Page 90 of The Shots You Take

“He’s being quiet, but he’ll get excited when he sees his girlfriends.” Riley had already told Adam about their hosts’ fancy French dogs.

Adam was both nervous and excited, and not only for the party. He’d already decided he wouldn’t drink at all tonight, because he was almost sure that something was going to happen between Riley and him later, and he wanted to be sober when it did. He wanted Riley to know that he didn’t need alcohol for courage anymore.

Riley looked fucking hot tonight. Adam kept stealing glances at his thighs in those excellent pants. Adam had done his best with the limited selection of clothing he’d packed, settling on his navy sweater and dark brown slacks, but Rileywas definitely outshining him tonight. Which was just fine with Adam.

When, nearly twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of Darren and Tom’s large cabin-style house, Adam was instantly charmed. “Are these maple trees?” he asked as they exited the truck.

“Yeah. They tend to make the best maple syrup.”

Adam lightly elbowed him in front of the truck. “Oh, is that their secret ingredient?”

“They tried palm trees, but…”

“I can’t stand you,” Adam lied.

Lucky ran ahead of them, barking excitedly. Adam knew how he felt. The door opened and two large, beautiful dogs ran out to greet Lucky. Then Darren appeared in the doorway, waving and smiling. “Our favorite hockey players are here,” he called out.

“He doesn’t watch hockey at all, does he?” Adam said quietly.

“Not a minute of it, as far as I know. I don’t think anyone here has. Maybe Tom.”

Adam wasn’t used to being in rooms where no one knew who he was, but he was pretty sure he’d like it.

They were the last to arrive, so Adam was introduced quickly to everyone once they’d reached the living room. He was surprised to find that Marcel was significantly younger than his husband, Jackson. He was a light-skinned Black man, originally from Montreal, who was very slim and stylish, with thick-framed glasses. Jackson, by contrast, was a large white man with shoulder-length curly gray hair, and he was wearing a white T-shirt that just said Yes I Am in a plain black font. Was the shirt art? Adam was already in way over his head.

Adam liked Tom right away, though. He was chatty, whichAdam always appreciated, and, he quickly learned, had grown up not far from Adam’s own hometown in Ontario.

Bea remembered Adam from the market, of course, and introduced him properly to her wife, Nell. Even though no one in the room recognized Adam as a hockey player, they all seemed very interested in him. Adam wondered what Darren had told everyone about him.

They all lounged on the living room furniture, grazing from an exciting spread of snacks on the coffee table. Riley was drinking soda water with lime, so Adam was doing the same. Everyone else was drinking wine. Adam was used to people wanting him to tell them hockey stories, but tonight he stayed mostly silent. Riley seemed the most relaxed Adam had seen him since…well. Probably ever. He smiled a lot, laughed easily, and even got animated a few times when recalling a funny story from his recent past. The more these friends talked, the clearer the picture became to Adam: Riley had lived a whole life without him. He’d lived a life full of hookups with men, some disastrous and some hot; a life full of parties and celebrations with queer friends; a life full of community and family that had nothing to do with hockey.

These were the people who had been there for Riley when he’d been at his lowest. When he’d gotten sober and gotten professional help with his mental health. And they’d been there when he’d bought his house and adopted Lucky and started working at the store again.

Adam was only visiting.

He tried not to let the melancholy that had settled in him show on the outside as they gathered in the dining room for dinner. He realized that no one here even knew that Adam was gay. Did they assume? Maybe Riley had told Darren, but Adam doubted it. Riley would ask first, he was sure.

Why did they think he was here, with Riley? What didAdam want them to think, and, more importantly, what didRileywant them to think?

Adam started to wish he was also drinking wine, but dismissed the idea immediately. He realized he’d zoned out of the conversation that was happening, and when he snapped back to attention, he heard Jackson and Marcel trashing Halifax’s newest gay bar.

“It’s not accessible at all,” Marcel complained. “Like, really? In 2024?”

“It’s hard to get to?” Adam asked in a weak attempt to enter the conversation.

Marcel frowned at him, confused. “It doesn’t have a ramp, and there’s no elevator. The dance floor is up a flight of stairs. It’s terrible.”

Adam hoped he wasn’t blushing. “Oh, right. I get it.”

Jackson smiled warmly at him. “But like all things in downtown Halifax, it’s also not easy to get to.”

That launched most of the table into a rant about Halifax’s abysmal mass transit system and the endless construction that blocked sidewalks.

Finally, Riley changed the subject by saying, “Adam helped me a lot this week in the shop, getting it ready to reopen.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Adam,” said Nell. “I’m glad you weren’t alone doing that, Riley.”

“Me too,” Riley said quietly. Adam’s heart glowed.

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