Page 73 of The Shots You Take

“Sure. Just stay focused, play your game, get pucks to the net…”

“Wow, that’s exactly what I said to the guy. Did I do it wrong? Is that not sexy?”

Riley shook his head. “I still can’t believe this.”

“I didn’t actually say that.”

“No. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this. I never thought it would happen.”

Adam’s expression turned serious. “You’re not surprised that I’m gay, though, are you?”

Riley shrugged. “I didn’t think you were straight. But you were so sure about it, so…”

“So.”

They were quiet a moment. Adam’s leg was jiggling under the table, and Riley could tell he was working up to saying something important.

“It must help, right? Having people you can talk to about…stuff?” Adam asked.

In that moment, Riley saw a completely new side of Adam Sheppard. Not the hockey legend, not the beloved Canadian celebrity, not the proud father of two, and not even the man who broke his heart. What Riley saw now was a man who was lost; a man who lived alone in what was probably an oversize house, mustering the courage to message a guy on a hookup app. A man who had no idea what he was doing and had no one to talk to about it.

“You can talk to me about it,” Riley said. “Even after you go back to Toronto, if you want.”

Adam held his gaze, then blinked a few times, as if he might cry. “I’d really like that,” he finally said.

“Okay.” Riley could do that. He could be Adam’s gay friend. Maybe it would be good for Riley, to hear about Adam’s adventures with men seventeen hundred kilometers away. It made more sense for Riley to play that sort of role in Adam’s life than to attempt any kind of romantic relationship with him.

“I started taking, um, PrEP.” Adam blushed as he said it. “I’d never heard of it until I was asked if I was on it.”

“That’s good,” Riley said, as evenly as possible. “I take it too.”

“Cool. Yeah. Good.” Adam tore off a tiny piece of bread and began rolling it into a ball between his finger and thumb. “There haven’t been that many men, honestly.”

“Did any of them recognize you?”

“I don’t think so.” Adam laughed nervously. “Except the first guy I sent a photo of my face to thought I was lying. He said, ‘Fuck you, that’s Adam Sheppard’.”

Riley laughed. “Really?”

“I’m serious. Then he blocked me.”

“His loss.”

“I guess.”

Riley imagined that, even without knowing who Adam was, his hookups must have been pretty thrilled when they’d first laid eyes on him. Riley had certainly never had anyone hotter. “So what’s your profile picture? Naked torso?”

Adam flicked the tiny bread ball into his empty soup bowl. “There’s a bit of chin in there. You know. Flattering angle.”

“Like you have a bad angle.”

“These days? More curves than angles.”

“As if.”

“I’m serious. I need to get this shoulder sorted, then get back to a serious fitness routine. Right now all I’m lifting is burgers.” He seemed to study Riley for a moment. “You’re doing something right, that’s for sure.”

“I run,” Riley said. “Usually, I mean. Not lately, but maybe tomorrow if I get another decent night’s sleep. I’ve got a little weight room in the basement and a treadmill for the winter. I do a lot of yard work, and work on the house. Keeps me active enough.”

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