Pushing open the door to the meeting room, I raise my brows to see I’m the last one in.
“Sorry Coach,” I murmur, finding a seat. “What’s this about?”
Edna stands beside Coach Weightman, appearing very pale. Now I’m concerned, because nothing rattles her. She’s a pitbull who fixes our shit.
“Edna wants to show you something before any of you see it,” he says. “I do this not to force anyone to come out of the closet in a very public way to the team, but because we rise and fall together, and this could cause some rockiness for the teammates in question.”
My heart plummets at his words. There are a few players on my team who aren’t public about their sexuality, and we protect that fiercely. I’m one of those players.
“What happened?” I rasp, my voice cracking in concern.
I have a very uncomfortable feeling this is about me.
“I did everything I could,” Edna says softly. “I delivered the written statement for the animal shelter piece to The Sentinel. It was printed, but before that, I made sure Fritz approved it. The animal shelter is getting really good press on it, but we hit a very big snag.”
“Edna,” Coach barks, making her flinch.
I would almost feel bad for her, except there’s less and less possibility this isn’t about me.
I can feel Rhodes’ concern, but he and Skylar are too far away from me. I’m on my own here.
Two chairs scrape back and footsteps hit the linoleum floor hard before hands squeeze my shoulders.
“You are very far from alone,” Rhodes grunts in the shell of my ear.
“Is that clear?” Skylar purrs on my other side.
Forcing myself to take a breath, I nod. I don’t think I’m capable of anything else at the moment.
“Rhodes saw a blue haired camera man who wasn’t with us at the animal shelter. I searched everywhere for him, but when I couldn’t find him, I decided he had left. This was a mistake,” Edna says, defeat in her eyes.
I wonder if the team owner will fire her for this. This is a major fuck up, and I haven’t even heard it all.
“What photos did he get?” Skylar growls. “Cut to the chase, Edna.”
“Of course,” she whispers, a magazine held tightly in her fist. Fuck. “The image is of you, Rhodes, and Koen in an intimate moment in the animal bathing room. You’re kissing Koen.”
Skylar holds out his hand, and Edna walks forward to hand him the magazine. Oxygen freezes in my lungs as I see a very intimate kiss with lots of tongue in the photo. Skylar’s body is stiff with anger at the invasion of privacy, and I’m breathing in soft pants.
Fuck, I can’t hyperventilate in front of my team. I’m the fucking captain, I need to be stronger than this.
Being gay won’t affect hockey, my brand deals, or even my position on the team. I’ve always been private for different reasons. I have a pack so my parents won’t try to introduceme to people, but now I have to have the very uncomfortable conversation of coming out to my family.
“How widely circulated is this?” I ask, my voice devoid of emotion.
“It’s all over the internet,” Edna sighs. “We’re going to have to make a statement. This won’t affect Human Resources or your job. The fraternization clause is rarely enforced due to how impossible it is to keep people from packing up. I hate that you don’t have the ability to keep your life private anymore.”
“I should have broken the blue haired turd’s camera,” Rhodes growls, violence in his voice. “I want permission to bash his face in if I ever see him again.”
“Guys like this are cockroaches,” Skylar adds. “He sold this photo quickly. Now that he’s had a taste of the fast cash…”
“You can’t break a pap’s face without consequences, even though I’d be willing to hold him down for you,” Coach grumbles. “This is so fucked.”
“The best way to get ahead of this thing is to make a public statement,” Edna reminds me.
“I need a second,” I mutter, standing up. “I haven’t come out to my family, and now I need to do that.”
The locker room is silent as Coach nods sharply and throws me his keys.
