Page 106 of Goaltender Interference

“I dunno. Maybe.”

“Because, obviously, I could be wrong. But it looked to me like he was intoyou.”

“You think so?”

Jesse shrugged, because he hadn’t been able to read the minds of teenage boys even when he was one. “Yeah, like I said, I can’t promise anything. But I do think he might be. Do you want to date him?”

“Yeah. He’s like … totally amazing at hockey and really smart. And he’s cute right?”

Jesse nodded. Kyler would be a heartbreaker once he was all grown-up. “Totally crushworthy.”

“But what if he gets like … offended?”

“Has he ever acted homophobic?”

“Oh. No. He’s super nice to Jayden at practice and stuff.”

“Well, that’s a good sign, right?”

Nolan shrugged. “I guess. But what if he’s not into me and I make itweird?”

“It could be weird for a little bit,” Jesse admitted. “But what if it isn’t? What if he likes you too?”

“Oh.” Nolan widened his eyes like he’d never considered that possibility.

“So maybe … be casual about it,” Jesse said. “Like … touch him a little more. Not in a creepy way,” he added hastily because he was trying to be a good example here. “You know, touch his arm or put your hand on his knee and see if he’s into that. Sit closer. If he pulls away, well, you should definitely back off. But if he leans into it, if he starts doing itback… it’s kind of a clue.”

Because sure, he could tell Nolan totalkto his friend bluntly about it but honestly, that was hard to do. Especially at that age and lacking confidence.

Nolan nodded.

“You could also ask him if there’s anyone he’s into. Or like, hint that there’s someoneyou’reinto but you’re worried they won’t like you back.”

“I could do that.”

“And one more thing,” Jesse said. “If it all starts going well and you and Kyler are dating or start fooling around, it’s a good idea to tell your dad.”

Nolan opened his mouth to protest but Jesse held up a hand.

“No, listen to me. I’d be telling you the same thing if you’d told me you had a crush on some girl. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong witheitherbut, you know, parents kinda like to know what you’re getting up to. He’s had the safe sex talk with you, right?”

“Ugh!” Nolan turned away. “Yes!”

Jesse resisted the urge to snicker. Poor kid. He was the color of a beet now. Jesse would bet heat was absolutely radiating off his cheeks.

“Dude, we haven’tdoneanything.”

“I get that,” Jesse said. “I just know sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in stuff once you start.”

He hadn’t been a whole lot older when he’d started messing around with people. His parents had been cool with it and had made sure he knew how to keep himself and the people he was with safe. And even if Connor freaked out about it, Jesse would make sure he knew how to support Nolan.

“Do wehaveto talk about this?” Nolan asked.

“No,” Jesse said. “But I still really think you should consider talking to your dad about it all.”

Nolan made a noise that sounded like a dying whale. “Do I have to?”

“No,” Jesse said firmly. “I’m not gonna out you,ever, but I want to be sure you’re being safe. You’re a kid and I’m an adult—even if I’m not a very adulty adult—and I wanna do the right thing. The right thing for youandfor your dad, okay?”

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