitely giving her short answers regarding his family. McKenna tried to remember what she’d read of Tank’s bio yesterday, but it didn’t say much. His mother died of a stroke when he was twenty, right at the end of his first year playing professionally. His dad currently lived in Buffalo and had been a hockey player as well, though he’d never made it out of the AHL.
She decided to give it one more try. “Your dad was a former hockey player as well, wasn’t he?”
Tank nodded. “Yep. And all of that’s been discussed and covered before. Nothing new to share.”
Okay. Well, that was clearly a dead end for some reason.
McKenna wanted to press but decided to change the subject for now, covering more superficial topics in the hopes Tank would eventually become comfortable sharing personal stuff with her.
“Fine. Then what about your climb to the NHL?” she asked. “Tell me about the first time you strapped on a pair of skates.”
By the end of two hours, she had a decent list of topics to work from, as well as quite a few accompanying pictures Tank shared from his phone. More than that, he’d started to relax, telling her a lot of funny stories from the locker room and the road. Here in his own home, without anyone to show off for, he’d shed his over-the-top personality and instead let her see what she was coming to realize was the real him.
Without his swagger, cocky grins, and disgusting locker room talk—which she was sure was for her benefit, meant to either make her blush or scowl—Tank was pretty chill, and he had a wicked sense of humor. He was popular amongst his teammates, and for the first time, she began to understand why.
“This a good start,” she said, closing her laptop and tucking it into her bag.
Tank leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, drawing her attention to his muscular arms. Welcome to the gun show.
“You got a boyfriend, Mouse?”
“I’m not here to talk about me.”
Tank grunted. “You’ve been swimming around in my personal life for the past two hours.”
McKenna pierced him with a look. “And whose fault is that?”
“Dammit, Mouse! I’m not going to apologize for having consensual sex with two women. I know you made me read that stupid lawyer-approved statement, but I’m not sorry about that night. I enjoyed being with Emily and Lara, and there’s nothing wrong with the things we did together.”
“I’m not saying there is, and I’m also not judging you, Tank,” she replied calmly. “But you have to understand that you are a public figure, and for better or worse, your actions reflect on the team and even on the city, because as a Stingray, you represent Baltimore. There are a lot of people in the world who will judge you for that video, for all kinds of reasons, based on what they believe. Those conservative mother groups are inundating TikTok with videos condemning you. As a professional athlete, you live under a microscope, so you’re not going to be able to fly under the radar the way the rest of us can.”
Tank sighed. “I get it. I don’t like it…but I get it.”
“Since becoming president of the organization, James has been very definite about how he wants the team branded, and your lifestyle doesn’t exactly fit the family-friendly vibe he’s going for.”
Tank snorted. “I happen to think I’m very friendly.”
“You’re impossible,” she said, with no real heat. Ordinarily, Tank drove her up the wall with his brash attitude, but today, she felt like she’d gotten a small peek at the man underneath the obnoxious charmer.
