Page 16 of Coaching Prince Charming

“Piano?” I thought Carter played guitar.

He waved his hand like it didn’t matter. Blinking fast, he turned his head away from me. “I’m sorry, Coach. I didn’t mean to drop all this on you.”

“It’s alright,” I promised him. “I’m glad you told me.”

He didn’t turn to leave yet. Instead, he looked at me again, his eyes shining a little brighter. Tears, I realized. He wasn’t all light and happy. Those were unspilled tears catching the lights from the deserted street. “A bit of honesty can’t hurt anyone,” he said, his tone too careful not to have a double meaning.

“Some truths are more dangerous than others,” I said in a tighter voice.

“Dangerous?” he scoffed. “I can’t see how.”

“Carter…”

“I get it,” he cut me off. “A kid like me has no reason to know those things, but here we are.”

“What are you trying to say, Prince?” I asked, my voice dropping near to a growl.

He shared a sad smile. “You were Uncle Nate when I was small. I’ll never forget how cool you were. Do you believe me when I say that I used to think you visited us because you wanted to hang out with me?” He laughed out loud, but there was a heavy note of sorrow in there. “You have a way of making people feel special. And you know what? When I came out to Dad, he only worried that it would hurt my chances to make it as a pro. You convinced him those things didn’t matter anymore.”

I clenched my teeth. Yeah, I’d talked some sense into Dana. The very same sense I had lacked all my life. If I had to carry the burden that the patriarchal, heteronormative society had placed on my chest, there was no reason the next generation should, too. “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked coldly.

“Did you ever think you should follow your own advice?” Carter asked.

I stepped away from him, my back pressing against the wall of some student facility near the center of Northwood’s campus. The Thinker was only around the corner, and most people there knew me as their coach or the famed hockey royalty. “We shouldn’t be talking about this, Carter.”

“Why not?” he asked. “We’re sharing secrets.”

“Are you threatening me, kid?” I demanded, my temper flaring before I could rein it in.

“What?” He was horrified, eyebrows rising all the way up, brow creasing, mouth dropping open. “Why would I…?”

“I don’t know. Why would you?” I asked, anger getting the better of me. “Whatever you think you know…”

“I think?” It was his turn to be angry, and I had to admit he had the right. He knew the truth. Running from that wasn’t an option. “Don’t be ridiculous. I only meant to offer you the same courtesy. Now you know what haunts me. And I know what you’re hiding. I thought sharing a secret might help lift some of the burden.”

“It doesn’t,” I said. “And I would rather if we never mentioned this again.”

“Really?” Carter frowned. “And if I tell you I feel a million times better now that I shared my problems with you?”

“It’s not the same thing,” I said, softening my voice at last. “You’re young. Your life is still ahead of you. You should make your choices and not let anyone dictate what you do. This…this is different. I’m too old to change the way I live.” This was as close as I would go in discussing it.

Something about Carter made me want to open up. There was a softness to him and the sort of empathy I hadn’t often encountered in my life. But they were deceptive, even if he didn’t want them to be.

My life was kept together by duct tape and prayers. I couldn’t risk losing what little of my reputation was left by suddenly coming out of the closet. The closet was just fine. I’d spent my best years in there.

“Nate, I just want to help,” Carter said, stepping toward me.

I looked deep into his light brown eyes and wondered what to do with him. He knew everything. He was right about most things. In the end, it was my stubbornness that stopped me. “I’ve been living a double life since I can remember, Carter,” I whispered. “I don’t mean to change that now.”

As he took another step toward me, I had nowhere else to go. We were inches apart, and Carter was looking up, his gaze locked on mine, his eyes shining bright, his lips slick after he’d licked them. “We’ve got more in common than you want to admit.” After a moment, he looked down. “And I have more secrets than I could tell you in one night.”

My heart clenched hard. He was dancing around something devastatingly dangerous. “Carter, we should…”

In one heartbeat, Carter Prince rose to the tips of his toes, his lips slamming against mine, his hands pressing the sides of my rib cage. In an instant, I was aware of more things than I thought my brain could process. The alarms went off in my head, and I knew I had to stop this. I had to. He was nineteen and in my care. But I could also tell that he wore a scent of amber and sandalwood. I could tell he’d chewed a minty gum recently. I knew his body was warmer than it had been before, and I knew the distinct scent of his sweat, however faint it was. I was aware of my heartbeat speeding and a choked sound dragging out of me.

It lasted less than one whole second, I was sure, but it carried enough information to seem like it had gone on for a year.

Sweet and tender and so close to me, this young man was pressing his lips against mine, parting them in some foolish hope that this would turn into a proper kiss.

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