Page 84 of One Touch

“Did you see that Chet’s new team got swept?” Miller asked as we entered the tunnel, swiping through news articles on his phone.

“I’m not surprised. His special brand of toxicity is a killer to a team. I’m just glad we’re rid of him.”

“Same. He creeped me out and constantly made comments. It was exhausting.”

“What did he say?” I asked but we were intercepted before he could respond.

“Hey, Miller, did you get my message about the Rainbow Lounge?” Toby asked. Miller’s head lifted from his phone, and he paused briefly to answer him. He didn’t let go of my hand the entire time, the only thing keeping me from humping his leg in clear view of Toby. Turned out, once I let myself be free, I went all in. I wanted everyone to know Miller was mine.

I glanced around the tunnel as they chatted. Personnel and teammates moved around me, nodding when they caught my stare. I’d come out to the team as asexual. It was the closest label that fit right. Really, I was just Millersexual. Could that be a thing?

It hadn’t been the ordeal I’d made it in my head, either. The owners told us to keep our relationship off the ice, and that was it. A few of our teammates were initially skeptical, but they let it go once we kept winning games. It helped that we weren’t the only couple on the team now, either. Another couple had also revealed their relationship, and the team rolled with it. Chet had been the only one who made comments, and he was now gone. Coincidence? I didn’t believe in those.

“All right, I’ll touch base with Lexi and get back to you.”

“Later,” Toby said and nodded to me. I still didn’t like the dude, but I tolerated him for Miller’s sake.

“It’s cute you still get possessive around him,” Miller said, tugging me toward the locker room.

“He wanted you.”

“Nah. We never had any chemistry. We’ve always only been friends, especially once we realized we both worked for the Aces organization. Queer people just find each other and stick together.”

“Is there a secret handshake for this club?”

“Yep. I’ll teach you after we win.” He winked.

Chuckling, I shook my head and stepped into the locker room. We were early, so there weren’t that many people here yet. We separated our hands and went to our lockers to change into our gear. I smiled at the three bracelets I wore on my wrist—MINE, YOUAREBRAVE, and ILOVEYOU—before carefully securing them in my locker.

The closer it got to game time, the more the vibe in the locker room became electric. We were going to win this game. I could feel it in my blood.

* * *

“Don’t look at the time. Focus on the puck and only the puck!” Coach yelled.

Chicago was not going out easy. The former Stanley Cup winners had something to prove, but so did we. Miller glanced over at me, and I nodded. It was go time.

Miller deked around the Ice Foxes’ defense and stole the puck. He flew down the ice, touched the puck once, and sent it soaring to me. I instinctively knew where to be, that force that connected us like a taut string between us. The biscuit slid right onto my blade, and I spun around and smacked it toward the goal. The crowd held their breath as the buzzer sounded to end the game, and the puck slid right through the five-hole. The cherry on top of the goalie net lit up, giving us the win.

Noise erupted all at once. The crowd cheered, the canons exploded confetti, and every single Ace poured onto the ice. I was wrapped in arms from behind and sank into his embrace.

“You did it, baby!”

I spun around and kissed him without thought. I didn’t care that a million cameras were on us. That I’d just outed myself on live TV. This moment with him was worth more than anything else. Our teammates surrounded us, breaking the kiss and jumping on us as they celebrated.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Believe it, Mills. I fucking love you, and I don’t care who knows it.”

He smiled, which was ten times more potent than winning that goal. He was my everything.

Coach gave me a look, shook his head, and laughed as we skated off the ice. He smacked my back and picked someone else to do media tonight. Miller and I showered, changed into our suits, and avoided the reporters the best we could as we made our way to meet our families. Due to my mom’s security needs, the Aces had set up a separate room for us. A guard nodded as we approached and opened the door for us.

“Ready?” Miller asked.

Smiling, I took his hand in mine. “Let’s do this.”

The sight we encountered wasn’t what I’d expected. Miller’s family was loud and chaotic—I had known this. What surprised me was my mom, right in the center of it, holding a baby, chatting like she’d known these people forever.

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