Page 71 of Spite Crush

I skated after the rest of my team, ready to start commiserating the brutal loss, but was stopped when someone grabbed my arm.

“Good game, Manchester,” I told him.

“You guys played really well,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand.

“Not well enough,” I said, gripping his hand. “Go win it all, okay?”

“That’s the plan.” He grinned and pulled me closer. “And good for you, Zak. I hope you and Kellen will be really happy together.”

“Thanks man.” I clapped him on the back.

“If you’re ever in Portland hit me up. I can show you where the cool gays hang out.”

I stared at him for a minute, my eyes widening. “Shit, I didn’t know. I didn’t mean what I said out there.”

“It’s fine,” he said, laughing. “To be honest, I hope I do get that kind of reception if I ever come out.” He gaveme another smile. “See you around, Dempsey.”

“Later, Manchester.”

I turned and headed down the tunnel alone, knowing that on the other side of the arena, the Panthers were celebrating the fact that they were headed to the championship for the second year in a row. And I was about to walk into the saddest the locker room I’d ever entered before.

So I was shocked to walk inside and find the guys in good spirits, laughing and talking loudly. EvenSutherland was smiling as he spoke with Josh over by our lockers.

“There he is!” Carl yelled when he saw me, jumping to his feet and walking over to pull me into a bear hug.

“What the hell is going on in here?” I asked.

“Dude, we were never even supposed to get this far,” Leo said with a shrug. “And the Panthers are so fucking good.”

“So fucking good,” Henry repeated.

“While you were talking with Manchester, Sutherland pointed out how amazing it was that we beat them at all this round. And instead of being sad or pissed, we should be glad that we were the first team in thirty years to take this franchise to the playoffs.”

“Really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at my coach.

“Management is thrilled,” Sutherland said, nodding at me. “With everything. Merch sales are up, season passes are selling like crazy for next season, and they’re going towant to talk to you about your contract soon.”

Well, that certainly gave me something to think about. Without an agent, I wasn’t sure how I was going to navigate contract negotiations. But that was a problem for a different day.

I stripped and showered quickly, wanting to get out of the arena and find Kellen. But when I stepped back into the locker room he was already there, sitting on a bench talking quietly with Josh, who was standing at his locker with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“You hitting on my boyfriend?” I asked him as I grabbed a pair of jeans and tugged them on under my own towel.

“I’m pretty sure he has his hands full with Naomi,” Kellen said, rolling his eyes at me. “You ready to get out of here?”

“More than,” I assured him. I pulled my t-shirt over my head then sat next to him to put on my socks and boots. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

“That was a tough loss,” Kellen said, wrapping his arms around meand holding me tightly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t the good luck charm you hoped I’d be.”

“I didn’t lose though,” I promised him, tilting his face and staring down into his eyes. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” he promised me.

“Good. Let’s go home.”

Epilogue One

~Zak~

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