Chapter Eighteen
As he skated out into the rink, Danny felt a sense of peace he’d never experienced before while he was playing. He’d woken up this morning next to Eliot, who’d stayed over after dinner the night before and been around to keep his pre-game anxiety at manageable levels the whole day, and he felt way better than he ever had.
Even with an uncomfortable twinge in his knee, this was much better than normal. He understood now why so many of his teammates were married or had long-term girlfriends. Having someone around when you needed them was amazing.
He was glad this game hadn't been too far from home, so Eliot could come.
He still wasn’t entirely sure where he stood with Eliot. They seemed to be having fun, and Eliot had volunteered to come watch him play today, but they hadn’t discussed what was really going on between them.
Well, other than really great sex. He knew that was going on.
It was hard to stop thinking about the sex.
Danny turned to where he knew Eliot would be sitting, and spotted his purple scarf straight away. He might not have understood hockey, or even cared about it, but he was there anyway.
While that might have been for the sake of appearances, Danny didn’t think that was all there was to it. The part of him that believed no one would ever love him liked to remind him that he was paying Eliot, and tell him that the sex was just a perk, but it didn’t feel like that.
Being around Eliot felt good. It always felt as though he wanted to be there. Danny knew what it was like to hang out with someone who was bored of him as a person and just wanted something from him.
Eliot had never been like that, from the moment they’d met onward. That was why Danny had jumped at the chance to hang out with him more.
Eliot waved eagerly at him, a huge smile on his face. Blushing, Danny waved back. He hoped Eliot would understand why he wasn’t being quite as enthusiastic.
Coming out had been a snap decision, and while he didn’t regret it, he was happy for anyone who didn’t already know to keep not knowing. He was glad not to have to hide anymore, but he felt as though people were constantly staring at him now.
It was nice to have someone here for him, though. His parents had come to a few games before, but not since his dad had died. After that, he’d been alone.
Danny skated into position, taking a deep breath and then looking up at the opposing center. He was a big guy, even by Danny’s standards. At around six-foot-two, Danny was by no means a small man, but this guy had two or three inches in height and another two or three in shoulder width on him.
An easy match so he could impress his boyfriend would have been too much to ask for. Not that Eliot was likely to be able to tell the difference.
Had he just thought of Eliot as his boyfriend? That was new.
That was… nice.
Danny took another deep breath and focused, waiting for the puck to drop. They needed an early advantage, because there was always the risk that his knee would crap out on him for good mid-game and he’d have to be replaced.
It might have been arrogant to think that there wasn’t really anyone on the team who could replace him, but it was also true. He’d been reliable for so long, gotten back up so often, that he’d been assumed bulletproof.
Danny was as surprised as anyone to learn that he wasn’t.
The moment the puck hit the ice, he swung for it. Harder than he should have, probably, but he managed to pass it off to Reynolds, who had as good a shot as anyone of taking it to the goal.
Danny’s knee twinged as he spun around, too sharply as always, and headed in the direction of play. Reynolds’ shot bounced off the goal post, maybe a half-inch off target. Danny lunged for it, ready to take advantage of the goalie looking the other way.
He was so busy watching the puck that he missed one of the other guys heading for him until it was too late, taking the full impact of a guy his own size hitting him top speed.
Danny stumbled back, his knee giving out momentarily and landing him on the ice, a surge of pain shooting up his thigh. Tears sprung up in his eyes, but he wasn’t about to shed them. Not over this.
The fall didn’t clue anyone in that he was hurt, so he got up and skated back to play a few moments of defense. He’d wanted to push for an advantage, but with an opposing team smart enough to keep on top of him, it was hard to get a play in edgeways.
A second attempt at pushing the attack found him slammed face-first into the barrier, his helmet bouncing off the plexiglass. He groaned at the impact and pushed the guy behind him off, glad he hadn’t hit his knee this time.
Winded, he spun around to knock the puck out of the other guy’s reach with his skate. His head spun for a moment, pain making him nauseous.
Eliot was in the crowd. He couldn’t give up in front of him.
Tempted as he was to take a break at the first possible opportunity, Danny stuck with it, keeping his plays aggressive, keeping on top of the puck and avoiding the other team, who seemed more interested in him than in it.
