“You think I didn’t know this? Has been weird shit going on with you two and Nick’s hot cousin for long time now. Gay, bi, I don’t care. You’re happy? All that matters to me.”
Kasic and Dalesy acted like they’d solved the final puzzle on Wheel of Fortune and won a trip to Tahiti.
“Fucking, I knew it!” Kasic yelled, punching Dalesy in the arm. “Yo, remember that day we showed up to train and Hayes popped up off the floor with that giant boner?
“Oh my God, yes! I forgot about that boner. Ha! You two? Duh!”
Nick was, of course, supportive, having first made sure Amara was OK with everything and that nothing was being done behind her back.
“Dunny, you’d fuckin’ shit yourself if you knew half of what went down between the three of us,” Hayes had told him. “But I assure you, she’s fine with this. She’s…kinda the one that pushed us to go for it. She sniffed it out long before we ever did.”
And then?
There was Hastings.
They’d nervously knocked on his office door after practice one afternoon, sat down, and filled him in.
“So, do you two just wake up in the morning and say to yourselves, ‘How can we fuck up Hastings’s blood pressure today?’ Do you? Is that what you two do?”
They looked at each other, then back at Hastings. “No, Coach, that’s not...”
“Do you think I fucking care where either of you is sticking your cock? Knock yourselves out, boys. Have at it. But I’ll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else: your personal life stays off the ice and it stays out of my fucking locker room. Last thing we need is any more flying chairs. Understood?”
“Yes, Coach.”
They’d both walked out, giggling. “That kinda went better than I expected,” Ryan said.
“I don’t know how he hasn’t fuckin’ quit yet. For real.”
“So, I have a favor to ask you,” Amara said, snapping Ryan back to the present.
“Anything.”
“As far as he knows, you and Tyler are in a gay relationship.”
He feigned shock. “Are we in a gay relationship? So that’s why he’s always trying to suck my dick.” He clapped his hands together and pointed at her. “Mystery solved!”
“Ryan, he doesn’t know about anything else. He doesn’t know we dated or fucked, he doesn’t know I fucked around with Ty, and he doesn’t know about the threesome. And that’s how I’m gonna need it to stay. You understand?”
“Fine,” he agreed reluctantly. “But I still think it’s bad practice to start a relationship by hiding a bunch of key things from the other person.”
“Well, thank you, Dr. Phil. You get a boyfriend and all of a sudden you’re a self-proclaimed love guru.”
“Amara, chill. I’m not gonna say anything.”
“I’m gonna go get ready.” She got up and headed towards her room, passing by him on the way. She stopped and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. “Ryan, I’m serious. Please don’t fuck this up for me. For once since I came to Connecticut, I’m actually happy.”
“I won’t,” he said softly, hoping he’d hidden the fact that her words felt like a straight kick to the nuts with a steel-toed boot.
“I tried to make you happy, Amara,” he said quietly when he heard her door close. "I really did."
???
“You’re fucking kidding me, right? You had one job, Ty. One job.”
Amara stared at the cake in horror. “Who the hell are Alex and Davis? ‘Happy Day, Alex and Davis’? Did you get the wrong cake?”
Tyler cracked up, bending over and smacking the countertop a few times. “Holy shit,” he squeaked. “Your face!”