I'm not sure where he's going with this.
“Alexei, that's just the law.”
“Stupid American laws. Anyway, we were in Phoenix and we'd lost, and I'd just broken up with...what's her name?” He snaps his fingers, as though I'll be able to intuit the name of this woman lost to time from that alone.
“Which one?”
“The blonde. You know, with the legs?”
“Alexei, that could be, like, five different people.”
What can I say? He has a type.
“Oh well. Anyway, I needed a smoke. So I went downstairs. And I saw you being dropped off in a car by a man.”
I remember the night, now. I, too, had felt the loss sorely. Instead of spending time with the boys, I'd jumped on an app to find a moment of oblivion with a nameless stranger. A downpour had started and I'd ended up accepting his ride back to the hotel.
“Elle. You had just broken up with Elle.”
“Ah, yes. Did you see her in Vogue last month?”
I had not.
“Anyway, I saw this man give you this searing kiss and I realized whyyounever seemed to keep a girl around for long.”
The funny thing is, I almost never kiss hookups. But the guy had gotten a little...clingy toward the end, asking to meet up again the next day. What Alexei had seen as a moment of passion had been, for me, one of repulsion and fear of being identified.
“So you've known for sure for...” I count the years in my head “...at least four years?”
“I mean, what is 'sure'? All I knew for sure is that I saw a man kiss you.”
“But you never told me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Alexei uses his fork to pick at the baked potato on his plate, spreading it around.
“On the ice, all you do is ensure I am safe. You block shots, you cut off plays, you make sure I can do what I need to do.”
I'm not really sure what he's getting at.
“So I...I wanted to make sure you were safe. That you knew you could tell me.”
Now it is my eyes that are filling with tears. I blink, trying to will them away.
“You did. You do.” I reach out and squeeze his hand briefly.
He nods.
“Good. Now let's dig in – our meat is getting cold and you need to go get laid.”
That night,as I ride back up the elevator to my apartment, I can’t help but feel…lighter.
Someone knows.
Someone knows the truth — someone I love and respect — and the world hasn’t ended.
