Page 9 of Stick By Me

“Sure, but I can have one beer, right?” Jonah’s eyes twinkled at me.

A waitress stopped at the table and took our drink orders, each of us getting a beer.

Leo leaned into my side and slid the menu toward him. “You guys know what you’re going to eat?”

Heat tingled up my side from Leo’s soft touch. “Uh, I’m getting the chicken pasta dish. Need some carbs for tomorrow’spractice.” I flicked my gaze to Jonah. “Coach is going to run us ragged after winning on Friday. I can feel it.” Talking hockey was easy.

“Yeah, he’s going to make sure we know that winning a game does not mean we get to slack off.” Jonah shook his head with a soft snort. “We play U of A this week.”

“Oh, big rivalry game.” Leo beamed at me. “I’m getting a steak. Just sounds good.”

The waitress dropped off our beers, then took our food order.

Leo sipped his beer. “So, what’s the story with you two? You seem to be good friends.” He pointed his finger between us.

With a glance at Jonah, I said, “We’ve been friends since we met in a summer hockey camp when we were ten years old.” I faced him. “I’m from Duluth, Minnesota and he’s from the Twin Cities.”

“Oh, midwestern boys.” Leo slowly nodded. “I’m from here. Born and raised in Gilbert, went to ASU and now I live with my brother and his boyfriend, my best friend, in Tempe.”

“Wait, your brother is dating your best friend?” Jonah shifted on his chair and cocked a brow.

“Yep, but not dating so much as life partners. That’s what my brother calls them.” With a sharp huff, Leo shook his head. “God, you should see the two of them. They’re so stinking in love it makes me sick sometimes.” He snickered. “Not really, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, some people get all the breaks.” With an ache floating through my chest, I inched closer to Leo’s side. I wanted to be close to him. Was Jonah right? Could I be the right guy for Leo?

“Me and Archer are part of what we call the squad. We have a whole crew of hockey players that we’ve met over the years who are all queer. We fought to all end up at ASU, so we could be together and maybe make a difference for other queer players.” He set his elbow on the table. “Some of the guys come from hockey families, you know, dad played in the NHL or like with Myles, his dad works in the NHL doing some of the legal work,drawing up contracts and shit.” He twisted his lips. “So, we went to our families, and they helped us get here, worked with the college.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That is very cool.” He focused on me. “So, are you from a hockey family? Did your dad play in the NHL?”

My chest squeezed and I hung my head, breathing through it. “No, I’m not.” I turned my beer on the tabletop. It was too early to get into my fucked-up relationship with my dad.

“No, but his mother was a renowned triathlete. She went to the Olympics back in nineteen-eighty-eight and took home a silver medal.” Jonah ticked his head.

I stared at him. I guessed we were going there. “She quit competing after meeting my dad and became a high school science teacher.” I pursed my lips.

Leo wound his arm around the back of my seat, like he felt my tension. “Still, that’s pretty impressive. My mom’s a teacher, too, fifth-grade, and my dad’s an accountant who runs his own tax business.” He drank some beer, then choked out a laugh. “No one is athletic in my family, and I only hit the gym to keep from getting pudgy.”

“Well, whatever you’re doing, it looks good on you.” Jonah wagged his brows at Leo.

“Thanks, man.” Leo held up his glass and tapped it on Jonah’s.

“So, what does your dad do, Archer?” Leo edged into my side.

I snuck a peak at his profile, the generous pout of his lips, the strong, but smaller nose. It was like he unconsciously knew I craved the closeness of him. “He sells farming equipment. You know the big John Deere tractors and shit?” I sipped my beer. Sure, Dad could be charming as hell when he was trying to sell you something. But hearing his son is queer? Not so much.

“Oh. That’s cool.” Leo looked off into the restaurant. “Looks like our food is coming.” He pulled his arm from around myshoulders and unrolled his silverware from the black napkin. “Is your mom still teaching or has she retired?”

My heart stung and I threw a glance at Jonah.

The waitress dropped off our food. “Enjoy.” She walked off.

Jonah scrubbed his face in his hands. “Shit.”

Leo picked up his knife and fork, then faced me. “Uh…did I say something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t say anything wrong.” Dragging a deep inhale, I unrolled my silverware over my plate of chicken pasta. “My mom was killed a few years back, just before I left to come out here. She was biking on a country road and a guy swerved to miss a fucking squirrel, and hit her.” My chest ached. Fuck, I hated talking about it. “She was killed instantly. Probably didn’t even know she’d been hit.”

“Oh, Jesus. I’m so sorry.” Leo wrapped my hand up in his and held it over the table. “Remy, my best friend that’s dating my brother? His dad was a fireman and died when a building collapsed on him during a call. It wrecked Remy.” He squeezed my hand. “How are you doing?”

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