Page 63 of Goaltender Interference

“I love you too, buddy,” Aiden interrupted him, taking a step back and putting a little distance between them.

“No—Aiden, I’m—”

“Gabe, come on, don’t say anything you can’t take back—”

“No! I’m not going to be acoward, okay? I just got a fucking shutout on home opener night, and I’m in love with you, okay? Iam. And I have been for a long time. And I know you’re livingin Montreal now, but you never said exactly what’s going on with that whole thing, and you’re really important to me, and I couldn’t fucking live with myself if I didn’t at leasttry.”

“Gabe, I...” Aiden rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t—that’s not—that’s not love.”

Gabe took another step back. He did look very young in that moment, mouth turned down in a frown, his eyes sad and furious, his arms folded over his chest. “Don’t tell me I don’t know, because I do. I mean, I understand if you don’t feel that way about me, but, but I know what I feel, and you can’t fucking tell me otherwise.”

Aiden wondered what it must be like, to be that young and that sure of yourself. He was nearing forty and hadn’t managed to develop an ounce of that confidence. “You’ve always been that way. I’ve always envied that about you.”

“But you don’t—you don’t love me.”

“Ido, it’s meant so much to me to be able to teach you, help you ease into the starting spot, to watch you grow up—”

Gabe made a rude noise, somewhere between a snort of disdain and spitting. “I didn’t mean likethat. That doesn’t count.Grow up,” he said, and rolled his eyes. “Grow up. Jesus Christ, growup. Aiden, I’m aman, what will it take for you to realize that?”

“Gabe—”

“Are you still in love with him?” Gabe demanded, looking up at Aiden with his furious brown eyes and his full mouth pressed into a thinner line. “Are you?”

Aiden took a deep breath. “Yes.” It was the first time he had said it out loud. Admitted it to anyone else. “I just don’t know...if he loves me, too.”

Gabe visibly deflated. He was still close enough that Aiden could almost feel the heat of his body, like all of the frustrationand fury was just radiating off of him into the cool night air. Aiden was surprised he wasn’t steaming.

“You love him, but what are you, like, hoping to accomplish up there? Are you going tosayanything?”

Aiden stared at him. “What?”

“Are you going to say anything? Do anything? About it?”

“Uh...”

“Oh, my god,” Gabe said, horrified. “Are you seriously just gonna let thingsgo?”

“I hadn’t thought about it.”

Gabe took two steps forward. His warm, soft mouth pressed firmly against Aiden’s. He was close enough that Aiden could feel Gabe’s long eyelashes brush his face, like the ghost of a kiss there, too. It was fairly innocent, as far as kisses went. It was a declaration, or some kind of benediction, more than anything romantic.

Aiden was too surprised to respond, but it was over almost as soon as it started, and then Gabe was patting the side of his face.

“Soupy, I love you, and so I’m gonna tell you this: you need to figure your fucking shitout. Like ASAP. The rest of the world can’t wait for you forever. Even Safaryan can’t wait for you forever.”

“Gabe, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to end this way.”

Gabe smiled, rueful and not a little sad. “Don’t be. It’s not the end. I knew what I was doing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, you know? Think about that when it comes to your boy in Montreal. Ugh, it’s fucking late as hell now. You need a ride?”

“No, I’m gonna catch a cab.”

“Okay. Well. Thanks for coming to my game, Soupy. That shutout was for you. Idolove you.”

“I love you, too.”

Gabe threw his arms around Aiden in another one of those bone-crushing hugs, ran his hand through the hair at the napeof Aiden’s neck and tugged. “And get a fucking haircut, you know you’re notactuallyJesus, bud.”

And then he was gone, leaving Aiden alone in the middle of the street, wondering, not for the first time, what the hell just happened to him.

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