Page 41 of Goaltender Interference

“Gonna be right there with you in a few years, bud,” Matt said, patting Aiden’s thigh. “Better we both figure it out now. Come on...it’s late as hell. Try to sleep, huh?”

None of the suggestions were any good. It didn’t matter. Aiden settled himself back down into the bed. They fell asleep not long after, and Aiden didn’t dream.

Chapter Four

August

Matt’s thirty-sixth birthday—and Aiden’s thirty-seventh, a few days later—snuck up on him before he realized it.

When they were younger, since the birthdays fell right before training camp started, they usually tried to make a week out of it, wherever they happened to be. They’d managed a few trips out of the country without anyone noticing. Once it had been to Amsterdam and they’d spent most of it either exploring the city or stoned out of their minds in their hotel room. Even with that particular memory, a damn good one, Aiden had never managed to top the high of skating together during the first summer they’d been together in New York: he’d gotten them private ice time, a chance to play one-on-one without interruptions or teammates or spectators.

Even though he’d peaked early, he still tried to pick out a thoughtful gift anyway. It was harder now, because while Matt was the same in many ways, in others, he was also a complete stranger. Aiden didn’t know what he liked anymore, besides hockey, although he had done some work piecing it together after spending the last few weeks living in the same close quarters.

Present-day Matt cooked more, played less video games and had a small shelf that held mostly books about hockey, but also some other topics like philosophy, for some reason, and some actual novels. Aiden didn’t know enough about modern literature, or really literature at all, to pick anything like that out.

He had plans anyway, but they were derailed when Matt said, “Oh shit, Miles and Jessica are going to be here tomorrow.”

“Seriously? You just forgot?” Aiden asked. His mouth felt dry.

“Come on, man, I wasn’t expectingyouto be here when I made those plans.”

“Okay, well, I can get a hotel room or something and we can just meet up again after they go home, we can figure it out.”

“No. No, you came all the way here and I’m not... I’m not hiding you.”

Aiden rubbed his eyes. “Are you sure? I mean...it’s going to be awkward as hell. Worse than the first time you met the team. Miles hates me. He really,reallyhates me, and I don’t blame him.”

“He’s going to have to get used to it. At least for now.”

“Well. It’s your birthday, Matt. Whatever you want.”

“I wantyouthere.”

Aiden exhaled. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

Beyond the brief encounter over the summer, Aiden hadn’t seen Miles Safaryan for any length of time in over ten years, even though Miles was good friends with Noah Brooks, one of the Libs who had made the team early in Aiden’s tenure there. He would have preferred to keep it that way.

He still remembered the last time they had spoken in any meaningful manner, about three months after Aiden and Matt had broken up. It was after the first Libs/Scouts game of the season and Miles cornered him in the hallway after everyone had showered and most of them were on their way home already. He’d shoved Aiden into the wall, hard enough to show he wasn’t joking, but not hard enough to really hurt.

Aiden still remembered the way Miles’ arm felt pressed against his chest, elbow digging in, so forcefully that Aiden’s ribs creaked under it. And what he’d said: a warning and a threat, to stay away from Matt. Aiden hadn’t argued, hadn’t fought back,just stared and nodded and said,I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I never meant to hurt him,over and over again, until Brooksy saw them and came over to break it up.

It wasn’t like he could even reassure himself that it would be fine. It was definitely not going to be fine. He couldn’t blame Miles for being protective, especially now that he knew what Matt had gone through after they’d broken up.

Aiden wondered whether he would have been better off ifhe’dtried to talk to someone about it when it happened, how his life would have been different if he hadn’t just boxed everything away and kept it with him for the next ten years, but—

“I said, they’re bringing Ellie and Theo.”

“The kids?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well, again, I can get a hotel room.”

“They’regetting a hotel room. I’ve got a tiny condo and they’ve got two small kids. Like I said before. I’mnothiding you. Aiden—you’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.”

Aiden exhaled, remembering the way he had tried to reassure Matt the afternoon he’d met Hannah for the first time. Matt was probably about as convincing today as Aiden had been then. He thought,There are no thoughts. There is no future.He thought it, over and over again, until he had calmed down a little.

“Okay,” he said, finally, because it was easier not to argue.

---