He stepped closer, voice dropping. “Don’t sabotage your career over some moral tantrum.”
That lit the ember inside me. The dragon. The fire I kept buried under layers of obedience and fear. But this time it didn’t flare wild. It settled hot, steady, unmovable.
“This isn’t a tantrum,” I said. “It’s a boundary.”
Evan’s expression iced over. “Then we’ll revisit this when you’re calmer.”
“No, Evan.” I met his gaze head-on. “We won’t.” I stepped past him, leaving him standing in the corridor with his perfect folder and his perfect smirk finally cracked. Outside, the night air hit my chest like a promise. For the first time in my life, I’d said no. And meant it.
The apartment was quiet when I let myself in. Too quiet. Like every thought I’d been avoiding since I told Evannowas waiting inside the dark to jump me. I shut the door softly, hoping I could slip in unnoticed—which was ridiculous. Phoenix sensed me the way birds sense storms.
He appeared around the corner within seconds, eyes searching my face like he already knew something was off. “You’re upset,” he said, no hesitation.
I tried for a shrug. “Is it that obvious?”
“To me? Yes.”
Of course it was. He saw right through the armor, right down to the brittle things underneath. He stepped closer, slow and careful, like he was approaching something half-wild. His hand lifted to my cheek, warm and steady, and I leaned in before I could talk myself out of it.
“Tell me,” he murmured.
The words hit harder than I expected. Not an order. Not pressure. Just…permission. I swallowed. “My agent was waiting for me. Evan. He wanted me to sign on as the face of a US ‘values consultancy.’ Name’s NorthStar Integrity Network.”
Phoenix’s expression flickered with unease. “That sounds bad.”
“It is.” My jaw tightened. “Conversion-adjacent research. Anti-trans lobbying. Wrapped in shiny ‘family-values’ language.” He didn’t interrupt or jump in. Just watched me, steady and patient.
“And you told them no,” he said quietly.
I froze. “How did you—?”
He gave a soft, almost sad smile. “Because you look like someone who’s done something good and scary at the same time.”
I let out a shaky breath and rested my forehead against his. The contact grounded me instantly. Heat and calm and Phoenix—the one place I wasn’t performing. “I’ve never refused something my father wanted,” I admitted. “Not if it touched hockey. Not ever.”
His hands slid to my jaw, thumbs brushing the tension there. “He doesn’t own you.”
Doesn’t he? The old instinct wanted to snap that back. Instead, I let myself be still. “I didn’t want them using me to hurt people,” I said. My voice came out quieter than intended. “People like—” I hesitated. “People like us.”
The words felt dangerous and right at the same time. Phoenix’s breath hitched. His eyes softened in that way that punched straight through me. “You did something brave,” he said. “You protected strangers. You protected yourself.”
“I don’t feel brave,” I said honestly. “I feel…untethered. This game…there are plenty of gay players. It's just no one really talks about it. The press are as interested in a possible girlfriend as they are my play."
His expression warmed, and he pressed his forehead harder against mine. “Maybe being untethered is what freedom feels like at first.”
I inhaled, shaky and uneven, and slid my arms around his waist. He melted into me without resistance, body fitting against mine like some missing piece I hadn’t known I needed. “No one’s ever been proud of me for saying no,” I whispered, the words spilling before I could shield them.
His breath caught. “Then let me be the first.”
Something in my chest wrenched—not painful, just…new. I kissed him because I didn’t know how else to hold onto the moment without falling apart. Slow, warm, grounding.
When we finally broke apart, he rested his head against my shoulder. “Your father is going to explode,” he murmured.
A humorless laugh escaped me. “Yeah. I know.”
“But you did the right thing.” His fingers traced the back of my neck, soothing where everything else in my life only strained. “You get to choose your life now.”
I closed my eyes and held him tighter.
