“Uh, yeah, Cap. Sure. You’re not homophobic, you just want me to be less gay.”
He huffs a little laugh at me, saying “Join the club.”
Again, I think about how intoxicated he might be, as his answer doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
“Alexei thought we should do this at a gay club. Would that have been better?”
Again, the laughter bursts out of me.
“Oh, fuck no. I know you think I’m all about the press, but I truly do not want to spend the entire preseason reading inThe Neutral Zoneabout how I’m working my way through the Huskies one by one.”
This time, hegiggles— definitely drunk.
“I can see the headlines now.Huskies Caught Grinding - And Not Just on the Ice.”
“Huskies Off to a Flaming Start.”
“Huskies Scoring More Off the Ice than On It.”
We’re both laughing now, and for a second I feel like we’re sharing something important.
“I promise, Cap. You won’t see me in the tabloids if I can help it. Haven’t had a boyfriend in five years, and I’m sure as shit not gonna start my rookie season.”
He presses his lips together, a skeptical look on his face.
“So you, what, hook up?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
He shrugs. Honestly, a lack of decent sex would explain his terrible attitude.
“Sure. But this is a hockey town. You gotta be careful of the who and when, you know? Otherwise your ass will be on the front page ofThe Neutral Zonebefore you know it. Literally.”
This was something I hadn’t taken into account when drafted to Minnesota. Los Angeles was definitelynota hockey town, and UCLA hadn’t been a hockey school – at least, not until recently. As much as I’d thought the press were invasive there, it’s been a whole new level of attention here.
“You’re not wrong. First and foremost, I try to keep my love lifeaway from the media — except for the fact that they ask about it constantly.”
He looks at me for a moment, and it seems like every drunken wheel in his brain is spinning at once.
“I guess that would be hard, huh? You date someone and it’s automatically news.”
“Yup. It sucks, but it’s what I signed on for, apparently.”
He seems to have an idea.
“You know what you should do?”
I’m amused at the fact that my more-than-slightly homophobic captain appears to be giving me dating advice. Still, I’m game to hear his thoughts.
“What should I do, Cap?”
“You should find another athlete. Get something going on the down-low.”
Honestly, it’s not the worst idea, with the threat of mutually assured destruction keeping us both safe. Hell, at one point in my life, it had sort of been my long-term game plan.
“Oh yeah? You know a closeted basketball player you wanna introduce me to?”
“Is that, uh, your type? Tall?”
