Page 33 of Goaltender Interference

After lunch at a great little place not far from the practice facility, they’d driven all over the city. It was confusing as fuck with all ofthe damn one-way streets and rotaries and, honestly, Jesse was a little relieved that he’d been ordered to ride to and from all practices, meetings, and games with Connor until further notice.

He had a feeling in his free time he was going to be using public transit and walking more than he’d expected. Because fuck, he didn’t trust his car around these drivers. They were fucking lunatics.

Jesse was starting to like the feel of the city though—the historical right up against the modern. There were tons of green spaces and a lot of interesting-looking little neighborhoods, each with their own charm.

Boston didn’t seem so different from Toronto when it came to great food and museums and cultural stuff, but the night life looked dismal. Jesse had already scoped out the bar and club scenes. Bars tended to run to pubs and sports and the clubs didn’t seem that great. Way more limited than Toronto, that was for sure.

He was thankful it was an LGBTQ+ friendly city, which seemed to be his only hope for decent nightlife. It didn’t feel like home yet, but it would soon enough.

This morning, after their workouts, Jesse had been dicking around on his phone while Connor watched the baseball game.

Connor’s townhouse had a finished basement with sports memorabilia, a big TV, and lots of comfy seating.Thispart of the house felt a lot more like him—casual, comfortable, masculine. Not as cool as Jesse’s former captain’s place with the indoor pool, golf simulator, and table tennis, but still a very chill hangout spot.

Jesse hadn’t met guys from the team yet, though that was what they were doing this afternoon. There was a big thing at Connor’s parents’ house with the team.

But first, Jesse had to meet the ex-wife.Yikes.

“Uhh, are you sure I need to be here for this?” Jesse asked while they waited for Connor’s ex to arrive with the kids.

Connor glanced away from the big screen. “Yeah, why?”

“I dunno,” Jesse said. “I just feel weird about meeting the ex-wife of a guy I hooked up with.”

Connor gave him a sharp look. “You’re not gonna?—”

“No!” Jesse protested. “I know you think I don’t have a single brain cell in my head but I’m not dumb enough to out you to your ex-wife.”

“Uhh, well.” Connor shifted to face him. “She knows.”

“Knows we hooked up?” Jesse yelped.

“Fuck no! That I’m bi.”

“Oh.”

“Not that she was particularly happy about that.” There was a bitter note in Connor’s voice. “She practically accused me of cheating on her with the whole damn team.”

“But you didn’t?”

“What? No!” Connor looked offended. “I never cheated on her. Not even once. Not with anyone on my team or anyone else for that matter. Hell, you were the first guy I …” He cleared histhroat. “Anyway… keep it a little toned down right now, if you can.”

“I told you I’d be on my best behavior around the kids,” Jesse protested, honestly a little offended by the idea that he’d go around fucking shit up for Connor.

“Okay, okay.” Connor held his hands up, palms out. “I just wanted you to understand the situation.”

“Your ex-wife is a bigot and she’s going to be suspicious as hell of me,” Jesse said. “Got it.”

Connor winced, but Jesse wasn’t sure which part of that had made him look that way.

“Am I wrong?” he asked.

Connor sighed. “You’re not wrong. It’s just weird. She never used to be so …” He glanced at Jesse with another frown. “She changed.”

“I’ve heard people do that,” Jesse said drily.

“Yeah.” Connor sat back with a bitter little laugh. “And apparently it happens a lot over almost fifteen years.”

“Oh shit, you were together for a long time then, huh?” Jesse asked.

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