Chase regarded Shawn carefully. His brother told him he’d worked on himself to be a better ally, but talking to him about his feelings for another man was a different thing entirely.
Shawn must have noticed Chase’s reluctance because his shoulders slumped.
“I know you probably don’t believe me because I was such an asshole, but I swear, it’s okay for you to talk to me about it,” Shawn said. “I just want you to be happy. Although, crushing on some straight hockey player must be tough.”
Chase scoffed, which sent Shawn’s brows rocketing up his forehead.
“What? What did I say?” Shawn asked. He must have thought he made some faux pas regarding LGBTQ+ people.
“You didn’t say anything. It’s, um… You shouldn’t assume people you don’t know are straight.”
Shawn tilted his head like a dog trying to understand its owner, and his eyes widened as he connected the dots.
“No way! Are you saying… Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Shawn asked, his words excited and frantic, but at least not loud. He leaned forward and took his voice down to a whisper. “Are you saying Tobias Moyer—theTobias Moyer, who we idolized when the Inferno drafted him—are you saying he’s not straight?”
Chase weighed his options. Tobias wasn’t out. Under normal circumstances, he would have been happy to talk about the new guy he was dating, but these were not normal circumstances. As much as he wanted to shout from the rooftops he’d started seeing Tobias in a non-platonic manner, he couldn’t.
Unfortunately, Chase’s face must have been saying more than the thought. Shawn fell back in his chair, his gaze unfocusing as his mind likely raced with the possibilities.
“Damn, I never would have guessed,” Shawn said, shaking his head. “I guess that’s the whole point, isn’t it? You can never guess.” His focus cut to Chase. “Shit, is that why he retired?”
“No, of course not,” Chase said, and Shawn brightened.
“Is he into you? Holy shit. Is my brother dating Tobias fucking Moyer?”
Chase winced. He basically confirmed Shawn’s thoughts, despite wanting to respect Tobias’ privacy. He’d never been able to lie to his brother before, so it made sense he still couldn’t. Thank goodness Shawn continued to keep his voice down.
Shawn’s excited face fell, his gaze dropping to his beer.
“You don’t trust me,” he said. Chase went to speak, but Shawn cut him off before he could say anything else, raising his focus to Chase. “I get why you don’t. I really do. It fucking breaks me my own brother doesn’t trust me. It’s why I’m working so hard. How can I prove it to you?”
It was a damn good question.
“I’m not sure, but probably a little bit of time, at least,”Chase eventually answered, and Shawn nodded.
Their server interrupted with their food: pulled pork nachos in front of Shawn, a buffalo chicken wrap with sweet potato fries for Chase.
After she left, the two of them dove into their meals, an awkward tension in the air Chase resented. It wasn’t Chase’s fault Shawn had been a homophobic twat-waffle when they were teenagers, so he shouldn’t regret making Shawn work a bit for his forgiveness.
Maybe Chase needed to experience this new Shawn in action to believe it was real.
And he had the best idea.
“Would you want to come try one of my yoga classes?”
Shawn grinned, easing Chase’s tension.
“Really? You’d let me do that?” he asked, wiggling in his seat in excitement.
“Yeah, I would. You can meet some of my friends and see me in action.”
“That would be amazing! Oh shit, do I get to meet Tobias Moyer?” Shawn’s wiggling intensified. “I’ll be so cool, I swear.”
Chase chuckled. “Maybe start by calling him Tobias.”
“Ha! Got it. Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”
“How do you feel about six a.m. workouts?”
